anyone busted for HID?
- Thread starter marcus8o8
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simple
Senior Member
I've had mine for a 1 maybe 1.5 yrs, and no problems. I'm no cop, but stay away from the obnoxious colors and adjust them so you're not blinding anybody and you should be fine.
chaz
New member
in some states like MA, it is reported to insurance companies & can result in an increase, thats one reason that AE1M did the swap to H9 s instead. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/59202-08-low-beams-h11-h9.html
4runnerman09
New member
i have 8000K and in California, 2 years nothing. i have pulled behind cops at night with my lights on and never anything.
03L4RUNNER
New member
Any non factory HIDs are illegal in most states
HIDs will make it hard to get a safety check if the inspector knows his/her stuff. Some people pull out the HIDs and hide the ballasts for safety check, and then re-install.
i've seen HIDs ranging from almost oem 4300k to ridiculous purple (around 10k?) on headlights. usually the ricers tend to run the 6-8k HIDs (more blue in color). it's pretty obvious that they're aftermarket HIDs - even factory HIDs don't come that blue.
lifted up trucks also run aftermarket HIDs in oem reflector headlights, and blind even more people than when they were oem and lifted.
for the *most* part, HPD doesn't seem to care, though. i've seen HPD 2006+ T4Rs (personal vehicles) with HID conversions - if IA doesn't catch them or police their own, no wonder why HPD doesn't do much about the aftermarket HIDs.
If you are dead set on going with HIDs, though - i would stay away from the ricer blue colors - no sense in being more obvious than you need to be. some officers, particularly in Waikiki and Hawaii Kai will pull you over for almost anything. even if they don't cite you for aftermarket HIDs, if your lights even appear to be blue, you can get a ticket (and it's a serious offense).
people have gotten cited for blinking blue LED alarm lights, even if they're NOT IN THE VEHICLE AND THE VEHICLE IS PARKED. apparently, any visible blue light at any time is a no-no.
i haven't converted my wife's 06 to HID lights because all it takes is one ticket to ruin your day. even though she loves the HIDs in the sienna, for her, it's not worth the risk and headache. the most i might do is convert her oem fogs to projectors and HIDs for when she really needs the extra light, but we hardly drive the T4R anyway.
SkylineGTRracer
New member
I've been running PIAA's for about 7 months and no problems. here in texas it is a ticket if the height and angle are out of factory spec.
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orangeblast22
New member
I'm confused, I thought HIDs were perfectly legal to have!??
I'm in Orange County, CA...I honestly think I'll be fine....but this is the first time I'm hearing that HIDs could get you a ticket.
I had no idea.
I'm in Orange County, CA...I honestly think I'll be fine....but this is the first time I'm hearing that HIDs could get you a ticket.
I had no idea.
yeah me too. I'm guessing aftermarket HIDs are illegal but it's the first I'd heard of it.
tkr128
New member
Yes...all aftermarket HID kits are illegal. If you notice the disclaimers on the kits, they'll usually state "Not for use on public roads" or something like that. Most people ignore it anyway.
As long as it's not some stupid color (bright blue, green, purple), most cops don't care. The most common thing I've seen is cops adding it after pulling a person over for something else (speeding, failure to stop...etc). But stopping somebody just for the HID's is pretty rare.
As long as it's not some stupid color (bright blue, green, purple), most cops don't care. The most common thing I've seen is cops adding it after pulling a person over for something else (speeding, failure to stop...etc). But stopping somebody just for the HID's is pretty rare.
^^ what he said.
for the most part, if you keep away from the obvious green/blue/purple colors and try to stay out of areas where you know the police love to give out tickets, you should be okay.
waikiki and HK are pretty notorious for strict police. if they write you up for blue lights, though, be prepared to go to court.
for the most part, if you keep away from the obvious green/blue/purple colors and try to stay out of areas where you know the police love to give out tickets, you should be okay.
waikiki and HK are pretty notorious for strict police. if they write you up for blue lights, though, be prepared to go to court.
10k are pretty uber blue/violet, iirc. 8k is pushing your luck down here. some guys are running them just to look cool, and they just man up and pay for the tickets as they get them because they're willing to pay to look cool (or at least what they think looks cool).
the 4300k lights are sort of a giveaway because they're really white - oem lights are a bit more yellowish in tone. they're also quite a bit brighter than the oem lights (not counting the glare from non-HID reflectors). if you have an oem to compare to, it's not hard to tell. even the silverstars that are a bit whiter than the oem bulbs still aren't as bright as HIDs.
that being said, it's all up to the police officer and his/her perception of "blueness". stock bmws with HIDs have gotten stopped and harassed because the officer thought the lights looked blue/purple when viewed from the side. these will get thrown out in court if you can prove your HIDs are oem, but it's still a pain to go down to court and contest the ticket.
if you want to convert to HIDs, and you're willing to chance it, it's up to you, really. Race Factory has nice kits at reasonable prices with a good warranty, if you want to buy locally (i'm assuming you are on O'ahu). if not, one of the site sponsors has excellent products too (see thread on this board).
i'm pretty sure HPD won't ground your truck for just HIDs unless you're doing something really stupid and unsafe also. heck, they probably won't even stop you unless you are committing some other violation too (safety check, recon, moving violation, etc...)
the 4300k lights are sort of a giveaway because they're really white - oem lights are a bit more yellowish in tone. they're also quite a bit brighter than the oem lights (not counting the glare from non-HID reflectors). if you have an oem to compare to, it's not hard to tell. even the silverstars that are a bit whiter than the oem bulbs still aren't as bright as HIDs.
that being said, it's all up to the police officer and his/her perception of "blueness". stock bmws with HIDs have gotten stopped and harassed because the officer thought the lights looked blue/purple when viewed from the side. these will get thrown out in court if you can prove your HIDs are oem, but it's still a pain to go down to court and contest the ticket.
if you want to convert to HIDs, and you're willing to chance it, it's up to you, really. Race Factory has nice kits at reasonable prices with a good warranty, if you want to buy locally (i'm assuming you are on O'ahu). if not, one of the site sponsors has excellent products too (see thread on this board).
i'm pretty sure HPD won't ground your truck for just HIDs unless you're doing something really stupid and unsafe also. heck, they probably won't even stop you unless you are committing some other violation too (safety check, recon, moving violation, etc...)
Mike07SE
New member
I'll chime in and say that yes, all kits are illegal. It just comes down to a cop's discretion to pick on you or not. While I have 4300K in my projectors and fogs, I picked a color that would have the most output and the least 'hey look at me' factor. They're still a give away with the pure white color and intensity outlook. My neighbor, a statie, has commented on how nice they look and how he likes the output. I've done the squirrel finder mod and reaimed them down a little since the factory setup was more around the level setup. This has helped as well in the following a cop scenario.
It will depend on the state and jurisdiction that you live in on how strict they are about it. Some cities and towns have waaay too much other stuff to take care of to even bother with you. Some other places like Ma. won't hesitate to bother with you. I know that if I lived in the NOVA area I probably wouldn't have done it as those cops are known to pick people apart for car accessories.
It will depend on the state and jurisdiction that you live in on how strict they are about it. Some cities and towns have waaay too much other stuff to take care of to even bother with you. Some other places like Ma. won't hesitate to bother with you. I know that if I lived in the NOVA area I probably wouldn't have done it as those cops are known to pick people apart for car accessories.
