HID FAQ

you're an idiot. That reflector is for hi/low beams.

the low beam uses the top half of the reflector housing and the Hi beam uses the whole thing.

 

No sir, you're the idiot now. An HID bulb always uses half the reflector with that plate on, hi beam HID just pulls the bulb further in the housing. That plate is there for an HID retrofit and then it will work correctly with a projector lense. You're thinking of a halogen bulb that uses half the housing because of a reflector built into the bulb, and another filament lights up on highs to fill the rest of the housing, while on an HID bulb there is only 1 filament and it is always lit up. I simply made a suggestion that I found out through experiment, and thought I would share it. If you don't like it, don't read it, but don't state stuff you obviously don't know

 

pretty sure that's not how the 9003 hi-lows work. and the HID bulb doesn't move on my bixenons, the reflector does.

 

Ok maybe I should have clarified. Mine is an H4/HB2 bulb. On mine it's the bulb that moves, the reflector is stationary and just screwed into the housing. I apologize for the confusion

 

dafuq?

 

Removing the glare shield that covers the front of the bulb is irresponsible.
Halogen lamps have the front of all low-beam bulbs dipped in paint to limit glare.
HIDs do not have this, though SOME H4 lamps have a bit of a shroud.

Whether the OEM shield is there or not, HIDs will scatter glare above the cutoff when put into housings designed for halogens. It is illegal in all 50 states, and inconsiderate to other drivers.

Some believe that projector retrofits are also illegal, but I've gone through the DOT specs and all I find is standards that must be met when the headlights are tested... nothing that states that there is any kind of "type acceptance" like the FAA.
That said, whether projectors are illegal or not, those running projectors are not getting tickets... many running drop-in kits are.

In 2005, the outright SALE of drop-in kits was banned in the US. The manufacturers screamed, and the Fed allows their sale "for off-highway use"

 

If I could afford a retrofit, I would get it in a second. But I cant, so i just have mine turned down to what I think is acceptable. If somebody has a pair of 99 retro headlights for sale for a decent price, Ill scoop them in a heartbeat. My shroud is below the bulbs, not the tip of it, and when i took it off it seemed to throw less glare, and utilized the entire housing, instead of being cut out on the bottom. So I never thought of it but could i dip the tip of the HID bulbs in paint like halogens to prevent some glare??

 

The shroud limits the lamp to use only the top half of the reflector because that is the half of the reflector that projects the light DOWN.
If you are lighting the bottom half of the reflector, you are throwing light above the cutoff, directly into oncoming drivers.

You can't paint the HID burners... they run too hot and will burn off any paint applied.

If you can't afford retrofits, you can't afford HID.
Do it right or don't do it.

Park your truck in front of a wall, take a picture, and post it here.

This is mine:



Drop-in HID lamps will have bright scatter above the cutoff. Halogens will cut off more gently without the sharp edge.

 

go retro or stay stock

 

^^right on.....cough

 

This^

 

Yeah mine don't look like that. But I enjoy actually seeing at night, and I already spent the money, so they gotta stay. I'll probably be doing a retrofit soon

 

You probably enjoy the extra light but the people in front of you probably hate you.

 

It wasn't that bad with the 6000k, but the fresh 5000k are massively brighter. I need to bump then down a little more

 

Or just retrofit. eBay projectors are even better than what you are doing.

 

Bumping them down just shortens the throw that is useful to you, but doesn't reduce the glare that is blinding other drivers.

I see it all the time on the way to work in the morning... I'm blinded by a car coming up from behind, I move and brake to get behind them, and as they pass, I see the road in front of them for maybe 20ft looks like it's lit up by a police helicopter, and the interior of the car in front of them is blue.

 

for newb reference

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/content.php?112-HID-Newb-Crash-Course

 

I need to. How hard is it to put them inside the stock housings?

 

Very easy if you get the minis. All you have to do is bake the headlight, remove the lens, slide the projector through the stock housing and tighten down the nut. That is basically it.

 

Ok. Sounds like something I can do