Hid

[edgemoulic]

I don't have a relay or anything hooked up to it either I don't think I need one being that's it's only 35w

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

Put a relay you’ll regret it. It will corrupt your system it won’t hurt that $30 worth to help the extra load from your alternator since the ballast throw a lot of voltage.

[nevets27]

Put a relay you’ll regret it. It will corrupt your system it won’t hurt that $30 worth to help the extra load from your alternator since the ballast throw a lot of voltage.

You are going to have to explain that one.

1) corrupt what and how?

2) true that voltage is higher for the hid bulbs but the current isn't.

 

The one exception to that is during startup/ignition of the bulb. It does draw a high amount of current during this time but this is only for a few seconds.

 

HID's pull about the same or less current then halogen bulbs.

 

Won't hurt to add a relay if you really want to. Though you could argue poorly wiring in a relay could do more harm than good.

 

To note also, both headlights already have relays on our cars, the current is not running through the switch like it does on some vehicles. So really it's only the gauge of wire from the relay box to the headlights to be "concerned" about.

 

Quick easy google search for somone who has measured and done the math for you:

https://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-electrical/51497-35-watt-hid-ballast-current-4-0-amps.html

[Carmania24]

Looks good. Can you tell me how you did it? I'm putting in DDM Tuning 55w 4500k in mine but stumped... Trying to collect parts so I don't have any issues to complete the job.

 

This is a Test Fit only Not installed yet.

But HUGE Improvement!!!

HID is in the right side headlight on both pictures. The projector makes an incredible cutoff line - It's so defined with the brighter light.

 

http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy26/kent55/IMG_20170123_205708342.jpg

 

http://i774.photobucket.com/albums/yy26/kent55/IMG_20170123_205514290.jpg

 

Are your headlights OEM? I have an issue with there being like a square right above the headlights. I have a thread around here somewhere. Was wondering if HID's might help me solve the issue, it's kind of annoying. I will get flashed at times; people think they're high beams. Thanks.

[apexi]

HID's will make it worse unless you swap out the projector assembly inside the headlight, or block/fill the squirrel finder with something.

 

HID's means more light will get pushed through the rectangular squirrel finder boxes. Especially if you go with something like a 55w kit which will probably be super bright, maybe too bright..

[Wooosh]

Some pics of my under $300 retrofit from last night on my way home. Pics aren’t great at 70mph on a phone cam but at least a rough idea of what you get. The real life difference is 10 fold and no flashes or middle fingers from oncoming traffic

Lo beams

Brights

[nevets27]

Are your headlights OEM? I have an issue with there being like a square right above the headlights. I have a thread around here somewhere. Was wondering if HID's might help me solve the issue, it's kind of annoying. I will get flashed at times; people think they're high beams. Thanks.

 

My only guess is hazed lenses. As you can still easily see the light above the cut off, its just not as defined as a square anymore. You can also see how much brighter it is above the cutoff with the HIDs.

 

Getting HIDs will increase the light in that square which shines into oncoming traffic. The amount/intensity of light in that square was designed to be of a certain level to not blind other drivers.

 

Here's a stock projector. Lots comparison shots in my retrofit log here (It may be missing temporarily)

 

This is the BEST way to upgrade your headlights though. From Wooosh

While not technically "the best", for easy of install, gain in visibility and not blinding others. It's definitely good and wise decision to go with the kit. Projectors that use OEM bulb type of D2S are for the most part better. Additionally using OEM quality bulbs and ballast also helps.

[kent55]

This is my view with 4500k DDM 55W standard series ballasts with the upgraded Ultra bulbs and DDM wiring harness. All in stock projectors.

[Wooosh]

While not technically "the best", for easy of install, gain in visibility and not blinding others. It's definitely good and wise decision to go with the kit. Projectors that use OEM bulb type of D2S are for the most part better. Additionally using OEM quality bulbs and ballast also helps.

 

 

 

That is correct. My statement to “the best” option, was in a vague sense. My TRS Morimoto mini 7.0 kit is FAR from the best as far as HIDs go (I will say for what you get for the price it’s pretty sweet though). I was just referring to an HID retrofit in general as compared to the horrors that other people are creating for other drivers so they can see better for themselves as seen in some of the above. A retrofit of some sort is “the best” option and should be THE ONLY OPTION other than putting an upgraded halogen bulb into your halogen headlights

 

Given the fact of how cheap and easy they make a retrofit for any car these days and secondly this car being virtually the easiest to do, no one should be just slapping LED and HID bulbs into the halogen projectors on ANY car and even more so these cars given the ease and convenience of a complete plug n play kit that is child’s play as far as retrofit installs

 

Yet people will still do it. SMH

[kent55]

This is how they shine across the street. That garage is about 60/70 yards. My driveway is on a slope, that's way the lights look aimed high.

