Hids

33754k

Active Member
Dec 4, 2006
159
0
Manchester
Have fitted hids recently, however the odd oncoming driver flashes me- must think i have my main beam on. Is there a diy way to check and adjust the lights?
 

lc_allan

Northern Monkey
Sep 15, 2006
3,389
4
There are adjustment wheels near the headlight covers and you can use a wall, garage door to help with alignment. Might just be best to take it to your local MOT station and get them to adjust as best as possible. Might cost a £10 or so.
 
Mar 29, 2007
1,207
1
Berkshire
I have read in a few places that HIDs in a normal halogen light setup is not really recommended as HIDs are about directing a beam of light without the use of reflectors to spread the beam. An actual HID setup is supposed to contain self-levelling beams and lense washers, apparently... In light of this I went for high power halogen bulbs instead.
 

keany19

Active Member
Nov 10, 2008
125
0
Teesside
Just fitted mine from HIDs4U, got the ultimate ones and they look spot on, went for the 8000k which arent too blue, search the forums for discounts codes willl save you about 40 quid if you decide to get them from their!
 

FSiLeonMike

Barmy Army Reservist (TA)
Apr 26, 2007
1,303
0
Bury St Edmunds/Stowmarket-ish
I have read in a few places that HIDs in a normal halogen light setup is not really recommended as HIDs are about directing a beam of light without the use of reflectors to spread the beam. An actual HID setup is supposed to contain self-levelling beams and lense washers, apparently... In light of this I went for high power halogen bulbs instead.


I've heard this too!!!
 

keany19

Active Member
Nov 10, 2008
125
0
Teesside
I heard that that is no law on after sales fitting of HIDs. If your car comes fitted from new with HIDs then you are suppose ot have self levelling and washer jets

Just what I have heard so might not be right!

Have been past several traffic cops with them and they havent bothered with me so cant be too blinding!
 

Muttley

Catch that diesel!
Mar 17, 2006
4,987
31
North Kent
Fitting aftermarket HID bulbs into reflectors meant for filament bulbs is not road legal.

Disclaimer from the Autobulbs site http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/hid-faq-c-279.html
Are these HID systems road legal?

Aftermarket HID systems are not road legal due to the fact you cannot 'E' mark a bulb that is of different type to the bulb it is replacing (ie HID for halogen). Therefore we can only sell these as off road use conversions.


Disclaimer from Hids4u http://www.hids4u.co.uk/store/help.php?section=conditions

Technical for HID Conversion Kits
Please remember that it is your responsibility to ensure that the items purchased are suitable for your vehicle make/model and that the use of said items complies with all applicable laws in your Country. In the UK, fitting an aftermarket HID kit is not technically road legal as you are replacing a halogen bulb with an HID bulb, because of this the HID bulb cannot be E marked, which is a requirement for it to be road legal. Therefore our HID kits are sold for off-road use only.



Fitting a HID bulb into a reflector system designed for a filament bulb will distort the beam pattern. You no longer know where the light is being directed. There could easily be more light going in the direction of oncoming motorists, and because the HID is so bright even a relatively low power sidelobe can distract, to the point where some sensitive people could claim to be dazzled.

This is even more likely in the case of dipped-beam headlamps, where the beam shaping is much more complex than a main-beam. Modern headlamps rely on computer-generated reflector and lens designs which take into account the size, shape and position of the light source. In a filament bulb this is a horizontal (side-to-side) coiled filament. The HID source is a longtitudinal (front-to-back) straight discharge, an area of gas emitting light. It is the wrong shape, aligned at right angles to the bulb filament and in the wrong place with respect to the reflector.
 

keany19

Active Member
Nov 10, 2008
125
0
Teesside
ah well, that you go, looks like its a risk you take!

Like a said before I had been past nurerous coppers since putting them in and not one has bothered with me! Just dont go for something to blue and you should be ok if you want to do it! No one has flashed me so it cant be dazzleing people to much!

They do look a lot better than halogen lights to be honest and lots of people have commented on how gud HIDs look!
 

Vin-R

Active Member
Oct 2, 2008
342
0
Midlands
Guys heres the SOLUTION to HIDs in a HALOGEN LAMP SETUP.

Go to ebay and type H7R HID, these are HID kits made SPECIFICALLY for HALOGEN LAMP setups.

The HID bulbs have a filter on them that reduces glare. So are fine for road use!!!

Trust me on this, my cousin has been dealing with HIDs for years now.....

Hope this helps

Vin
 

FSiLeonMike

Barmy Army Reservist (TA)
Apr 26, 2007
1,303
0
Bury St Edmunds/Stowmarket-ish
Or just buy some Filament Hi-Power Xenon bulbs, still 55watt, just give off a white/blue tinged light, rather than a yellow halogen type beam.

100% legal, available as ebay cheapies, right up to philips hi quality ones that'll cost you nearly 20 quid each

expensive, but not as expensive as a fine.
 

Muttley

Catch that diesel!
Mar 17, 2006
4,987
31
North Kent
I've been looking at bulb designs, and have to modify my original statement. A lot of filament headlamp bulbs have the filament arranged longitudinally, along the bulb, in the same direction as the HID discharge. So I was wrong to generalise about HID's being completely different to filament bulbs in terms of the source direction. The shape, size and position of the light source may well still differ from the filament bulb, but the mismatch, for some bulb types, is not as severe as I made out. I still wouldn't trust the beam pattern, though.

Of the common headlamp bulb types, H1, H7, H8, HB3, HB4, H11 have longitudinal filaments and H3 has the filament across the bulb

H4 are twin filament bulbs, so even though they are longitudinal, there isn't a HID equivalent.

Leon I/Toledo II uses H1 (main), H7 (dip) and H3 (fog).

I have Philips Vision Plus in my headlamps (dip and main) and will replace with Philps Xtreme Power or Osram Nightbreakers.
 

stevo72

Active Member
Feb 3, 2007
151
0
cambridge
go for the proper HID bulbs with ballasts.

I have mine on for 18months and pases MOT no probs , i raised the question with them re legal and there was no issue, so if your car passes MOT with them , its legal .
 

FSiLeonMike

Barmy Army Reservist (TA)
Apr 26, 2007
1,303
0
Bury St Edmunds/Stowmarket-ish
go for the proper HID bulbs with ballasts.

I have mine on for 18months and pases MOT no probs , i raised the question with them re legal and there was no issue, so if your car passes MOT with them , its legal .


Or the MOT test station is unclear on legislation, or worse, dodgy.

Not saying the place your car was MOT'd is either, but it happens
 

ChrisUK

Eat My Smoke
Oct 20, 2004
2,258
0
Liverpool, UK
Your probably getting flashed due to incorrectly alligned HID's.

The focus of the light decreses as the temp is increased, so your 8000k lights are either out of alignment, or the focus of them is displacing the light too much onto oncomng traffic.

When I fitted mine about 12 months ago, I marked on the back fence the alignment of the standard light, then compared that with the HID's when fitted. The light was spot on & was not outside of the standard "light zone" - I have 6000k though, 8000k is too blue for my linking & is inviting an MOT failure or police pull.....

Mine passed an MOT in March with HID's in, and so have many a fellow forum member (there was even an MOT test guy on here if i remember, saying that if aligned correctly, they cannot be failed).

I'd take yours to an MOT garage & get them to align them properly (£10) - will save p!ssing people off............
 
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