# Aftermarket HID lamps **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 19, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491 "2009-02-19T01:53:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/1 "2009-02-19T01:53:23Z")
It seems that about one in four cars has an aftermarket HID kit installed. Not only teenagers who want to make their ricecar look “badass”, but also luxury sedans, SUVs and large trucks. These things should really be outlawed and the police should start ticketing those idiots. Not only having an HID lamp on a reflector designed for halogen sends light all over the place blinding everyone, those crotchstains will invariably buy the 10,000K kit that produces a harsh light similar to arc-welding. I had one such idiot following me on an unlit country road. The reflections from his headlights were so annoying that I eventually stopped on the side of the road and let him pass. May they catch the peanut allergy and eat Snickers. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/2 "2009-02-19T01:54:28Z")
Adjust your sideview mirrors so that they reflect back into his face. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/3 "2009-02-19T09:46:34Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Adjust your sideview mirrors so that they reflect back into his face. This won’t have any effect because I’m quite confident they are wearing [this](http://www.lakewoodconferences.com/direct/dbimage/50072468/Auto_Darkening_Welding_Helmet.jpg) when driving. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/4 "2009-02-19T10:04:18Z")
I hate these things—they’re an accident waiting to happen. The worst aspect is approaching the brow of a hill at night, only to have an idiot in a BMW top the hill and blind you with his star-like headlights. Driving the (unlit) M74 south into England at night is also a nightmare, as the northbound lane is about five feet higher than the south, passing through Lanarkshire, which is just the right height to get blinded by the ultra-bright headlights. That’s when I put my lights on full-beam and show them what bright really means. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/5 "2009-02-19T16:30:11Z")
Up here these lights seem to be the hot item for for pickups that are lifted to the point of requiring a ladder to get into them. And of course they don’t have the headlights realigned for the change in vehicle height, so they’re blinding all oncoming drivers. In addition to the headlights, many of them have HID offroad lighting on the front bumper and turn those on as well. It makes me homicidal. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/6 "2009-02-19T16:54:01Z")
The HID tailgaiters don’t bother me all that much. I just hit the bypass switch on my HID backup lights… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/7 "2009-02-19T19:18:13Z")
Whoa! I don’t wanna get et! ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/8 "2009-02-19T19:55:33Z")
> [@](#): > > These things should really be outlawed They already are, in virtually every country that hasn’t collapsed into anarchy. The level of enforcement varies, I suppose. I would be for the crushing of any car found to have these - it demonstrates INTENT. One can exceed the speed limit because one isn’t paying attention and be merely negligent, but you didn’t accidentally install these obviously illegal headlights in your car, did you? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amber_in_Treasury)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/9 "2009-02-19T21:22:42Z")
> [@Dog80](#): > > This won’t have any effect because I’m quite confident they are wearing [this](http://www.lakewoodconferences.com/direct/dbimage/50072468/Auto_Darkening_Welding_Helmet.jpg) when driving. For some reason, that made me LOL. * * * HID lamps are for streetlighting, you retees! ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/10 "2009-02-20T09:09:55Z")
I hate these things. They seem to be everywhere out in the country, where every other car you see on the road is some kind of truck, or a Honda with a bodykit. I’m alsoo not a big fan of Xenon headlights, either. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aftermarket-hid-lamps/486491/11 "2009-02-20T13:45:56Z")
My BMW has Xenon headlights. They’re awesome. I just recently bought a Toyota Tacoma pick-up truck and it has the regular halogen headlights. What a difference.