[kent55]

Check out that brightness and color difference!

[Wooosh]

Check out that brightness and color difference!

 

 

 

Put it on a wall so we can “check out that brightness” scattered all over the place blinding people. Haha. They’re HALOGEN projectors. Please do some research and take them out. In the meantime I hope you get a ticket or other things which I won’t say cuz I’m a nice person

[Carmania24]

HID's will make it worse unless you swap out the projector assembly inside the headlight, or block/fill the squirrel finder with something.

 

HID's means more light will get pushed through the rectangular squirrel finder boxes. Especially if you go with something like a 55w kit which will probably be super bright, maybe too bright..

 

What can I do to fill the rectangular squirrel finder box? Thanks.

 

My only guess is hazed lenses. As you can still easily see the light above the cut off, its just not as defined as a square anymore. You can also see how much brighter it is above the cutoff with the HIDs.

 

Getting HIDs will increase the light in that square which shines into oncoming traffic. The amount/intensity of light in that square was designed to be of a certain level to not blind other drivers.

 

Here's a stock projector. Lots comparison shots in my retrofit log here (It may be missing temporarily)

 

 

While not technically "the best", for easy of install, gain in visibility and not blinding others. It's definitely good and wise decision to go with the kit. Projectors that use OEM bulb type of D2S are for the most part better. Additionally using OEM quality bulbs and ballast also helps.

 

Thanks- I did see a kit as well on RetroFitSource

[apexi]

More info in this thread

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/get-rid-glare-w-stock-headlights-and-hid-82756.html?t=82756

 

Some people have reportedly just bent the metal flap down, but I hear that could produce more glare, not sure.

https://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2804302&postcount=37

 

To do the job right, it seems like you have to bake the headlight assembly to open it and remove the projector housing. That'll get you access to the metal piece in the projector that has the squirrel finder.

 

There are also companies like

https://www.theretrofitsource.com/

They sell replacement projector assemblies, which don't have the squirrel finder opening. I don't know a lot about HID setups, or other projector assemblies, so I'm not going to go into a lot of detail.

[popogotcha]

Finally changed the lights out. Replaced with 55w ultra 6500k. Must say in pretty happy with outcome and wasn't to hard to figure out.

 

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[nevets27]

Not too surprised that the advice to not do this fell on def ears. I just hope I don't live in the same area as you.

 

BTW that picture shows exactly how bad those lights are going to be for other drivers, not that you care. Those signs way down the road that are up high and are nice and bright, well that's happening because of all the nice bright glare/light above what should be a cut off. If you look at a proper HID retrofit or oem going down the road you'll see those signs won't be lite up crazy bright like that.

 

And to put into perspective how you took a bad idea and made it even worse you decided to run 55watt ballast. No car manufacturer even sells cars with 55 watt ballast and the cars that do come off the line with properly designed hid lights only come with 35 watt.

 

About the only good about this decision is you'll burn the projectors and bulbs out much quicker and you'll have replace everything.

 

So sad people are so selfish and have no care for others safety.

[Wooosh]

Not too surprised that the advice to not do this fell on def ears. I just hope I don't live in the same area as you.

 

BTW that picture shows exactly how bad those lights are going to be for other drivers, not that you care. Those signs way down the road that are up high and are nice and bright, well that's happening because of all the nice bright glare/light above what should be a cut off. If you look at a proper HID retrofit or oem going down the road you'll see those signs won't be lite up crazy bright like that.

 

And to put into perspective how you took a bad idea and made it even worse you decided to run 55watt ballast. No car manufacturer even sells cars with 55 watt ballast and the cars that do come off the line with properly designed hid lights only come with 35 watt.

 

About the only good about this decision is you'll burn the projectors and bulbs out much quicker and you'll have replace everything.

 

So sad people are so selfish and have no care for others safety.

 

 

 

If you read back in this thread (and any thread that entails HID or LED bulbs in the halogen housings) I try as well. Most won’t listen. If they decided to do it in the first place without research and realize how messed up it really is then they’re not just going to magically become smarter, more courteous and unselfish, but as I stated earlier if someone else reads this down the road and decides to go the correct (and better) route instead of the garbage seen on here then it’s worth my time typing all this crap and posting pics, links etc.

