GamePlayerM90

There were 2 cars pulled over a minute from my house and at least one of them was another Scion tC. It was a Blue one (not sure exactly what kind, I wasn't paying attention). He pulled me over because of my HIDs (8,000K) and my non-stock exhaust.
Were you pulled over for "Illegal Modification"? and did he ask you if you were with someone else? Cuz the cop asked me if I was with "the group" (the other 2 cars that were pulled over right before me).

How do I get a cop to prove my exhaust is Illegal other than it being Not Stock?

and whats wrong with 8,000K HID's??? They are a white color so they arn't a distraction to other driver like the Blue or stupid purple ones (it looks like the head lights on luxury cars) and its not my fault the government can't keep up with technology....

draxcaliber

depends on your states laws. some states, like california, any exhaust other than stock is illegal unless it is CARB approved. i don't know about jersey, but if you have some sort of regular vehicle inspections required (in MD we only have emissions testing every 2 years), then when you pass keep it in your car.

you have dezod's exhaust, you have the stock header, so you still have your primary catalytic converter, so your exhaust is still very much legal and such in most states.

i've only been pulled over once for my exhaust, in florida, which is bs since my car doesn't have to conform to their laws. but i've been lucky since my exhaust is epically loud, and when viewed from behind is clearly not stock, but it is cat'ed and has a resonator and muffler.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7RFaiKu-LA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsVbnOC-Y-c

GamePlayerM90

That's what im saying! I picked that exhaust because from behind it definitely looks stock and the sound isn't loud, raspy, or annoying.
I love it and don't want to have to remove it because of the dick cops in my town, especially since it hasn't even been on for a month.

I know the cops in Jersey atleast, put notes about why you were pulled over previously. It happend to me with a license plate cover. The 2nd time i was pulled over for it the cop mentioned the city i was in when i was first pulled over and asked why I hadnt removed it yet.

liltofuboix

iTrader: (1)

well im not sure about ur state like drax said. But 8k still shows a little blue. Oem white is like 5,300k or something or 5k while 6k is the diamond white. 8k should be a little bluish but still white so i guess they can pick on you about that. I know in washington they haven't really said anything about mine but i know people who have the agency power exhaust gets pulled over alot

TongMan

Any exhaust that is not stock is subject to being pulled over. The burden of proof is not on the officer who pulled you over, but on you. You may be issued a citation or a fix-it ticket and prove it's legality.

10gxiong

one thing i know for sure about most cars with HID conversions is that the light coming from the HID's scatter in a lot of directions thus distracting other drivers and second most of then times they're installed with freakin' annoying colors. if you want to go with HID's do it right and get a proper projector retrofit and use bulbs that will produced regular light. regardless of what mods you have, our cars are always gonna' attract cops.

GamePlayerM90

how can I prove its legality though? i think it has to do with the noise, but whats the test to prove its under a certain decibel or whatever

ok yea I admit the 8K has a slight hint of Blue in there...but barely! If getting a retrofitted projector headlight would keep the cops away I would but sadly cops can be jerks and as soon as they see a cheap car with headlights that arnt yellow they feel like pulling them over, especially the tC.

Unrelated but feel like sharing this, my girlfriend's brother is a cop in Florida and she knows that the tC is the most pulled over car in America (proven fact, search the internet) so she asked him something like, "my boyfriend is always getting pulled over by the cops. what car do you pull over the most?" and he replies, "why? does he have a scion?"

getaforknjob

iTrader: (-1)

That's awesome about your girlfriends brother.

ack154

iTrader: (7)

Cops aren't picking on your tC. They are picking you out of a crowd because you chose things for your car that STAND OUT AND CALL ATTENTION TO IT.

8000k HIDs? Come on... like those aren't obviously "look at me!" items. The exhaust? As OEM (and legal) as it might appear, it still sounds different and draws attention to itself.

Oh, and you may want to look up specific lighting laws in your state. It may be illegal to put HIDs in a vehicle which was not originally equipped with them. I've heard that before - but can't confirm - which is why I say to look into it. Check your state's DMV site.

