Bothered By Bright Headlights?

[Jan&tone]

Children, children....

This all started because a professional driver (grumpy cabbie) commented about the preponderance of incorrectly fitted/maladjusted HID kits.

Whether they are aftermarket or not is to a certain extent irrelevant, if they dazzle - they dazzle!

When I'm in the Aygo and being followed by a 4x4 or a van I get dazzled whether they are halogen or hid, hid's are worse, but they are brighter anyway, I dip the interior mirror and the dazzle goes away, until hopefully the guy behind goes away too!

In the Prius it doesn't happen, the spoiler is just in the right place to blank the following headlights of the car immediately behind me, they are always too close anyway, so it works fine.

From what I gather, most aftermarket HID kits are now illegal and at some stage plod will catch up with them.

I tend to agree with Grumpy, on the M25, which I have the misfortune to have to use a great deal, hid's coming towards you on the opposite carriageway look blue till they get closer, and look brighter when they turn white, those following you have the same effect - even those fitted correctly, viewed from 25 yards they are white, at certain angles further away they are blue.

The photo shown above gives the impression that the offside light is brighter, whether it is or not I don't know, but it looks the case from the picture.

as Red Yaris has said, this forum is not really the place for a slanging match, more for discussion and it is very very difficult to convey body language and inflections in text that face to face would create a friendly banter type discussion....

[Daveyonthemove]

Children, children....

This all started because a professional driver (grumpy cabbie) commented about the preponderance of incorrectly fitted/maladjusted HID kits.

Whether they are aftermarket or not is to a certain extent irrelevant, if they dazzle - they dazzle!

That is the point i have been trying to make from the start.

The photo shown above gives the impression that the offside light is brighter, whether it is or not I don't know, but it looks the case from the picture.

The problem with a photo, is its very hard to take a photo of lights head on without getting glare, or no glare. I tried to get the camera at an angle where there the lights were shown fairly, but its harder than it looks. I could have angled the camera up or down slightly, and the light would look completely different.

The only way to tell how good/bad they are is to see them in the flesh, hence the open invite..

as Red Yaris has said, this forum is not really the place for a slanging match, more for discussion and it is very very difficult to convey body language and inflections in text that face to face would create a friendly banter type discussion....

As I said from the start, I was giving the opinion of someone that uses the lights that are being complained about, in an effort to make it a fair discussion. Even after posting my reasons FOR them (if fitted correctly), my photo's and invite to show them in the flesh, I have still been met with the same attitude of them being a nuisance, or dangerous, whilst reading comments from the same people about how they turn on rear fog lights, or angle mirrors to dazzle people in retaliation.

This doesn't sit well with me, and I deem it as double standards, and I've merely made my opinions on this known.

Whilst I have stepped over the line with some of my choices of words/insults, my view still remains, that there are plenty of people out there with LEGAL bulbs fitted, but at ILLEGAL heights, and anyone who decides to dazzle these people is lowering their standards and risking a serious accident.

Maybe we all get to a certain age and become 'set in our ways', but that's life I guess.

I have nothing more to say on this matter anyway. If people really hate them this much, then no amount of discussion is going to get an unbiased view, so its pointless.

Let's agree to disagree

[blitzchaser]

These hid kits have more light + greener + safer when fitted in projectors. More light means better, being able to spot that pedestrian that second or two quicker could save lives.....You get people driving at night braking nearly coming to a stop when they meet a oncoming car these should not be driving on our roads bad eye sight.....

[cbcdesign]

Actually to be fair I think the pictures demonstrate that daveyonthemove has the lights set up quite nicely with a very clear cut off point. It would be nice if others road users with HID lights had taken the trouble to do the same.

[Jamesbelfast]

Phew!!!!!!!.......that was some discussion regarding headlights and drivers.

I can only answer with all honesty. I cannot condone any driver who breaks the law even if that law may seem unfair. And in my opinion fitting after-market HID lights which do not comply with the rules is a clear breach of the law.

If you think the law is wrong then challenge the government but please not at the risk of oher road users.:)

[RNS]

hey

just seen them pics don't look far different to my prius i got the LED lights. i get a few other taxi driver moaning at me about being to bright. but the 2 in question moan about everything. and all honesty i don't care about bright head lights i get more fed up with people who don't have lights that work or to dim and so on alot of people are to lazy or don't know how do change there bulbs

[Doesn'tExist]

For the most part, my lights don't dazzle any other road user any more than a set of halogen bulbs, and under the same circumstances a halogen bulb would dazzle other road users on the same brow or speed hump.