 

And I didn’t mean to “thank” the above picture by popogotcha. I was going to quote exactly what you said and hit thanks instead of quote. I guess you can’t “unthank” on here because I tried to undo it and it wouldn’t. Haha

 

I really wanna see that mess 15-20ft on a wall popogotcha. When will it end. I can’t believe anyone does this esp on these cars. The retrofit on em is so unbelievably cheap and simple

[Rhitter]

Not too surprised that the advice to not do this fell on def ears. I just hope I don't live in the same area as you.

 

BTW that picture shows exactly how bad those lights are going to be for other drivers, not that you care. Those signs way down the road that are up high and are nice and bright, well that's happening because of all the nice bright glare/light above what should be a cut off. If you look at a proper HID retrofit or oem going down the road you'll see those signs won't be lite up crazy bright like that.

 

 

I have ignored the "don't do this advice" although I put in 35w instead of of 55w. And it's basically fine. I have never been flashed (well once when another car was way below me coming up a hill) and I am consistently blinded by SUVs with their HIDs on.

 

I think most of the warnings about this is sort of like Chicken Little. It's not that bad (with 35w bulbs) and OEM SUV HIDs aren't really any better.

 

Also at OP you can adjust the angle of your lights to point them more at the ground if you do start getting flashed for your brights on.

[Wooosh]

I have ignored the "don't do this advice" although I put in 35w instead of of 55w. And it's basically fine. I have never been flashed (well once when another car was way below me coming up a hill) and I am consistently blinded by SUVs with their HIDs on.

 

I think most of the warnings about this is sort of like Chicken Little. It's not that bad (with 35w bulbs) and OEM SUV HIDs aren't really any better.

 

Also at OP you can adjust the angle of your lights to point them more at the ground if you do start getting flashed for your brights on.

 

 

 

Why would you ignore good advice? If you read the thread, or some of it at least, I’m not just saying “don’t do this”, I’m saying “here’s the correct way to do it” and on top of that giving info to do it correctly and on top of that even saying PM me and I’ll gladly help you

 

Secondly those lights on SUVs blind you because your car is low and it’s either directly behind you, or while passing directly in front of you, not because they’re scattering unfocused, super bright light everywhere. Move 20 ft in front or behind and they will no longer blind you. The I don’t get flashed is not really good data to go by. While maybe not getting flashed like if you have your brights on or HIDs in a reflector housing, you are definitely scattering light into people in front of you and oncoming traffic. If you want pretty quick, easy data put you’re lights to a wall (preferably a white one) 20ft or so away and you’ll c why people tell you not to do it. You’ll see all the scattered light spots above your cutoff that’s blinding because of the super bright HID bulbs. I’ve told about 3 people on this thread already to post a wall pic and they won’t...hmmm I wonder why. You’re projectors are different than HID projectors if you weren’t aware. They’re not made for HID bulbs. They’re made for halogen bulbs.

HID projectors=HID bulbs

Halogen projectors=halogen bulbs

 

There’s a right and wrong way to do things and you sir are most definitely doing it wrong. And to prove that point...“Not that bad” usually means it’s wrong but I just don’t give a f$@k.

 

You can adjust til your face is purple and you’ll still scatter light places it shouldn’t be.

 

Lastly you can do it but why would you want to? Why would anyone want to do something so ghetto? I’d really love a logical answer to that

[nevets27]

I have ignored the "don't do this advice" although I put in 35w instead of of 55w. And it's basically fine. I have never been flashed (well once when another car was way below me coming up a hill) and I am consistently blinded by SUVs with their HIDs on.

 

I think most of the warnings about this is sort of like Chicken Little. It's not that bad (with 35w bulbs) and OEM SUV HIDs aren't really any better.

 

Also at OP you can adjust the angle of your lights to point them more at the ground if you do start getting flashed for your brights on.

 

Well I would prefer that people didn't put HIDs in halogen projectors. And at least if you do cover the squirrel finder hole. The "do not do this advice" was was specific to running 55 watt ballast with higher then 4300k bulbs (not that it really has any effect on other drivers what colour the bulb is). I know people are going to do this regardless and I rarely respond as blunt as just don't do it. But running 55 watt ballast are taking a bad idea and just making it down right stupid.

 

I really hate the never been flashed argument. It on the same level is idiot drivers that say "I've never been in an accident" just because it hasn't happened yet or may not ever happen still doesn't magically make it a good idea.

