Are HiD's illegal?

JGvtec

New Member
First question NO. Different states have different laws. I believe most states say you can't go over 6k.
 

91tegwitgsr

New Member
depends what state you live in on the HID's....I'm in southern oregon running 10k HID's for my low beams and my fogs at the same time and I don't get messed with...Also I've seen tons of people running Yellow HID fogs and not get touched either...but like I said it depends on your states laws and also the cops in your town.
 

Suprman91

"Zip-Tie-It!" - Wisdom
Really depends on the state/cop. I live in california and what a friend of mine said (cop) is that NO HID is legal until its red dot approved. Not sure for other states though.
 


91tegwitgsr

New Member
Yeah like you said it's state/cop......my buddy has 12k on his mustang and gets pulled over all the time for them.....but he's pulled up oregon state law and is always fighting the tickets and most the time it's the same cop that busts him
 

Suprman91

"Zip-Tie-It!" - Wisdom
yeah dude, the safest would be 6k-8k as most new sport vehicles come with a similar glow straight from the factory.
 

racerguy06

New Member
i live in California and i have 6000k lowbeams and highs with 3000k yellow fogs and haven't had any issues yet

have a few buddies running over 6000ks and they seem to get pulled over all the time
 


G3GirL

UUUHHHH-OOOOHHHHHHH...!!!
i would definitely check with the state you live in if you want to be absolutely sure, but i did come across an article that might offer you some insight.



Does DOT Approved mean Street Legal?

We have seen the uninformed consumer constantly mislead in the matter concerning DOT Approved HID products on the road. Hopefully, we can help "clear the fog" that has been set in place by devious dealers in an attempt to increase their sales by misleading the average consumer.

WWW.OMNIXAUTOSPORTS.COM always has and always will maintain a high level of honesty with our customers and respect their safety on the road.




The Common Question Concerning DOT Approved HID

You might have read somewhere that if the HID Bulbs or HID Kit are DOT approved its legal. Leaving you to believe that you will not get a ticket if the products is "DOT Approved". So some may ask:

1: ARE ALL LEGITIMATE HID PRODUCTS DOT APPROVED?

2: DOES DOT APPROVED MEAN STREET LEGAL?

3: WILL I GET A TICKET IF THEY ARE DOT APPROVED




The TRUTH About DOT Approved HID

It is a common misconception that "DOT Approved" means "Street Legal", in the same way that it is a common misconception that the higher the "Kelvin Temp" the "Brighter the Color".

The Truth is:

Higher Kelvin Temp (k) = Deeper color and less visible light output.

On that note, please understand that contrary to common practices by devious HID dealers to pass off DOT Approved as "Street Legal", what it really means is:

DOT APPROVED:
Inspected by the Department of Transportation and Approved to be safe to install in your vehicle.

This means that a truly DOT Approved HID Bulb or HID Kit is not going to cause damage to your vehicle. It does NOT mean that it is street legal.

In order to not only stay safe, but avoid tickets, it is best to stick with a 6000K to 8000K light output. Other colors resemble emergency vehicles too closely and may result in a ticket. Specialty colors such as deep blue, and purple, are for show and sport only...





Another "Hidden Truth" about DOT Approved HID

Although you can and probably will install a set of DOT approved HID Bulbs in your vehicle without ever being bothered by the law (as long as you stick with 6000K to 8000K), your headlight setup will still not be truly "legal".

In order to be truly legal you would need to take the following steps.

1: If your vehicle does not already have an HID compliant headlight housing, you will need to upgrade or change the housing over to an HID compliant housing.

2: Install a converion kit in your vehicle that uses HID bulbs in the "White" to "Baby Blue" light spectrum such as 4300K, 6000K or 8000K.

All of our HID conversion kits and HID Bulbs are of the highest quality, but it is up to you whether you want to upgrade to HID compliant housings as well. The vast majority of HID consumers never ugprade their housings and have no problems at all. It's not truly "Street Legal" unless you do, but the choice is up to you. As long as you stay in the legal color range, you should never have any problems.





Where to Get Real DOT Approved HID Products

You can go to your local dealership who will charge you anywhere from $1,500 on up to $5,000 for a conversion kit and anywhere from $175 to $600 "PER BULB"!

Or, you can buy a philips, osram, or hella HID product that will cost an average of $140 on up.





.................................................
Kelvin Temp Colors:
6000K - Hyper White
8000K - Exotic Aqua
10000K - Royal Blue (may result in ticket)
12000K - Deepest Blue (may result in ticket)
15000K - Fantasy Purple (may result in ticket)



Source: http://www.squidoo.com/dot-approved-hid-kit-and-bulbs
www.omnixautosports.com
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:

dc2GS-R

Super Moderator
Putting in HID's into a housing designed for halogen lamps is technically illegal no matter where you are. The requirements are laid out by NHTSA, a federal organization, from terms in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. It is not determined by state.

Whether the law will mess with you about it or not, is a different story. Most likely not, but they can if they want to.
 
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