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Hids On Mk7


orcomma
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103 members have voted

  1. 1. Aftermarket HIDs on the road?

    • Aaargh! I'm blind
      33
    • Yaarrgh! I'm cool
      49
    • Oiiii. You're Nicked
      21


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Of the people that complained about HID's:

How many have went over 20 in a 20 zone 30mph in a 30mph zone? Over 40 in a 40 Zone?(I suspect this is more common, we seem to respect 30 more than 40/50/60/70mph for somereason) etc etc. Have you ever parked on double yellows? Gone through a orange light you could of safley stopped on? Ever got a parking ticket for parking in the wrong place/too long/over a white line/in a hatched box? The list goes on.

My HID's are not any more dazzling than a range rover vouge, a BMW X5 or a Audi A3's. They are clean.They are in projector lights(and lets face it, this is the main concern in my eyes- I agree the halogen light reflectors do not cope well with HID Lights) The suspension levelers on these more expensive cars dont seem to work because we all have the same problem when they are comming towards us on a country road.My lights are far from blue, 6000k because I dont want to draw attention, Never been flashed, I can see the road better, I had uprated standard bulbs in the car but they still didnt do the in car visability much justice.

Kinda drags when people on forums do nothing but complain how agaist the law this or that is. Were all here to help one another, Its good to advise people that may not be aware that they are breaking the law. But I dont think its right to heckel them about it really.

Jay

Using other peoples speeds and if or if not they have broken the speed limit is no defence for using HID, Trying to detract from the fact your ok to use them cos others are driving 3 miles over the limit is not a valid excuse. Who told you there was an excuse to use HID's?. i may seem angry because i am, coming home from work the other day some boi-racer had some crazy HIDS that totaly blocked my vision and could only tell i was driving straight from looking out of my side window. And telling people to take down the registration on a dark night with HID's in your face is like telling someone to lick their own !Removed!.

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Someone asked what HID lights are= High Intensity Discharge Lights- thouse white/blue lights audis/merc/range rovers/bmw etc have usually as standard nowadays. Then there are aftermarket HID kits that people put in cars that are not ready and not legal to have them like my car.

My comments arent made to detract the fact that Im doing something wrong. Just that there are plenty of things that people do wrong for various reasons. Boy Racer 8/10/12k HID's in a 106 or a corsa with rubbish angel eyes that are over dazzling are dangerous and should be pulled over by the police/asked to remove them etc. But thats not happened to me (yet ;)) Because my 6k, projector light housed, 35W HID's set on the lowest setting for headalight leveling(cars do have it, just not automatic) dont dazzle people or put people in danger. People are dazzlled(SP?) by normal lights comming over hills from standard cars the fact mine are whiter shouldnt make a difference.

Its all getting a bit heated.

Jay

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So what we are all saying is(?):

- aftermarket HIDs are illegal

- aftermarket HIDs often dazzle other drivers, more so than original-fit HIDs.

- aftermarket HIDs are an MOT failure

aftermarket HIDs are therefore only really suitable for offroad / show purposes

but surely an outright ban is a bit excessive?

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I think a major point has also been missed here. If you have HID's your car is not legal for road use. Therefore you will not be insured to drive a car that has been modified as such.

You will probably get away with it until you have or cause a fender bender when the insurance company may wash their hands of any commitment.

Stick with uprated bulbs, if you really need them.

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btmadlon- thats the general consensus we have all been posting about? That they are not legal.

orcommon- I think an outright ban on selling them would make everything much simpler and should of been the way to go. Because you can buy them from reputable sites, many will think they are legal. Generally, yes the points you/we/us have raised are true. In a mk7 Fiesta so long as they are not too bright/powerful and are kept clean I dont see the problem with using them. in a 15year old Corsa with headlights like jam jars use a 55W HID bulb in a reflector housing will casue massive problems for you and the drivers around you.

Jay

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I've added a poll to the thread! :D

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I think a major point has also been missed here. If you have HID's your car is not legal for road use. Therefore you will not be insured to drive a car that has been modified as such.

You will probably get away with it until you have or cause a fender bender when the insurance company may wash their hands of any commitment.

Stick with uprated bulbs, if you really need them.

Only by yourself, lol. It's been mentioned many times in this thread. :blink:

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And another thing, I've never failed an MOT for doing 31 in a 30 zone either. The car is not road worthy, therefore another avenue for an insurance company to go down if a claim is made.