Sorry, like i have said, i don't expect everyone to agree, but when i see a system in place that works from factory i will reconsider my opinion. Until that day, the HID kit stays where it is.

So it's sod everybody else and as said above, you paid for 'em so you're going to use 'em, legal or not.

How do you know that your lights don't dazzle anyone else when you're sat behind them ?

and how do you know that the ones that have dazzled you are factory fit ?

I can answer both of those easily.

I have been in an oncoming car when my own car has approached, as my Girlfriend was driving it to pick me up.

Also i have been followed by my friend in his brand spanking Range Rover sport with factory fit xenons, and they are very bright in your mirror. I put this down to the height of the car, but surely a self levelling kit should compensate for this?

Like i have said (and you missed), my lights don't dazzle anymore than a set of halogen bulbs do, and if i'm ever pulled over and asked to remove them, then i will.

Until that day, i'll be happy to keep them in and spot people and wildlife from further away, and be less of a nuisance than the folk who have legal halogens fitted, but point them at the sky because they don't have them aligned for the comfort of other road users.

I think you have a very fundamental misunderstanding of what does what. In short no, a self levelling kit should compensate for that. A properly adjusted system should compensate for that.

If you wanted legal HIDs on your vehicle why not do like others and order the LED option. They are great, have a flat beam, self levelling, auto on/off, come with dimming rear view mirror Oh and they utilise 4 headlights to give a proper wide spread as well, so a different design to the standard Prius headlight which isn't really suitable for it.

I really hate the after market kits, most of them are way to white/blue/cool anyway to be effective in light that actually helps you see. Sure they are bright but the color is technically wrong to make them effective on the road. And I think it should be especially forbidden for those vehicle that do not have projector lights.

Can't say I've ever been blinded by vehicles that come do come with an option for factory HIDs.

[Doesn'tExist]

*** Duplicate post

[Daveyonthemove]

For the most part, my lights don't dazzle any other road user any more than a set of halogen bulbs, and under the same circumstances a halogen bulb would dazzle other road users on the same brow or speed hump.

Sorry, like i have said, i don't expect everyone to agree, but when i see a system in place that works from factory i will reconsider my opinion. Until that day, the HID kit stays where it is.

So it's sod everybody else and as said above, you paid for 'em so you're going to use 'em, legal or not.

How do you know that your lights don't dazzle anyone else when you're sat behind them ?

and how do you know that the ones that have dazzled you are factory fit ?

I can answer both of those easily.

I have been in an oncoming car when my own car has approached, as my Girlfriend was driving it to pick me up.

Also i have been followed by my friend in his brand spanking Range Rover sport with factory fit xenons, and they are very bright in your mirror. I put this down to the height of the car, but surely a self levelling kit should compensate for this?

Like i have said (and you missed), my lights don't dazzle anymore than a set of halogen bulbs do, and if i'm ever pulled over and asked to remove them, then i will.

Until that day, i'll be happy to keep them in and spot people and wildlife from further away, and be less of a nuisance than the folk who have legal halogens fitted, but point them at the sky because they don't have them aligned for the comfort of other road users.

I think you have a very fundamental misunderstanding of what does what. In short no, a self levelling kit should compensate for that. A properly adjusted system should compensate for that.

If you wanted legal HIDs on your vehicle why not do like others and order the LED option. They are great, have a flat beam, self levelling, auto on/off, come with dimming rear view mirror Oh and they utilise 4 headlights to give a proper wide spread as well, so a different design to the standard Prius headlight which isn't really suitable for it.

I really hate the after market kits, most of them are way to white/blue/cool anyway to be effective in light that actually helps you see. Sure they are bright but the color is technically wrong to make them effective on the road. And I think it should be especially forbidden for those vehicle that do not have projector lights.

Can't say I've ever been blinded by vehicles that come do come with an option for factory HIDs.

I don't claim to be an expert on this subject, so yes, i could well have misunderstood the purpose of a self levelling kit, but i was responding to a post that mentioned my lights dazzling people because it didn't have the self levelling kit, so i obviously got the wrong end of the stick, and it seems the person who asked me about it did too.

