Daniel Stern Lighting and Subaru headlight options

[amason]

I might just have to get me some HIRs. fatbastard, do they make that much of a difference? Do you know if they have any issues with repeated on/off cycles?

 

Yet another vote for HIR's. Got mine in Dec. 2005, and they've been burning brightly since then. I drive on backroads a lot, and pretty much put my high-beams on every time I get the chance (so they're often on for a few seconds until someone comes around a corner). I suppose I should flash ppl in front of me more often as a bulb longevity test

 

I ended up with 4 bulbs, and thought I'd keep 2 as spares, now I'm thinking I should sell 2 and keep the stocks as spares.

 

Hey TSi+WRX, did you end up doing a DRL switch? It occurred to me when reading an old post in here, that unless you want your low-beams off and fog-lights on, you don't need to, just put the headlight switch in the middle position, and you'll have running lights and DRL's. You'd still need the fogs to come on independently of course...

 

As far as legality goes: some laws are better than others. DOT lighting laws are thought by some to be of the less good variety. As long as you're being responsible about aiming/dimming/etc., I would expect you to have no issues. I haven't been busted yet...

 

Edit: for that.

 

Andy

[amason]

I saw on another website there were HIR low beam bulbs as well. Would these be better than the 65w rallye bulbs?

 

They won't fit. Those replace 9006 bulbs, which aren't compatible (even with trimming) with our H7 low-beams. They do fit in the fog lamps on Outbacks though...

[TSiWRX]

Will any law enforcement officers be removing your bulbs to inspect them?

 

I am routinely blinded by new, off-the-showroom-floor 4x4 pickup trucks, and they have legal headlamps. The Osrams and HIRs on your car will be less offensive.

 

I think that for brother sebberry, the legality issue is both a worry of vehicle inspections, which is tighter in his area, as well as a matter, more/most importantly, of his personal principles.

 

---

 

amason - No, unfortunately, I haven't gotten around to that, yet. I think that my rear fog project will actually be realized before the switched-DRL project. I'm planning to finalize my rear jammer setup some time in the coming month or two, and will do the rear fog project at the same time.

[f1anatic]

someone should sticky this thread

[SubieDoobieDoo]

So it looks like the only way to improve my vision at night is to break

the law

 

I'm gonna "go out on a limb" here and say that something approaching 100 percent of all drivers are *NEVER*, **EVER** going to get stopped for simply having "too bright" headlights. That's "NEV" as in "NEV". And "ER" as in "ER". And "EVER" as in ... not in your lifetime.

 

Your risk of running afoul of "the law" is having goofy-coloured headlights - what idiot possibly thinks that his eyeball-melting 12,000K "purple" headlights don't automatically attract the attention of Mr. John Law - regardless of brightness?

 

Having a headlight out - or one that's horribly mis-aimed - is more likely to get your "keister in a sling" than a pair that are way, WAY bright.

 

And - - - THE GUARANTEED, SURE FIRE-WAY TO GET STOPPED: Having more than the number of lights allowed by most laws. I think the U.S. D.O.T. says only four - two headlights and two "auxillary" lights - ("fog" or "driving") - may be on at the same time. And I'm not sure, but I don't think either set of "auxillary" lamps can be on while the "HIGH" beams are illuminated.

 

From what I read, a lot of people think that "illegal" headlight bulbs are a felony or something - that they're gonna get hanged if they ARE stopped. It's the D.O.T., people, not the I.R.S.! Chill out!!!

 

However, stick to having a lick of sense in your brain: If you have "Thomas Edison" incandescent bulbs, get a set of 4,500K to 5,000K HID's - even those "landing-light-bright" 55W jobbers, MAKE SURE TO GET YOUR HEADLIGHTS AIMED CORRECTLY - and I'll bet more money than all of us have ever seen that you'll *NEVER* get stopped. NEVER!!!!

 

Police carry radar to check your speed. Some even have a device to check the darkness of your window tinting. *NONE* carry a lumen-meter to check on "headlight brightness".

 

If they did, they'd be stopping EVERYONE with factory-installed HID's and all newer BMW's for those goofy "chromatic colour-changing" projector lamps they use.