On that note, as with every change on my car my insurer is aware of my xenons, that and I will pass my MOT with them as the garage I use couldn't tell the difference between halogen and hid light (mine are 5k)

And for the record, fitting HIDs is not against the law.

Not having an MOT however is illegal. But remember your car could ride over a nail when you leave a testing station and be unroadworthy in the eyes of an MOT tester therefore your breaking the law.

Read in between those lines as much as you like.

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Mikester Please read the rules on HID's

You need:

Washers on your lights

auto leveling systems

and proper lenses

The fiesta has none of these so therefore it is illegal to fit them its as simple as that.

If you MOT station is passing a car with retro fitted HID's then it is not doing its job and could get in alot of trouble.

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The fiesta has none of these so therefore it is illegal to fit them its as simple as that.

I agree!

Unless they are to be used off road.

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Some people just never learn do they...

I'm shocked by the attitude of some people in this topic towards HID's. They are illegal. End of.

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Mikester Please read the rules on HID's

You need:

Washers on your lights

auto leveling systems

and proper lenses

The fiesta has none of these so therefore it is illegal to fit them its as simple as that.

If you MOT station is passing a car with retro fitted HID's then it is not doing its job and could get in alot of trouble.

Even having correct lens' auto levelling and headlight washers would still make HID's illegal on a fiesta, you'd need to purchase the entire headlamp unit, that has been manufactured by a company, designed specifically for your car, and has passed all safety tests. I don't think any aftermarket company would consider this, as it's too expensive, every different car they made them for would need unique set-ups.

The only hope at legal HID's on a Fiesta would be if Ford make it an option for the facelift/ST. As long as there's no major difference in fitting, I believe you could do a straight swap (as well as adding washing/levelling systems). That would be road legal, expensive though.

And to dispel a misconception, just because a car has projector housing, doesn't make HID's safe. (safer though tbf) HID's and Halogens make completely different shapes of light, therefore it's impossible to get an exact match by swapping bulbs with each other, even Halogens in a HID housing wouldn't be right.

"In order to work correctly and safely, HID headlamps must be designed from the start as HID headlamps." - quoted from the link I earlier posted. (An independent source of a very successful lighting forum - 120,000+ members, 3,500,000+ posts - how can you deny that knowledge?)

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yeah... 'illegal'.... so by that meaning, if i went to a copper and told him 'i've got xenons' arrest me..... you think he/she will... nah, jog on.

they make your car unroadworthy, which in turn is illegal. get off the bandwagon. like i've said, you're car can become unroadworth as soon as you've had it tested by a number of menial things, a bulb blowing without you realising... how many times have you seen a car with a tail light out... do you go up to them and say 'excuse me but you're breaking the law, you're under cistiizens arrest' only to find when you've dragged them to your local nick all the bobby hands the villan you've aphended is a form which requests they fix the defect and have someone who works in a garage sign the paper to say so. well done for upholding the law.

putting wind deflectors, stickers, vinyls, club decals... all these should be declared to your insurers as they coulnt as mods, but do you all declare tiny things like that that you've done? np... well this is actually driving without insurance which caries a heavier penalty than having an unroadworthy car.

... now notice how i use the word "unroadworthy" and not "unsafe". Reason being that HID's on my car (can only say it for mine) have not made my car any unsafer, need proof, come and drive past me and tell me your blinded... but even then you'd be lying to prove a point.

not aimed at anyone in particular, just aimed at everyone on their moral high horses.

go ahead and flame me, i love this forum for the bod squad they have going on.

love ya xxx

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mike, you on ZSOC?

+1 for you, seems its just you and me that are breaking the law on this forum.

Jay

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I honestly cannot believe the attitude of some people on this forum.

They are illegal for all the reasons stated above by the many members that are trying to give good honest advice.

I know 100% that if you live anywhere near me you will get stopped, then you can have a simple fine, points and a request to produce all the relevant documentation etc,

Or have your car seized, this is fact I'm afraid

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Police seem to be cracking down on it in different areas it seems, Police didn't know what they were a couple of years ago, I actually read a 12 page long thread on a police forum questioning they're legality, and the majority of posters didn't know what they were, or if they could pull someone over for it, and what they'd do from there on. These days they seem to be more informed. However, legality doesn't concern me much...

