Interior/Exterior Yellow headlights
#28
#29
Red is almost certainly illegal! ...Impersonating an emergency vehicle will be the charge.
BTW.....any time you are coloring the light rather than actually changing the the bulb to emit the proper spectrum of visible light....you are just trying to look cool rather than actually enhance your visibility and reduce glare to other drivers you are asking for and deserve a large ticket from the police
BTW.....any time you are coloring the light rather than actually changing the the bulb to emit the proper spectrum of visible light....you are just trying to look cool rather than actually enhance your visibility and reduce glare to other drivers you are asking for and deserve a large ticket from the police
#30
For street use in the USA
White is always accepted, blue (due to xenons and other HID type colored bulbs) is generally tolerated in all places, yellow is a no-no with the po-po, and any other colors will result in citations or worse.
Ya gots two choices, white and blue. Chose your color wisely.
Ya gots two choices, white and blue. Chose your color wisely.
#31
Originally Posted by planeguy
Red is almost certainly illegal! ...Impersonating an emergency vehicle will be the charge.
BTW.....any time you are coloring the light rather than actually changing the the bulb to emit the proper spectrum of visible light....you are just trying to look cool rather than actually enhance your visibility and reduce glare to other drivers you are asking for and deserve a large ticket from the police
b) All other motor vehicles shall exhibit at least 2 lighted head lamps, with at least one on each side of the front of the vehicle, which satisfy United States Department of Transportation requirements, showing white lights, including that emitted by high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, or lights of a yellow or amber tint, during the period from sunset to sunrise, at times when rain, snow, fog, or other atmospheric conditions require the use of windshield wipers, and at any other times when, due to insufficient light or unfavorable atmospheric conditions, persons and vehicles on the highway are not clearly discernible at a distance of 1000 feet.
#32
Ok so here are my questions...
I can say that honestly we have done this yellow tinting to the headlights so many times with our race cars, GT3, M3, 330i. All of which helped a ton on the track. My question comes with a curiosity of why people think that changing the bulbs is better. We replace the film on the lights because of the protection it gives to the actual glass/plastic that the light is covered by. No to be honest I think that the MINI's are easy targets for rocks or anything else to chew that plastic cover apart. I think that the film would be a better way to go but here is another question. Has anyone done this with Xenon lights? because the xenons are non changable bulbs and therefore you have to use film but I am curious what it looks like since by standard the xenon lights are brighter than the HID. By the way we use Lamin-X on all our race cars. Best film I have seen. So let me know what you think. Thanks
I can say that honestly we have done this yellow tinting to the headlights so many times with our race cars, GT3, M3, 330i. All of which helped a ton on the track. My question comes with a curiosity of why people think that changing the bulbs is better. We replace the film on the lights because of the protection it gives to the actual glass/plastic that the light is covered by. No to be honest I think that the MINI's are easy targets for rocks or anything else to chew that plastic cover apart. I think that the film would be a better way to go but here is another question. Has anyone done this with Xenon lights? because the xenons are non changable bulbs and therefore you have to use film but I am curious what it looks like since by standard the xenon lights are brighter than the HID. By the way we use Lamin-X on all our race cars. Best film I have seen. So let me know what you think. Thanks
#33
Originally Posted by racinbmw
My question comes with a curiosity of why people think that changing the bulbs is better. We replace the film on the lights because of the protection it gives to the actual glass/plastic that the light is covered by.
Originally Posted by motor on
I don't see how a blub swap is any better than film cavering the lens. Esp. if you have already upgrade to brighter white bulbs. .
By adding film you are only polarizing or filtering the light, On the racetrack It is hardly important at all but I have a feeling that the desire to color headlights has more to do with the "Hey look at me I have cool lights on my car" crowd than a genuine concern for better visability and reduce glare
#34
Originally Posted by coobah
Hey Drew,
I am also a big fan of the yellow lights, however be careful with the po-po!
I have loved the yellow lights on cars since the 24 hrs of Daytona in the late 80's and early 90's, my favorite team (Joest Racing) used to run their team Porsche 962's with yellow lights on one side, and whites on the other. It helped the team pick out their cars on teh banking, and through the tri-oval at nearly 200 MPH.
