chaos_cascade":2tlbvl8h said:
the stock st185 headlights suck balls...I have to use my fog lights or else I won't be able to see anything.. what are our options for headlights?
Can someone clue me in on the whole headlight deal? I don't understand how all of a sudden it's okay to run brighter lights. Isn't the whole point of having hi and lows
so as to not blind other drivers. Did this HID and LED revolution somehow change how bright your lo beams could be? :shrug:
I know a lot of the luxury cars have them now stock so there must be someway they are legal. I'd welcome some perspective on this because I've been getting blinded by blue super beams and what not for a couple years now. When it's really bad I'm sorely tempted to turn my off road lights on.
I guess brighter is the word to use. They actually use less wattage the halogen low beams. HID/Xenon headlights only use about 35 watts. I think halogens low beams se around 50 watts. They definitely produce more visible light both on the road and down the road.
They are legal on OEM car because their headlamps are designed for such use. According to DOT it is illegal to add HID headlights to any vehicle that didnt not originally come with them from the factory. This is because their light visible is much higher and can cause distractions to other drivers and mostly because the headlamps were not designed for such use. There are also legal aftermarket HID lights, but they cost alot more because of the development and paperwork to make them legal. Example.
http://www.kbcarstuff.com/6054_200mm_Re ... d-6054.htm
One way to avoid this is to reaim or adjust your headlight beams. When I first put them in the my FJ I got flashed by almost every car. So I when back and adjusted my beams down, now I hardly ever get flashed anymore and my light output on the road is still great. That said I also use to get flashed with just my factory bulbs from Toyota. I know this problem exists for other higher trucks and SUVs and cars that come with HIDs from the factory. Some people are going to think your lights are bright no matter what you do. Also misaligned headlamps can be just a bright or distracting to other drivers.
All that said, does it make it legal to have them on your car?....technically no. However they can be put on a vehicle with minimal impact to other driver while adding great night visibility for you.
Just another side note.....there are lots of illegal things that are done to cars everyday. It may depend on what state or country you live it but they can include.....downpipes, straight pipes/hi flow cats, open/external wastegates, NOS, neon lights, motor swaps, modifiying a car beyond its intended power, overly loud systems, etc. I guess headlights are another thing we can add to this list.
Sorry if I went on for too long, was just trying to reply to everything.