... I've broken many laws in my short 21-year life, and yes I speed when I really need to, I know the car's limits and my personal ability, I never exceed those limits. What concerns me is safety.

Aftermarket HID's are illegal in most first-world countries, reputable manufacturers don't endorse aftermarket HID's, and they're illegal because they CAN be dangerous. I have yet to see a fiesta in the flesh with HID's so I couldn't comment really, but I have seen other cars, even standard HID's can cause irritable glare. I think the worst offenders are 4x4s the fact they're lights are positioned at everyone else's eye line is a big nono. Reflector housed HID's are terrible too, inconsistent glare everywhere.

If your determined to put HID's in though (I know a little bit about lights) my advice would be (from a safety perspective):

Make sure you have the projector housing.

Stick below 5000k , 6000k at a push(blue light is a nasty colour to the eye, and can change the way your eyes should react by causing the pupils to dilate, rather than close, causing more light to enter the eye.)

Stick to 35w rather than 55w in dipped beams, obviously less light output, less danger.

Do what you want with full beams, if people can see these, they probably shouldn't be on.

Do what you want with fog lights, as they're positioned so low on the car's body, the light emitted will rarely reach another drivers eye level.

As I said before, I haven't actually seen a fiesta with HID's, so I can't really comment on their safety.

tl;dr?

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IMG_20110312_150228.jpg

IMG_20110207_202259.jpg

IMG_20110121_165535.jpg

IMG_20101205_132753.jpg

Just incase any is not put off and still wants HIDs or wants to see what they look like- here are mine 35W 6k HID's and single LED "Fog" Light's

Jay

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IMG_20101205_132753.jpg

Just incase any is not put off and still wants HIDs or wants to see what they look like- here are mine 35W 6k HID's and single LED "Fog" Light's

Jay

smooth as! B)

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Thanks

That was its "winter" wash because It got caked in snow and dirt for about 3 weeks.

These pics are fro ma carpark in the city centre of Leeds!

IMG_20101201_155022.jpg

IMG_20101201_155025.jpg

IMG_20101201_154713.jpg

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Frosty!

Mine's a yorkshire car (reg begins YP60) - was used as a demonstrator at polar barnsley before i had it dragged to polar stockport so I could buy it!

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Nice :) red looks really well dont see many red ones and I like those options alloys you have compared to the standard 16"'s the Zetec S get.

Jay

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cheers! it also has the body styling kit and reversing camera fitted :D love showing it off to my mates!

whats the TIVCT like to drive? I have the diesel which is economical but a bit sluggish when setting off from zero?

i think that photo has inspired me to chance some HIDs. watch for me on road wars!

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Ive got to admit i do like the look of HID lights, i think they make cars stand out and look the dogs b******s.

So i can understand why people put them on their cars.

On the negative side, i can understand why members are getting angry about them, I've been blinded by someone coming towards me and going down a country lane it can be dangerous.

I think the law shouldn't be to make them illegal. I think the law should be that any car to have HID Lights fitted should be fitted by manufacturer, whether as standard or aftermarket to ensure the safety of other road users.

Sure the guys on here who have them, your saying yours dont blind anyone, I'm not going to dispute that, but if you could have them legally checked and fitted wouldnt you rather have that, than as previously mentioned "voiding your insurance"? (not having a go at anyone, i know how easy knickers get twisted here).

Rob

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So what we are saying is, having HIDs is like trying to mate with a panda - illegal and damn dangerous but looks good in the photos afterwards

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I quite like the TiVCT- pulls really well, bit gutless up hills unless your revving it coz the max torque is @ 4500rom and the max power is right at the top of the rev range(6700 in my case! standard arnt supposed to rev that high!). The Engine loves to be revved to be hoenst :) Got a J1 induction kit on it and a Milltek Cat Back so its running about 130bhp(had it dynoed a few times when ive tested/changed things)

Ive been blinded by nuggets with HID's that are in rubbish angel eyes or worse still in standard reflector lamps. But ive yet to find a fiesta mk7 that has blinded me when were doing photoshoots driving towards camera etc at night. No problems.

I had a meet up with a few members off ZSOC and drove back with one of them he had 12k HID's they were pretty blue but when he was behind me, I honestly didnt bat an eyelid about it. There was no glare, no light thrown where it shouldnt and at various distances behind me I never really took notice of it. Passed a few police cars in both directtions and neither stopped or stopped us. They prob's have better things to do like catch criminals.

Jay

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