 

Furthermore what pretty much everyone fails to understand is you will likely not bother a large percentage of people on the road as much as others. There I said it. The people that will be effected the least are your favourite truck and SUV drivers. Additionally if the on coming car has HID/LED headlights your glare won't bother them much.

 

Now on the other hand people with halogen headlights that are driving a car, they will be blinded for sure.

 

I've explained it before but I'll do it again (I do not know why I bother). Drivers/cars with poor lighting (from factory, not their fault) will have a really hard time seeing the road while you are driving towards them and long after you are gone. Their eyes have to adjust to a much dimmer lit road.

 

Now when passing a driver with hid/led, since the road it lit much brighter their eyes can cope with the glare and it will have a lot less of an effect. Furthermore they might not even notice the glare as their eyes are much more "closed" because they are already looking at a bright road.

 

Short of it is simple, people in cars with halogen headlights will be blinded the worst.

 

I do agree that SUV/trucks with their OEM HIDs are brutal. But they are technically designed to not blind other drivers and they also technically don't really have any glare. It's just easy due to the height difference to be under the cut off, which is the brightness area. Anytime you are above the cut off (and they aren't hitting bumps) you'll notice its almost 100% dark.

 

It's also bad rational, well other cars blind me so I'll just blind them back.

 

And as woosh said. Glare thankfully isn't as bright as if you had your high beams on. Which is generally why people flash others. They flash to tell you to turn your high beams off. The majority of drivers on the road have no idea about HID PnP kits and that that's the reason they are being blinded so they have no reason to high beam you. So just because you haven't come across someone who knows what you did and realize you deserve a good high beam flash doesn't mean anything.

 

 

The only real reason I care is for other people's safety. I now thankfully have nice and bright HID projectors, all of those with the nice bright glare honestly doesn't effect me much now. But I and other people I care about, and other drivers I know drive cars with halogen lights and when I or they are driving in those cars I'm blinded all the time. So just take a minute and think about the other drivers. Drive around in a car with poor lights and see how that glare effects you, I know you won't like it.

 

I can also say not only is it obvious by the design and looking at pictures. And hell I could put an hid bulb in my oem projector that I showed a picture of before, to show what effect a hid bulb will have, if anyone cared. I've passed a 4th gen legacy with PnP HIDs and I could tell from a miles away, glare all day long. Guess what? He got a nice high beam from me and trust me you'll know what being blinded is after that.

 

The other point people fail to understand or maybe they don't care, which is fine. But using a proper HID projector will not only give you more light but the light will be where is should, which is down the road and not directly in front of the car, it will be a lot wider and you'll have a HID high beam also. So it's also beneficial to you and not just others.

 

With all the other mods people do here and often speak about not wanting to use crap parts or do it a hack way. Well this is the hack way.

 

I'll end with this, whatever your reason for wanting to put HID bulbs into the oem projectors (cost or laziness). There is no excuse for not covering the squriel finder. It costs nothing to do it so the only excuse is laziness at the expense of other safety.

 

In the grand scheme of things, there are some halogen projectors that play nicer with hid bulbs better then others. Still not the right way and will still end up with not as good lighting as a proper HID projector. But our oem projector while not greatest with HID bulbs they aren't the worst. AS LONG AS YOU COVER THE HOLE in the shield aka the squirrel finder. Covering that will eliminate 90% of that glare.

[Wooosh]

Well I would prefer that people didn't put HIDs in halogen projectors. And at least if you do cover the squirrel finder hole. The "do not do this advice" was was specific to running 55 watt ballast with higher then 4300k bulbs (not that it really has any effect on other drivers what colour the bulb is). I know people are going to do this regardless and I rarely respond as blunt as just don't do it. But running 55 watt ballast are taking a bad idea and just making it down right stupid.

 

I really hate the never been flashed argument. It on the same level is idiot drivers that say "I've never been in an accident" just because it hasn't happened yet or may not ever happen still doesn't magically make it a good idea.

 

Furthermore what pretty much everyone fails to understand is you will likely not bother a large percentage of people on the road as much as others. There I said it. The people that will be effected the least are your favourite truck and SUV drivers. Additionally if the on coming car has HID/LED headlights your glare won't bother them much.

 

Now on the other hand people with halogen headlights that are driving a car, they will be blinded for sure.

 

I've explained it before but I'll do it again (I do not know why I bother). Drivers/cars with poor lighting (from factory, not their fault) will have a really hard time seeing the road while you are driving towards them and long after you are gone. Their eyes have to adjust to a much dimmer lit road.

