chadmg7 Posted December 3, 2003 Posted December 3, 2003 I have searched the site for posts on heated seats and I only found one post, and it did not answer my question. I was wondering about how much it would cost to have heated seats installed in my 97 ES300. I would think it would be pretty costly, but I am just wondering. I do not really want the aftermarket seats (like Katzkins)... I want the real thing, or close to it. Can you suggest any places to get this done and also, if there might be any potential problems with this, such as overloading the battery or alternator? Thanks. Also, I posted something about Xenon lights, but it must have been erased with the loss of the server memory. I was wondering how safe it is to install the Xenon lamps on the car. Are there any power issues or legal issues? I know some lights are illegal because they are too bright or something. Any suggestions? Thanks! :D
Latoilette Posted December 3, 2003 Posted December 3, 2003 here's the deal. i have phillips 9006 HID kit on my 95 es300. they work great..everything's plug and play. took about 10 minutes to install both sides. Xenon i belive...is just the bulb. it plugs straight into your headlight harness. However, if your bulb is much higher wattage, it will burn your sockets off and you will be stuck with some problems. seats..i am looking to do the swap also. You can buy two leather seats for the front for around 250 bucks at a junkyard. get that little button (for the switch on/off + wiring) and you are all set. you can turn around and sell your old seats off on ebay. at the end, it will come out even. *that is if you do your own stuff...labor is expensive on anything, so if you have to pay someone, this will be expensive*
amf1932 Posted December 3, 2003 Posted December 3, 2003 Every jurisdiction has its own rules and regulations governing the use of automotive lighting. XENON HID lighting systems that are supplied with the vehicles from the factory are DOT approved. NO XENON HID lighting system available from any source is DOT approved if installed outside of the factory.
squarehat Posted December 3, 2003 Posted December 3, 2003 If you really want to do it the right way, find xenons with the proper reflector housings out of the 00-01's that had the rare optional xenon lights. True they won't be auto-leveling (although neither are several brands of Japanese cars with stock xenon (Acura TL/CL, for one), but the beam pattern will be perfect, and as long as they're aimed properly you should be ok. I believe Sylvania has a line of DOT approved retrofit kits for the last-generation F-150/Expedition and Silverado/Tahoe/Sierra/Yukon. http://www.sylvania.com/xenarc/prodinfo.htm Like doing a 00-01 xenon/HID reflector housing retrofit, these kits are optically correct but non auto-levelling. They have been submitted to the DOT for FMVSS 108 compliance testing as a retrofit (whereas Lexus 00-01 OEM HID haven't been explicitly approved as a retrofit for cars not previously equipped).
chadmg7 Posted December 3, 2003 Author Posted December 3, 2003 So are you saying that regardless of what headlights I install, they will be illegal? I just don't want to get pulled over for having illegal lights. Also, this stuff is not hard to install, right? I am not very mechanically inclined and I don't want to mess up my car. Are these fakes? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=36476 I would assume they are because they are so cheap. Can I even find the rights light bulbs on eBay or where do I have to look?
amf1932 Posted December 3, 2003 Posted December 3, 2003 Call your local Motor Vehicle office and ask if HID lights are legal in Minnesota. ;)
SW03ES Posted December 3, 2003 Posted December 3, 2003 Any bulb you buy is going to be fake. HID is a very unique bulb with no filament paired to an electronic ballast that creates an arc inside the bulb, which is what gives off light. These are just normal light bulbs painted blue. They'll look dumb, have little light output and will probably eventually explode and ruin the lamp housings. Bad news. Any HID kit that you put on a car that does not come with it from the factory will be illegal in any state because they are not DOT (Dept of Transportation) approved. It is federally mandated. It is also now illegal to sell aftermarket HID kits in the United States. You used to be able by saying they were for offroad use only, but not any longer. The only legal way (and it would still be a question) would be to totally swap out the lamp housings with those from a 2000 with the HID light option (rare) because those ARE DOT approved. Its going to be hard to find though, especially with this new law that has even spurred large amounts of HID theft.
chadmg7 Posted December 4, 2003 Author Posted December 4, 2003 That's really disappointing. Another ridiculous law from the government. I don't understand why it is such an issue. Anyway, thanks for your help! :D
amf1932 Posted December 4, 2003 Posted December 4, 2003 The problem with HID lights are they're soo bright that they blind the oncoming drivers especially if they're not adjusted correctly. That's why the Lexus and other factory installed HID systems are auto-leveling. Lets assume that you have passengers in the back seat of your car, or added weight in your trunk, the back of the car goes down and your lights are now projecting a beam higher than normal. that's the main reason the DOT outlawed this type of light system. If you adjust these lights to compensate for the added weight you defeat the whole purpose of the added intensity.
