Hid Recommendations

[DanGersFord]

Right I've finally decided to take the plunge and I've decided im going to fit HIDs. Can anyone recommend a decent h1 6000k kit? I dont mind about the price I'd rather pay extra for a decent set. Also anyone fitted them?

[Dal.]

Recommendation? Yeah, don't as you'll dazzle everyone unless you get projector lamps...

[wase16ll]

be aware when hid kits are fitted, they need approved hid lenses, which basicly means you'll need complete lamps...laws getting tougher on this, mot garages are on lookout for hid conversions with standered lenses..it will fail if so.

[b1g_dav3]

http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/h4-hi-lo-beam-35w-canbus-hid-conversion-kit/

That's the kit I have, just you'll need to message them for the bulbs designed for reflectors or you'll blind everything in sight.

Anyone know if there's any issue with HID sidelights? Lol.

[DanGersFord]

I didnt ask for a lecture lol ive got self levelling projector headlights and will be fitting headlamps washers aswel and regularly makijg sure they are properly aligned. Im fully aware of the does n donts with them. Im driving a fiesta not a 4x4 where the lights point right in your eyes lol

[DanGersFord]

To be honest its about time they come out with proper rules and regulations regarding HIDs instead of having this grey area. If they came out with a specific standard and specification that HIDs would have to me to be classed as road legal then aftermarket manufacturers could design conversion kits that include everything you need to legally install them from headlamp washers to lenses etc. They're causing more problems and encouraging more people to fit them illegally by saying you cant do it and if you do it its kindve legal if you do it this way but its a grey area etc

[wase16ll]

which is why VOSA have brought in new legislation this year, hid's must have approved hid lenses.

hid bulbs on halogen lenses distort the pattern, hence why people get blinded by them.

personally, think they should be banned unless they came out of the factory like it...why anyone needs them in built up areas is beyond me, better route would be if they produced hid driving lamps,so you have an option of only sparking them up when needed...

consider yourself lectured ;)

[DanGersFord]

I personally think they should be legalized as long as theyre fitted correctly. If people know its possible to fit them properly and not be penalized for it then they'd do it properly

[wase16ll]

thats fine, but to do it properly needs eec approved lenses, halogen lenses are the problem...its one of those vosa regs that will take a while to sink in, end of the day, its down to mot testers to enforce it

[DanGersFord]

The main problem is when people fit them to reflector units and landrovers. They should be banned from having them full stop. Even when theyre manufacturer fitted to landrovers they blind you. I've never once been blinded by HID's fitted to projector units

[wase16ll]

like i said its one of those leg's that some garages will pick up, others will turn a blind eye...no pun intended ;)

typical vosa pithing about really, as testers arent allowed to remove anything for proper inspection etc, but part of the new directive is about the wiring as much as the bulb set up etc...how can they do that if they are not allowed to strip and inspect???

bit like you could have 1 wheel nut holding on a wheel, if you have a hub cap fitted, then tester isnt allowed to remove it, if there is no movement in the wheel then this will pass a test...couple miles down the road your wheel falls off....go figure???

extreme example, but dont see how a tester can fail a badly set up conversion if all he can really test is pattern, security and min brightness

the other classic vosa update is if an ecu has been chipped???

[by the way, when i said eec, should have read ece}

[DanGersFord]

Right in an attempt to keep everyone happy can anyone point me in the direction of proper ece approve projector lenses/conversion kit that I can replace my existing projector lenses with?

[wase16ll]

mate, dont get me wrong, just giving you heads up on hid's without approved hid lenses...

untill the aftermarket [such as bosch/hella etc...none of which have) come out with independently ece approved e marked hid lenses/lamps then strictly speaking hid is illegal...both from the law and vosa point.

just saying, crack on, but you might come unstuck at mot not to mention a keen eyed bobby.

[DanGersFord]

Ive got about 3 sets of headlights lol come MOT time will be having a wee switcharoo

[wase16ll]

dont mistake this for a dig at you or anyone gone/going down this route...but here is a link that explains the problems far better than i could....well worth a read

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

[DanGersFord]

Is it possible to retrofit these http://www.hids4u.co.uk/bi-xenon-projector-lens-hid-conversion-kit-with-colour-changer.html to these http://www.morette.co.uk/scpro/morette/productscategorycar.asp?manumodel=331&parentcat=16&parentcatname=Full+Headlights&cattype=y&manufacturer=Ford ? :)

[b1g_dav3]

Difficult to say mate, how much distance is there between bulb tip and the lens? If you don't have them then it's a bit of a gamble.

And honestly, you already know this but here goes anyway; according to law HID bulbs in a headlight not originally intended to house them are illegal. They can even have the self levelling motors built in, they can have projector lenses in them, and even the projector kit added, and then with the washers too; they're still illegal. Why? For one the headlight lens is rated for halogen bulbs, so will not be E marked for road use with HID's, also the same for the HID projector kits, they're again not E marked for road use. They're fine on private land, but if you step on to a public road then you're breaking the law.

