How often do you get flashed?

Crazyjoker77 · January 30, 2018

I don't think its always a problem with aiming the headlights I live in the middle of the prairies where its ridiculously flat and 60% of the vehicles are trucks, most have company decals on the side so its likely their leased and unlikely that there modified and its always super easy to pick out the new k2 with the factory LED lights. They just seem to glare so much.

I'm a huge nerd when it comes to lighting and have played with so many different light setups on many different vehicles. Even worked at a couple dealerships where I used headlight aiming machines and received training in lighting standards and how to use it.

I proper projector setup should be razor sharp like.

but the k2s seem to have so much glare above the "cut off line" as in this photo that im borrowing from another thread where hes comparing the stock 25w hid to the morimoto 35w Kit. Their is a difference in brightness but the beam pattern stays the same and shows lots of glare or light bleed. with the LED bulbs there just brighter but maintain a very similar pattern.

Also from driving other vehicles with "proper" projector setups street signs never get illuminated and are impossible to read but I don't have that issue when Im driving My k2 with the factory HID which tell me there is indeed glare from the factory lights...

Kind of off topic now but its always a interesting point to bring up is one of the best lighting upgrades I've done to a vehicle is not going HID, or LED but just to a better standard with higher wattage bulbs and a relay harness (which will always make halogen bulbs brighter)

Here is a pic of my Japanese Imported car comparing the factory 4x6 sealed beam(45/55w) to some Hella E Code (the european lighting standard) with some super cheap ebay 90/100W bulbs and a relay harness(which increases brightness of a halogen bulb by reducing the voltage drop from the small factory wiring and prevents the factory harness from melting) It also shows the difference between the japanese lighting standard (which is RHD) and the LHD E code standard.

(Bonus points to anyone that can guess the car =p)

aseibel · January 30, 2018

9 hours ago, truckguy82 said:

it’s pretty annoying to me, but it’s not just annoyance to some. There are plenty of older people on the road that when they have direct headlights in their face they are almost blind. It’s dangerous.

I'm only 35 but I had laser vision surgery a few years ago. I don't know if my eyes became that much more sensitive after the surgery, or it just happened to correspond with the dawn of new obnoxious HID/LED headlights. But either way, when I'm approaching someone with the misaligned or aftermarket lights, it feels like I'm getting stabbed in the eyeballs with needles. This is only a problem on rural 2 lane roads, which I drive a fair amount. I could just close my eyes for 10 seconds and hope to make it past them and stay out of the ditch. I guess it's too much to ask for others to be considerate on the road.

lagerman72 · January 30, 2018

I'm leveled with halogens aimed back down to normal and don't get flashed at all. I will say it's getting increasingly harder to drive at night with a lot of people putting HID's into non HID housings and just glaring down the road, especially in lifted trucks that haven't had a thought to headlight aiming.

royalkangaroo · January 30, 2018

20 hours ago, MixerDriver said:

2014 Sierra WT, bone stock. Get flashed a few times a month. I guess I can understand why, as the high beams are technically always on, there's just a shutter that opens up and raises the line of light when you click on the brights. This makes driving in fog a blast, lol. Can't see anything but a wall of light.

In my opinion, this is the main issue. You have a certain amount of light "projected" to an area, and that's it. If your line of sight is underneath the cutoff, you're essentially staring at high beams -- simply a problem with the system. There are certain vehicles (Mercedes comes to mind) with adaptive headlights where as you drive over a hill, the shutter comes down further to compensate and prevent blinding oncoming vehicles. Seem like it'd be beneficial on a big vehicle like our trucks.

20 hours ago, Rolling Thunder said:

Hit the nail right on the head. They change bulbs and assume nothing else is needed, the same as when their lifted their truck destroys ball joints.........

Have you adjusted your lights every time you replaced a bulb? Never seemed common practice to me.

22 hours ago, truckguy82 said:

Never get flashed, nor should you.

I always flash people that have their headlights aimed too high, or people that throw in high powered bulbs in non projector housings.

Then again, you guys in hilly areas, like the OP, probably can't help it. My second home is VT, and once rented a new CTS for a vaca. I got flashed several times with my low beams on, and aimed properly.

I also think some of the country folk just don't like the new fancy headlights at night.

There is no flat ground in this state, haha! Certain vehicles seem to be brighter than others. I feel like I can always pick out a new Toyota Corolla based on the headlights, they're super bright/blinding.

aseibel · January 30, 2018

29 minutes ago, royalkangaroo said:

Have you adjusted your lights every time you replaced a bulb? Never seemed common practice to me.

There is no flat ground in this state, haha! Certain vehicles seem to be brighter than others. I feel like I can always pick out a new Toyota Corolla based on the headlights, they're super bright/blinding.

He said "change" a bulb, as in adding an aftermarket HID. That's different than replacing an OEM bulb.

And yes, the new toyotas have bright lights too. The difference is nobody puts leveling kids on them, and the lights are 24" off the ground. So their lights would have to be damaged in some way to actually shine UP into anyone else's eyes.

I think everyone understands that cresting a hill is just an unfortunate situation where there's nothing that can be done. You can tell when the "cutoff" line is bouncing just above or below your eye level. I don't like that, but I can get over it. What bothers me is when someone makes a choice to modify their truck in a way that inhibits my ability to see or drive safely.

royalkangaroo · January 30, 2018

32 minutes ago, aseibel said:

He said "change" a bulb, as in adding an aftermarket HID. That's different than replacing an OEM bulb.

