no matter what the head light assembly looks like they are still illegal... and cops are di*ks when it comes to import cars and that is a fact.... so please becareful

 

That is probably true.. unfortunatly. I did get cut a LOT of slack in my Fiat when I still had her in one piece. While it is an import... it is an ANTIQUE import.. and a roadster to boot. The one and only time I got pulled over in my Tib... there was no explaining to the cop that I was not speeding on purpose.. but that I simply had let my attention drift for a few seconds after driving FIVE miles at thirty miles per hour in a rather pointless 25mph zone (through the woods.. two houses set way back.. no sharp turns)

 

Yeah, it would suck to buy a $400 HID kit only to get a fix-it ticket. HIDs aftermarket kits are illegal in all 50 states, even if the kit is DOT approved. While that kit may be DOT approved, it doesn't mean once it's stuck in your housing you now have a DOT approved system. The only way around this would be to upgrade your car with an OEM HID housing and HID system.....or in other words, you bought a car that halogen headlights with an HID upgrade available that you later chose to purchase.

In a nutshell, a halogen housing is aimed too high and has no top beam cutoff pattern. Sticking a HID light in there will produce more glare to oncoming traffic. A HID housing would have the beam aimed lower with a cutoff at the top (to see what I mean about cutoff, park your tib in front of a white wall. You can literally see a line going across the wall from where the top of the beam ends.) Even though the Tib has projector beams, it doesn't make it legal.
The problem with a sharp cutoff and lights that are aimed higher is that when you hit bumps it will appear to the person in oncoming traffic, or a person who you are following, that you are flashing your lights at them.

 

but you can adjust the beam of your headlights just by unscrewing the screws for aiming. By parking 10ft away from a wall, the beam line should be 2ft. high I believe. I may be wrong, but it was something like 23 inches or somewhere near that.

 

Like I said.. easier to get away with a car like the tib thanks to the projectors.. harder for my Fiat with it's 7 inch round H4s

 

Assuming that they are smart enough/have knowledge of factory setup.
If you install them well it will look factory and I don't think they carry a book around with them that has the stock specs for your car and are going to take the time to search under the hood for the box or open the back of your headlights to check your bulbs just to give you a fix-it ticket. Even if the cop is an ass....that is waaay too much work for something so minor.
Just my 2 cents.

 

aftermarket HID is not illegal..atleast in AZ.

 

i am sorry to say.. aftermarket hids in all states are illegal.. and i know that for a fact... another thing also.. if a cop is have a somewhat of a ba day or they see your RICE CAR they will give us a hard time... nomatter what.. and if they feel like bustin your balls they will... so dont put it past them. and on the note of where you dont think they have a book on who has hids and who dont... most of us know who do and so do they.. comeon i mean it aint hard... it is mostly the pricey cars that have them.. sooo some hyundai driving down the street with their hids and their neons and ricey eyes!!! cone on now that is asking for a ticket or even some abuse from the cops. i got it for my factory tint.... they said it was toooo dark, even though i bought it off the lot new.. they still said it was too dark.. thats my 2 cents

 

hm... I just don't care if it's illegal... as long as the cops around you aren't jackasses

 

All the more reason to keep your car semi subtle. Or at the very least.. keep the Neons and the other really noticible illegal lights OFF when you are moving.