Now the biggest problem here is in a car like the Mk6/6.5 Fiesta and the Mk7 Fiesta below Zetec trim, they have reflector lenses in them, which in effect is just a mirror around the bulb. This focuses light a little, but not too much as if you shine light onto a mirror, it's always possible to get an angle that bounces back at any angle. The holder for the bulb has the job of focusing the light at an angle, to ensure that the light has a beam rather than a spread (which in a bi-halogen set up, a servo moves the shroud to allow it to basically throw out light everywhere). Now when you have your headlight on it looks like the whole reflector is lit up, when in reality it is only a narrow patch that has the light focused on it, the rest is reflection off the mirror surface, from the glass, and any dirt/debris on the headlight glass, with the much higher output of the HID bulb, this is magnified by quite a sizeable amount, resulting in it effectively being like a lowered version of a high beam, or in some cases if poorly aligned the full blown thing. It's these that in normal cars end up dazzling everyone.

The other reason they dazzle and this is even in cars built with them, is that whilst the self levelling motors help, they don't get rid of the whole problem, and as cars go over bumps, it takes a brief half second for the motors to level, and this happens with hills too. Those without these actually have the problem a little less, although poor alignment is to blame a lot of the time. Also, SUV vehicles have the problem of being much higher up, and their light beams are relative to their headlight height, so is naturally much higher up.

Now think of what usually dazzles you with aftermarket HID's, my top suspects are Corsa's, Astra's, Golf's, Polo's, Ibiza's, 1 pee ant that has a Evans Halshaw special edition Fiesta that has them pointing to find alien's I'm sure, and then taxi's; all of which have reflector housings (the taxi offenders being those shed things, Toyota Corolla based Avensis'?). Now there is a bulb which has a painted piece over the top of the bulb for reflector houses which stops the light from going from the top of the bulb, which does generally get rid of the problem, it doesn't completely cure it as there's some rubbish ones about, but there are companies that are swapping your bulbs for the reflector designed ones at the price it costs them to get hold of them.

So there you go, there's the impartial lecture on the legality of the cursed HID bulb.

Now for the rest - I have a HID Kit on my Fiesta. I do have projectors, they are aligned properly and do not throw out any light above the beam, they're a crisp white so not the 8000K that seems ever popular on the chavmobiles these days (hell knows why you'd want blue lights, when blue is the hardest to make things out in and you look like a pleb), mine are 6000K although may swap to 5000K for the next car. I find them fine in all environments, whether it's country roads or urban areas, have never once been flashed by any other motorist, and find them a massive improvement over stock. If anyone wants a moan, I invite them to drive for 2 hours on an unlit motorway and compare HID with standard halogen, you'll notice a massive difference in light output and it really is a much more pleasant drive, which I have every week.

Now if you want a factory look, 4300K is where to go, 5000K will give you a more white light akin to Japanese cars, with 6000K being what German manufacturers use. 8000K is what to go for if you want to look like a prat.

If I was you I really would stick to 4300K or 5000K or it may look obvious they're HID, and if possible stick to some projector lens lights, so then it looks more more OEM if you're worried about them. If less worried, 6000K is just fine, but there's always that niggle if you pass a copper and you have that initial worry.

Just depends on what you want really, but the anti-HID crowd always try to put people down with them, when really the ones blinding are using terrible kits, 8000K bulbs and don't use the correct reflector housing bulbs.

[DanGersFord]

Cheers Dave ive actually got projector headlights just now but they are halogen projectors. I saw a car with the same projector headlights as mine the other day fitted with 6000k HID's and it never dazzled me at all and looked great so I think im going to go for a set of 6000k :)

[DanGersFord]

This is the projector headlights ive got and because they're black instead of chrome they dont send the light scattering everywhere

[b1g_dav3]

That's the colour on the 6000K bulbs, matched with CREE sidelights and fog's, not the best picture due to how phone camera's are, but you get the idea. Always seems to look good in the reflections of windows and people's boots :P

Those should be fine, not really legal, but fine :P

[DanGersFord]

Thats my headlights at the moment ive got prism led 501 sidelights and Philips diamond vision 5000k bulbs which are a pretty decent match for my halos but the light output isnt great on them because of the extra thick blue coating on the bulbs to give them their colour temperature. Its not an issue on country roads you can see great with them but on normal street lit roads you can hardly see the light on the road hence the reason I want to fit HID's

[DanGersFord]

[b1g_dav3]

I love having the CREE's as sidelights, they're so bright, at night you can actually get good reflections off road signs with just the sidelights (which I wouldn't recommend doing mind you), great colour, look good as bulbs themselves, and just put out so much light. Not sure if you'll be able to replace the halo's with brighter LED's or anything though.

I find halogens with blue paint on make them terrible for night driving without street lamps. Even high quality ones.

[DanGersFord]

I love having the CREE's as sidelights, they're so bright, at night you can actually get good reflections off road signs with just the sidelights (which I wouldn't recommend doing mind you), great colour, look good as bulbs themselves, and just put out so much light. Not sure if you'll be able to replace the halo's with brighter LED's or anything though.

I find halogens with blue paint on make them terrible for night driving without street lamps. Even high quality ones.

Im planning on getting Philips LED 6000k side lights. As far as im aware you cant change the halo LEDs but I dont realy want the theyre fairly bright anyway (ill post a pic with just rings on in a min) the diamond vision halogens are alright when its pitch black its just when your driving around the normal streets. Thats why I want HID's partly to match my halo colour partly to give me a better light output than any halogen can give me

[DanGersFord]