HID conversion kits

[AudiLad]

dont want to spend a fortune,whats best kit for right money,is 1000k better than say 8000k? whats the diffrence thanks

 

[Boydie]

the k refers to degrees kelvin

1000k will be yellowy white
2000k will be whiteer
.
.
.
.
6000k blueywhite
7
8000k xenon blue (what I have)

Personally I would go for H7 (bulb shape) 6000K or 8000K and get them properly allighed and have your light level switch set to 3

A rough guide

 

[AudiLad]

thanks for your advice mate,much appreciated:icon_thumright:

 

[AudiLad]

easy to retro fit?

 

[Boydie]

yeah but you will need to butcher your access lid to put the bulbs through - its a grand job as you are supplied with a water tight gommit

 

[AudiLad]

have you done your fogs aswell?

 

[marriedblonde]

Worth doing a search in the 8p forum as this has been discussed quite a bit recently. http://audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?t=48471&highlight=xenons this thread was probably the biggest and covers the legal aspects of aftermarket xenons.

J.

 

[h5djr]

If you wish to read the Department for Transport Fact Sheet on the subject use this link:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

 

[AudiLad]

thanks for the help and the links fellas:icon_thumright:

 

[Boydie]

Havent done my fogs would plan to in the future as the bluey xenon light against the yellowy fog looks crap!

 

[golf]

Don't go higher than 6000k, whatever you do.

 

[AudiLad]

any reason for this mate?

 

[Beddie]

any reason for this mate?

The higher up the temperature range (kelvins) you go, the less the actual light output given, anything above 6000k will look purple/blue which not only looks crap imo but will offer poor lighting performance,

Most oem set-ups are around 4300K, although i suppose it's whether your doing the retro fit to get better lighting performance or purely for styling reasons...

 

[AudiLad]

both to be honest,but i was driving back from my girlfriends the other night along some dark backroads and i noticed that without my highbeam my normal headlights were actually pretty poor and i couldnt see that far. For this reason has it made me consider them. Are they actually that much better lighting and visibilty wise to your average halogen setup?

 

[h5djr]

Xenons are definitely much better than the normal halogen lights but can be expensive if you do the job properly and fit the required auto-levelling and headlamp washers.

Perhaps a starting point would be to just upgrade your dip beam bulbs to one the 80% more light bulbs produced by Philips and Osram. I've have OEM Xenons on my current A3 but have used the 50% more light versions on all my previous A3s and they were certainly an improve on the standard.

 

[AudiLad]

i had the phillips ones and one of the bulbs went so i put my originials back in,but i thought they were a waste of money to be honest. no difference and if there was, not to the point were i noticed the diffrence

 

[Boydie]

My 8k hid's are awesome to be honest - must have something to do with model or manufacture

I can see much better ahead of me than my mates S3 with xenons!

 

[golf]

The optimum colour temperature is around 5000k, which is the closest to natural daylight and produces very little glare (providing you don't have them pointing too high). Anything higher than 6000k and you're sacrificing looks for useability.

Are you going to keep the existing headlights without the projector lenses, or upgrade? If you stick with the halogen headlights you're going to cause a lot of glare in any colour temperature.

 

[hatmeow]

Totally agree with Golf. Anything above 6000K gives off a bluish tone that actually reduces amount of light coming through.

I would suggest not to go with the conversion if you are doning it withouth the projector lens. Its really annoying to the oncoming traffic.

To save some $$ I am actually using the Phillips bulb (about 4500K) and I see much better than the stock ones. IMO HID is not my priority in mods and rather spend it on something else.