 

"Too bright" ain't the problem, folks - even if it IS a shade illegal as far as some archaic law from the 1940's or something is written. It's poor headlight aiming and failing to "dip" your lights to "LOW" when approaching on-coming vehicles. Or having enough "auxillary" lights on at the same time that your car looks like a damned birthday cake.

 

Be smart, be courteous ... and I'll wager that you can install darned near ANY brightness bulb you can find that will fit in your headlight housing.

 

Rgds,

[fishbone]

You guys don't have a clue what the meaning of "HID glare" is until you've had a BMW X3 or X5 with factory HIDs coming from the opposite driving lane at you ...

[TSiWRX]

I'm gonna "go out on a limb" here and say that something approaching 100 percent of all drivers are *NEVER*, **EVER** going to get stopped for simply having "too bright" headlights. That's "NEV" as in "NEV". And "ER" as in "ER". And "EVER" as in ... not in your lifetime.

 

Actually, this is much, much more common than you'd think.

 

There's more than a handful of cases that's been reported just here on .com, over the last three years - and even in the short time that I've been truly an active poster on RD.net (a speed-detection countermeasures community;discounting my time there as a lurker, I've only been active in this particular community as an active participant for just over a year), there's been several cases reported.

 

There's routinely reports of HID-refitted (be it a plug-and-play or a complete-optics retrofit) vehicles which have been pulled-over, for no other reason than, specifically, that the lights attracted the wrong kind of attention.

 

Anything that makes your car stand out will garner more than its share of enforcement attention. Headlights, at night, is an immediately and unmistakably noticeable tell.

 

On the personal front, I've had friends of mine who live in our local area who've been pulled-over, and cited, for their FACTORY-equipped HIDs. Similarly, I've also had friends pulled-over and cited for FACTORY-equipped "clear" tail-lights (and to-wit, even *aftermarket* "cleared," "Altezza-style" tail-lights are actually legal here, where I live, as there's no laws on the books to prohibit them - a fellow enthusiast from my area fought just such an equipment violation citation, for his aftermarket tails, and won).

 

Certainly, there's no way to tell where - if anywhere - you might encounter trouble from enforcers, and *what* kind of trouble you'd incur (i.e. equipment violation, versus, say, a speeding ticket, just because he/she took more notice of you).

 

By no means am I going to say that this will happen, but it should definitely not be thought of as it will never happen, either. This is a true wildcard scenario, as there is simply no way to predict the circumstances which elicits attention drawn to your vehicle, and particularly as this factor is tremendously influenced by the prevailing personal attitudes/beliefs of your local enforcers (or the town that you just happen to be passing through).

 

Finally, please keep in mind that in some areas of the country (as well as our immediate northern neighbors, and also the global community), HID-replacements (both plug-and-play as well as full retrofits) may present a legal problem due to much more stringent and technically proficient vehicle-inspections codes and/or technicians.

[TSiWRX]

Daniel Stern also mentioned that, in order to reduce the light thrown up (that scatters back in the snow and fog) there is a tab on the shield that can be bent downward. I looked at pics of the shields but I don't see what he is talking about.

 

Any ideas?

 

No idea.....but maybe......

 

Is he talking about the hole in the cut-off shield, which can be filled with metal-putty?

 

http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=629879&postcount=8

 

^ That's one of many similar references to this concern.

[TSiWRX]

^ It's honestly been quite a while since I last cracked-open a set of our lights..... I truly can't picture this in my mind....

 

Maybe you should call on the help of one of our actively-retrofitting brothers/sisters here.

 

Sorry....

[outahere]

........On the personal front, I've had friends of mine who live in our local area who've been pulled-over, and cited, for their FACTORY-equipped HIDs..........

 

Probably cited for improper aim?

[TSiWRX]

I don't associate whth those types of people :lol:

 

^ Bro, we're all low-life compared to you. You're livin' on a totally different plane of the straight-and-narrow.

 

---

 

outahere - Actually, no. They were, literally, cited for having "improper/aftermarket" headlights. Tickets were tossed-out, of course, when contested, but that's a hassle nonetheless (my personal motto is not "don't get a ticket," but rather "don't get pulled-over in the first place" - to me, the hassle is the bigger problem).

