Xenon HID upgrade

[mpt]

Most likely, as long as the bulb is starting!

[DrTaras]

You’ll need to check your local regulations but it’s technically possible to swap the bulbs for 35W Xenon HID.

I am in California and an aftermarketer just told me that these were NOT legal here, though I am not sure he did much research. Can anyone tell me otherwise with cites for the legality?

[tdelta1000]

What was or what is Tesla's Corporate idea for not going with HIDs from the beginning??? Power consumption? Regualtions? or just cost?

[TEG]

I am in California and an aftermarketer just told me that these were NOT legal here, though I am not sure he did much research. Can anyone tell me otherwise with cites for the legality?

My Lexus came with OEM Xenon HID here in California, so I think the basic technology is legal. Perhaps some of the aftermarket parts aren't properly certified or have something wrong like too much power, wrong tint or something like that.

• USATODAY.com - Bright lights, big controversy
• HID Lights? Legal Or Pull Me Over Now? - Police Forums & Law Enforcement Forums @ Officer.com
• Are 6000k xenon hid Headlights legal in california? - Yahoo! Answers

[mpt]

This article on wikipedia talks to the question http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp?wasRedirected=true

In summary, it days that there arn't any strong rules in place, TMC member Shark2k reprinted the California rules that are same; two lights, height rules and use rules but nothing on colour or even brightness.

I have an Audi A6 that has absurdly bright lights stock. They produce a fierce and blinding light to oncomming vehicles ( as I've whitnessed being followed by it ) that really should attract the attention of the law!

My update increases output somewhat but remains 'white' and does not blind of axis, on axis, I.e with your head 2 feet from the ground they're bright.

I suspect that there will be regulation in years to come but I didn't choose 19,000K purple 70w bulbs because I'm not 17, nor convert the reflector headligts in my SUV, because I'm not a farmer.

Europe has much more specific regulations including sharper beam patterns and regs on headlight self-leveling. This mod would fail those regs. I suspect that Tesla chose the solution that they chose because they're almost off the shelf and easy to certify in many countries... Just one less barrier to entry on a long list of stuff to do.

Elon Musk himself grumbled about the lights, I'm sure he reads TMC and is under his car right now

[dpeilow]

I have an Audi A6 that has absurdly bright lights stock. They produce a fierce and blinding light to oncomming vehicles ( as I've whitnessed being followed by it ) that really should attract the attention of the law!

Not only that, they make people think you are the law

The alternate white/blue beam pattern they produce can produce a strobing blue effect in the mirrors of the preceeding car.

If lost count of the number of times people slam on the brakes as I go to overtake them. After several years, I've learnt to anticipate it.

[Squint]

There are HID kits and there are HID retrofits. The former are the cheap, mostly plug and play kits you see all over the net. Retrofits involve selecting lenses, HID-specific projectors, and fine tuning the light output. Retrofits are usually DIY but you can sometimes find someone to do it for you for around $2000. The result is often better than most OEM HIDs because you can cherry pick the best components.

Kits that put HID bulbs in halogen projectors don't work as well as retrofits or OEM HID. Cars that don't have either halogen or HID projectors will have abysmal results.

[Alan]

Hi Guys,

This thread has been dormant for a while - can I wake it up as I am thinking of fitting one of the HID kits.

My main worry is the mention of warning messages etc. I can see two possible causes, firstly the HID bulbs use less power so they may trigger a warning if the car thinks a bulb is out. The second is noise / interference from the switching electronics.

Can I ask if anyone reading this who has done the conversion could post there experiences?

Did the upgrade cause any problems?
Which kit did you use?
What model Roadster do you have?
Are you pleased by the brighter lights?

(The reason I have asked about which model is because 2.0 and 2.5 cars have the axillary 12V battery at the front. This could well reduce potential noise problems over the earlier cars).

Thanks
Alan

PS I know the rules about these kits are a bit murky in the UK but for me its more important to see where I am going than to worry about whether I have headlamp washers etc.

[mpt]

Did the upgrade cause any problems?
Initially I had a bad control module that didn't start reliably so would trigger the "Bulb check". This caused no long lasting problem as it was just dismissed. Frustratingly, I tried LED side lights and indicator lights at the front but they trigger the bulb check; I wish I could disable that as I have LED's everywhere else; license plate, boot/trunk light etc. - the license plate LED replacement alone gives me an extra 3" of range.

Which kit did you use?
See my update; I've switched to the DDM kit; it really is high quality and even cheaper! Also, whilst other systems promise that the power consumption is limited during start up; I tested these; during start they use the same as the stock 65W bulbs then tail off to 35W or 55W depending upon the model you choose.

What model Roadster do you have?
2.0

Are you pleased by the brighter lights?
They just work now; I can drive at night and even in the rain.

Couple of extra observations; go for 4500K colour as this produces more useful white light and less of the blue "Hey I'm using aftermarket HID conversions".
When installing the bulbs, make sure that you're turning the bulb all the way in the mount, if not they don't line up correctly and the beam pattern gets diffused. I also found that I had to back off the three screws by a couple of turns in the mount with my latest bulbs to be able to make the full turn as they were a much tighter secure fit that the first bulbs (5000k) that I tried; At first I thought I'd been sent the wrong bulbs as they wouldn't go in.

With the car being so low down you'll always have your iris closed a bit by oncoming higher vehicles; we don't have a fix for that and that does make night driving more difficult. Being low down and installing the bulbs with a full 90degree turn ensures a clean beam cut-off and no dazzle; I've never been flashed by oncoming drivers.

wrt Headlamp washers; this has always been a mystery to me; they're usually ineffective IMO and dirty headlights just reduce dazzle IMO. I think that the self-leveling feature is more important however, being so low down I never see my beam go anywhere near the eye line of oncoming drivers; this is not the case in my MINI e where the self-leveling XENON lights never respond quickly enough and where I've been flashed a few times.

[strider]

mpt,

Thanks for this. I'm looking at DDM's website. I assume I should pick 35W, 9005, and 4500K (I'm just planning on just doing the low beams). Do I need the Harness, Error Eliminator, or Adapter cables?