HID installed

[Finlayforprez]

Thanks for the input. Since the DRLs required the low beams to be on full time, I decided to forego the change. Instead, I ordered the HID kit from DDM and will go with that - still not overly thrilled with the visibility with the CVs - in part due to the sharp and somewhat low cutoff on the driver's side headlight (maybe it's designed that way in case the HID option is installed?) - it seems to reduce visibility to the left. Hoping the HIDs can fill that gap a bit.

Hey goblue95,

Sounds great! I had the CVs and liked them, but I will tell you this, the HID upgrade is light years (no pun intended) ahead as far as visibility and light output. Seriously, I am extremely impressed and would not go back to the CVs! There is nothing like real HID lighting.

Did you get the slim ballast, 35W, 6000K? I love them!

Keep us posted and do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the install, etc. Good luck!

-David

 

[antichrist]

Manufacture will never design something for a non intended use. LR4's projector designed for helogen bulb is intended and DOT approved for H11 bulb type only and the projector designed for HID is intended for D3S bulb type. Aftermarket HID kit has D3S hid bulbs (could even be older D2 type) modified with H11 base so bulbs can be physically installed into the projector designed for H11 bulb.

Is the reflector design/shape identical on both projectors? may be but no one can claim that with 100% certainity. Will every aftermarket HID kits have correctly modified bulb so that it is properly aligned in the optic and will not produce any more glare then the halogen type? Hope so.

Does anyone care? probably not.

I am not here to argue that HID lamp in helogen projector will produce glare. Just want to see everyone making informed desicion based on facts not on speculation or assumption.

It's a fact that aftermarket HID retrofit is illegal and violates DOT rule. If you get into a serious accident at night, I hope other party's insurance doesn't notice that you had illegaly modified headlights.

The NHTSA cares as do more and more law enforcement agencies.

The same housing can't work with both HID and halogen as the shape of the arc are different. It's a simple matter of physics that you can't get around. Installing HID bulbs in Halogen housings is dangerous to other drivers. Knowingly doing so would likely jeopardize an insurance claim if you cause an accident and most certainly open you up to a significant civil suit by an injured party.

The only legal way to retrofit HID to a Halogen equipped vehicle is to replace the entire headlamp assembly with one specifically designed for HID. All the "kits" people sell are illegal and as the NHTSA learns about them they shut them down.

Here's the post I made about it back in April:
http://www.landroverworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=20884

 

[EIGHTLUG]

Now when you say "Learns about them" are you saying they are, at this moment, ignorant to the fact that they exist? I highly doubt it. So point blank, they know about them and they are doing nothing about the production or sale of aftermarket HID kits.

 

[antichrist]

Now when you say "Learns about them" are you saying they are, at this moment, ignorant to the fact that they exist? I highly doubt it. So point blank, they know about them and they are doing nothing about the production or sale of aftermarket HID kits.

Do you think the NHTSA knows the name of every dealer of automotive product and what parts they specifically sell?

The manufacturer of a product is who determines if it meets current regulations and, in the case of lighting, puts the DOT code on it. The government has nothing to do with that, they merely publish the regs. The DOT code doesn't guarantee it meets the regs, only that the mfg is certifying that it does. I could make a light in my garage and stamp the DOT code on it. Of course, if I were selling it and the NHTSA found out it didn't meet the reg....

In any case, the components of the HID kits are used for legal lighting setups, so the manufactures of them aren't doing anything illegal. It's the resellers who are packaging them together as a retrofit kit that are breaking the law. And of course the people who have them installed.

The NHTSA has shut down the sales of HID retrofit kits from a number of companies. Obviously they don't have unlimited resources and lighting is only a small part of regulations that the NHTSA enforces.

The point is, these HID kits are, in fact, impossible to legally fit in to a halogen housing, regardless of what any reseller, or buyer, says.

I'm well aware people will continue you to sell them, and people will continue to buy and install them. But maybe the information will help a few people who are thinking about them realize they would be causing risk to other drivers and risking fines and civil suits..