 

I don't know what transpired, exactly, to "earn" them their tickets - maybe they didn't deal with getting pulled-over too well, and that caused a citation to be issued rather than a verbal warning (especially considering that some of the individuals were in obviously high-dollar vehicles on which HIDs would, obviously, be standard-equipment; and that at least two of the five didn't fit, in particular, our local "enforcement profile" when it came to age/ethnicity) - and if the aim was improper, then it was a fault of either the factory or their dealership/repair-shop.

 

What needs to be said is that my local area has at least two townships/villages, plus the City of Cleveland proper, that are *extremely* sensitive when it comes to little things, and will use such issues to precipitate traffic-stops, particularly during off-hours (unfortunately, being in the business my friends are in - medicine, basic-science research, and academics - travel during off-hours is rather routine, and necessary), hoping that they'd lead to something more.

 

This is, of couse, a known and valid tactic used by LEOs to, oftentimes, take-down more serious offenders, using the vehicle-code violation as a catalyst, but in my area, it seems that they're just not willing to let the minor-offender off, and even take the lighting-code enforcement, a lot of times, just too far.

[SubieDoobieDoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SubieDoobieDoo http://legacygt.com/forums/skynetim/buttons/viewpost.gif

I'm gonna "go out on a limb" here and say that something approaching 100 percent of all drivers are *NEVER*, **EVER** going to get stopped for simply having "too bright" headlights. That's "NEV" as in "NEV". And "ER" as in "ER". And "EVER" as in ... not in your lifetime.

 

Actually, this is much, much more common than you'd think.

 

There's more than a handful of cases that's been reported just here on .com, over the last three years - and even in the short time that I've been truly an active poster on RD.net (a speed-detection countermeasures community;discounting my time there as a lurker, I've only been active in this particular community as an active participant for just over a year), there's been several cases reported.

 

There's routinely reports of HID-refitted (be it a plug-and-play or a complete-optics retrofit) vehicles which have been pulled-over, for no other reason than, specifically, that the lights attracted the wrong kind of attention.

 

Anything that makes your car stand out will garner more than its share of enforcement attention. Headlights, at night, is an immediately and unmistakably noticeable tell.

 

On the personal front, I've had friends of mine who live in our local area who've been pulled-over, and cited, for their FACTORY-equipped HIDs. Similarly, I've also had friends pulled-over and cited for FACTORY-equipped "clear" tail-lights (and to-wit, even *aftermarket* "cleared," "Altezza-style" tail-lights are actually legal here, where I live, as there's no laws on the books to prohibit them - a fellow enthusiast from my area fought just such an equipment violation citation, for his aftermarket tails, and won).

 

Certainly, there's no way to tell where - if anywhere - you might encounter trouble from enforcers, and *what* kind of trouble you'd incur (i.e. equipment violation, versus, say, a speeding ticket, just because he/she took more notice of you).

 

By no means am I going to say that this will happen, but it should definitely not be thought of as it will never happen, either. This is a true wildcard scenario, as there is simply no way to predict the circumstances which elicits attention drawn to your vehicle, and particularly as this factor is tremendously influenced by the prevailing personal attitudes/beliefs of your local enforcers (or the town that you just happen to be passing through).

 

Finally, please keep in mind that in some areas of the country (as well as our immediate northern neighbors, and also the global community), HID-replacements (both plug-and-play as well as full retrofits) may present a legal problem due to much more stringent and technically proficient vehicle-inspections codes and/or technicians.

All good points, to be sure. *I* live in a State where "moonshining" is still a popular past-time - no pun intended - so I guess our law enforcement folks have better fights on their hands than Nazi-rousting people with brighter ideas. And headlights to boot.

 

On the other hand, I've probably been *driving* longer than most of these fine forum participants are old. Counting the cars I've owned and trying to remember the odo readings when we parted company, I feel a legitimate 800,000 miles - yes, THAT many - have come between my butt and a car seat. Certainly, adding in many, MANY days in rental cars over that time, 800k is conservative.