 

Now when passing a driver with hid/led, since the road it lit much brighter their eyes can cope with the glare and it will have a lot less of an effect. Furthermore they might not even notice the glare as their eyes are much more "closed" because they are already looking at a bright road.

 

Short of it is simple, people in cars with halogen headlights will be blinded the worst.

 

I do agree that SUV/trucks with their OEM HIDs are brutal. But they are technically designed to not blind other drivers and they also technically don't really have any glare. It's just easy due to the height difference to be under the cut off, which is the brightness area. Anytime you are above the cut off (and they aren't hitting bumps) you'll notice its almost 100% dark.

 

It's also bad rational, well other cars blind me so I'll just blind them back.

 

And as woosh said. Glare thankfully isn't as bright as if you had your high beams on. Which is generally why people flash others. They flash to tell you to turn your high beams off. The majority of drivers on the road have no idea about HID PnP kits and that that's the reason they are being blinded so they have no reason to high beam you. So just because you haven't come across someone who knows what you did and realize you deserve a good high beam flash doesn't mean anything.

 

 

The only real reason I care is for other people's safety. I now thankfully have nice and bright HID projectors, all of those with the nice bright glare honestly doesn't effect me much now. But I and other people I care about, and other drivers I know drive cars with halogen lights and when I or they are driving in those cars I'm blinded all the time. So just take a minute and think about the other drivers. Drive around in a car with poor lights and see how that glare effects you, I know you won't like it.

 

I can also say not only is it obvious by the design and looking at pictures. And hell I could put an hid bulb in my oem projector that I showed a picture of before, to show what effect a hid bulb will have, if anyone cared. I've passed a 4th gen legacy with PnP HIDs and I could tell from a miles away, glare all day long. Guess what? He got a nice high beam from me and trust me you'll know what being blinded is after that.

 

The other point people fail to understand or maybe they don't care, which is fine. But using a proper HID projector will not only give you more light but the light will be where is should, which is down the road and not directly in front of the car, it will be a lot wider and you'll have a HID high beam also. So it's also beneficial to you and not just others.

 

With all the other mods people do here and often speak about not wanting to use crap parts or do it a hack way. Well this is the hack way.

 

I'll end with this, whatever your reason for wanting to put HID bulbs into the oem projectors (cost or laziness). There is no excuse for not covering the squriel finder. It costs nothing to do it so the only excuse is laziness at the expense of other safety.

 

In the grand scheme of things, there are some halogen projectors that play nicer with hid bulbs better then others. Still not the right way and will still end up with not as good lighting as a proper HID projector. But our oem projector while not greatest with HID bulbs they aren't the worst. AS LONG AS YOU COVER THE HOLE in the shield aka the squirrel finder. Covering that will eliminate 90% of that glare.

 

 

 

I have a question on that...do the lights need to be opened anyway to cover the squirrel finders or can you get in and do it from the back? Not for me personally but figured it will help others decide if you do in fact have to open them to cover them, at that point why wouldn’t you just retrofit

[Rhitter]

Lastly you can do it but why would you want to? Why would anyone want to do something so ghetto? I’d really love a logical answer to that

 

Because I can see better at night. It's easy to do. And it can be "not any worse" than any SUV height car running HIDs - they are blinding everyone anyway. Do what you can to minimize glare for oncoming drivers, but it doesn't seem like many other car companies care and their HIDs are terrible for oncoming drivers.

 

 

I do agree that SUV/trucks with their OEM HIDs are brutal. But they are technically designed to not blind other drivers and they also technically don't really have any glare. It's just easy due to the height difference to be under the cut off, which is the brightness area. Anytime you are above the cut off (and they aren't hitting bumps) you'll notice its almost 100% dark.

 

But technically every time I see one I am blinded (because I am under the cut-off) if the safety engineers have determined that's "safe" I don't see how me potentially blinding other drivers with my HIDs is any worse than OEM designed cars. It's not about the "well they blind me so I'll blind them", it's about "huh, I can see at night and I don't have to replace my Halogen bulbs every 8 months to get max brightness."

 

I was worried about glare and have had my car pass me head on while driving another to check it out. It was a non-issue. Yes, it's not as good as a designed projector (I have one I need to install at some point), but it was the doom and gloom you are making it out to be.

[Wooosh]

Because I can see better at night. It's easy to do. And it can be "not any worse" than any SUV height car running HIDs - they are blinding everyone anyway. Do what you can to minimize glare for oncoming drivers, but it doesn't seem like many other car companies care and their HIDs are terrible for oncoming drivers.

