Is this illegal ?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,866
Likes: 123
From: gresham oregon
Dont let the door hit you ...on the way out 
And yup, 4 on will technicaly be illegal IMO.
AFAIK any mod to the lighting system on a vehicle no longer carries the DOT approval of the system as the manufacturer submitted it.
So, assuming you are speaking about a C5 (in the C5 section) HID (even in projectors) as well as any form factor where all four stay on would no longer be DOT approved.
Illegal is a pretty strong term (often confused with criminal) and conjures up images of car chases and handcuffs, but I dont think an argument can be made that the mods above would never result in a citation.
I guess it depends on the situation. The point made earlier about "well if they are never on when an oncomming vehicle is in sight . . ." does hold water. Some atates have tough inspection procedures and some have none. Some people choose to add a little more light to their car and others choose bright blue lights and blacked out tails. You can effect the odds of having a problem but its all a crap shoot.
And yup, 4 on will technicaly be illegal IMO.
AFAIK any mod to the lighting system on a vehicle no longer carries the DOT approval of the system as the manufacturer submitted it.
So, assuming you are speaking about a C5 (in the C5 section) HID (even in projectors) as well as any form factor where all four stay on would no longer be DOT approved.
Illegal is a pretty strong term (often confused with criminal) and conjures up images of car chases and handcuffs, but I dont think an argument can be made that the mods above would never result in a citation.
I guess it depends on the situation. The point made earlier about "well if they are never on when an oncomming vehicle is in sight . . ." does hold water. Some atates have tough inspection procedures and some have none. Some people choose to add a little more light to their car and others choose bright blue lights and blacked out tails. You can effect the odds of having a problem but its all a crap shoot.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,365
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From: Parkland Florida
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Gentlemen, I just deleted 6 posts. The Forum rules are specific, "Attack ideas, not other members" If it continues I'm gonna have to lock this thread. I think this thread is informative and should stay open. Let's all play nice
Pro
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 667
Likes: 10
From: New York
My Vette has HID low Beams and when I flick the Hi beam, Holegen bulbs. my low beam HID shuts off.
The four head lights never stay on together. That's why I installed HID fogs. I think GM made them that way so you cant and wount break any state laws
The four head lights never stay on together. That's why I installed HID fogs. I think GM made them that way so you cant and wount break any state laws
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
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From: South Western Ontario
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Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 11,150
Likes: 890
From: South Western Ontario
Those $300 Ebay ACA lights come with Philips H9 bulbs for the projectors. All the Hx bulbs are halogen bulbs. If the projectors were made for HID bulbs they'd use D1S/D2S/D2R etc HID bulbs, not some HID retrofit bulb made to go in place of a halogen.
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 8,539
Likes: 886
From: Republic of Texas
HIDs in the factory housings are Illegal period, regardless if it's high or low.
that being said, it's very common for local LEOs to not care since it's not really worth their time. Even inspection places (outside of kalifornia) don't seem to care much. it's one of those laws that just a pain to enforce....but that doesn't mean they won't do it.
Having non-hid high and low beams on at the same time is not illegal.
that being said, it's very common for local LEOs to not care since it's not really worth their time. Even inspection places (outside of kalifornia) don't seem to care much. it's one of those laws that just a pain to enforce....but that doesn't mean they won't do it.
Having non-hid high and low beams on at the same time is not illegal.
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 243
Likes: 27
From: New Jersey
I don't know if it clears anything up, but I had a BMW 330xi with stock "bi-xenon" hid lights. In that setup the hid is always on and a shutter creates a sharp cut-off for the low beam. When you flick on the highs, the shutter moves up and the light is fully unobstructed. You could hear it move. It was bright as hell.
So hid highs are not illegal. But as for having separate lows and highs on at the same time I'm not sure.
The car also had a second set of halogen inside lights for show (so it looked the same as other non hid- Bimmers). They only worked for the "flash to pass" when you pulled back on the turn signal stalk.
So hid highs are not illegal. But as for having separate lows and highs on at the same time I'm not sure.
The car also had a second set of halogen inside lights for show (so it looked the same as other non hid- Bimmers). They only worked for the "flash to pass" when you pulled back on the turn signal stalk.
Supporting Vendor
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 8,539
Likes: 886
From: Republic of Texas
I don't know if it clears anything up, but I had a BMW 330xi with stock "bi-xenon" hid lights. In that setup the hid is always on and a shutter creates a sharp cut-off for the low beam. When you flick on the highs, the shutter moves up and the light is fully unobstructed. You could hear it move. It was bright as hell.
So hid highs are not illegal. But as for having separate lows and highs on at the same time I'm not sure.
The car also had a second set of halogen inside lights for show (so it looked the same as other non hid- Bimmers). They only worked for the "flash to pass" when you pulled back on the turn signal stalk.
So hid highs are not illegal. But as for having separate lows and highs on at the same time I'm not sure.
The car also had a second set of halogen inside lights for show (so it looked the same as other non hid- Bimmers). They only worked for the "flash to pass" when you pulled back on the turn signal stalk.
The major downside of dedicated HID high beams is the warmup time. Even the high-end HID kits used in luxury cars of today have a 2-5 second warm up time. With cars that have a 4-bulb system (mostly GM vehicles) the Low beams shut off when the high beams are activated. This means you'd be driving down the road for about 2-5 seconds with VERY little light....Very hazardous.
The Bi-xenon projector uses a single light source to create the low and high beams so there is no warm up time, miniscule additional power draw and for the most part better visibility since the headlight pattern is added-to rather than changed.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 10,924
Likes: 78
From: Forney Texas
If anyone's wanting to combine the high beam with the low but only when the high is activated, let me know and I'll draw up a schematic that will work. The only thing I'm not sure of is whether or not the motors will shut the headlights when they're turned off, but I'm pretty sure it still will.
I'm not subscribed to this thread, so if someone wants me to post up a schematic using 2 SPDT relays, PM me and I'll do that.
I'm not subscribed to this thread, so if someone wants me to post up a schematic using 2 SPDT relays, PM me and I'll do that.
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 1,412
Likes: 15
From: Richardson TX
As far as I have been able to tell, you're limited to 4 "headlights", be it low/fog, or high/fog or high/low.
Just want to clarify since I think some people are making the issue ambiguous, it is not illegal to put HID lights on your car if it didn't come with it stock. BUT, you must change out the reflectors/projectors to ones which are DOT certified to have HID bulbs, in the same way that you can change out turn signals and tail lights - so long as the replacements are also DOT certified.
It is illegal to put HID retrofit bulbs into reflectors designed for halogen bulbs. They are not DOT certified for HID bulbs, just like how a reflector designed for 55W halogen bulbs are not DOT certified for 130W bulbs.
Excessively blue lights (10,000K+) are also technically illegal.
Just want to clarify since I think some people are making the issue ambiguous, it is not illegal to put HID lights on your car if it didn't come with it stock. BUT, you must change out the reflectors/projectors to ones which are DOT certified to have HID bulbs, in the same way that you can change out turn signals and tail lights - so long as the replacements are also DOT certified.
It is illegal to put HID retrofit bulbs into reflectors designed for halogen bulbs. They are not DOT certified for HID bulbs, just like how a reflector designed for 55W halogen bulbs are not DOT certified for 130W bulbs.
Excessively blue lights (10,000K+) are also technically illegal.