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More HID road rage..

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Old 01-14-2002, 12:06 PM
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Ozy
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Coming home last night from the shop, I was enjoying a top-down drive. It late about 11pm. I was on a two way road. There was a mustang in front of me. I was just cruising along minding my own business. Then all of a sudden, the mustang shot off onto the shoulder and slammed on the brakes. I thought she probably just missed her turn. I continue past her. Then a few moments later i noticed that she got back on the road and then drove up behind me quickly. Then she begain flipping her brights on and off many many times rapidly. I was perplexed at first, and then realized she must have thought i was doing that to her behind her. She wouldn't stop. So I just let my foot off the gas and started to slow down. I then began braking and pretty much stopped in the road. This made her mad, and she shot around me. I then started back up and flipped my brights at her a few times to let her know that i indeed did not have them on, but would you like to see what they look like. She continued mad and out of control and sped off in a fit of anger.


When I took my Prelude to vegas and back for the CES, we hit fog both ways. I was surprised how much better the S2000 low beam HIDs really are. They are so bright for such a long distance its amazing!

Heh.. damn those lights.. I love'em.
Old 01-14-2002, 12:14 PM
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You should install Euro headlights, with electronic auto-leveling ...
Old 01-14-2002, 12:17 PM
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Originally posted by le car
You should install Euro headlights, with electronic auto-leveling ...
Good lord, and how much would that bit of conversion cost??
Old 01-14-2002, 12:20 PM
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Originally posted by le car
You should install Euro headlights, with electronic auto-leveling ...
I would have to think that the auto leveling only really works when u have loaded the back of the car and the tilt of the car has aimed them upwards. I don't think an autoleveling system could compensate quickly enough for the bounciness the car has because of its stiffer suspension. That is what is causing the problem -- quick bright purple flashes in the eyes of the drivers ahead. I can pick out an S2K on the freeway miles behind because of that signature flashing.
Old 01-14-2002, 12:20 PM
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auto leveling sucks.
All about the UP and DOWN motion of our headlamps
Old 01-14-2002, 12:21 PM
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Hi All:

The US spec HIDs are aimed way too high when the car comes from the factory. They are aimed pretty much level with the normal surface. I guess that is OK with the DOT requirements, but I can imagine that other road users hate it!

Here in Europe a minimum dip of -0.5% is required and I had already modified it to such when I was in the US. Much better... And pretty easy to do as well!

There is a set screw at the rear of each unit and if you turn that counter clockwise the light beams go down. If I remember correctly my stock US car needed at least one-and-a-half turns each until it even reached the -0.5%.

I can strongly recommend it!!!
Old 01-14-2002, 12:39 PM
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I think you should leave the lights where they are unless they are grossly mis-aimed. If they are set to spec than they are at a legal height. No matter how you readjust the aim, you will still blind oncoming traffic on uneven bumpy roads and when you're going uphill. The S2000 is not the only car that does this! If you lower the aim of your lights, because of the distinct beam cutoff, you'll end up overdriving the headlight beam on horizontal road surfaces, while heading downhill and especially when going fast around a sweeping curve. I'd rather "blind" oncoming traffic than not be able to see where I'm going.
Old 01-14-2002, 12:42 PM
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Originally posted by le car
You should install Euro headlights, with electronic auto-leveling ...
I haven't noticed this reacting quickly enough to bumps to affect anything

Sure, it stops the lights pointing skywards with a load in the boot but that seems like it.

What I've done that helps is uprate the main beam bulbs. It's now very obvious when I've dipped which has stopped 95% or so of people thinking I'm full beaming them. And better main beams to boot

-Brian.
Old 01-14-2002, 12:50 PM
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I had my lights adjusted by the dealership and now they point slightly lower. There's a more distinct cut-off between the left and right lamps as well. This adjustment has reduced tremendously the number of times I'm high-beamed and in no way impaired my visibility. I'm much happier now as I'm not blinded by people high-beaming me and I'm sure the other drivers on the road feel the same way.
Old 01-14-2002, 01:01 PM
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Those electronic auto-level devices don't work very well, I have them on the car as standard equipment and yet I still have to manually adjust them once to suit my driving style ... Yes, you do need a certain weight to change a very insignificant degree of light discharge. Hit the screws to set the angles ... That's the most effective way accordingly.



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