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Old 01-08-2014, 06:21 PM   #26 (permalink)
RedDevil
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Nieuwegein, the Netherlands
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Red Devil - '11 Honda Insight Elegance
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcrews View Post
....bet not......
...
I appreciate all the work you went thru..... But ... (etc)
What can I say. The 35W HIDs I use produce about 3.5 times as much light (so not 10 times) as the 55W halogens they replaced, not 10 times. The projector lenses look identical on the Honda OEM HID lamps. Stray light with the halogens is way less than on other cars that use halogens in reflector housings. I stand by my words.

My projectors do not have excessively bright spots either, not with the HIDs at least. It is pretty much homogenous within the -2 to -5 degrees down and several degrees sideways area, and cuts off quite sharply outside that area.

The distance between the electrodes is less than the halogens filament length and corresponds quite well with the brightest area of that filament.
If anything, the light producing area is even better confined. Which can be a problem with badly shaped reflectors. I would not be surprised if that's the cause of the fail, apart from ignoring bad alignment; The HID's lighting area is too small, not too big!
In my projector lenses that does not cause a problem though.

My garage has some automated measuring tool for adjusting lights which signals whether the light be raised or lowered and directed right or left. I do not know the details about it, but I assume it does base its adjustments on light intensity.

AFAIK aftermarket HIDs are legal in Holland, as long as they don't produce too much stray light, but that's pretty arbitrary.
There is some conformity or neutrality principle though, nobody can charge you for the lights if other road users with worse lighting get by without tickets.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcrews View Post
THE FACT that the HID is brighter cannot be disputed.
Tonight my wife asked me to fill up her car.
It was scary. Rain, badly lit streets, misbehaving mopeds, a bicylist with no lights and a pedestrian in all black clothing, and then just a pair of orangy halogens to light it all up. I saw them all in time - just.
She took the car later this night and complained about her lights too.

HIDs are brighter, thank God. Imho a pair of halogens is just not bright enough to drive safely around town in these conditions.
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2011 Honda Insight + HID, LEDs, tiny PV panel, extra brake pad return springs, neutral wheel alignment, 44/42 PSI (air), PHEV light (inop), tightened wheel nut.
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Last edited by RedDevil; 01-08-2014 at 07:01 PM..
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