 

 

 

But technically every time I see one I am blinded (because I am under the cut-off) if the safety engineers have determined that's "safe" I don't see how me potentially blinding other drivers with my HIDs is any worse than OEM designed cars. It's not about the "well they blind me so I'll blind them", it's about "huh, I can see at night and I don't have to replace my Halogen bulbs every 8 months to get max brightness."

 

I was worried about glare and have had my car pass me head on while driving another to check it out. It was a non-issue. Yes, it's not as good as a designed projector (I have one I need to install at some point), but it was the doom and gloom you are making it out to be.

 

 

A retrofit for these is just as easy aside from maybe an extra hour of your time opening the headlights and installing the correct projectors and the pnp wiring harnesses. Also extremely inexpensive for your basic kit if $ is your issue. As I stated earlier in the thread, for this car a retrofit is child’s play compared to others I’ve done

 

As nevets stated earlier you’re trying to justify your poor decisions out of spite. If they do it why can’t I. They don’t have HIDs in halogen projectors lets get that straight first and foremost

 

My car is lowered and I really don’t ever have issues being blinded by SUVs unless they’re jacked and not

re-aimed, or directly behind or in front of oncoming. After 10-20’ no issues whatsoever. Although higher and will direct differently at different distances and situations because of the height of the vehicle, the light is focused light, not scattered like anyone else’s vehicle doing what you did. I can also spot from a mile away setups like yours and they get blasted with my bright ass double brights for as long as possible

 

No doom and gloom, just wrong and not designed for it. You will do it and many others will too but don’t try to justify it because no matter what argument you bring it’s just not right and your lighting, although “brighter” is probably worse off in terms of properly focused light and is definitely worse off in terms of you being one of those (add expletive of choice) scattering bright light in the wrong places. Haha

 

Rant over. Enjoy

[nevets27]

I have a question on that...do the lights need to be opened anyway to cover the squirrel finders or can you get in and do it from the back? Not for me personally but figured it will help others decide if you do in fact have to open them to cover them, at that point why wouldn’t you just retrofit

 

No idea, never tired, straight to a retrofit. I agree if they are already open why not just do the retrofit. With the only real excuse being cost. So with the cost being basically zero to cover the hole there really isn't a reason not to do it.

 

I do have a spare set of headlights and projectors that I was going to see if there is possibly a way to cover it without opening them up. I do have at least one idea but haven't had a chance yet.

 

Because I can see better at night. It's easy to do. And it can be "not any worse" than any SUV height car running HIDs - they are blinding everyone anyway. Do what you can to minimize glare for oncoming drivers, but it doesn't seem like many other car companies care and their HIDs are terrible for oncoming drivers.

 

But technically every time I see one I am blinded (because I am under the cut-off) if the safety engineers have determined that's "safe" I don't see how me potentially blinding other drivers with my HIDs is any worse than OEM designed cars. It's not about the "well they blind me so I'll blind them", it's about "huh, I can see at night and I don't have to replace my Halogen bulbs every 8 months to get max brightness."

 

Problem is, glare and being under the cut off are two different things.

Red line is for oncoming traffic and yellow is drivers in front of you (As I'm not 100% sure you are only talking about on coming traffic)

 

HID Projector

 

Notice there is no light above the red/yellow lines. (You will also notice how fouced the beam of light is) Which means no glare. In the case of SUVs/trucks if your eyes end up bellow the red line then you'll get the full beam brightness in your eyes and yes it's blinding. The same happens when cresting a hill with any car or going over bump that point the head lights up. This happens with every vehicle. This will continue to happen until the law allows for turning off segmented LED headlights. Since trucks are higher smaller bump and hills have a bigger chance of putting on coming drivers under the cut off. Which I agree sucks. But all lights are supposed to be aimed down so the farther you are away the less of an issue it becomes. On a flat road a truck shouldn't be blinding anyone. Same with a car. But as soon as the road isn't flat all bets are off.

 

Now there is the other side, the yellow line. The cut off is higher, and with a truck following you, your rearview mirrors and windows will get nicely lit up even easier than oncoming traffic as that cut off is even higher. Which causes trucks/suvs to be damn annoying when following you. Thankfully it's a bit less of a safety concern with auto dimming mirrors and being able to move your head/mirror to insure you don't have that light reflected into your eyes. It still hurts your night vision but just not as bad.

 

 

Now here's the stock projector, see the square above the cut off ine. That's with a halogen bulb. It will be much more intense with an HID bulb. There is no adjustment that will prevent that from shining into oncoming drivers eyes. And on a perfectly flat road you'll be causing glare for oncoming drivers the entire time your car is within view, where the OEM truck/suvs won't have any glare at all.

