bz268

The HID looks nice but it is not practical. Whenever it rains, I can't see nothing with the white light. The white light just bounce right back with the rain drops right in front of the car. The rain drop turns into a wall blocking everything.

What is the option?
Can I change the HID with a regular yellow head light?

dnd2984

iTrader: (6)

Umm I see alot better with HID in the rain over regulars. The Fogs do help in the rain

tsxy87

I can't believe anyone would want to switch out their HID's...you could always just switch out your fogs for yellow jdm ones.

hrj

iTrader: (1)

i agree that HID is useless in the rain, yellow fog lights will definately helpful..

synthetic

HID is useless in rain?!!

HID is the key to driving in rain. Some of you have forgotten your previous cars and how you had to lean forward and tighten your eyes to see anything on rainy roads.

hrj

iTrader: (1)

well.. i have had 4 cars with HID from the factory and didnt find it useful at all in the rain..
when I got my loaner car, its an RSX, I did find the halogen is better than HID in the rain..

junktionfet

Actually the blue-shifted light from HID headlamps really isn't ideal for inclement weather. The real benefits of using HID lamps is efficiency (more lumens from the same input power) and the fact that there is no filament "hot spot", which translates into smaller assemblies and more uniform distribution of light across the road.

Yellow "low-beam" headlights used to be mandated in France and other countries for a very good reason. Amber and yellow aux/fog lights really are the best way to go when dealing with heavy rain, snow, or fog.

KmanianTSX

Most peeps that don't have HID get the alternative cheap bulbs for their Halogen setup. HIDs are for "the look" ... who said they gotta be purddy and work good too?

EuRTSX

Don't be cheap and change out your HID's. You're just losing money by even thinking about it.

Even though I agree, my yellow fogs seem to help a LOT when raining.

bz268

I guess you have never owned a Integra before.
It is not about cheapness. It is about people like to steal head light and fog light by some unknown reason.

Anyway... I just have an idea. Do they sell any "clean" polarized glasses?

L1StarTSX

I have never heard of the epidemic of headlight and foggie jackers. I would move if its that bad.

HIDs arent just for looks, they do provide a better lighting platform, they have been in use exlusively for years in off road racing before they became legal on road. Rain and fog, thats why you buy Fog lights, and use yellow bulbs or lenses.

Removing the HIDs? That's just crazy talk

taitando

Hopefully you hadn't swapped out your OEM bulbs for a ricey aftermarket 8000k bulb. Most OEM HID systems use between 4100k-4300k bulbs. This offers the most visibility and produces that white light in contrast to the blue emitted by the 8000k bulb. I'm not sure what kind of bulbs are used in a TSX since I don't have one, but Philips manufactures a 3000k all weather bulb that emits a light that's more yellowish than white.

hrj

iTrader: (1)

tsx use philips 4300k bulbs..

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Are you guys confused by the fact that you can't see the cut-off clearly when it rains and interpreting that to mean that the lights aren't working well?

We've had some rain lately and I don't have any complaints about the HIDs. You'll notice that as you approach objects, the cut-off easily comes into focus again. The HIDs easily illuminate the road even in heavy rain, at least in my experience.

Endless-Whitetsx

no problems here either lol.. but switched my OEM 4300k HIDs to 5000k (pure white) and still none..

waTSX

I live in the great, wet northwest and it's never been an issue for me. Whatever adjustment I initially had with the HID's (the cut-off in really dark conditions) has long sinced passed. I love 'em now.

jlukja

I never had a problem with just the rain. What I did notice, however, is trying to pass a truck while raining caused a whiteout condition for me. All the rain plus all the mist coming up from the truck's tires caught the HID's reflections. I adjusted by making sure that the coast was clear and then trying to pass the trucks as quickly as I could.

S14 n Tsx

You comes with some redicious stuff on the fourm. I'm from rain city and I never had any kind of issue with my HID..If you really dont liek what you have, you should get the foglights to help out.

ChrismanTSX

Changing to yellow headlights would be illegal, at least in Quebec (and I suspect most of North America). Yellow lights are allowed as auxillary driving lights (fogs or driving lights), as long as they are located more centrally than your headlights. They also need to be at the same level or lower than the main headlights.

I have never experienced issues with the HIDs except in extremely foggy situations. At which point I switched them off and used the DRLs and parking lights only.

bz268

So all you guys say is that the problem is all in my head...

EuRTSX

No, I've never owned an integra before but I've owned a Volvo 850 which was terrible in rain, and visibility. So owning a Integra gets you nothing.

EuRTSX

Yes its all in your head.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

tsxy87

It's hard to see when it's raining no matter what type of car you're driving or what type of headlights you have. That's what the foggies are for.

Still Water

No problems here - I luv'em. As said before, once you make the adjustment to the HID's you'll be more than happy with how they work. I almost feel unsafe in other nod-HID equiped cars.

klas

We have two cars TSX & Mazda6 with standard lights and every time I have to drive Mazda6 in the rain or during normal condition it reminds me how practical HIDs are.

gdcwatt

The cutout bothers me, especially on the winding country roads at the cottage, but as for rain - doesn't everyone use Rain-X?

pizzaman555

Your carzy I can see better with the hids.

jmathew34

junktionfet

I find that the impressive intensity of the HID lights cancels out the disadvantages of the blue-shifted light spectrum in light/moderate rain. Properly aimed and colored fog lights should round out the package and give you fantastic visibility in all but the worst weather (in which case you probably shouldn't be driving )

HID bulbs produce a lot of UV, but the glass is designed to absorb much of it. Earlier HID bulbs weren't as good at absorbing UV, so a lot of it would hit the road. This would make certain items on the road "glow", giving you incredible nighttime visibility. I recall that was cited as a benefit of having HID headlamps when they were first introduced. However such bulbs aren't a good idea for cars like the TSX that use plastic headlight lenses.

ssm05rsx

to be honest, i used to drive an integra.... aka RSX, base auto. and it was horrible to see in the rain and i was saving up for TSX retro fits because then visibilty would be alot better...

i no longer have the RSX from unfortunate circumstances... but my brother still has his type s and he is about to purchase his TSX retro's


and if your switching your HIDs to halogen, you need help... obviously people in bmw's have no problems with their HIDs since you dont see anyone changing their lights..

Bigtimebooch

Could this be more of a Cali-Driver issue than an actual issue?

JayRoam

i'd rather it not rain at all, but i love my HID's in any inclement weather, whether it's rain or snow

Infamous425

put yellow HIDs in your foglights, problem solved

creolefella

is where a guide on changing the fog lights yourself?

CCColtsicehockey

gtg710w

i have two beautifully crafted halogen lamps that I got from autozone, and I am willing to trade it out for your HID bulbs, ballasts, and harnesses. MY LOSS = YOUR GAIN.

Newplay1

TSX + Projector headlights + HIDs = Saves lives.



so yeah..... close thread~

L1StarTSX

Both my wife's car and my TSX have HIDs, my "weekend" car does not as they werent standard in 2000 yet on that vehicle.

Thats the only thing I want to change on the weekender. HIDs are great and traditional halogens are like using something made in the 50's. I have never had an issue in hard rain with visability. I personally will never buy a car again that doesnt have them, unless its a vintage car.

helraiser

Remember ppl, it doesn't rain all the time - unless you're in Vancouver! HIDs are good for every other scenario except heavy snow and fog. I can suffer as not great vision in the rain with HIDs as with halogens for improved visibility the remaining 90% when it's not raining.

Then again when it's not raining I'm usually on the bike not in the car!