 

In my 44 years on the road - and having lived in two states that just *LOVE* their automobiles - and having driven in 49 of our 50 at one time or another - and more than two dozen international countries, too - and having been associated with NUMEROUS car clubs, I've come in contact with more "enthusiasts" than old dogs have fleas.

 

Spent many an hour, too - in bars and what-not - talking about EVERYTHING automobile ... from how to make them go fast - - to faster still. Spoke long and often about every part of a car that adds to the fun of driving.

 

Headlights, naturally, were a big topic. Not seeing where the Hell you're going takes all the fun out of night-driving, doesn't it? Especially if you're well over "the double-nickel" and more.

 

=========

 

Damned near a half-century driving - one accident (not my fault) and one speeding ticket - 53 in a 50 zome in Wisconsin - in a 4-door diesel-powered Oldsmobile I borrowed from a friend - and still as excited about spirited driving as a kid on Christmas Eve ............. and I've *NEVER* heard a single person claiming they had "bright-headlight" problems with the law. Not a $%^&* one!!!!!!!!

 

Bad headlight aiming, yes. "Driving lights" - real "burners", too - on at the same time as HI beams, yes. Headlight out, yes.

 

But simply "too bright" headlights. No ..............................

 

I'm not advocating anyone break the law. ANY law.

 

I choose to because I choose to. But ... SEE THE LIGHT, folks! And the road ahead, too. AT NIGHT!

 

Your headlights - these "plastic fantastics" - are as streamlined as a dolphin and about as bright as the law-makers who restricted them for illumination sometime before many of you were even born. Which is to say ... legislators AREN'T very bright .... and most automobile lighting laws were written long, LONG ago.

 

This "don't install brighter light bulbs" - even those P-n-P HID's that are outside "the law" - is the same type of idiotic reasoning that says hand guns kill people.

 

Got a 9mm Glock 17 - loaded - sitting on my night stand. Hasn't killed ANYONE.

 

Yet.

 

Rgds,

[outahere]

So it looks like the only way to improve my vision at night is to break the law

 

Instead of the 65W "competition only" Osram Hyper, you may want to try the new 55W Osram Night Breaker. For the Night Breaker they are claiming 90% more light than a "standard halogen".

[fishbone]

OSRam Hyper ar the brightest halogens that exist period. 2100 lumens at least. Just throwing it out there.

[SubieDoobieDoo]

So it looks like the only way to improve my vision at night is to break the law

So? Like it's the first one you've EVER broken? Never been even 1 mph over the speed limit?

 

Try a set of Apexcone 55W "premium race" P-n-P HID's. 10,000 lumens of rich, bright light that will last 3-5X longer than the BEST "halogen" bulbs. You'll see like an eagle!

 

Rgds,

[fishbone]

10k lumens, huh. That's like 3x the amount of regular HIDs. Sounds scary. Sounds like your pupil would actually close due to all that light, resulting in you not seeing absolutely anything around the lighted path. Sometimes, more = worse. Ever get a camera flash in your eyes? That flash is below 10k lumes iirc .... Something to think about.

Do yours look kinda like this?

http://www.freewebs.com/damnasians/sig.jpg

I must admit, nice looking but hot damn that's a lot of light. Another problem that I start seeing is contrast. You have none. There was a site cited here somewhere with studies done on lighting. The results were that HIDs give a better reaction time due to more light on the road, but at the same time contrast was very important. Basically, if you've got a bright white light and you can't tell the difference between a rock and a rabbit's head, you're in trouble. Replace rock with larger rock and rabbit head with elk's head. I exagerrate, but you get the picture.

It's pretty obvious that you're enthusiastic about your lighting AND very happy with it and I respect that, I'm not doggin' you for it. I just want to make sure you don't fall in the other extreme.

[TSiWRX]

So? Like it's the first one you've EVER broken? Never been even 1 mph over the speed limit?

 

^ I don't think that's relevant - this is a matter of sebberry's personal beliefs, just like his conviction regarding speed-detection countermeasures, and I think that we as fellow enthusiast and Subaru lovers simply have to respect that these are his desires.

