I see a lot of guys putting really really bright bulbs in their stock housings and fogs (driving lights, really) and leaving those on all the time, and I have two questions about that:

1) Why? Is it because you really can't see with normal bulbs, or is it some sort of status and/or style thing?

2) Do the cops hassle you? Technically it's illegal to run with anything but the low-beams on when there's oncoming traffic, and past a certain brightness level even the low-beams are also technically illegal. I have one car (not a Honda) with factory HIDs and I got pulled over once by a cop who had been in front of me because it looked to him in his mirror like I had my brights stuck on. And those are aimed for their intensity; the stock housings aren't aimed for PIAAs and so forth.

 

(1). You can answer your own question. Probably for the same reason you got a car with H.I.D's. Why did you get a car with H.I.D's.? ( You sound like a hater & a hypocrite ) :blah:


(2). Shocked the cop pulled you over because usually cars that have OEM Hid's dont glare as much. Most people probably dont adjust them when they put them in so it glares everywhere.

 

I think that's kind of uncalled-for, don't you? I asked an honest question because I really don't know the answer and would like to understand. To answer your question, HIDs were standard on that model. I didn't go out specifically looking for them, and they didn't have anything to do with my decision to buy that car - they simply came with the car.

I was pretty startled by it too. I knew I wasn't speeding because I was BEHIND the cop for some miles, and as soon as we got to two lanes he changed lanes, slowed down to drop behind me, and pulled me over. I had to show him that I did not have my brights on. For a minute I thought he was going to ask me to prove they were stock. These particular lights are self-leveling; they change angle depending on the angle of the road, so I can't imagine why they would have been in his mirror.

Now that I've had the car for a while I know that if I'd had a choice I probably would not have picked HIDs. I still get people who flash their high-beams at me at night and it bothers me to know I'm causing people inconvenience. But to convert the car to regular Xenons requires swapping out the whole housing, which runs into some money, and would hurt the resale value.

 

I've got a simple answer for you dwasifar... aim your HID's lower. OEM HID's here in the States are aimed way to frickin' high. If you don't believe me, go drive the new Land Rover as an example. I swear I can see 10 story buildings light up with that crap. Ridiculous.

If you really are concerned with inconveniencing others, then aim your HIDs down a little lower (follow European standards).

 

That's right on about the Range Rover...I've had a few behind me and it's blinding.

 

The problem with most OEM hids, is that you CAN'T really level them. I don't know about other car manufacturers, but when I worked for Audi, we had to use the scantool and put the headlights in "learning" mode before we can make any adjustments. I may be mistaken, but that's what I know having worked for Audi.

 

Because HID's are so freaking white-blueish and look great! No more halogen yellow crap. I wish I had the money to convert my car to HID.

 

The aiming is not user-adjustable on this car, because of the auto-leveling. I know because I asked a dealer to re-aim the headlights once and was told that it was not possible on this model. I checked with two other dealers and was told the same thing. FWIW they don't look to me like they're in people's eyes. They have a very sharp cutoff and it's lower on the driver's side light than on the passenger side.

 

Thanks! I'll mark that as one vote for "style."

 

i put hids into my car, OEM hid retrofits cuz of style, they look great at nite, and the projectors with the black housing looks more luxury, but at nite of course HIDs are MUCH better in terms of lighting performance, i hardly ever put on my high beams now, its a great safety feature, i have a lot of deers in my area, quite of bit of accidents from them hitting cars, doesnt alleviate the problem obviously if it comes out of nowhere from a covered bush to the side, but if there just lingering around the corner i can kinda see them from further, anything to reduce the probability is nice. so mark this as MORe for style but improve lighting(function) was considered when i dropped close to $800 for the retrofit.