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Originally Posted by Neuad  Yes.
Again can't speak for other cars but adjusting a scion tC's headlights is a simple 10mm bolt ontop of the housing right in the open, so I'm not blinding anyone while I drive.
I parked my car against a smooth wall, about 15 feet away. . made a line where my stock halogen lamps were left. . put in my HID's and adjusted my headlights accordingly. . .it wasn't too big of a difference but still, I don't want to be a douchebag blinding everyone. . .just able to see better at night.
Oh and also HIDs don't work as Highbeams, sorry  They take a 5-10 seconds to fully 'power up' and switching them on and off all the time can blow the Ballast Box extremely fast. . .it can be done but its not recommended. |
HIDs can and are used as high beams all the time. Generally inside the HID housing there is a mechanical reflector/screen that blocks light above a certain point. When high beams are used the reflector angles up, allowing additional light to leave the housing. This requires a more expensive housing containing this mechanical reflector and that's why a lot of cars come with HID low beams but halogen high beams.
BMW Technology Guide : Bi-xenon lights
Also, the biggest reason that HIDs can be blinding is because they require specialized housings. HIDs create a LOT more light than halogens and, if they are not in a proper housing that focuses the light, they simply throw all that additional light out onto the road and into people's eyes. In many less expensive cars that come with the option for HIDs you'll see the company simply throw HIDs into the standard halogen housing in order to reduce costs, thus causing this problem. The same issue arises when people purchase aftermarket HID kits and install them into their standard halogen housing. Finally, a lot of people with their blindingly blue lights are not actually using HIDs at all, they are simply using cheap tinted blue halogens. Blue light is significantly harder on the eyes than white light and these crappy blue halogens are marketed as "xenon" halogens and scooped up by people trying to make it seem like their cars have real HIDs.