 

All good points, to be sure. *I* live in a State where "moonshining" is still a popular past-time - no pun intended - so I guess our law enforcement folks have better fights on their hands than Nazi-rousting people with brighter ideas. And headlights to boot.

 

Not necessarily true - it simply may be that your local area laws are either more lax on this issue, or that the enforcers in your area have a different view on lighting modifications and/or may not regard Import Sport Compacts with the same distaste as in other areas.

 

Whatever the reason, I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. I'd just consider yourself lucky, and let it be at that.

 

I got plenty of sideways glances here in Metro Cleveland when I used to go around in my DSM, no matter how "tastefully modified" it may be. And even though my current exhaust canisters on the Legacy borders on the surreal in terms of physical size , I haven't gotten nearly the same scrutiny, and to be quite frank, it seems that the previous-generation Camry-esque body-shape of the Legacy has even given me some "police immunity."

 

On the other hand, I've probably been *driving* longer than most of these fine forum participants are old. Counting the cars I've owned and trying to remember the odo readings when we parted company, I feel a legitimate 800,000 miles - yes, THAT many - have come between my butt and a car seat. Certainly, adding in many, MANY days in rental cars over that time, 800k is conservative.

 

In my 44 years on the road - and having lived in two states that just *LOVE* their automobiles - and having driven in 49 of our 50 at one time or another - and more than two dozen international countries, too - and having been associated with NUMEROUS car clubs, I've come in contact with more "enthusiasts" than old dogs have fleas.

 

Spent many an hour, too - in bars and what-not - talking about EVERYTHING automobile ... from how to make them go fast - - to faster still. Spoke long and often about every part of a car that adds to the fun of driving.

 

Headlights, naturally, were a big topic. Not seeing where the Hell you're going takes all the fun out of night-driving, doesn't it? Especially if you're well over "the double-nickel" and more.

 

Damned near a half-century driving - one accident (not my fault) and one speeding ticket - 53 in a 50 zome in Wisconsin - in a 4-door diesel-powered Oldsmobile I borrowed from a friend - and still as excited about spirited driving as a kid on Christmas Eve ............. and I've *NEVER* heard a single person claiming they had "bright-headlight" problems with the law. Not a $%^&* one!!!!!!!!

 

Bad headlight aiming, yes. "Driving lights" - real "burners", too - on at the same time as HI beams, yes. Headlight out, yes.

 

But simply "too bright" headlights. No ..............................

 

How long you've been on the road and how many miles you've driven isn't really the case here - what you'd said was that, and I quote again:

 

I'm gonna "go out on a limb" here and say that something approaching 100 percent of all drivers are *NEVER*, **EVER** going to get stopped for simply having "too bright" headlights. That's "NEV" as in "NEV". And "ER" as in "ER". And "EVER" as in ... not in your lifetime.

 

.... as many of us who live in urban areas as well as in areas where Import Sport Compacts are not looked upon with favor, this is a very, very generalized - dangerously generalized - claim to make, and one which just doesn't hold water.

 

Many of us have either been stopped, or *_personally_* (as "in real-life," not via "e-" means) know of those who have been stopped - properly or improperly, for such concerns.

 

I respect the miles that you have traveled, and the time and experience you have on the roads, but the claim you made simply doesn't hold. There are cases already posted here in the past which disproves what you've cited, as there are many others tales of woe in other communities, too.

 

Certainly, I agree with what you've said previously - the noticeably blue/purple 8000K+ "show lights" will attract undue attention and are a near-guaranty that, sooner or later, you'll run afoul of an enforcer's eye. However, even OEM-retrofits (or, in the cases of my friends as well as some of the other cases I mention, actual true-manufacturer, as-arrived-from-the-factory ) as well as even LEGAL modifications can raise eyebrows where, otherwise, nothing would have happened.

 

I don't disagree with you that nothing should have happened.

 

I don't disagree with you in that unless one's "stupid" with one's mods (i.e. excessively bright, off-color, improper aim, etc.), this shouldn't happen.

 

What I disagree with is simply the claim of immunity. Maybe you didn't mean for it to read that way, but I'm afraid that someone here will, and that it will cause them hassles where otherwise there wouldn't have been. I just wanted to temper the advice given with a dose of reality, that's all.

