# Let's talk HID's



## cruzinred92 (Dec 4, 2013)

Hello all, I have been looking on this forum for a while now, I got my cruze in December last year after getting the infamous cracked bell housing(was racing lol, legally tho!!) in my 05 cobalt ss I have gotten many ideas from here including the tablet in the dash, and have seen aome that I don't really agree with to be honest. everyone is subject to their opinion and this is mine when I comes down to HID headlights. I have seen a lot of people on here saying that if you don't have projectors HID's are illegal. This is false. HID headlights no matter which housing they are in are illegal. They are not SAE or DOT approved bulbs. Unless the HID's come factory on your vehicle installing them are illegal. When it comes to projectors look at the lenses before you order, if they don't say SAE or DOT guess what? Illegal. If you look up the Toyota prius, the older Cadillac escalade, older bmw's, 03-05 Nissan altimas/maximas, Lincoln navigators, all of theses vehicle either had already or were available with HID's, however they all had regular housings, no projectors, so shouldn't they be taken down too? I have ran HID's in my cobalt's and my cruze as well as my brothers all in regular housings. One thing people dont do or realize is that when you install HID's aim your headlights down a little. The light goes further even when aimed down and keeps the light from going up in other driver's eyes, weither you have regular or projector's when you install HID's lower them some and you still get brighter and better and other driver's dont hate you lol. HID's are great light's i personally have had every color from yellow to purple as fog lights and 6 and 8k's as headlights(would rec 6k, not as blue less chance of an issue with the fuz). All in all just wanted to throw it out there that if you decide to go HID know that what you are installing is not going to be legal with or without projector's. Not trying to make a thing about it just letting people know that this is a good upgrade but not if you are worried about cops or what have you, if thats the case upgrade your harness and get get some silverstars. thanks for your time and cruze safe.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

cruzinred92 said:


> Hello all, I have been looking on this forum for a while now, I got my cruze in December last year after getting the infamous cracked bell housing(was racing lol, legally tho!!) in my 05 cobalt ss I have gotten many ideas from here including the tablet in the dash, and have seen aome that I don't really agree with to be honest. everyone is subject to their opinion and this is mine when I comes down to HID headlights. I have seen a lot of people on here saying that if you don't have projectors HID's are illegal. This is false. HID headlights no matter which housing they are in are illegal. They are not SAE or DOT approved bulbs. Unless the HID's come factory on your vehicle installing them are illegal. When it comes to projectors look at the lenses before you order, if they don't say SAE or DOT guess what? Illegal. If you look up the Toyota prius, the older Cadillac escalade, older bmw's, 03-05 Nissan altimas/maximas, Lincoln navigators, all of theses vehicle either had already or were available with HID's, however they all had regular housings, no projectors, so shouldn't they be taken down too? I have ran HID's in my cobalt's and my cruze as well as my brothers all in regular housings. One thing people dont do or realize is that when you install HID's aim your headlights down a little. The light goes further even when aimed down and keeps the light from going up in other driver's eyes, weither you have regular or projector's when you install HID's lower them some and you still get brighter and better and other driver's dont hate you lol. HID's are great light's i personally have had every color from yellow to purple as fog lights and 6 and 8k's as headlights(would rec 6k, not as blue less chance of an issue with the fuz). All in all just wanted to throw it out there that if you decide to go HID know that what you are installing is not going to be legal with or without projector's. Not trying to make a thing about it just letting people know that this is a good upgrade but not if you are worried about cops or what have you, if thats the case upgrade your harness and get get some silverstars. thanks for your time and cruze safe.


You are correct in that aftermarket HIDs are illegal regardless of whether or not you have a projector. However, a projector minimizes the glare created by the HID by creating a far more precise "cutoff" to minimize glare. 

If you aim your headlights down "a little," (keeping in mind that they are basically pointed at the ground from the factory anyway), then what you are doing is illuminating the area directly in front of you, at the consequence of making your eyes less sensitive to light changes far ahead. In other words, you actually reduce your visibility. For the record, you are still producing several times the amount of glare as the factory halogen does, and I'll go into exactly why that is next. 

I have personally seen HIDs in the factory housings in the Cruze and the glare is NOT safe for oncoming drivers. I repeat that the glare is not safe, and that the HID bulb vastly compromises the calibration of the factory housing. It doesn't take a genius to figure why; just measure the distance between the light source and the base of the socket, then compare the shape of the light source. All of that is very specifically calibrated around the halogen bulb that was initially designed for this car. 

Silverstars are among the worst bulbs you can buy, for the record. I won't go too far into why, but just look up the actual measured output and life. The blue tint reduces output just to make the light look "whiter." There are several options that provide measurably brighter light, including the Philips Xtreme Power, Philips Vision Plus, and Sylvania Xtra Vision.The Philips Xtreme Power is the most advanced and most precisely wound filament of any H13 bulb on the market. 