 

 

 

I don't have to replace my Halogen bulbs every 8 months to get max brightness."

If that's one of your major concerns, LED bulbs are getting better. They aren't there yet and for the most part cause more glare with less actual light then even HIDs currently. But I expect that to change in the next year or two.

 

Sadly in our OEM projectors they will still cause that square above the cut off to get brighter. It's simple really, our headlights were designed to leak a bit of light at an acceptable level above the cut off. Add a brighter bulb and that light is brighter than its supposed to be and blinds other drivers. Cover the hole and throw whatever bulb you want in them. Our projector (because they aren't reflectors) can control the beam well enough to actually still have a cut off. It won't be as sharp and therefore should be aimed down a bit because of it. Again trying to aim your lights to prevent glare isn't really going to work with a hole in the shield.

 

 

I actually found a better picture in the thread showing how to cover the hole, found here Sadly no pictures of the projector with the hole covered.

 

The picture below is a better example seeing as its HIDs in stock projectors. Red being the cut off. It's blurry and when aimed according the specs will cause more glare for oncoming drivers compared to a HID projector with sharp cut off. But aming a bit lower will help. The blue oval is caused by the squirrel finder hole and no amount of aiming is going to change that.

 

 

I will say though, the condition of the headlight lens will have a big impact on how sharp that cut off is. Even mine had a very slight haze and pitting which had made the cut off slightly more blurry then when they weren't in the headlights, polishing them up helped and even made a slight improvement to the brightness.

 

I should add that in areas that use salt, it makes this situation much worse, salt covered lenses scatter the light all over the place. This is true for HID projectors as well of course. Difference is, if you start off with a blurry cut off and add a dirty lense then there is even more glare.

 

I have projectors outside of the housings and would be interesting to know how sharp the cut off is with no lens at all. I don't have any H7 HID bulbs though.

 

I was worried about glare and have had my car pass me head on while driving another to check it out. It was a non-issue. Yes, it's not as good as a designed projector (I have one I need to install at some point), but it was the doom and gloom you are making it out to be.

I'm not sure what you are getting at as far as "doom and gloom" You said yourself that:

Yes, it's not as good as a designed projector

Which clearly means there is some glare. I never said how much I've always just said the glare will blind drivers. More so I've explicitly said how blinding it will be depends on a lot of factors, it's not black and white.

 

Just to clear that up. Using your example of drive by your own car, here are the things to consider.

 

Worse case:

Dark back roads, no lights, no moon light etc. The other vehicle is this case, is a car with lets say halogen reflector headlights. Additionally the driver has been driving in the dark for 10 minutes or more (how long it takes your eye to adjust to dark conditions). Now pass by your car and compare to the next scenario.

 

Best case:

City lights. SUV or truck, has HID/LED headlights. I doubt you would notice any glare. And yes I'm aware this is kind of not fair and stacking the deck.

 

So here's a "middle case"

Basically any introduction of outside lighting, street lights, just on the edge of town etc, add in if the driver has come from a bright area in the last 10 minutes and the biggest factor like I said before, this is other car has good headlights HID/LED then I doubt the glare will both them much at all not only that but it less of a safety concern also as their eyes don't have to adjust as much.

 

I'm not just making this up. Until recently I only drove cars with poor halogen reflector headlights. And I still drive two with halogen reflectors in the best condition they can be (perfectly clear and new bulbs). Driving around dark back roads (which is where my expiances are coming from) with no cars around it's surprising how easy it is to see with lights that aren't very bright. But as soon as I (and its not just me) gets blinded by glare (or being under the cut off) it takes seconds to basically see any other then a few feet in front on the car. And minutes to regain night vision to see further down the road.

 

Take the same scenario with my legacy with the HID lights and getting blinded for whatever reason, even being under the cut off has little effect. I can easily see far down the road right after because my eye don't have to adjust to dim light. So it doesn't bother even close to as much compare to when driving a car with halogens.

 

 

If you are driving around under city lights all the time then the glare will have little to no effect on safety. It's just a bit annoying to others. Like most things in life, it depends on the situation.

 

I don't want this to be an argument, I just want others to know what effect they have on others on the road. If you (being anyone) don't care or consider what your doing to be acceptable then so be it. Everyone will do what they want. I just want people to at least know they have made conscious decision to do so and aren't doing it out of lack of knowledge.

