High-intensity headlights draw complaints

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration... is "initiating research to study all potential factors that may be causing [high-intensity beams] to be an annoying light source."
delawareonline

What's annoying is that the guy with the bright headlights has a more expensive car than you. So of course you write your congressman.

I actually have noticed, at least on the cars that actually ship with these lights, that there is less scatter into my eyes from their smaller point source lights than with a regular light. There is less light from the source and more reflected.

However, the last bit in the article about lowering where headlights are installed on SUV's I think is GREAT idea. The only thing more annoying that approaching someone who has forgotten to turn their brights off is to be directly across the intersection from an SUV and having even their low beams pointed right up into your face. The other side is annoying too, when they pull up behind you even with their low beams on it's quite handy in case there was time at the light for me to read a novel or something...

My favorite is all the people who ***** about HID headlights finally succumb and purchase them, find out they see better and more and then all of a sudden, it's "OK". /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I, for one, love HID headlights. The key is properly aiming the lights so you do not blind the oncoming traffic.

Hey there S4MadMan,

Since you seem to be an expert on automotive HID lighting, would you say that the stock headlight allignment is inadequate for HID kits? Would they have to be "aimed" lower?

As for the level of annoyance of HID lights...i have never had a problem with them. Most cars that come factory equipped with HIDs are usually aligned correctly and never glare (more than standard lights) into my eyes. I've seen some modified HID lights and they were never a problem for me either. THe only SUVs i've seen equiped with HIDs were the BMW X5 and the Mercedes line of SUVs...thew were never a problem for me too...however, there was one SUV i saw last year that glared straight into my eyes. I think it was a GMC Denali. Those things are naturally high, and their headlights are so high up off the ground to begin with...now that was pointed straight through my rear windsheild.

This is a tough question with many variables. Based on my experience of re-aiming hundreds of OEM HIDs applications, I feel, in general, German cars equipped with HIDs are actually aimed too low while the Japanese Cars are aimed a bit high.

Something that is seldom mentioned is the self-leveling motor mechanism responsible for keeping the light pattern level. I believe all the new cars with HIDs must have self-leveling motors, while the 1st and 2nd generation HIDs did not require it (~1992-2000). The self-leveling motors do not work fast enough most of the time. When an HID equipped vehicle hits a bump on the road, or is traveling uphill, for a split second, the beam pattern will shoot upwards and will blind oncoming traffic. The self leveling mechanisms are supposed to counter that but they do not do it fast enough.

I agree about the American SUVs having lights that blind oncoming traffic. Most of those SUVs don't even have HIDs. It's the inferior optics and the angle of the beam pattern, aimed too high. The German SUVs have superior projectors that aim the light to the ground with a sharp top cut-off to minimize glare and stray light.

Here's an example of a sharp-cut off and responsible aiming of lights. Notice how the beam pattern does not go up, it stays down. The HID configuration you see there is an Audi S4 with E-Codes (Euro-Spec headlamp housings which have no diffuser and a very sharp beam cut off), 50-watt HID Ballasts with custom 10,000K bulbs, yielding ~4,800 to 5,000 lumens.

Showing the beam pattern near a long wall like that is a great idea, it shows clearly what's going on. It makes me curious what a typical Halogen equipped car pattern looks like, and what beam pattern other HID cars throw.

hmm beamshots... i gotta try! i can put up halogen beamshots from a current gen camry and ody (camry blows the ody lights out of the water). in fact, as far as large volume sellers, i think the new camry has the one of the nicest incandescents till you step up in the price to the euro imports.

Consumer Reports recently had an article about HID and the problems they cause. One of the problems with them is their blue tint, which our eyes are sensitive to, especially at night. The fact that HID headlights are brighter doesn't annoy us as much the blue tint does.

Consumer Reports rated some cars in the same issue and added a section about the distance away from the car the headlights lit up. The regular halogen lights didn't do so well (less than 200 on average) and the HID did much better. Most HID headlights are legal in the states, but some complainers may change that.

I don't understand people saying the blue color irratates them. Not me. I guess they are iratable people. And yes I'd have to agree, when I see other HID cars, I can look right at the light and it doesn't blind me. But normal halogen, the bulb is really bright. HID seem to be better focused on the road and not into the air.

hid headlights bother me...i'm bothered that they have them and i don't /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif

but the actual light coming out doesn't affect me.

what about those hid imitation headlights you find on all the |>imped out cars? they are often 10times bluer.

I actually saw a car a few days ago that was pulled over with purple headlights. Yep, purple, not blue, but purple... From looking at the cop and him talking to the driver while both are looking at the front of the car, I'm guessing he's got some issues with the color...
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon15.gif

I`ve noticed that some of the new BMWs HID projectors are a purpleish color.

Only problem I`ve had once was, a suv (seem higher than normal) was very close behind me at a light, and their HIDs were dead on my back window. Now that I think about it that has also happend with an suv that had halogens too. The color has never been a problem.