I have had mine adjusted, and my pics should show the cut off line clearly as the projector lamps do a good job of focusing the light.

Please can you explain the self levelling kit for me?

As for the LED option, i had no idea this existed, so i will do some research online for more info, so thank you for bringing it up

As for the colour of the light, i think we will probably disagree on this one.

I have the 6000k bulbs fitted, and although they appear blue-ish at certain angles, the light is as close as you can get to daylight artificially, and we all know the best light on the road is daylight.

[Doesn'tExist]

For the most part, my lights don't dazzle any other road user any more than a set of halogen bulbs, and under the same circumstances a halogen bulb would dazzle other road users on the same brow or speed hump.

Sorry, like i have said, i don't expect everyone to agree, but when i see a system in place that works from factory i will reconsider my opinion. Until that day, the HID kit stays where it is.

So it's sod everybody else and as said above, you paid for 'em so you're going to use 'em, legal or not.

How do you know that your lights don't dazzle anyone else when you're sat behind them ?

and how do you know that the ones that have dazzled you are factory fit ?

I can answer both of those easily.

I have been in an oncoming car when my own car has approached, as my Girlfriend was driving it to pick me up.

Also i have been followed by my friend in his brand spanking Range Rover sport with factory fit xenons, and they are very bright in your mirror. I put this down to the height of the car, but surely a self levelling kit should compensate for this?

Like i have said (and you missed), my lights don't dazzle anymore than a set of halogen bulbs do, and if i'm ever pulled over and asked to remove them, then i will.

Until that day, i'll be happy to keep them in and spot people and wildlife from further away, and be less of a nuisance than the folk who have legal halogens fitted, but point them at the sky because they don't have them aligned for the comfort of other road users.

I think you have a very fundamental misunderstanding of what does what. In short no, a self levelling kit should compensate for that. A properly adjusted system should compensate for that.

If you wanted legal HIDs on your vehicle why not do like others and order the LED option. They are great, have a flat beam, self levelling, auto on/off, come with dimming rear view mirror Oh and they utilise 4 headlights to give a proper wide spread as well, so a different design to the standard Prius headlight which isn't really suitable for it.

I really hate the after market kits, most of them are way to white/blue/cool anyway to be effective in light that actually helps you see. Sure they are bright but the color is technically wrong to make them effective on the road. And I think it should be especially forbidden for those vehicle that do not have projector lights.

Can't say I've ever been blinded by vehicles that come do come with an option for factory HIDs.

I don't claim to be an expert on this subject, so yes, i could well have misunderstood the purpose of a self levelling kit, but i was responding to a post that mentioned my lights dazzling people because it didn't have the self levelling kit, so i obviously got the wrong end of the stick, and it seems the person who asked me about it did too.

I have had mine adjusted, and my pics should show the cut off line clearly as the projector lamps do a good job of focusing the light.

Please can you explain the self levelling kit for me?

As for the LED option, i had no idea this existed, so i will do some research online for more info, so thank you for bringing it up

As for the colour of the light, i think we will probably disagree on this one.

I have the 6000k bulbs fitted, and although they appear blue-ish at certain angles, the light is as close as you can get to daylight artificially, and we all know the best light on the road is daylight.

Self-levelling kit, imagine going up a slight incline or a bumpy road. Without a self levelling system headlights will be shining upwards, so anyone coming across the crest of a hill downwards will get an annoying surprise. Sure normal halogen (or alike) headlights do that as well, but as they aren't so bright the effect is no where near as catastrophic as when hids do that. On a bumpy road it is very easy to identify an aftermarket kit versus an oem kit with levelling, yes you see the blue'ish edges on a kit with leveling system as part of the headlight projectors moving, but they should not shine upwards into the windscreen of uncoming traffic for more than a split second whilst they adjust. Owning an OEM system for god knows how long, whilst I understand it, I do find it the most irritating part as it does reduce my visibility but the easy solution to reduced visibility is actually really simple, reduce speed ;-)

I can't deny that you have a clear line, however that is no proof what so ever that they are adjust right. If it was MOT stations wouldn't have to invest in the equipment to measure the lights they would just look at the beam on a wall. Unfortunately it is not that simple. I'm not saying they aren't correctly aligned, I'm merely saying that those photos or any one elses photo like that does not provide any proof whatsoever.

