Thread: Hi ecomodder
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Old 12-29-2013, 10:11 AM   #16 (permalink)
California98Civic
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Black and Green - '98 Honda Civic DX Coupe
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RedDevil View Post
There is no substitute for common sense.
When you want to replace your halogen headlights with HIDs you should first look at the way the light gets spread outside the intended area (stray light). That's what is blinding other drivers even when the beams are set correctly.

My car has projector lenses. The halogens produced hardly any stray light at all, to the extent that other road users failed to notice my presence. I think Honda just put projectors in that are fit for Xenon and did not matter about the low stray when they are fitted with ordinary halogens.

Before I put my HIDs in I compared the filament length to the xenon chamber of the HIDs. Both were placed at exactly the same position, and the distance between the electrodes was just over half the length of the halogen filament, so it corresponds where the filament glows the brightest.

Even with the HIDs the stray light is marginal. In a year of driving I only had oncoming drivers flash their lights at me once - I happened to have switched the high beams on erroneously when taking a corner.

So, when your light housings are not fit for HIDs, when the stray light is not submarginal or when the HID chambers don't match up with the filaments do not change the halogens for HIDs.
I agree entirely with this, and thanks for saying it better than I could. I get some stray light from my HID fitted instock honda fixtures. But in two years I have bad almost nobody flash at me and I see fine in the dark. The beam is not as wellregulated as the stock halogen bulb, but neither is it a menace to personal or public comfort and safety. Always monitor your own conditions cafefully and adapt... common sense.
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See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.



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