Refer to the following for more information:

Are HID Kits Legal or Safe - The Xtreme Revolution


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## cruzinred92 (Dec 4, 2013)

I do agree with you xtreme, and was just using the silverstar's as an example when talking about upgrading the harness wiring. As far as the headlight aim goes you must have gotten lucky with yours, mine and my brother (both 12 eco mt's) were aimed to the sky. I mainly wanted to start this thread because more then once have i seen people say that without the projectors HID's are illegal and wanted it to be stated that it doesn't matter with or without they are illegal, and you take that risk when you install. I do like the cutoff of the projector's and do hope to get some but i think the stockers have a pretty good cutoff themselves. As well as the headlight bulb distance goes there are vehicles that came with either halogen bulbs or HID have the same housing. I used to work for nissan and the altima and maximas were a car that stuck out for me. Also if you look up good HID bulbs you can find low glare bulbs that are "supposed to be great" but i have never experienced them for my self. Just wanted to share my experience with others as they have with me. This is the first forum I have become a part of and so the first I have posted so if i am doing anything wrong please let me know. Cruzetalk has been great for me even before i joined and im hoping better now that i have. thanks again.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

cruzinred92 said:


> I do agree with you xtreme, and was just using the silverstar's as an example when talking about upgrading the harness wiring. As far as the headlight aim goes you must have gotten lucky with yours, mine and my brother (both 12 eco mt's) were aimed to the sky. I mainly wanted to start this thread because more then once have i seen people say that without the projectors HID's are illegal and wanted it to be stated that it doesn't matter with or without they are illegal, and you take that risk when you install. I do like the cutoff of the projector's and do hope to get some but i think the stockers have a pretty good cutoff themselves. As well as the headlight bulb distance goes there are vehicles that came with either halogen bulbs or HID have the same housing. I used to work for nissan and the altima and maximas were a car that stuck out for me. Also if you look up good HID bulbs you can find low glare bulbs that are "supposed to be great" but i have never experienced them for my self. Just wanted to share my experience with others as they have with me. This is the first forum I have become a part of and so the first I have posted so if i am doing anything wrong please let me know. Cruzetalk has been great for me even before i joined and im hoping better now that i have. thanks again.


I can't find the pic anymore, there was a thread on Nasioc about a guy putting HID's in a non _STi _housing. It was soo bad, he parked facing the garage to adjust the beams and it lit up the entire garage door and surrounding area pretty much. As X states in his link the fillament is difrent even if we had projectors stock like my Subaru. Non projector housings have a bunch of chrome plus the filiment relocation turns low beams into flood lights. In Cleveland we don't have this issue much, we just have people who skip that and instal blue hi beam bulbs.​


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## NannerHammock (Nov 17, 2013)

So you're saying that if I were to open up my stock DOT approved Cruze lenses, install Stock HID projectors from an Acura TL, use the DOT approved OEM Philips bulbs and aim them according to my states inspection laws it's not legal?


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

NannerHammock said:


> So you're saying that if I were to open up my stock DOT approved Cruze lenses, install Stock HID projectors from an Acura TL, use the DOT approved OEM Philips bulbs and aim them according to my states inspection laws it's not legal?


Technically it is illegal, but whether or not anyone could tell during inspection is another question. It is is a more proper way to do it though..

Sent from mobile.


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## daktah (Mar 17, 2013)

question: if i smoke my headlights, be it a light tint or a total blackout, would it reduce/eliminate glare from hids should i have the urge to buy some?


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

daktah said:


> question: if i smoke my headlights, be it a light tint or a total blackout, would it reduce/eliminate glare from hids should i have the urge to buy some?


Yes. You will also reduce the amount of actual usable light you will have, which brings me to the question of why waste your time? Just go get some cheap blue tinted Chinese bulbs and you'll have achieved the same results.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

silverstars?

rofl


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

cruzinred92 said:


> If you look up the Toyota prius, the older Cadillac escalade, older bmw's, 03-05 Nissan altimas/maximas, Lincoln navigators, all of theses vehicle either had already or were available with HID's, however they all had regular housings, no projectors, so shouldn't they be taken down too?


lol, no.


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## daktah (Mar 17, 2013)

XtremeRevolution said:


> Yes. You will also reduce the amount of actual usable light you will have, which brings me to the question of why waste your time? Just go get some cheap blue tinted Chinese bulbs and you'll have achieved the same results.


obviously a super dark tint would block the output but wat about a light tint just to block glare


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## trevor_geiger (Nov 29, 2012)

daktah said:


> obviously a super dark tint would block the output but wat about a light tint just to block glare


Even with a light tint you would still reduce the light output, but not as bad as if you were to use a dark tint. Why do you want HIDs for, just wondering.


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## daktah (Mar 17, 2013)

i dont know
im just bored and wanna spend more money on my car


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## giantsnation (Oct 11, 2012)

Your money may be better spent on things like suspension. If you're not will to do HIDs properly don't bother.


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