those fake HID headlamps are annoying

I'm noticing lots of fake HID headlamps, i.e. lamps/reflectors that are tinted blue. The really annoying ones are the lamps that change colors drastically as the viewing angle changes. I've seen some of them change from whitish to blue to yellow to even pink-ish in the space of a few seconds. Very distracting.

You must be talking about after market HID and Halogen wanna be's headlamps in cars, they (most) have a projector type lens in the assembly that changes the color, yes the winking can be annoying.

Later
Kelly

PhotonWrangler said:

I'm noticing lots of fake HID headlamps, i.e. lamps/reflectors that are tinted blue. The really annoying ones are the lamps that change colors drastically as the viewing angle changes. I've seen some of them change from whitish to blue to yellow to even pink-ish in the space of a few seconds. Very distracting.

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Yes you are so right, I hate this too. In fact I don't understand how these bulbs can be legal. I have several times (in the corner of my eye) mistaken them for an emergency vehicle because of the flashes of blue light. :shakehead

Jan

Hi, yeah thay do suck,I allways try to look off to the side a little bit.
Very distracting!

Brett

JanCPF said:

Yes you are so right, I hate this too. In fact I don't understand how these bulbs can be legal. I have several times (in the corner of my eye) mistaken them for an emergency vehicle because of the flashes of blue light. :shakehead

Jan

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Exactly - that's happened to me also. :thumbsdow

First time I saw one, I thought the driver was flashing his high beams at me. They should be illegal.

Actually the projector based HID lamps you guys are talking about are for the most part, OEM street legal and DOT approved HID systems.

The projector produces a cut-off, and while the cutoff line is around where your bumper is, when the car hits bumps and hills, your cabin can go under the cutoff and get blinded by the light.

What is really annoying, is IMPROPERLY AIMED headlights, halogen or HID, pointed all the time right into your face.

I have done aftermarket HID, halogen projector upgrade, and now a full retrofit of a OEM HID system from an Acura TSX into my old BMW. Unfortunately, the annoying blue flicker you are describing(refraction), is just a function of how projectors work, and more and more cars are starting to come standard with them(ie. hyundai sonata).

Pretty much all the fake HID bulbs ARE illegal. Anything slightly blue is. And the stupid ricers usually put them in illegal, improperly aimed, non DOT approved lenses. (with more blue LEDs just to complete the "I'm a dumbass" look)

Correct on that, blue headlamps are all those imitation junk that give out less light but annoy and irritate others.

They try to mimick the blue/purple prismatic effect given off by projectors.

The thing those stupid drivers don't realize is how dim these bulbs are; you might as well put a wax candle in there, atleast you'll get one true candlepower.

OEM HID can be annoying too sometimes, especially on dark country roads. If they **** me off too much then I just fight back with my offroad lights

They blind you in your rear view miiror with their "Extreem Lites", then scare the crap out of you when the pass you going 15 over the speed limit with their 5 gallon bucket sized exhaust that sounds like a mosquito in a mayonaise jar, but way louder of course!!

Jeers to Loud Exhaust and blinding blue lights, and all those stickers, and the crazy paint jobs.

:lolsign: Agreed. Apparently this happens everywhere.

PoliceScannerMan said:

They blind you in your rear view miiror with their "Extreem Lites", then scare the crap out of you when the pass you going 15 over the speed limit with their 5 gallon bucket sized exhaust that sounds like a mosquito in a mayonaise jar, but way louder of course!!

Jeers to Loud Exhaust and blinding blue lights, and all those stickers, and the crazy paint jobs.

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Amen to that! You may add gigantic spoilers/wings, chicken-cooker exhaust, oversized rims and tires, body kits and distasteful use of carbon fiber to the list too.

I'm on the other end of the world, we get that too. And the worst part is not the bling and the car - it's the occupant. Both in and outside of the car, they hide behind a huge front of arrogance and bravado.

So what's the difference between us with the superlights and them? I choose to (and I hope all of us here at CPF do too) to exercise restraint and consideration in the use of the superlights. I look for deserted areas to try them out and I NEVER point them at anybody's house. In other words I make a conscious effort NOT to show them off, stuff them in people's face, or **** others off. It's the exact opposite of trying to be seen.

And as I've always said.... car, camera, computers DO NOT equal .. c.. *ahem* size. Just because I have a 17" monitor or 17" rims does not mean I have 17".................

Now I know why it's called a shaft of light.

i thought this was talking about the annoying fake HID bulbs.
how did it get to ricer bashing? :huh2:

scaredofthedark said:

i thought this was talking about the annoying fake HID bulbs.
how did it get to ricer bashing? :huh2:

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Just a classic case of going off topic (OT). :laughing:

i just thought of something more annoying...
those tall *** trucks with those HID bulbs in their halogen housings
those halogens are annoying enough. Now they put in bulbs that's 3 times brighter and still shining directly in your face, its enough to blind you and cause an accident.

scaredofthedark said:

i thought this was talking about the annoying fake HID bulbs.
how did it get to ricer bashing? :huh2:

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Because ricers are the ones stupid enough to use annoying and illegal fake HID bulbs.

They are very anoying whom ever is using them

C

As Waterfish has already explained...That colour change flicker comes from vehicles fitted with genuine OEM HID projector lamps and is generated as a result of light refraction by the projector lens.

If you look at an OEM HID headlight shining against a white wall (or ordinary Halogen projector headlight for that matter) you'll see on the cut off point of the top of the beam there'll be a rainbow of colours. Some are worse than others.

The colour change occurs over a small angle, but as your eye passes through this particular angle you see the colour shift and see a flicker of colours. The blue is usually most noticeable.

Those silly aftermarket coloured headlamps as stated are actually dimmer than stock and therefore only annoy because they're different and look stupid.
They should no more dazzle or upset than a normal halogen headlamp unless they're improperly aimed.

What annoys me far more than silly colours is headlamps that are improperly aimed and genuinely dazzle oncoming traffic - or light up the inside of your car when they follow behind.

OEM HID have automatic levelling features built in which should minimise the perceived flicker and possibility of dazzle by constantly adjusting the height of the beam, relative the the incline of the road that the vehicle is on.

Retro - fit HID does not have this feature (Therefore illegal in the UK) and so the flicker / dazzle problem is worse.
So it's probably vehicles with aftermarket (Genuine ) HID's that bother people the most.


Tim