NeiLtYmE Posted December 6, 2003 Posted December 6, 2003 and they are the worst when the oncoming traffic cars with HID's are coming on top of a hill..while your going up..... BLINDING I hate cars With HID's !
Latoilette Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 I love HID I do most of my driving during night 11pm-3am in a very country setting. HID is the best $400 bucks i've spent in a long while.
amf1932 Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 Hey, Latoilette.......where do you live? You don't have any information in your profile!!
Latoilette Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 i live in ATL please don't bash me with info regarding how it's illegal and all that. profile is too personal. 4 of my friends are charged with 2nd degree murder as of right now..b/c of internet forum. long story short..they started this thing called mt run.. where you go real fast on real crazy curves (almost like autocross), but in local mountainous road. Killed a family van with 5 people. cops traced it back to forum, profile..arrested. (one of the drivers told them about the forum to cops) this happened 3 weeks ago.
amf1932 Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 Sorry for asking you about your profile.....I didn't realize you have a lot of things to hide.
Latoilette Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 no prob. i am 21 atl college student with bunch of part time jobs.
SW03ES Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 I dont see how our piddly forum info like location and interests and such would get you arrested. I mean, just say "Atlanta" (its a big city) and your hobbies? Don't get it. Its probably not the profile info that got him in trouble it was the IP address. Thats why we're so careful on here that nobody is allowed to even mention anything illegal. Something like the HID lights isn't a big deal, but talking about running an illegal road course would definately fit the bill. Sounds like your friend belongs behind bars anyways. If the police contacted us with a warrant or we were contacted with a subpena we'd have to fork over the records just like anyone else. The police probably got a warrant to see the member's IP address, called the ISP and found out who he was, then used what he had been posting as evidence. Your IP address is stored every time you make a post. No way to change that unless you find some way to manipulate it. I doubt it had anything to do with the profile information that would be hearsay and would never hold up in court. The IP address confirmed by his ISP though is much stronger evidence. The police nabbing him by his profile is like saying "They like the same things, live in the same area and drive the same car, its definately the same person". Thats not powerful evidence at all, its a "guess". The IP address though is fact. This internet account made those posts. How do you think they catch child molesters etc on the Internet? So the lesson is, don't talk about anything online that you wouldnt talk about openly in public, because the Internet is not nearly as anonymous as people think. If you talk about selling drugs or something, not having a profile isn't going to stop the police from using what you've said here as evidence. Dont talk about illegal things and you have nothing to worry about. You dont even have to worry about that here, because we'd delete your posts and ban you long before the police became interested in what you were saying.
Latoilette Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 i guess you are right. i will go make a profile they don't really belong in the jail. all those people are nice people. they like to run their car too fast..and not think before they do it.
SW03ES Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 They broke the law, innocent people were hurt, they belong in jail. It doesnt matter how nice they are, they're criminals and they have to pay for what they did. There are plenty of legal car tracks ESPECIALLY in Atlanta ( I can name probably 5 and I live 600 miles away and have never even been there) where they can drive whatever speed they want. Personally I dont think people that are caught doing things like that should ever be allowed behind the wheel of a car again, after they get out of prison, if they ever make it out of prison. How would you feel if that were your family, dead because some kid was too bored with Play Station and had to kill them to get a thrill? You'd consider commiting murder yourself. Next time maybe they'll think about it. Thats the whole point ;)
SpeedRacer959 Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 Prison is just "grown-up detention". I've spent some time in after school detention...it kept me out of prison. Lessons learned. Let's just all be friends.
Latoilette Posted December 7, 2003 Posted December 7, 2003 i see your point. if that was my family that got killed..i would definitely say "fry them all"
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