HID after market kit

Vain · 10-03-2008 2:25pm #1

Hey guys.. Anyone have any views or experience about HID after market kits.. I would love to get one for my mk4 golf in the furture heres one i found on ebay http://cgi.ebay.ie/VW-GOLF-MK4-XENON-HID-CONVERSION-KIT-6000K-GTI-TDI-UK_W0QQitemZ180220034641QQihZ008QQcategoryZ72240QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Where would ye think would be the best place to get them and would it be worth while? Also who would you get to set it up for you? Would you need a special mechanic to install it?

Cheers

eringobragh · 10-03-2008 4:36pm

I got some for my primera and they are excellent .especially on backroads

There quite easy to fit as well.

That guys a bit dear i got mine off an ebay seller called 2flage and their alot cheaper and a 2 year warranty

Vain · 10-03-2008 4:51pm

eringobragh wrote: »

I got some for my primera and they are excellent .especially on backroads

There quite easy to fit as well.

That guys a bit dear i got mine off an ebay seller called 2flage and their alot cheaper and a 2 year warranty

Cheers for that il have a look into that...

JHMEG · 10-03-2008 5:16pm

A lot of aftermarket HIDs in cars these days.. look for cars with a blue-ish scattered light, not properly focussed, that never had HIDs in the 1st place. I see a 1990 Civic regularly with such lights, as well as various Golfs and an auld Mazda.

I've a feeling they'll soon be illegal.

Pete67 · 10-03-2008 5:23pm

The sooner the better. I'm fed up being blinded at night by a variety of older cars with badly focused HID kits installed. They very well may be illegal already as HID lamps are supposed to have self levelling mechanisms and I'm pretty sure that these kits do not include this feature.

If you really want them, buy a car that has them factory installed and don't become a hazard to other road users.

Vain · 10-03-2008 5:24pm

I've a feeling they'll soon be illegal.[/QUOTE]

What makes you think that

cabrwab · 10-03-2008 5:30pm

Hopefully they will be even in factory fitted ones there blinding!!

They are meant to be so much better to drive at night giving better visibilty, but the ones fitted incorrectly do my fricking nut! especially in your rearview mirror

Vain · 10-03-2008 5:37pm

cabrwab wrote: »

Hopefully they will be even in factory fitted ones there blinding!!

They are meant to be so much better to drive at night giving better visibilty, but the ones fitted incorrectly do my fricking nut! especially in your rearview mirror

Didnt think they were more powerful just thought they gave out a whiter light..

cabrwab · 10-03-2008 5:42pm

They do give out a whiter light, Great if your the one driving the car not so great of your in front of or oncoming traffic.

No i really like them, and they do work, Just too well methinks!

Iam not telling you not to get them, just please i beg you fit them properly, no point in lighting up the sky!!:p

Vain · 10-03-2008 5:44pm

cabrwab wrote: »

They do give out a whiter light, Great if your the one driving the car not so great of your in front of or oncoming traffic.

No i really like them, and they do work, Just too well methinks!

Iam not telling you not to get them, just please i beg you fit them properly, no point in lighting up the sky!!:p

If i do get it i will be getting done right.. I know how annoying it is not been able to see where your going, when some has them heading your way:D

cabrwab · 10-03-2008 5:51pm

Fair Play!

JHMEG · 10-03-2008 6:17pm

Vain wrote: »

What makes you think that

The don't focus properly, and this has been done to death here and on the internet in general. The reflectors in your car's headlights were designed for a particular bulb with a filament of a particular shape and in a particular location. The hot spot in HIDs is not the right shape and not in the right location.

H4 HIDs are the worst offenders as halogen H4s have a reflector on the low beam built into the bulb and the HIDs do not.

In addition most kits are Chinese made, of dubious quality, and a potential fire-hazard under your bonnet. Even tho they claim CE and DOT certification they are not. 2flage mentioned above is Chinese.

It will be easy for the gardai to identify them as they're blue-ish and stand out.

If you want better light buy better halogen bulbs to replace what you have.

Vain · 10-03-2008 6:21pm

JHMEG wrote: »

The don't focus properly, and this has been done to death here and on the internet in general. The reflectors in your car's headlights were designed for a particular bulb with a filament of a particular shape and in a particular location. The hot spot in HIDs is not the right shape and not in the right location.

H4 HIDs are the worst offenders as halogen H4s have a reflector on the low beam built into the bulb and the HIDs do not.

It would be easy for the gardai to identify them as they're blue-ish and stand out.

If you want better light buy better halogen bulbs to replace what you have.

Like what? Xenon Blubs?

eringobragh · 10-03-2008 7:19pm

depends on what temperature you go for anything 6000k and under shouldn't give off a blue look.

If mine on the car months and no problems whatsoever

as for better bulobs some of the higher wattage bulbs melt the factory harness

JHMEG · 10-03-2008 7:31pm

eringobragh wrote: »

If mine on the car months and no problems whatsoever

So far so good, for you. Are your lights focussed tho, and are you blinding oncoming traffic?

eringobragh wrote: »

as for better bulobs some of the higher wattage bulbs melt the factory harness

Silverstars etc come in UK-legal 60/55w, ie the same as stock. Personally I've run with 100/80 and had no problems. Dip beam is properly focussed so doesn't blind oncoming drivers.

eringobragh · 10-03-2008 7:38pm

JHMEG wrote: »

So far so good, for you. Are your lights focussed tho, and are you blinding oncoming traffic?