Hix

Ah the burden of custom vehicles. Back when I had my truck I would be driving from Sping to Sealy (bout 50ish miles) every day after school, around 3am. Every single day in the same area I would get pulled over by the same few cops. I would sit there for maybe 4 hours, wait for the drug dogs and for them to do their illegal search... Nothing you can do about it. They always pulled me over for 'suspicious' behavior. I got a lawyer but it is always them against me. After a year of it they finally gave up and let me be. I never once got a ticket.

Now in my Scion I get harrased all the time. I had a clean record until I got this car. Last ticket I got was on my bike, I think, and I had that dismissed. Cops will always profile and nothing will ever change. You customize your car to stand out, sometimes you stand out to the wrong people.

Google for BUSTED: Citizens guide... something something.

Joyride

thats why you make friends with cops that chill out side of your local 7-11. And have a massive collection of pba cards and names to pull out each time you get pulled over. Well thats what i do lol

CarbonXe

iTrader: (1)

8,000k HIDs + 05-07 housings = ____ing obnoxious.

shortbusxb

I believe anything BRIGHTER than stock bulbs are illegal.

TheQuietThings

yes, in any state any modification to your headlights is ILLEGAL unless it is DOT approved.

And almost every HID kit will say "For Off Road Use Only".

draxcaliber

totally bogus. i'm using silver star ultra bulbs and piaa bulbs super white, all of which are brighter than stock, but they are still 100% street legal.

cavalierkid888

iTrader: (1)

qft

vettereddie

ANY HID bulb in a housing that is not DOT-approved for HID bulbs is illegal, REGARDLESS of color. If it didn't come with them, you can't legally upgrade without also upgrading the housing, even if the HID bulb itself is DOT compliant. Sorry, you aren't winning this one with the law. Government is slow to change but the law is there for a reason.

HID in a non-projector housing is just a bad idea. The reflector doesn't distribute light evenly and you will get bright spots above the belt line, even on low beams. This will shine in the rearview mirror of the car in front of you and the eyes of the drivers coming toward you. Decent projectors should have a metal shade behind the projector lens that provides a clean cut-off below the belt line, greatly reducing safety risk and chances of being pulled over.

For color, most OEM's use 4100k because it is brighter (more light output) then bulbs with more color. It's mainly the aftermarket going for the blue tint, and again, sorry, but at 8k you're well into blue.


If you want HID withing being pulled over, get some projector headlights with a cut-off shade and run 4,300k. Anything else is ____ing off other drivers and asking for a ticket.

vettereddie

Agree. Projector housings are under $200 and bake and reseal is pretty easy.

engifineer

Last I heard federal law now states that ALL non OEM HID kits are illegal, hence some vendors like Oznium saying they would stop selling them.

Personally, I agree with this particular law. Too many kids running non-projector HIDs out there blinding everyone like idiots. I personally would like to light the next one that blinds me on fire. They are cool (although not worth a fraction of the price IMO) when done right I guess, but the problem is that most dont do them right.

As for exhaust, I am assuming it is a noise requirement. If the law does not state aftermarket is illegal specifically, then they should have to prove that yours is too loud via measurement.

CarbonXe

iTrader: (1)

Exactly. Not only are you LOSING lighting output by putting higher temp bulbs in reflector housings, you're blinding everyone else. All for what? So you can have blue lights? Lmfao. Projectors with 4300k HIDs are a proven way to get both looks and function. If you are going to do a retrofit or get 08+ headlights, get 4300k. I still don't understand why people waste their money putting high temp bulbs in projectors, the bulb DOES NOT determine the color when projectors are in use, the cutoff does. Here is a perfect examaple. Stock 2009 S2000 headlights. The driver's side is right at the cutoff/above the cutoff, and the passenger side is below the cutoff. The color on the driver side is produced by the cutoff, the color on the passenger side is produced by the bulb itself.



That's white w/ a hint of blue. I guarantee your headlights have a deep blue look to them in person, just like every other car with 8000k bulbs.