Ever since then I have toyed with the idea of doing my cars like this. On my old VW Scirocco, I did the lights like this, 2 yellows on the passenger side, and 2 whites on the drivers. I had no probs for about a year, then some over officious OCIFER O' da LAW, pulled me over and gave me a ticket for it. I used the same code you quoted above, but he cited me anyway. I thought about fighting it in court, but ultimately just gave in, and took them off to avoid the headache.
And if you need a more recent case, just talk to Shawn (Swarley), he did the yellow covers on both his lamps similar to the ones for sale above, and he was stopped and told to take them off. He wasn't ticketed, but he was STRONGLEY warned to remove them, or risk un-needed harassment. You know the police around us don't have any real crime to tend to, just car enthusiasts to hassle....
Here is an option for you to still go Yellow:
You may have seen my pic on SSM, but here it is again, in case you missed it. I have changed my daytime running lights (H7) to yellow. It looks SICK!
Let me know how it goes.
I am also a big fan of the yellow lights, however be careful with the po-po!
I have loved the yellow lights on cars since the 24 hrs of Daytona in the late 80's and early 90's, my favorite team (Joest Racing) used to run their team Porsche 962's with yellow lights on one side, and whites on the other. It helped the team pick out their cars on teh banking, and through the tri-oval at nearly 200 MPH.
Ever since then I have toyed with the idea of doing my cars like this. On my old VW Scirocco, I did the lights like this, 2 yellows on the passenger side, and 2 whites on the drivers. I had no probs for about a year, then some over officious OCIFER O' da LAW, pulled me over and gave me a ticket for it. I used the same code you quoted above, but he cited me anyway. I thought about fighting it in court, but ultimately just gave in, and took them off to avoid the headache.
And if you need a more recent case, just talk to Shawn (Swarley), he did the yellow covers on both his lamps similar to the ones for sale above, and he was stopped and told to take them off. He wasn't ticketed, but he was STRONGLEY warned to remove them, or risk un-needed harassment. You know the police around us don't have any real crime to tend to, just car enthusiasts to hassle....
Here is an option for you to still go Yellow:
You may have seen my pic on SSM, but here it is again, in case you missed it. I have changed my daytime running lights (H7) to yellow. It looks SICK!
Let me know how it goes.
#35
Originally Posted by racinbmw
Ok so here are my questions...
I think that the film would be a better way to go but here is another question. Has anyone done this with Xenon lights? I am curious what it looks like since by standard the xenon lights are brighter than the HID. By the way we use Lamin-X on all our race cars. Best film I have seen. So let me know what you think. Thanks
I think that the film would be a better way to go but here is another question. Has anyone done this with Xenon lights? I am curious what it looks like since by standard the xenon lights are brighter than the HID. By the way we use Lamin-X on all our race cars. Best film I have seen. So let me know what you think. Thanks
#36
Originally Posted by planeguy
Now I am cetainly no expert in the light and geometrical optics, But what my physics book tells me is that the INTENSITY of polorized light is one-half that of un-polorized light. Think about it, light waves that are "white light" contain the full visible spectrum as the polorized films block all the other components of light you will lose intensity. As opposed to a light that is designed to emit light in one band of the spectrum in it's full intensity.
Also, I think the light color of endurance racers is specified by class. This allows the slower cars to know what class the person behind them is in so they can let them by at night.
#37
Originally Posted by kapps
You are correct but the films are not polarizers. They are just filters that allow only the yellow tinted light through. They do lower the light output as all frequencies are not being transmitted but I'm not sure it's as low as a polarizer would be. The thing about yellow light is that it's the easiest color for the human eye to see so even at a lower intensity, it will look brighter.
Also, I think the light color of endurance racers is specified by class. This allows the slower cars to know what class the person behind them is in so they can let them by at night.
Also, I think the light color of endurance racers is specified by class. This allows the slower cars to know what class the person behind them is in so they can let them by at night.