Silverstars etc come in UK-legal 60/55w, ie the same as stock. Personally I've run with 100/80 and had no problems. Dip beam is properly focussed so doesn't blind oncoming drivers.

Yes the lights are focused and never got any flashes off anyone.

but i know where your coming from mate , some of the installs i've seen are ridiculous, blue light dispersed everywhere.

Steve · 10-03-2008 8:31pm

JHMEG wrote: »

I've a feeling they'll soon be illegal.

Other way around if the 'greens' get their way and outlaw incandescent lamps;)

JHMEG wrote: »

The don't focus properly, and this has been done to death here and on the internet in general. The reflectors in your car's headlights were designed for a particular bulb with a filament of a particular shape and in a particular location. The hot spot in HIDs is not the right shape and not in the right location.

I've not noticed any focus problems with mine, if anything they're sharper than halogens. They are proper projectors though, not cheapo bulb replacements.

JHMEG wrote: »

In addition most kits are Chinese made, of dubious quality, and a potential fire-hazard under your bonnet. Even tho they claim CE and DOT certification they are not. 2flage mentioned above is Chinese.

Why a fire hazard? surely people upgrading halogens to more powerful bulbs is worse? I would have thought a badly fitted set would have more of an electrocution hazard.

mickdw · 10-03-2008 8:46pm

Wouldnt touch them to be honest. Get yourself a car with factory fitted ones.

JHMEG · 10-03-2008 10:21pm

stevec wrote: »

Why a fire hazard?

Chinese tat balasts that generate high voltage under the bonnet of a car where there's lots of plastic, rubber and fuel...

Steve · 10-03-2008 10:30pm

^^fair point.

colm_mcm · 10-03-2008 10:41pm

how many problems are actually caused by ballasts oerheating, vs. say.. moble phone car chargers?

Spit62500 · 11-03-2008 6:43am

colm_mcm wrote: »

how many problems are actually caused by ballasts oerheating, vs. say.. moble phone car chargers?

I've no idea but chances are you'd spot a smouldering car charger a long time before you noticed a smouldering ballast...

ianobrien · 11-03-2008 8:03pm

Wouldn't it be cheaper to get a set of Hella 3000 spots bolted to the front of the car? That's what I'm doing, I'm getting the spot brackets made soon, bolt them on and away I go!

bitemybanger · 11-03-2008 8:05pm

New H7 kit on Adverts for 100.

JHMEG · 11-03-2008 8:06pm

ianobrien wrote:

Wouldn't it be cheaper to get a set of Hella 3000 spots bolted to the front of the car? That's what I'm doing, I'm getting the spot brackets made soon, bolt them on and away I go!

Not to everyone's tastes tho. Won't look right on a lot of cars either, like BMWs.

ianobrien · 11-03-2008 8:16pm

JHMEG wrote: »

Not to everyone's tastes tho. Won't look right on a lot of cars either, like BMWs.

But can't beat them for the extra light, especially the combined spot/driving ones!

siralfalot · 12-03-2008 12:13pm

I have 6000k hids in both dip beams and main beams in my Alfa, they are focused properly and have even passed the nct, they are 35 watts versus the normal 55 watts, the required start up current is higher but that is overcome by looping a harness directly to the battery, I wouldn't be without them, I've had them nearly 2 years and have NEVER been flashed

need to order a set for my Fiat Coupe now

WHITE_P · 01-04-2008 6:58pm

HID BULBS, DATE: 3 january 2007 ISSUE: 942

The ultra-bright headlights with a slight blue tinge to the beam that you see on premium models are commonly referred to as xenons.

They are actually High Intensity Discharge (HID) bulbs, which use a high-voltage arc between two electrodes to produce the light, rather than burning a filament as a normal bulb does. Because of this difference, the lamp in which an HID sits has to be specifically designed for it.

You can get kits for fitting an HID bulb to a normal halogen headlamp unit. But using a car on the road with such a conversion is illegal, as it often results in light not being directed on to the correct part of the road. In Issue 942, we revealed how scores of websites sell HID conversion kits. Thousands of motorists have bought them and, while many online retailers state they’re not legal for road use, they know exactly what buyers are going to use them for.

Autobulbs Direct was one firm we originally bought from. When we phoned to check if it had changed its ways, the saleswoman admitted HID kits weren’t strictly legal because they don’t carry the E-Mark logo which would confirm EU product approval.

But she added a car with one fitted would pass an MoT because the inspectors looked at beam pattern, and that wouldn’t have changed. “You won’t get stopped by the police and it will pass an MoT,” she said. “I can guarantee that, because I’ve got one on mine and it’s just sailed through.” It’s very similar to the story we were told last time! But when we had a set fitted to an old Renault Mégane – by a different firm – and took the car to an MoT tester, he failed it on the spot, saying the beam pattern was wrong.

Trading Standards’ Peter Stratton confirmed driving on the road in a car fitted with an HID conversion kit is illegal. He had a clear message for anyone who has one, or is considering it: “Be very careful. If somebody crashes because they’re blinded by your lights, you could be held civilly and probably criminally liable.”

A spokesman for Autobulbs Direct said it knew most of the thousands of HID kits it sells will be used on the road. “It’s a very grey area, and we know that the right kit on the right car will pass an MoT,” he said. “We stress to people they are not for on-road use, but it’s a decision for the buyer what he does with them.”

HID after market kit

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