And yes, the new toyotas have bright lights too. The difference is nobody puts leveling kids on them, and the lights are 24" off the ground. So their lights would have to be damaged in some way to actually shine UP into anyone else's eyes.

I think everyone understands that cresting a hill is just an unfortunate situation where there's nothing that can be done. You can tell when the "cutoff" line is bouncing just above or below your eye level. I don't like that, but I can get over it. What bothers me is when someone makes a choice to modify their truck in a way that inhibits my ability to see or drive safely.

Whether you're changing a bulb or replacing a bulb, HID or OEM, the process is still the same; twist the old one out, twist the new one in. The beam cutoff should not change based on a different bulb.

And I agree, if you level your truck without adjusting your beam, you're impacting other drivers. If you use your light bar on the road, you're impacting other drivers. HIDs in a non-projector housing, same thing.

The HID upgrade in a 2015 Sierra is similar to the setup of the 2016+ Sierra/Silverados, that's why I was curious if those owners were seeing similar behavior from other drivers as I was.

SierraHD17 · January 30, 2018

If you are getting flashed your headlights are way too high. Stock they aren't too bright... Gm's lovely 25 watt HID's are nothing to write home about. I immediately upgraded my 17 HD Sierra to the plug and play D3S 35 watt's in 5500 K and then I levelled the truck. I then went about adjusting my lights to the point the low beams were a comfortable height and I didn't get flashed...... because I too get sick of the dick heads with their lights turned up too high.

Now for comparison you can say " Well you lifted the front of your truck" and that is true. But I work amongst a fleet of oem HID Sierra 1/2 tons..... and every other oil company out company runs them too. Stock they are almost all adjusted to high. It's even visible if you drive one as the transition from low beam to high beam is not that big of a step. So if that's you out there lighting up tree tops with your stock half tons low beams break out the screw driver and turn the damn things down. I guarantee 90% of your flashes from other drivers will go away. You will still get the odd one usually from a car that looks like 2 peeholes in the snow coming at you at night..... but when your headlights suck you expect everyone else's too as well.

I have the same projectors and my lights sit at the height of your 1500's with a 6" suspension lift and I don't get flashed. It's not the cutoff..... it's just poor adjustment. And no, my low beams are fine to drive with and aren't too low.

kevinfranklin · January 30, 2018

6 hours ago, Crazyjoker77 said:

(Bonus points to anyone that can guess the car =p)

Prob a Toyota or a Mazda......so my money's on a Celica or maybe a Miata.

DCazares · January 30, 2018

Is it a ST185 Celica All-Trac?

Goinovr · January 30, 2018

Even with my truck lowered 6" I get flashed all the time.

Crazyjoker77 · January 30, 2018

18 minutes ago, DCazares said:

Is it a ST185 Celica All-Trac?

Close enough. It is indeed a ST185 but as its true JDM it got the GT-Four designation Specifically the GT-Four A Spec because it has the widebody flared front and rear fenders. Al-trac was strictly for the USDM and made slightly less power.

One box of internet cookies for you!

L86 All Terrain · January 30, 2018

All the time with my GMC, even before the Morimoto's. It is two-way traffic on the highway here and lots of small rolling hills; so with Projectors, cars always find themselves below the cut-off line and they flash you because they don't understand you have Projectors and a cut off line. It frustrated me so much I have a 30" light-bar behind the grille and some spots on the back for revenge.

moab11 · January 30, 2018

used to get flashed a fair bit until I realized that the dealer did not adjust the headlights after the level was installed. Since then I haven't been flashed. Took 1.5 turns on my 18 with a 2.5" front 1" rear level kit.

aseibel · February 1, 2018

On 1/30/2018 at 2:15 PM, 10SierraA.T. said:

All the time with my GMC, even before the Morimoto's. It is two-way traffic on the highway here and lots of small rolling hills; so with Projectors, cars always find themselves below the cut-off line and they flash you because they don't understand you have Projectors and a cut off line. It frustrated me so much I have a 30" light-bar behind the grille and some spots on the back for revenge.

You do realize that this "revenge" you speak of is for your truck shining full bright lights in their eyes when coming over the hills. When they flash their brights back at you, they are only matching the annoying level of your truck to them. So if you actually turn your LED bar to "get back at them", you are just being a d*ck and nothing else. Instead of pissing other people off, maybe you should check the angle of your lights. If you're constantly getting flashed, they might be aimed way too high.

MidKNIGHTZ71 · February 1, 2018

2 hours ago, aseibel said:

You do realize that this "revenge" you speak of is for your truck shining full bright lights in their eyes when coming over the hills. When they flash their brights back at you, they are only matching the annoying level of your truck to them. So if you actually turn your LED bar to "get back at them", you are just being a d*ck and nothing else. Instead of pissing other people off, maybe you should check the angle of your lights. If you're constantly getting flashed, they might be aimed way too high.

I do a lot of early morning driving (2am - 6am). On average, i have found that i get more flashes around the 2 am mark rather than the 6 am mark. My theory... most of the people flashing around 2 am are driving home from the bars (parties), most likely inebriated, which causes one's eyesight to be more sensitive to light changes. So am i being a d*ck for flashing the moronic imbeciles who are driving drunk and would not know what an acceptable level of brightness is for a properly angled headlight? And as far as the safety concern that i know some of yall will bring up, i would not flash them with the light bar if their are other vehicles nearby due to the safety for those other vehicles.