Eric

i'm sensitive to light. these hids make me see stars for 5 minutes after one goes by. blue light has a higher frequency and is not like daylight, more like ultra violet which does damage. purple is violet!. roads around here are all rough and washboard and the bloody things are always weaving up and down in your face. they seem to be flashing. the indirect light haze they through over a hill before you see them is incredible. i am not jealous of a mazda or a nissan, and only yuppies and d i n k s drive mercs or beemers.
i'd like to put you guys who love'em under one for a little interrogation style questioning on how you got to be so blind you don't get hurt by them.

That's some good thread necromancy there, Jim...

The problem with aftermarket HIDs vs OEM HIDs is that putting HID bulbs into housings designed for halogen lamps is never going to end well. The reflectors and lenses designed for use with halogens cause most, if not all, of the "offensive" light output associated with HIDs. OEM HID systems, such as those on my car (Mazdaspeed3), use a shield and aspheric lens to project a precise horizontal cutoff, above which is dark. Proper aiming of these headlights is very easy, and many systems like mine let you adjust the vertical position of the beam from within the car with a rotary switch. I find that for the most part, I can see the headlight's output on the back of the vehicle in front of me, and it does NOT light up the rear window of the car - hence, it won't blind the driver. On the rare occasion that it is in a position to be offensive, all I need to do is flip the switch down and the lights self-adjust to a lower height. This also means that I can drive the unlit backroads in the countryside where I live and raise the headlights to better see any deer, fallen trees, dogs, or an accident on the road.

In short, I feel that HIDs, when properly installed and configured, provide greater safety and convenience for drivers. When improperly installed, they are at best a nuisance, and at worst, a hazard.

rpackmanus said:

i'm sensitive to light. these hids make me see stars for 5 minutes after one goes by. blue light has a higher frequency and is not like daylight, more like ultra violet which does damage. purple is violet!. roads around here are all rough and washboard and the bloody things are always weaving up and down in your face. they seem to be flashing. the indirect light haze they through over a hill before you see them is incredible. i am not jealous of a mazda or a nissan, and only yuppies and d i n k s drive mercs or beemers.
i'd like to put you guys who love'em under one for a little interrogation style questioning on how you got to be so blind you don't get hurt by them.

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Interesting first post on a 6+ year old thread. :thinking:

I suspect you'd received a warmer welcome if you didn't kick off your time at CPF by referring to Mercedes and BMW owners as "yuppies" and "dinks." I also think it's rather odd to suggest placing HID owners under some fanciful HID light interrogation just because they happen to like using them. You're incorrect about your technical information since DOT 4300 kelvin HIDs are in fact closer to the color temperature of sunlight than incandescent bulbs. Sorry about your light sensitivities but maybe you should have that checked out. I drove my 5 and 8 year old niece and nephew home about an hour ago and they didn't even seem to notice them to be honest.

Reading about the motorized leveling explains those obnoxious HIDs I see on occasion that are mostly distracting because they behave like a "Bobble-Boy" toy head. Some of them are REALLY bad, and obviously it is an poor aftermarket install.

IsaacHayes, there are some degrees of blue that do actually irritate some people's eyes. We don't all have the same number, distribution, and functioning levels of rods and cones in the retina. While that EBay link is for 8,000K HIDs there are many people selling, buying, and using them.

That's because of all the ricers are putting HID bulbs into lamp assemblies that they do not belong in. They belong in projector beams period.

Patriot said:

Interesting first post on a 6+ year old thread. :thinking:

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Oh geez, I didn't even notice it was a recent post, I simply thought I was digging around in the "historical basement" of CPF!

So the fake HID's -- well, they bother me a bunch, and it always seems like they're on some Honda with a really high-revving engine and a fart can that doesn't do anything at all to quiet it down. Bot items which seem to be markers of the same younger set that might like to annoy people. Just the same set I have been in for most of my life!

But the current car is very quiet and has halogen lights, BTW...

rpackmanus said:

i'm sensitive to light. these hids make me see stars for 5 minutes after one goes by. blue light has a higher frequency and is not like daylight, more like ultra violet which does damage. purple is violet!. roads around here are all rough and washboard and the bloody things are always weaving up and down in your face. they seem to be flashing. the indirect light haze they through over a hill before you see them is incredible. i am not jealous of a mazda or a nissan, and only yuppies and d i n k s drive mercs or beemers.
i'd like to put you guys who love'em under one for a little interrogation style questioning on how you got to be so blind you don't get hurt by them.

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Someones on their period....take a midol and come back later when you're feeling better.:wave::welcome:


When properly installed HID's are WAY better than the stock crap.
I agree that some peoples use of HIDs is incorrect.
However most cars with HIDs come with them from the factory.

I just installed HID's in my 2000 Chevy Cavalier.
I used the entire assembly. There is a very sharp cut-off point and they DO NOT distract oncoming traffic....unless you are riding a "big-wheel"

DaFABRICATA said:

When properly installed HID's are WAY better than the stock crap.
I agree that some peoples use of HIDs is incorrect.

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