 

Hopefully this will lead to people being a part of the solution with the addition of getting great lighting on their on vehicle, win win.

[Rhitter]

Best case:

City lights. SUV or truck, has HID/LED headlights. I doubt you would notice any glare. And yes I'm aware this is kind of not fair and stacking the deck.

 

You bring up a good point. This is my test case. I am almost never in the worst case situation (i.e. completely in the dark). Which really skews my view of it. I have glare from so many sources a little bit of extra is not going to make a marked difference on anyone.

[nevets27]

There are a few other factors too. I'm willing to bet there is likely a good amount of difference in the final results for everyone who has put an HID bulb in a stock projector.

 

One big reason is the only bulbs that you can buy are all aftermarket. The quality control is definitely not on the same level as Philips or osram, which are the only manufacturers of oem bulbs. An oem bulb was designed a specific way to insure the bulb is always in the exact correct position. The aftermarket bulbs don't have the same design, they can't because they need to make the base smaller to fit into a halogen headlight.

 

If the bulb is sitting in slightly the wrong place the light can go in completely different locations then expected. This is true with the a proper HID projector and is even worse when putting a HID bulb in a headlight is was not designed for.

 

Another huge factor is how clear your headlights are. Perfectly clear lights will produce a lot less glare.

 

But with how old these cars are getting I'm sure few people have perfectly clear lenses.

 

So just because somone else says they put HIDs in and they are "fine" doesn't mean you'll have the same results.

 

One point I hope has been made clear, not just by me. Is 55 watt ballast have no place in our projectors. And I would say they actually have no place on the road at all. For the most part the point of a retrofit is to get oem quality lightly into an older car. It's not to try and have the brightest lights possible. And no oem has every used 55 watt ballast. If you're going off road then do what you like but on the road there are other people to consider.

 

So bluntly put if you run 55 watt ballast your are basically say f**k you to everyone you pass.

 

 

Finally one last scenario which is why I bother to write and care about this. Think of having an hour commute to work, in the winter you are guaranteed to be doing that commute at least one way in the dark and highly possible to be doing it both ways in the dark. Now this commute is on "back roads" in the sense they are not lit and are only 2 lanes wide (total). You also happen to be goind against the flow of traffic.

 

Now remember its pitch black, and you drive a car will halogen reflector headlights**. For the entire 1 hour commute you have cars coming toward you. Everytime a car passes that has glare or, for whatever reason, you end up under the cut off, you loose all of your night vision (not all of your actually vision obviously). And glare from other cars can be as simple as headlights covered in road salt. So I'm not just singling out HID kits. The end result is for the major of your trip you can't see much more then 20 ft in front on you. Add poor weather and it's just brutal. It definitely increases the risk of an accident. This commute is exactly what my GF has to go through everyday. And I've done a similar commute before. Hence why I hate getting blinded all the time. And is one of the major factors to why I went with HIDs right away and did a proper retrofit.

 

 

**I would love to be able to do a retrofit on her car to help the situation. As it most definitely would help. But since it's a reflector headlight, you absolutely can not put a HID bulb in it, unless I wanted be a massive a hole. A retrofit is possible, thankfully somone has done one so a bit of the guess work has been removed. But this requires cutting a 2.5 in hole in the back and jb welding the projector to it. So its definitely a bit of a task and would take the car off the road for a few days. Furthermore the car needs DRL to be legal here and since it's a single headlight bulb configuration there is no good or easy way to add back DRLs. And on top of that, is the cost as the car they would be going into, isn't not worth a lot being old (nothing wrong with it otherwise) and will likely only be driven for a few more years. So there isn't really anything that can be done to improve the lighting.

 

So we are actually lucky with our cars to have a cheap and easy drop in retrofit. And even "decent" halogen projectors.

 

Hopefully in the future this won't even be an issue. I'm not sure how, amugst all the crazy amount of saftey features cars have now and some of the mandates that exist, that HID/LED headlights haven't become a requirement on all new vehicles. Sadly it should have been done years ago and we would have a lot less people in cars with poor headlights. Which would help solve the issue of being blinded by glare, because their own lights are better. It would also stop the need to be retrofitting the crappy headlights. And finally we need the government needs to allow segmented LED headlights to turn off segments.

 

I saw a great video about it years ago but a quick Google gave me this one, the pedestrian part is great but I like that it can dim/turn off part of the headlights for oncoming cars. That happens at the 2:00 mark. This would be the end of being blinded for good. No matter if you crest a hill go, over a bump or drive a truck/SUV.