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Old Dec 16, 2015 | 07:44 PM
  #1  
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where is a good place to get projector type headlights. i have HID headlights and im looking for different housings than the stock ones
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Old Dec 16, 2015 | 08:57 PM
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Not much love for projector or hid lights around here when there are much better and safer options available.
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Old Dec 17, 2015 | 12:54 AM
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http://headlightupgrade.com/collecti...d1s-headlights
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Old Dec 17, 2015 | 04:14 AM
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Originally Posted by Umb-694
where is a good place to get projector type headlights. i have HID headlights and im looking for different housings than the stock ones
You can make them yourself
https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/hi...ite-up-204765/
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Old Dec 17, 2015 | 04:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Turbo X_J
Not much love for projector or hid lights around here when there are much better and safer options available.
Better, safer?
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Old Dec 17, 2015 | 05:38 AM
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Some Morimotos from retrofitsource.com would be the way to go, Umb-694. You'll have to do some fabbing of your own to put them into an H4 halogen housing. There are a few different write-ups on this out there, one of which DenimDean just linked.

There are NO acceptable complete housings. The only projector housings I have seen has been eBay garbage meant for halogens, NOT HID's, and is still garbage even for halogens.


Using quality projectors from The Retrofit Source with some quality bulbs will provide excellent quality light that will be quite safe.
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Old Dec 17, 2015 | 07:06 AM
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Don't install the hids tell you have projector housings,With out them you will blind people and probably get pulled over.Adding hids to anything that didn't have them factory is illegal,But if you use a white color light and projectors most cops won't bother you.
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Old Dec 18, 2015 | 10:42 AM
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Originally Posted by mschi772
There are NO acceptable complete housings.
Sure there are.

http://www.headlightrevolution.com/S...rr-xp6054b.htm

They're just expensive and really ugly.

Originally Posted by andrewmp6
Adding hids to anything that didn't have them factory is illegal
Can you quote the actual law that states that? Because I don't think that's actually true...
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Old Dec 18, 2015 | 11:20 AM
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Originally Posted by extrashaky
Can you quote the actual law that states that? Because I don't think that's actually true...
Federal law. I'll quote this SEMA line since it's more direct than the bazillion page long lawyer speak document that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (fed) has released, feel free to look up the law yourself.

NHTSA has concluded that it is impossible to produce HID conversion kits (converting a halogen system to HID) that would be compliant with FMVSS No. 108
Personally I think it's like the laws that pertain to exhaust mods, window tint, front plate, and so on. Chances of getting pulled over just for them are slim but it does happen. More like an excuse to pull you over if the LEO feels just in doing so. Adding HID in a housing not designed for them are annoying and just another reason for people on the road to be pissed at you.

Edit: here's a simplified explanation from another online automotive source...
Under FMVSS No. 108 Section S7.7 (replaceable light sources), each replaceable light source for headlamps must be designed to conform to the dimensions and electrical specifications for the headlamp source it is intended to replace. For example, if an HID kit is marketed as replacing an H1 light source, then it must match the H1's wire coil filament size and location, the electrical connector size and location and the ballast design for use with an H1 light source (which is impossible since there is no ballast). Consequently, companies that are manufacturing HID light sources (e.g., D1S, D1R, D2S, D2R, 9500, etc.) with incandescent light source bases (e.g., H1, H3, H7, H8, H9, H11, H13, HB1, HB2, HB3, HB4, HB5, etc.) should be aware that this light source design would not be one that conforms to FMVSS No. 108, and could not be imported and sold in the United States without violating Federal law. (The importer is treated as the manufacturer and subject to the same fines and penalties that apply to a domestic manufacturer.)

Last edited by jay_sco; Dec 18, 2015 at 11:26 AM.
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Old Dec 18, 2015 | 11:44 AM
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Originally Posted by jay_sco
Federal law.
I have read FMVSS 108 end to end, and it doesn't say that HIDs are illegal. That's why I'd like to see someone quote an actual law that says they are. I think the blanket statement that "adding hids to anything that didn't have them factory is illegal" is internet myth.

