Blue Headlights

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Lockcode027

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#63959 4-Jul-2010 22:55

hello there just thought i would ask a few questions. I see there are these blue looking headlights out now they aren't completely blue they are kinda white/light blue. are these lights legal? they seem very bright are they easyer to see with? does anyone have them in the vehicle on here? .

BlakJak

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#347813 4-Jul-2010 23:02

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/get-your-lights-right/get-your-lights-right.html

See also http://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2004/0427/latest/DLM302188.html -
Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004 - around Section 8.3.

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lxsw20

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#347814 4-Jul-2010 23:02

You mean HID's? Yes my Integra has them, they are only legal if factory fitted, or if you use a correct HID lends. A standard halogen reflector does not work properly with HID's and can blind oncoming drivers. Its a WOF fail if your car has them in a halogen fitting.

They do emit a much nicer to drive by light to drive by IMO.

BlakJak

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#347815 4-Jul-2010 23:04

Fixed my post so the links work. I do encourage you to read it as it answers all your questions.

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lxsw20

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#347816 4-Jul-2010 23:08

BlakJak: Fixed my post so the links work. I do encourage you to read it as it answers all your questions.

Well...not all his questions, it doesn't tell him what they are/what people think of them, just the legalitys of them. (But you have to know what they are to know if they are legal or not.)

BlakJak

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#347817 4-Jul-2010 23:12

Fair enough, i did overlook the personal inflection bit.

From the drivers perspective they're pretty good.
From an onlookers perspective I find them distracting.
And from the perspective of someone who's frequently a pedestrian at night, 'too bright' lights can be a significant niusance. So I recommend a practical approach: do you need them, or are your current lights fit for purpose?

Over time we'll see more of them as they become common fit for new cars. However I remember getting a quote to replace some HID bulbs once... I dunno if it was just the car concerned but they were hellishly expensive in comparison to conventional lights.

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lxsw20

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#347818 4-Jul-2010 23:14

About 300 or so a bulb in my case, on the other hand, they are suposed to last the life of the car, not always the case obviously.

Bung

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#347834 5-Jul-2010 07:15

Don't fall for the "blue bulb HID look". That is achieved by filtering the useful light just to give a blue look. http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulbs.html

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xpd

Geek @ Coastguard NZ
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#347842 5-Jul-2010 08:05

One of my magazines (think its NZPC) had a look at the differents coloured bulbs available today and said the blue ones arent actually that great, they recommended the next ones down... Ill dig it out and quote it here this afternoon :)

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Handsomedan

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#347855 5-Jul-2010 08:52

Yeah, I fell for the blue bulbs gimmick a few years ago on a normally-lit car.

They purported to offer up to 50% more light and 15% better distance.

Frankly, they just made everything kind of ghostly looking and made driving more surreal at night.

I know there are "very white" bulbs as well that can offer a slight improvement in visibility, but again - they may not be ideal for oncoming traffic.

If you want the true HID look, you need to get a certified HID kit installed by a professional, as far as I know and it needs to have all sorts of things like self-levelling dooh-dahs and adjustable thingmies.

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