 

[EIGHTLUG]

The grey area involved in this discussion is that aftermarket HID kits are being installed into the projector housing of the LR4. It's not your typical refraction type halogen housing which disperses light. If you look at post 11 in this thread: http://forums.landroverworld.org/showpost.php?p=117034&postcount=11 you will find a link to the picture of ycharlie's LR4. You'll notice that there is a defined line about 40" high where the light cuts off. The light above that looks to be the light from the fog lamps, which are also on. You can easily tell that, because the light colors are different.

Aftermarket HID kits, installed in an application that previously used halogen bulbs is illegal, for the simple fact that the light beam is widely dispersed. Aftermarket HID's in a projector housing... go for it. For one, if you keep within the 5000-6000K range, no one, not even the dealer would be the wiser. And two, it will provide safer night driving for you and your occupants.

 

[antichrist]

If the housing was designed for Halogen bulbs, installing HID's in them is illegal. Period.
Cutoff is completely irrelevant, kelvin range is irrelevant.
There is no grey area, even though sellers try to say there is.

 

[baobay]

The grey area involved in this discussion is that aftermarket HID kits are being installed into the projector housing of the LR4. It's not your typical refraction type halogen housing which disperses light. If you look at post 11 in this thread: http://forums.landroverworld.org/showpost.php?p=117034&postcount=11 you will find a link to the picture of ycharlie's LR4. You'll notice that there is a defined line about 40" high where the light cuts off. The light above that looks to be the light from the fog lamps, which are also on. You can easily tell that, because the light colors are different.

Aftermarket HID kits, installed in an application that previously used halogen bulbs is illegal, for the simple fact that the light beam is widely dispersed. Aftermarket HID's in a projector housing... go for it. For one, if you keep within the 5000-6000K range, no one, not even the dealer would be the wiser. And two, it will provide safer night driving for you and your occupants.

I agree!

 

[antichrist]

I agree!

That you may, but have you actually discussed it with someone from the legal department at NHTSA? Or are you basing your opinion, like 99.9% of the people who talk about HID retrofits, on other opinions posted on the internet from people who haven't actually talked with anyone from the NHTSA?

There's a reason I haven't seen a single vendor post a letter from the NHTSA stating their kits are a legal retrofit; and it's not because I haven't looked.

 

[EIGHTLUG]

Something I'd like to look into is LR putting Halogen bulbs in HID housings to get a better beam and performance out of the halogen bulbs. You see it becoming more common in automobiles. You would have to admit that the above mentioned picture of the aftermarket HID throws a light exactly like the factory HID.

It's not the fact that the bulb itself is illegal, it's the application it's being used in. HID bulb in a halogen housing. The light pattern is what's causing the problem, not the bulb itself. If LR owners are installing the conversion into their factory housing and the light emitted is within the legal limits. It should be legal.

There is am automotive headlight check that can be used to check the legality of the light emitted.

Illegal HID Convesion Kits Explained - YouTube

 

[baobay]

Something I'd like to look into is LR putting Halogen bulbs in HID housings to get a better beam and performance out of the halogen bulbs. You see it becoming more common in automobiles. You would have to admit that the above mentioned picture of the aftermarket HID throws a light exactly like the factory HID.

It's not the fact that the bulb itself is illegal, it's the application it's being used in. HID bulb in a halogen housing. The light pattern is what's causing the problem, not the bulb itself. If LR owners are installing the conversion into their factory housing and the light emitted is within the legal limits. It should be legal.

There is am automotive headlight check that can be used to check the legality of the light emitted.

Illegal HID Convesion Kits Explained - YouTube

They do check that when the car gets inspected depending on the state. My LR4 passéd inspection and they checked the lights with a similar gadget. Acttually the HIDs I installed in the LR4 are dimmer than the OEM ones I have in my other car. The cutoff is also lower in the LR4 ESP on the drivers side. If you instal driving lights, they also check those and make sure they are compliant for both angulation and brightness.