 

 

 

 

I'm not advocating anyone break the law. ANY law.

 

Er.....

 

Your posts addressing brother sebberry certainly reads as if though you are advocating circumventing such laws and codes.

 

Your headlights - these "plastic fantastics" - are as streamlined as a dolphin and about as bright as the law-makers who restricted them for illumination sometime before many of you were even born. Which is to say ... legislators AREN'T very bright .... and most automobile lighting laws were written long, LONG ago.

 

Although I agree with you on most of the lighting codes being outdated (and share your opinion, somewhat, on our duly elected), I do not agree with your generalization, at all, about current headlight technology, particularly not in the case of well-designed items, such as the one found on the BL/BP-chassis Legacy.

 

It's commonly agreed that aside from the selection of the bulb itself, which causes some lifespan issues due to both heat and what remains an undiagnosed, potentially electrical cause of early bulb demise, the current LGTs projectors low-beams are extremely well designed, and that its performance is among the best of its kind. Even its capability to allow for relatively "acceptable" (in terms of glare) and noticeably improved performance from a PnP HID kit testifies to the soundness of the basic design principles.

 

Similarly, you keep belittling your own headlights, in your previous-generation Legacy, in this generalized manner, but still fail to realize that it is perhaps largely because of its actually *superior* reflector and shield design that's allowing you to gain improved lighting performance - with no complaint from oncoming drivers of excessive glare - from a modification (PnP HID installation to a "reflector-type" halogen system) that is otherwise typically laughed-at and at the same time is also severely frowned upon in automotive lighting hobbyist communities (due to the typically unacceptable glare that it induces).

[SubieDoobieDoo]

.... as many of us who live in urban areas as well as in areas where Import Sport Compacts are not looked upon with favor, this is a very, very generalized - dangerously generalized - claim to make, and one which just doesn't hold water.

Bull. It does too!!!

 

In many areas, "sport compacts" are like that old saw about lawyers: 1 percent give the other 99 percent a bad name.

 

Yes, you have a right to drive what you choose. If it's a typical "mod-car" that Officer Friendly and the police HQ have come to know as a those associated with "trouble-makers / cruisers", HE has a right to keep an eyeball peeled for you, too!

 

"Tuner" cars are the modern-day Model T Ford - or the latter-day version of the '55-'56-'57 Chevy. The flag-bearer is, IMO, the venerable Honda Civic. The modern tuner equipment manufacturers have made a FORTUNE selling every sort of tack-on part imaginable to them!

 

High on the list - and there are more "popular" cars, sure - is the Subaru Impreza WRX / WRX STi. Suffice to say, most police departments have a person - and behaviour - in mind when they see one. The more it's tricked out, the harder it is to escape scrutiny of John Law. Call it "profiling" or whatever else you care to.

 

Cops take one look at a coffee-can muffler, hear the raspy sound, scout out the the wide tyres and the tinted windows ... and you're on their radar until you leave their jurisdiction - like it or not. Be dumb enough to have weird lighting and more the reason they'll have to pull you over - or simply keep an eye on you until you park it back at home.

 

One or two idiots in their "tuner" Subes give the rest - even those just taking a quick ride to pick up Chinese carry-out - a bad name.

 

Of course, the Sube - and the Mitsubishi AWD clone, the Lancer - are PRIME street-racers, too. Hey, a paint job is just "war paint": Do it (paint / decals / decorations) without jazzing the engine and suspension and you're just a lame, wanna-be poser.

 

Other "sport compacts" suffer much of the same image - and it hurts those who have them as daily-drivers, too.

 

Higher insurance rates, police scrutiny, higher theft rates .... yadda, yadda, yadda.

 

You are what you eat? Yeah, and you're also what you drive. And so are your fellow "sports compact" owners judged by the irresponsible owners of a renegade few ...

 

Rgds,

[TSiWRX]

Bull. It does too!!!

 

^ I'm sorry, I don't follow your logic.....

 

What you're saying pretty much follows exactly my line of reasoning, not negate it.