Originally Posted by jay_sco
NHTSA has concluded that it is impossible to produce HID conversion kits (converting a halogen system to HID) that would be compliant with FMVSS No. 108
That refers to putting HIDs in reflector housings, converting a halogen system to HID rather than completely replacing it with an HID system. A self-contained HID projector housing like the one I linked above should be DOT compliant.

Originally Posted by jay_sco
Under FMVSS No. 108 Section S7.7 (replaceable light sources), each replaceable light source for headlamps must be designed to conform to the dimensions and electrical specifications for the headlamp source it is intended to replace.
That refers to replaceable light sources (bulbs), not the housings. This is again talking about conversion of halogen to HID in reflector housings not made for them, spraying light all over the place and blinding oncoming traffic.
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Old Dec 18, 2015 | 12:04 PM
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Found this for you, Extra, but don't see any way to tell if a kit is 100% legal or not. Enjoy...
The only safe and legitimate HID retrofit is one that replaces the entire headlamp—that is lens, reflector, bulb...the whole system—with optics designed for HID usage. In the aftermarket, it is possible to get clever with the growing number of available products, such as Hella's modular projectors available in HID or halogen, and fabricate your own brackets and bezels.
So I guess the units in the link you posted may be legal. But damn! $600+?!?! Guess you gotta pay to play.

Last edited by jay_sco; Dec 18, 2015 at 12:16 PM.
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Old Dec 18, 2015 | 12:25 PM
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Originally Posted by jay_sco
Found this for you, Extra, but don't see any way to tell if a kit is 100% legal or not. Enjoy...
The thing to understand is that the DOT does not declare any particular light legal or illegal. They also do not approve lights. FMVSS 108 simply sets forth a set of standards for light delivery. If your product meets the standard, it is DOT compliant. There are companies that will test and certify DOT compliance, but the DOT doesn't do that.

The reason people believe that "HIDs are illegal" is because the aftermarket kits that put HID bulbs into housings not designed for them do not conform to the standards put forth by FMVSS 108. Even that SEMA paper you quoted above refers to that:

The noncompliant kits frequently include an HID bulb, ballast, igniter, relay and wiring harness adapters. NHTSA believes this equipment
presents a safety risk to the public since the kits can be expected to produce excessive glare to oncoming motorists. In one investigation, NHTSA found that an HID conversion headlamp exceeded the maximum allowable candlepower by over 800 percent.
If you built a replacement system that conformed to the standards, with projectors instead of adapted reflector housings, it would be DOT compliant. That's what the system I linked above appears to be.

That's not to say there aren't state laws that make HIDs illegal in individual states. But I have yet to see anyone able to demonstrate blanket illegality of retrofitted HIDs across the country. It's one of those internet myths that doesn't want to go away.
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Old Dec 19, 2015 | 01:53 AM
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Show me one hid kit with a dot approved number on them ?Most the hid kits on the market are marked off road use only.The light color can be another thing most states any headlight color other then white is illegal unless its factory like the bmws have blue tint to them.The other thing is the price 600 bucks could be spend better in a lot of places.
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Old Dec 19, 2015 | 07:08 AM
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Originally Posted by andrewmp6
Show me one hid kit with a dot approved number on them ?
I'm not sure what that is. Maybe you can show me such a number on a lamp you think is DOT approved so I know what to look for.

I think you'll have a hard time finding one, since the DOT doesn't approve lighting and issues no such numbers. I'm staring right at a DOT sealed beam halogen lamp purchased at WalMart that has no such number anywhere on it.
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Old Dec 19, 2015 | 02:10 PM
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A really good, safe HID retrofit can be done for $200-400 using Autopal H4 housings, Morimoto projectors, and quality bulbs+ballasts.
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