In addition I would have hoped that on here we don't have to resort to get proof to make the point. Afterall the proof is done by the MOT station, and we all know that aftermarket kits are illegal to use on the road.

I guess indeed we have to disagree on the colour of the light. Daylight outdoors is actually 5500K not 6000K, however that is a mute point the best light on the road at night time is actually not daylight. A slightly more yellow light reduces glare significantly and increases contract, that becomes exponentially more important in situations of reduced visibility like rain and snow. This is why you see most OEM systems are actually around the 4300K but for whatever fashion statement I guess that has gone out of fashion. Ofcourse with LED headlights like the Prius can have and Lexus uses as well, and now Audi on the A8 and A7, you can't get such warm colours and combined with the narrow lightfall in comparison to the pattern of a halogen and even normal HID it is a reason they resort to two headlights on either side.

Also and I am correcting myself here, the LED headlight systems seem to have a flat beam pattern which is slightly different.

[RNS]

So my led lights are ok then. :) about time i wont a villain on here

[blitzchaser]

For the most part, my lights don't dazzle any other road user any more than a set of halogen bulbs, and under the same circumstances a halogen bulb would dazzle other road users on the same brow or speed hump.

Sorry, like i have said, i don't expect everyone to agree, but when i see a system in place that works from factory i will reconsider my opinion. Until that day, the HID kit stays where it is.

So it's sod everybody else and as said above, you paid for 'em so you're going to use 'em, legal or not.

How do you know that your lights don't dazzle anyone else when you're sat behind them ?

and how do you know that the ones that have dazzled you are factory fit ?

I can answer both of those easily.

I have been in an oncoming car when my own car has approached, as my Girlfriend was driving it to pick me up.

Also i have been followed by my friend in his brand spanking Range Rover sport with factory fit xenons, and they are very bright in your mirror. I put this down to the height of the car, but surely a self levelling kit should compensate for this?

Like i have said (and you missed), my lights don't dazzle anymore than a set of halogen bulbs do, and if i'm ever pulled over and asked to remove them, then i will.

Until that day, i'll be happy to keep them in and spot people and wildlife from further away, and be less of a nuisance than the folk who have legal halogens fitted, but point them at the sky because they don't have them aligned for the comfort of other road users.

I think you have a very fundamental misunderstanding of what does what. In short no, a self levelling kit should compensate for that. A properly adjusted system should compensate for that.

If you wanted legal HIDs on your vehicle why not do like others and order the LED option. They are great, have a flat beam, self levelling, auto on/off, come with dimming rear view mirror Oh and they utilise 4 headlights to give a proper wide spread as well, so a different design to the standard Prius headlight which isn't really suitable for it.

I really hate the after market kits, most of them are way to white/blue/cool anyway to be effective in light that actually helps you see. Sure they are bright but the color is technically wrong to make them effective on the road. And I think it should be especially forbidden for those vehicle that do not have projector lights.

Can't say I've ever been blinded by vehicles that come do come with an option for factory HIDs.

I don't claim to be an expert on this subject, so yes, i could well have misunderstood the purpose of a self levelling kit, but i was responding to a post that mentioned my lights dazzling people because it didn't have the self levelling kit, so i obviously got the wrong end of the stick, and it seems the person who asked me about it did too.

I have had mine adjusted, and my pics should show the cut off line clearly as the projector lamps do a good job of focusing the light.

Please can you explain the self levelling kit for me?

As for the LED option, i had no idea this existed, so i will do some research online for more info, so thank you for bringing it up

As for the colour of the light, i think we will probably disagree on this one.

I have the 6000k bulbs fitted, and although they appear blue-ish at certain angles, the light is as close as you can get to daylight artificially, and we all know the best light on the road is daylight.

I agree with you 6000k is best but 4300k to 8000k is ok. 10000k to 30000k should not be used on public roads. 6000k is nearest to daylight thats why people have them on their cars!!!!!!http://www.3drender.com/glossary/colortemp.htm

[Jamesbelfast]

Nots let forget the human element of sight.

The 5500K colour is closest to daylight. The human eye is naturally attuned to this range and also it tends to give the best colour rendition of the road ahead. So in effect lighting at 5500K or less the human eye is less likely to become strained ot tired.