 

The HID-retrofit/PnP is unfortunately part-and-parcel of both the true Import Sport Compact culture as well as Rice-culture. If anything, having "too bright" or otherwise obviously non-standard-issue/non-conforming headlights or auxiliary lighting pegs one in this group, particularly when driving a vehicle - foreign (from either side of the oceans) or domestic, and can thus precipitate the initial enforcement stop and even be the sole reason for citation.

 

You are what you eat? Yeah, and you're also what you drive. And so are your fellow "sports compact" owners judged by the irresponsible owners of a renegade few ...

 

Agreed.

 

This is an unfortunate by-product of the entire car-enthusiast culture. We carry a certain burden, but so do the owners of domestic musclecars - both modern and vintage - as well as owners of high-dollar European imports.

 

It doesn't stop there, either.

 

For most people, when they see a burly, long-haired Caucasian on a Harley or a leather-vest clad African-American on a crotch-rocket, what do they think? I have many friends in both of those communities that totally defy the common stereotype of the bike-gang member. Yet, that's what they're pegged as.

 

This is just something that, like you said, the greater majority - those who do not do silly things on public streets and are friendly and courteous to others must share the burden of "living down," and sometimes, unfortunately, "living with."

 

And enforcement profiling - including lighting - is just part-and-parcel of this unfortunate by-product.

[sirsimon]

^ Well said.

[SubieDoobieDoo]

I'm saying - correctly, too, I feel based on my MANY conversations with fellow car nuts over DECADES - is that "bright headlights" alone most likely won't be your downfall with the police. Something else attracted them to "you" in the first first place; maybe the raspy muffler, chirping the tyres, dead-dark wondow tint or the general "tuner" car behaviour. OR ... GETTING STOPPED FOR NOT WEARING YOUR SEATBELT!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The headlight issue - if it even comes to that being an "issue" - is just another excuse for them to bust your chops. Even then, how could they make such a charge or citation "stick"? Simple. They can't.

 

Run back home and re-install your old bulbs and have the car inspected by your fave mechanic. (You DO have a fave mechanic, don't you????) Viola! Legality issue side-stepped in a flash!

 

I repeat: Police have enough to do with checking speeds, window tints and keeping a functioning Breath-A-Lizer in their cars. They DO NOT have any sort of magical device to check "headlight brightness". Should Officer Friendly question your headlights, he'll most likely think it's an alignment issue.

 

I have NEVER heard of a citation being issued for ANY sort of headlight issue other than a burned-out bulb.

 

This is such a subjective call call for a cop to make! For every citation issued, that's a day they must come to court and be prepared to defend their actions.

 

Speeding? A slam-dunk unless the speeder hires a lawyer. Window tint? Ditto. They either ARE too dark by the police "dark-o-meter" - or they arent. Burned-out headlight bulb? Well, DUH?!?!?! But simply looking at "bright" headlights and making the call that they're "too bright"? Never happen. Cops may not be rocket surgeons or brain scientists but they're smarter than to do THAT!

 

Rgds,

 

Now, lets get back on topic ................

[TSiWRX]

I'm saying - correctly, too, I feel based on my MANY conversations with fellow car nuts over DECADES - is that "bright headlights" alone most likely won't be your downfall with the police. Something else attracted them to "you" in the first first place; maybe the raspy muffler, chirping the tyres, dead-dark wondow tint or the general "tuner" car behaviour. OR ... GETTING STOPPED FOR NOT WEARING YOUR SEATBELT!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Please read my posts again - for those specific cases that I cited, the headlights were the sole catalyst of the traffic-stop and subsequent citation.

 

Yes, it most likely won't be the precipitating factor. However, you claimed, and again, I quote, that it should "never" be the case, in your original post - and that just doesn't hold.

 

Please note again the specific circumstances that I said were present during those encounters. You can add these to your repertoire of tales exchanged with fellow enthusiasts over the years. What I recounted did happen.

 

The headlight issue - if it even comes to that being an "issue" - is just another excuse for them to bust your chops. Even then, how could they make such a charge or citation "stick"? Simple. They can't.

 

Run back home and re-install your old bulbs and have the car inspected by your fave mechanic. (You DO have a fave mechanic, don't you????) Viola! Legality issue side-stepped in a flash!

