HID Questions

Okay, I've been doing a fair amount of research on lighting, and have decided that going HID might be a great option to achieve what I'm looking for. Thanks to those of you who have led me on to DDM's website!

First and foremost, I don't want to get into trouble with "the man." Will all temps of HID be illegal? It seems that I've read something to this effect, but nothing conclusive. I'm not looking to change the headlight color drastically, but I want to get some longer range. There are lots of deer and elk in my part of the country, and I do most long road-tripping in the night-time hours.

It looks like 55w are the way to go for headlights, is 55w too hot for the fogs? If I go 35w in the same temp, will they appear to be the same color? I'm considering going with 6000K for the headlights.

Can anyone confirm these selections to be correct?
Headlights: H4 Hi/Lo (1 set)
Fogs: H10 (1 set)

Thanks for all of your help. I'm really looking forward to getting this set up!

 

So any HIDs tha I put on the Tacoma would be illegal? Yikes.

Is it common to get picked up and ticketed for HIDs? I really don't know the ins and outs of the legal issues with HIDs, and I'll certainly stay away if it would cause issue.

I appreciate the info, but you're bumming me out here...

 

i have 55w headlights and 35w fogs of a different color, had 55w for two years never been a problem with cops, even got an inspection and passed with em, on hilly roads you do get flashed high beams a lot though

 

Okay, well neither of those two things should be an issue. I don't want a drastically different from stock color. On top of that, I'll ensure that they are aimed properly, just as I had to reaim my stock lights after I installed my 3" lift.

I'm not out to blind people... I don't want to be that guy. However, my last trip through ID was spent at ~35mph as it was dark out and fawn season. I had a number of close calls, and having a bit more warning certainly would have been helpful! Those little buggers are fast!

 

the setup that you have is the right set up.
But you have to adjust the headlight to aim it down a little bit. so that will not blind people.

 

I have DDM 35W 5000 headlights that are aimed properly and they still bother other drivers, particularly when I'm behind them at traffic lights. I'll be switching back to stock or attepting a Retro mod soon. The 4500 color is closest to stock, but still much brighter. 55W is a bad idea for street use IMO.

 

huh...

This has been enlightening (no pun intended)

Maybe I'll just go back to the idea of getting some offroad lights behind the grill and determine at a later time if I'll put the HID mod into them. I want the added light for night, but I don't want to be a bother to people in town, either.

 

Thats probably the best idea. I have a three Euro Beam Hella 4000s on a lighbar that I'm in the process of converting to DDM 55W 4500 HIDs. Stock headlights with the Hella conversion should be pleanty bright for dark roads around here. I like the HID headlights a lot but it's not worth blinding others in cars. The reflectors in the stock lens simply isn't designed for HID light.

 

Thanks,

That actually just saved me a fair amount of money. I'm certain that I would have put them in and felt the same way. I drive in Denver, so I spend a bit of time behind other vehicles.

I only really need brighter lights for highway driving and/or offroad at night. I'm no desert racer, but I'm frequently on roads that other critters call home. I've been fortunate enough thus far not to smack one, but I've verified that my brakes are operational quite a number of times!

 

If you havent bought off-road lights yet check out these Kragen 7" HIDs: http://www.sidebysidesports.com/7hidoflica.html Lots of guys use them. Do a search for Kragen HID and you'll find tons of info.

 

You can also convert Hella 500s and 4000s to HID with DDM slim ballast kits. There's pleanty of info on this site and TTORA to help you.

 

Thanks, I'd been looking at converting a set of 500s. I can't seem to get good information on the differences between the 4000s / 1000s / 500s, but it seems that most people are satisfied with the 500s from what I've seen.

 

While we are on HID lighting I just installed them in my high beam side, (have after market projector), and notice that there is roughly a 1 1/2 second delay before they come to full power. Is this just the nature of the beast having to wait for the gas to fully ignite or is there something else going on?

 

1 1/2? It should take about a minute to become optimal. This is why you don't see factory cars with HIDs in the high beams. When you use your high beams, you either flash someone, or use them to see down the road. That is not enough time for them to be ready.

 

its the nature of the beast when you do cheap PNP kits in aftermarket setup w/ separate low/hi aftermarket projectors.

OEM bi-xenon projector setups (hi/low in same projector) have a shield that will drop, therefore letting light above the cutoff for the highs. its the same bulb, therefore it is always lit, low or high.

 

Thanks for the replies and better understanding concerning the HID lighting. Although they are still an aftermarket set-up and I don'thave the ability to flash an oncoming car I still like the fact that I can light up the world and see that stupid deer before it becomes a hood orniment.

 

Putting a Xenon bulb in a halogen housing is illegal in all 50 states. I pull people over for HIDs. The easiest thing to remember as a police officer is NO pickups have HIDs factory installed. Tall trucks with HIDs also blind people the most. I can spot a projector vs a reflector based HID system pretty easily. I would not write a ticket for a retrofit projector. The bulb, ballast, reflector, etc are all DOT approved items. While the end result is debateable I could never convince a jury it was illegal and feel quite confident I could convince a jury my set up was legal if I got pulled over with a projector retrofit that used DOT approved parts.

Id do a projector retrofit all day long and feel safe. I would not reccomend a simple bulb swap into a halogen reflector housing.

Now that said MOST tickets will be fix it tickets for impropper head lamp. It takes 2 minutes to swap bulbs and move your plugs to get halogens back in. Then you pay a $15 court cost and put the illegal HID back in... this is the primary reason I dont like HID tickets. Its as pointless as a no front plate ticket.