City lights

[brutus87]

Dumb question about euro smilies on a US car.
Searched but didnt find anything.
When you throw your low beams on, do your city lights stay on?
ive always wondered this.

[reelizmpro]

Typically they come on with the parking lights. Something about not having to turn on the low beams if you're just cruising in a small well lit city, hence the term "city lights." So yes, they do still on with the lowbeams on unless you wire them up differently.

[brutus87]

Oh ok.
the reason i ask is because i have an hod kit and they look kid of funny compared to the brighter hid lol
thanks for the answer

[brutus87]

Oh ok.
the reason i ask is because i have an hod kit and they look kid of funny compared to the brighter hid lol
thanks for the answer

[reelizmpro]

You can replace the 198 wedges with LED's to match the color.

[bmwguy325is]

You can replace the 198 wedges with LED's to match the color.

OR Ditch the HIDs which are illegal and dont function well with real bulbs and be safe and get better light.

As for wiring up the city lights I spliced into the corner marker lights its was pretty easy.

[JasonC]

OR Ditch the HIDs which are illegal and dont function well with real bulbs and be safe and get better light.

So what kind of light do you suggest?

[bmwguy325is]

I always buy the Hella high-end bulbs.
Now the thing that is awsome is when someone retro fits a real HID projector into lamp.

[schtozo]

i wired my city lights to the side markers harness, i eliminated the markers as well. you can wire them different though, you can use the switched wire from the front signals in the bumper to the positive of the city light and splice into the negative of the lowbeam or any other desired for the city light negative. that way you will have the front signals working just as signals (as they are supposed to work from the beginning). as for your original question yeah they stay on with the low beam, and you can use any led bulb that fits there in order to match your HIDs. good luck

[brutus87]

Oh I have plastic bumpers and did euro trim, so I used the wire from the side marker.
Ill try the white led, thanks!

[Shanes325]

What's wrong with hids in a projector? And illegal? Not where I live and if so y does late model bmws come factory with hids?

[bmwguy325is]

What's wrong with hids in a projector? And illegal? Not where I live and if so y does late model bmws come factory with hids?

Well if you live in the US than yes its illegal to put an HID bulb in an incandescent lens. Thats why they say for off road use only. There is no such thing as an 9006/hb2/h1 HID bulb. What you have is a DS2 bulb that has been modified to fit a different socket.
Factory cars come with a real HID bulb and HID projectors.

[lbreevesii]

Everyone should take the time to educate themselves on the subject. I highly recommend the site below for everything you ever wanted to know about automotive lighting and then some. In addition to the HID article, I highly recommend that you read the article regarding bulb color and "superwhite" bulbs, their purpose, and disadvantages.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

tl/dr:

Even though smilies of any sort are of a projector design they are far from being the same as, or designed for HID use. Ever driven at night and been freakin blinded by some ricer racer with purple xenons in his civic? Thats a drop in HID kit in a housing designed for a halogen, and your smilies will be the same way.

On a related note(and one that may get me flamed) our beloved euro smilies are tehcnically illegal here too since they don't meet DOT spec. The real difference is how the light cuts off at the edges(especially the top edge). Euro has a much sharper cut off whereas DOT is stepped. My understanding as to the reason for this is that a majority of road signs in europe are lit, so your lights don't need to be throwing light up to help you see them.

[AlphaE]

OR Ditch the HIDs which are illegal and dont function well with real bulbs and be safe and get better light.

As for wiring up the city lights I spliced into the corner marker lights its was pretty easy.

HI! new guy here. You rant everytime this is is brought up. Yes they are illegal. But so are most fun things. Relax. Have fun, get over it. People, including me, have will or want to do HIDs no matter how many times you post that they are illegal. Just saying.....

FYI my Dodge had 3 sets of PIAAs in the bumper and a set of aircraft landing lights, 200w a piece FREAKISHLY BRIGHT, on the roof. And yes i used them all. I will be installin HIDs cuz the ellip cut is ok by me. And Yes ricer halogen installs suck.

[myE30rules]

HI! new guy here. You rant everytime this is is brought up. Yes they are illegal. But so are most fun things. Relax. Have fun, get over it. People, including me, have will or want to do HIDs no matter how many times you post that they are illegal. Just saying.....

FYI my Dodge had 3 sets of PIAAs in the bumper and a set of aircraft landing lights, 200w a piece FREAKISHLY BRIGHT, on the roof. And yes i used them all. I will be installin HIDs cuz the ellip cut is ok by me. And Yes ricer halogen installs suck.

I wouldn't want you driving behind or towards me at night...