Anyone want to upgrade their lights for winter?

Discussion in 'General LADS chat' started by Triple X, Oct 22, 2007.

  1. Triple X

    Triple X Active Member

    Joined in on a group buy on SN :roll: for some HID lights, after reading through the various group buy posts for the same kit they get nothing but praise.

    see here
     
  2. Rob84

    Rob84 Member

    just put hid's in my sti and i tell you what a real difference in quality just end up with a lot of people flashing there lights at you as they think your on main beam :lol:
     
  3. jim litten

    jim litten New Member

    Some of that can be down to beam scatter, the OEM headlights on MY99/00 suffer from this as the beam correction is done by the reflector and not a lens.
     
  4. jim litten

    jim litten New Member

    BTW you can't beat HIDs, no need for main as dip is bright enough, all you need to remember is that the higher the lamp colour (ie 4300k) the bluer the light output. Mine are 4300k and are as white as you can get. Too blue and you'll get pulled.
     
  5. Andy.McCord

    Andy.McCord New Member

    Jim, are these kits able to pass an mot with MY99 lenses in place?

    Andy
     
  6. Triple X

    Triple X Active Member

    Andy, according to all the people who have fit them they pass the MOT no probs and they have all the C and E marks etc..
    Can always put the standard bulbs back in and revert to original wiring loom in 10 mins if needed.
     
  7. Andy.McCord

    Andy.McCord New Member

    I take your point John, I've also read in the past about the lenses not being that good at reflecting the beam correctly, Im sure there was a substitute lense that worked correctly with them though :?:

    I am tempted to get some but what bothers me is the thought of frying other driver's retinas is not really a good idea.

    Andy
     
  8. cuprajake

    cuprajake Guest

    hid kits, are illegal end of,

    the halogen lenses are not designed for the light output from the hid, most kits im not saying this one, but most are crappy quality.

    if you do buy one, make sure you use a relay harness as the startup voltage can fry wires, lol

    if you want a better light, get some strong high powered halogen bulbs and agin if you want run a relay harness. this way they will work with the headlight propperly.

    the only way to do hid propperly is to retro fit like i did, but this is costly and hard to do.

    jake
     
  9. wd40

    wd40 Member

    I bought one of the kits off the SN GB for my blobeye when I had it.

    They are absolutely excellent, and a doddle to fit (as long as you work out where to put the ballast).

    The only issue I had was that after about ten minutes of use they would give one single flicker (maybe a millisecond).

    Excellent bar that tiny issue.

    I will invest in some again in a month or two.

    Bear in mind were the single low beam type and not the ones for a classic that use a solenoid to raise the beam for high beam rather than using two filaments.
     
  10. wd40

    wd40 Member

    Is that true? and if so....why ?

    Just a thought for those worried about them being too bright, you could always use your headlamp adjust switch to angle them downward more (if you have one).
     
  11. Triple X

    Triple X Active Member

    The kit comes with all the neccessary fused harness, ballasts etc so not going to damage your standard wiring.

    Cant understand why theyre illegal when some new cars come with HID's?! :?

    Anyhow if anyone want to see what theyre like then your free to come and look at mine when i get/fit them. :wink:
     
  12. Andy.McCord

    Andy.McCord New Member

    I guess its up to the individual but heres the lowdown anyhow :-

    Aftermarket HID (Xenon) headlamps
    Print Download PDF
    Fact sheet: Aftermarket HID headlamps
    December 2006
    In the Department's view it is not legal to sell or use after market HID lighting kits, for converting conventional Halogen headlamps to HID Xenon. If a customer wants to convert his vehicle to Xenon HID he must purchase completely new Xenon HID headlamps. The reason for this is that the existing lens and reflector are designed around a Halogen filament bulb, working to very precise tolerances. If one places a HID "burner" (bulb) in the headlamp, the beam pattern will not be correct, there will be glare in some places and not enough light in other places within the beam pattern.

    The following is the legal rationale:

    The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK.
    Under these Regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.

    However new vehicles have HID headlamps. This is because they comply to European type approval Regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle with a European type approval. These are to ECE Regulation 98 (for the HID headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (Lighting Installation on the vehicle).

    For the after market, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "HID is banned in the after market" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require HID in the after market to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.

    Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the after market should:

    1. be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.

    2. when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place).

    3. Comply with RVLR as far as "use" is concerned.

    In practice this means:

    1. The headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be "e-marked" to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory.

    2. Once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have "self-levelling suspension" and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam.

    3. The headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly like any other headlamp.

    Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

    In summary it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.

    If you require any further information regarding the regulations covered by this fact sheet, please contact the DfT at the address below:

    Transport Technology and Standards 6
    Department for Transport
    Zone 2/04
    Great Minster House
    76 Marsham Street
    London
    SW1P 4DR
     
  13. AndrewC

    AndrewC Active Member

    I've put my name down for a set for my Fozzy.

    GB is now past 30 sets and so will be another 5% off the prices quoted on that thread.
     
  14. cuprajake

    cuprajake Guest

    xenon light that come from a manufacture are totally different,

    they have auto leveling so they never blind people, the flicker of blue yu see is actually the cut off shield that gives the beam pattern, they consist of ballast, buld and projector, the projector focus's the bean, this part is missing from a halogen headlamp,

    this is a projector

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    a good read on the propper ones lol

    http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur ... n%26sa%3DG

    the correct cut off for hid's

    [​IMG]

    my old car with them fitted, look different but cant beat the light

    [​IMG]

    jake
     
  15. donnas roo

    donnas roo New Member

    I have got these on my car, never had any probs from the law, they are miles better especially on the dark country roads.
    I woulnt go back to normal lights now. :D
     
  16. scalesy

    scalesy New Member

    Hi jake did you make them lights your self m8 they look sweet! I want some :wink:
     

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