interesting links I found on another website.....

http://www.dot.gov/affairs/nhtsa5001.htm
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/rulings/glare.html

 

I still don't think our HID lights are as bad as truck/SUVs that have low beams so high that it reflects in my rear view mirrors. I think ever every manufacturer kept the lights at near the same height and they all used HIDs there wouldn't be a problem.

 

The one thing I love to compare about the S2000 and other cars with HID headlights are the fact that ours are focused, and don't really blind the other cars unless on a hill or bump, and any car will do that. The BMW's and Mercedes that have them are not near as focused and shine in the eyes of just about any passing car, including trucks. I have never really seen a car with headlights quite like ours...

Blake

 

Our lights are an annoyance, drive around with another S2000 right behind you sometime to see what I mean. But frankly, as Squeezer said, our HIDs aren't nearly as bad (dangerous) as some of the taller SUVs/Pickups out there. The blue tint confuses the hell out of people around here though, which is pretty funny actually.

However, it wouldn't surprise me if the NHTSA goes after HIDs and not the tall trucks, simply because we're an easier target (and very few American cars have HIDs - they're almost all japanese or german).

 

I agree - our lights are a pain. I was in front of another S2000 last weekend, and it was blinding. I think our lights are worse than an SUV. They are lower so that the angle that they project is less. Therefore, any bump or crest in a road aims the lights high - right into oncoming traffic. Also, our cars are so stiffly sprung that the lights bounce around a lot making other drivers think that you are flashing your high beams at them.

I have aimed my lights lower, but since the beam is so focused it makes it more difficult to see up the road.

 

Here's the part that might really suck. If HIDs end up becoming something that only lasts a few years, the already high price of replacement will skyrocket. Let's hope that they just make some technical corrections.

The best technical correction of all might be auto-dimming mirrors.

 

Coming back from Indy last night I was running about 20 over the speedlimit and noticed another vehicle coming up much quicker from the rear. Although my detector didn't go off, I thought I'd best drop down about 10 mph. Then I noticed the lights flashing in the grill and thought I was being stopped. But since I didn't hear a siren, I kept going. Just as well, it was a Mercedes SUV with HID lights that were bouncing all over the place and seemed to point all over the place as well.

I'm no fan of these lights either, except when I'm driving at night on roads with the potential for deer to jump out. I do appreciate the wide arc of the S2k's lights then.

 

Yeah, I agree that our lights are quite annoying. I was in front of another S2000 for several miles down a road with a bridge, a few bumps, hills, etc and I was shocked how bright it was when they went over one of the bumps where the pavement met the bridge and when the crested a hill behind me.

I drove in front of a Lexus GS430 the other day and noticed that those HID lights aren't even close to annoying as the S2000 ones. No wonder people flash me all the time.

 

I have to chime in about the HID's. Driving around with 30+ S2000's last weekend at our "Dragonball Run" showed me what everyone is complaining about. Even in the daylight the can glare pretty badly. I am pretty sure the projector type bulbs in our cars are a major part of the problem.

 

I was wondering about something on these lights, are these lights suppose to have that stair
step to them or are they suppose to be straight across?