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Hid !!
- Thread starter Chris4125
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You'll need H7R for the dipped beam I think. If you flash people with main beam I would leave those as standard because flashing won't do the HID kit any good.
Used H7R for my dipped beam, you can use H7's but they may cause glare due to the leon having reflector lamps. You really should use the "R". As GainfulShrimp suggests i would not use HID on the main beam as the flash will shorten thier life, HIDS also have a warm up time so the flash would not be very good, I would suggest HIDS for the dipped and after market halogen for the main beam. Also go for some LED side lights as the normal bulbe will look very yellow once you put HID's in. Make sure the LEDS are for canbus or else you will have dash warnings for failed bulbs.
Uncle
Uncle
There are various threads about this. Your mileage may vary though...
Personally I started off with a pair of "canbus compatible" LED sidelights with the electronics to cancel the bulb warning built onto the PCB that plugs straight into the 501 bulb holder. These took a bit of fiddling to get working as the contacts weren't great. Some people improved the contacts with a blob of solder to build them up a bit.
Eventually that pair failed altogether (I read a theory on another forum that the heat from the H1 main beam bulb would eventually damage the SMD components on the LED modules).
I'm now using the MTEC LED sidelights. These aren't can-bus compatible by themselves though, so I'm using a plug and play resistor kit inline with the LED modules. The MTEC ones I'm using are forward facing, so don't make use of the reflector much, if at all. I bought both the MTEC LEDs and the resistor kit from hids direct.
The H7R capsules have some coating/shield on the lower half of the glass, so that only incidental reflections end up on the bottom half of the reflector, meaning less glare for oncoming vehicles.
Some people prefer to use H7 capsules but then aim the beams lower, either using the dash control (usually used when the car is towing or under big load), or using the white adjuster just above the headlight unit.
I personally went for the H7Rs.
Neither are as good as proper OEM projectors though...
i got some cheap resistors off ebay and some cheap bulbs off ebay and they've lasted me around 2.5 years. Came to a total of £8 all in. Can't find the seller though.
and yeah don't go fitting H7's into reflector housing as you will give awful glare and the road is lit up badly for you.
The H7R capsules have some coating/shield on the lower half of the glass, so that only incidental reflections end up on the bottom half of the reflector, meaning less glare for oncoming vehicles.
Some people prefer to use H7 capsules but then aim the beams lower, either using the dash control (usually used when the car is towing or under big load), or using the white adjuster just above the headlight unit.
I personally went for the H7Rs.
Neither are as good as proper OEM projectors though...
what are the OEM projectors and where can i get them also how much are they cheers?
Just another term for factory-fitted (i.e. Original Equipment). You can retrofit them but they're very expensive compared to the aftermarket kits. Also, to be 100% safe/legal you need to fit the self-levelling equipment and headlight washers... it's not an easy project, sadly.
why do you need the headlight washers? also cant you use the manual headlight adjuster?
Hi there
I have fitted the factory xenon lights after having a H7r hid kit, I was getting fed up with people flashing me, I had the lights checked but you cant get rid of the extra light, so I fitted the bi xenon lights which were just under £300, a dealer can give you 25% off well my local dealer did, all in all I spent £400 after getting bulbs and control units, the light output is a 1000 times better, the light is cut off and you get the bi xenon function ( high beam ) I have not fitted the auto level yet but can do if I get problems, Took my car to a local mot est and had a mock mot and they said they cannot fail it because the beam pattern is correct, and you do not need the washers,
I would save the money and get the bi xenons, took me about 2 hours the fit the lights very easy job and just code them using vag com
Hope this helps
I have fitted the factory xenon lights after having a H7r hid kit, I was getting fed up with people flashing me, I had the lights checked but you cant get rid of the extra light, so I fitted the bi xenon lights which were just under £300, a dealer can give you 25% off well my local dealer did, all in all I spent £400 after getting bulbs and control units, the light output is a 1000 times better, the light is cut off and you get the bi xenon function ( high beam ) I have not fitted the auto level yet but can do if I get problems, Took my car to a local mot est and had a mock mot and they said they cannot fail it because the beam pattern is correct, and you do not need the washers,
I would save the money and get the bi xenons, took me about 2 hours the fit the lights very easy job and just code them using vag com
Hope this helps
I can't give you a link/citation but I'm sure the relevant regulations were quoted in one of the many threads about aftermarket HIDs and their dubious legal status, and they said that you need both headlight washers and self-levelling.
That said, if you did a high quality conversion to projector (not reflector) based HIDs - whether using official parts or not - it's unlikely that you'd be pulled over or fail a current MOT. I've heard of people failing MOTs for having a 'bad beam pattern' when using H7/H7R HID kits in the standard reflector units. Projector based headlights have no such problem with beam pattern (and don't require H7R - only H7).
My car is going to be sold before it needs its first MOT and I'll be replacing my H7R HID kit with the bog standard halogen bulbs that came with it, before it goes.
Given the number of twits driving about with poorly implemented HID conversions, half-blinding everyone else on the road, it's very likely that MOT regs will be amended to effectively ban many if not all aftermarket kits IMHO. The only way to be absolutely sure that your HIDs will pass any future, stricter, MOT regulations is to buy them factory-fitted with the car. That's my understanding anyway...
Yes, you can use either the manual adjuster (white screw thingey) on the headlamp unit, or the dial on the dash to adjust the lamps as required. I used the little white screw thingeys to adjust mine.
Given the number of twits driving about with poorly implemented HID conversions, half-blinding everyone else on the road, it's very likely that MOT regs will be amended to effectively ban many if not all aftermarket kits IMHO. The only way to be absolutely sure that your HIDs will pass any future, stricter, MOT regulations is to buy them factory-fitted with the car. That's my understanding anyway...
Yes, you can use either the manual adjuster (white screw thingey) on the headlamp unit, or the dial on the dash to adjust the lamps as required. I used the little white screw thingeys to adjust mine.
Department for Transport said back in Dec 2006 that aftermarket HIDs are illegal if you do not have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling.
LINK
Yes thats what Droitwich garage charged me thats with the 25% discount, go to hids direct for the bulbs £50 for a pair (d1s), and go to a valeo dealer, most factors deal with valeo direct, the ballest is part number 043731 and is about £70 each,
Hope this helps, and send you some pics if you like
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