Like I said, for everybody else on the road they suck.
Owners seem to like them.
I'm of the opinion that they should be outlawed as they blind oposing drivers.
I convert all of my classic cars to H4 housings and hyperwhite Hella bulbs. Everyone HATES my 71 Buick GS when they are driving towards or in front of me, but I can see for miles. Make sure you upgrade the wiring with relays to power the lights from the battery, using the orginal wire as the trigger. HIDs would be nice.
I don't understand. If everyone on the road hates them that has to look at them, and have reason to do so because its dangerous for them as they are blinded, why would you want to do that and endanger lives?
Because I get to see better. I was exagerating a little. They are DOT approved.
Personally I don't care who approved them, and I'm probably stepping on toes, but I don't care.
DOT approval doesn't mean they are safe, its just that some folks got together in a meeting with some manufacturers and said OK.
I've been in on some engineering projects where ANSI approval was required before the product could be marketed.
Two guys showed up, looked at the welds, and looked at the tests we produced, and gave the stamp of approval.
How in the hell could they approve a weld with a visual observation?
I can lay a butt weld on some steel that looks great, but will break with nothing more than hand pressure.
DOT approval doesn't mean they are safe, its just that some folks got together in a meeting with some manufacturers and said OK.
I've been in on some engineering projects where ANSI approval was required before the product could be marketed.
Two guys showed up, looked at the welds, and looked at the tests we produced, and gave the stamp of approval.
How in the hell could they approve a weld with a visual observation?
I can lay a butt weld on some steel that looks great, but will break with nothing more than hand pressure.
Amen!! We live in a society now where no one cares about anybody but themselves. I've been driving for over 40 years now and managed to survive with just normal headlights. Now we need to blind others so that we look cool.
Back when yearly vehicle inspections were required one of the checks was that the headlights were properly aligned. Now days, many do-it-yourselfers are fiddling with their headlights alignment installing new bulbs and getting them out of alignment. I'm referring to the older cars... not the newer ones where you don't affect the reflector angle. I've met a few cars on the highway that their headlights on low beam were so blinding that I flashed them with my highbeams just to get them to switch over to their high beams... as it was less blinding.
I had thought about going to the Silverstar bulbs, but considering the higher costs...their life span is only about 1/4th- 1/3rd that of the regular bulbs.. this per the info on the back of the packages. It didn't seem worth the cost or any increase in light.
I had thought about going to the Silverstar bulbs, but considering the higher costs...their life span is only about 1/4th- 1/3rd that of the regular bulbs.. this per the info on the back of the packages. It didn't seem worth the cost or any increase in light.
Dennis HID's are fine as long as they use the euro spec housings that cutoff the beam so it doesn't throw upwards. Retro fit hid kits should be illegal most of them don't have the beam cutoff shutter or they are improperly aimed by the owner who installs them.
The high kelvin value blues and purples look cool but don't provide nearly as much length and visibility as the lower temperature long yellows do. Going beyond bright white in a HID is just a looks thing.
YMMV
The high kelvin value blues and purples look cool but don't provide nearly as much length and visibility as the lower temperature long yellows do. Going beyond bright white in a HID is just a looks thing.
YMMV
The Silverstars do increase visible light range without being excessively bright. I rarely ever have other drivers flash their brights at me (of course I keep mine properly adjusted), yet I can definitely see better with them. They're more of a brighter, whiter temp, rather than the pukey looking blues and purples. I've had their lamps in several cars for years. Most of mine have lasted at least 5+ years.
That said, my latest two cars have self leveling HID's with the euro spec housings. You can see a sharply defined line where they don't shine up into oncoming driver's line of vision, yet they have much better throw without any dark spots. My wife is slightly night blind and nowadays, they're the only type that allow her to drive safely at night.
That said, my latest two cars have self leveling HID's with the euro spec housings. You can see a sharply defined line where they don't shine up into oncoming driver's line of vision, yet they have much better throw without any dark spots. My wife is slightly night blind and nowadays, they're the only type that allow her to drive safely at night.