You are exactly right about why we do the yellow tinting. Also you will notice that during our races it does emit a yellow light, unfortunatly the teams dont change the bulbs because we do not want to reduce the brightness of the light we just want the glare to be reduced as is my goal with the tinting of my xenons. I dont want to loose the brightness that they carry I just dont want it to hurt someone else on the road with the glare they put out right now. These are all great comments by everyone.
#38
#41
Originally Posted by kapps
You are correct but the films are not polarizers. They are just filters that allow only the yellow tinted light through. They do lower the light output as all frequencies are not being transmitted but I'm not sure it's as low as a polarizer would be. The thing about yellow light is that it's the easiest color for the human eye to see so even at a lower intensity, it will look brighter.
Also, I think the light color of endurance racers is specified by class. This allows the slower cars to know what class the person behind them is in so they can let them by at night.
Also, I think the light color of endurance racers is specified by class. This allows the slower cars to know what class the person behind them is in so they can let them by at night.
Originally Posted by planeguy
In other words ...glare....not visability....even if you have a white light and yellow light at same intensity, the waves WILL NOT travel the same distance.
SO.....Yellow lights are only intended for FOG USE....
Because the fog is going to reflect light back to you giving you LESS visibilty using conventional lamps. Yellow is ideal because of the mechanics of that spectrum of light.
So as I said before, anytime someone is using yellow lights on the street in normal weather conditions they themselves are the ONLY ones thinking they are cool, and It's likely that they will get a ticket, as they should from the 5.0
#42
Originally Posted by planeguy
poloriziation = filter....they are the same thing....are they not? the process by which white light is "filtered" is called polarization! You agree that the light output is lowered thats because only a portion of the original light wave is passed. But I believe you are wrong about yellow light being easier to see...I posted this earlier
- From Daniel Sterns...."So, why do yellow fog lamps work better? It's because of the way the human eye interacts with different colors of light. Blue and violet are very difficult for the human optical system to process correctly. They are the shortest visible wavelengths and tend to focus in front of our eyes' retinae, rather than upon it."
In other words ...glare....not visability....even if you have a white light and yellow light at same intensity, the waves WILL NOT travel the same distance.
SO.....Yellow lights are only intended for FOG USE....
Because the fog is going to reflect light back to you giving you LESS visibilty using conventional lamps. Yellow is ideal because of the mechanics of that spectrum of light.
So as I said before, anytime someone is using yellow lights on the street in normal weather conditions they themselves are the ONLY ones thinking they are cool, and It's likely that they will get a ticket, as they should from the 5.0
- From Daniel Sterns...."So, why do yellow fog lamps work better? It's because of the way the human eye interacts with different colors of light. Blue and violet are very difficult for the human optical system to process correctly. They are the shortest visible wavelengths and tend to focus in front of our eyes' retinae, rather than upon it."
In other words ...glare....not visability....even if you have a white light and yellow light at same intensity, the waves WILL NOT travel the same distance.
SO.....Yellow lights are only intended for FOG USE....
Because the fog is going to reflect light back to you giving you LESS visibilty using conventional lamps. Yellow is ideal because of the mechanics of that spectrum of light.
So as I said before, anytime someone is using yellow lights on the street in normal weather conditions they themselves are the ONLY ones thinking they are cool, and It's likely that they will get a ticket, as they should from the 5.0
I'm just curious and willing to learn from somone who might know .
#43
Originally Posted by RallyMINI
i dont know much about lighting.....but would red be even easier for our eyes because their waves are even longer than yellow? Or is yellow the ideal? (based on the above concept that white and blue are too short...thus the longer yellow is better..is longer better?)
I'm just curious and willing to learn from somone who might know .
I'm just curious and willing to learn from somone who might know .
#44
Originally Posted by motor on
Red light light would be the easiest b/c of the longest wavelength, but would provide the least intesity and conflict with the backs of all the cars. Green is actually the color your eye is most sensitive to (hence the reason it is the color of choice for nightvision goggles. Blue and white light have the shortest wave lengths and so will give you the most reflected light, which is why they're reach may be farther than yellow but the contrast isn't always there, because all colors a reflected.
#45
Originally Posted by RallyMINI
makes sense so yellow is the perfect happy medium...long enough to work well with our eyes, but short enough to work well as lights.
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