 

Yes, that's definitely a good way to sidestep things. Same as with "reverting-to-catted" for emissions inspections and other such requirements.

 

However, for guys/gals like sebberry, whose personal beliefs won't allow for such sidestepping, it's simply not an option.

 

I repeat: Police have enough to do with checking speeds, window tints and keeping a functioning Breath-A-Lizer in their cars. They DO NOT have any sort of magical device to check "headlight brightness". Should Officer Friendly question your headlights, he'll most likely think it's an alignment issue.

 

I have NEVER heard of a citation being issued for ANY sort of headlight issue other than a burned-out bulb.

 

This is such a subjective call call for a cop to make! For every citation issued, that's a day they must come to court and be prepared to defend their actions.

 

Well, you've heard such a ticket - a few, actually, now.

 

Like I said, you can add the woe of my friends to your repertoire of driving-tales.

 

Yes, it may be a subjective call. Yes, it may be a alignment issue. But a ticket is still a ticket, and it's either going to cost money to pay it off, or it's going to cause time/hassles in terms of showing the clerk that it's been addressed or to fight it in court (even if the ticket is thrown out, it's still a hassle, and some people have much more money than time, and would choose not to even bother contesting such a ticket unless their driving record is affected).

 

Speeding? A slam-dunk unless the speeder hires a lawyer.

 

Not necessarily.

 

There are countless individuals who have successfully fought their speeding tickets, all over the country, with only basic knowledge of the court system or through more detailed help from various enthusiast or motorist-advocate websites.

 

But simply looking at "bright" headlights and making the call that they're "too bright"? Never happen. Cops may not be rocket surgeons or brain scientists but they're smarter than to do THAT!

 

There's that "never" word, again.

 

Oh, and I know that a few of my LEO friends have an IQ (not to even mention street-knowledge or personal interaction skills) that is much higher than their medical or science counterparts!

[SuperhawkLGT]

Can you guys keep it down to one or two paragraphs please, my head is starting to ache.

[TSiWRX]

^ You've been here long enough to know that's an impossibility for me.

 

Diarrhea at the keyboard FTW(L).

 

 

There you go, bro. Two short sentences!!!

[SubieDoobieDoo]

Just happened to spot TWO State Troopers at my fave waffle house having breakfast today. I've seen one around before (I live in a tiny village). I re-introduced myself and asked if I could pick up their check in return for some information.

 

One has been at it long enough that he's coming up on retirement and he's handing off to the "kid" - who's only been working SHP (State Highway Patrol) 4 or 5 years.

 

I asked about this "bright headlight" issue. "Never" was mentioned constantly. As in "I've NEVER pulled a driver over unless a headlight was out or horribly mis-aimed. Damage from an accident doesn't count as mis-aimed."

 

I came right out and said I was going to install some non-DOT bulbs that were brighter than @#$%^&* sunshine! Neither raised an eyebrow except the older guy reminded me to make sure my headlights were aligned.

 

I questioned the "legality" of these bulbs and he said as long as they're not an "offending" colour - like weird purple - I'd "never" have a problem - certainly not with the SHP.

 

The old guy says the term "legal" - to him - meant that the bulbs may not necessarily pass some sort of durability tests the DOT requires. He mentioned several times that the precinct commander has NEVER mentioned "going after" anyone with headlight issues other than burned out, mis-sligned or - in extreme cases - "unnacceptable" colour. Even then, EVERY stop was merely a warning - only one or two actual citations. Ever.

 

I said mine would be "pure white" - after-market HID retro-fits - just unbelievably bright - and both said ... "What the point of your question? Put 'em in but just make sure the lenses are aimed OK and you're good to go. If we're gonna start stopping people for headlights that offend oncoming traffic - including us - we'd start with every jacked-up pickup truck and sport-ute on the road."

 

(The younger trooper said these sounded fantastic and even asked me for the website address so he could get a set for his older Shelby Mustang Cobra ..................)

 

You anti-HID retofit, anti-brighter headlight people ... just keep arguing. You're wasting a lot of bandwidth for nothing.

 

Rgds,