hid's and wheel bearings

[205man]

im after a coupe of rear wheel bearings where apart from the dealer can i get a decent pair? ive tried eurocarparts and they dont list them for my car, ive now got 2 weeks holiday from this friday so was thinking of spending time fixing little niggles on the car.

and also where is the best place to get some hid's from, i know the law is or has changed on the mot, but i do have projector dipped headlight lenses and headlamp washers just not got self level , but do have mate at mo t station ;-)

so was going to fit a pair, but which colour should i go for and where the best or who have people used as there appears to be loads on ebay to choose from. ive been thinking 4300k or upto 6000k.

 

[Bradderz_1988]

I have 6k and there slightly blue if you want more oem go for the 43k the kit I used were similar to these on eBay - 260774601499

Here's mine with dipped and fogs done in 6k not that clear due to being in the workshop under the bright lights lol

 

[aragorn]

I suggest you do some research into why you shouldnt fit HID's into halogen headlamps.

Bright Night Customs - HID Retrofit Technical Info | Bright Night Customs HID Retrofit
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply
The Reality of HID Kits, Truths and Myths

Once you've read ALL of that, then you can make an objective decision. For me, "plug and play" retrofits are a no-no on so many levels to even consider using.


As for the bearings, All German Parts sorted me out with mine.

 

[205man]

I understand the cons of fittng hid into normal halogen headlights, but the difference in headlamp between my projector lens dipped headlights and say the rs4 with hids fitted as standard?......mine came with the facelift headlights as standard and from what i can see they look identical bar tbe fact mine doesnt have self levelling or am i missing something? ....if i had the old headlights fitted then i wouldnt bother as no thats not good idea....

 

[aragorn]

The projector in the S4/RS4 headlamps is different. The bowl on the back is larger and a different shape as the optics are completely different for the HID lamp.

I have genuine S4 headlamps on my saloon, and standard facelift units on the Avant, and i fully understand peoples desire to improve the halogen headlights, they are pretty awful in comparison to the S4 ones. HOWEVER, i believe it should be done properly.

The conversion kits are poor quality, the ballasts and bulbs are made to no real standards and theres no quality control. No attention is made to try and ensure the HID burner is even remotely in the right place for a halogen projector.

If your prepared to put a little effort in adjusting the position of the bulb inside the bowl, and adjusting the spacing between the bowl and lens, you may well be able to produce a result thats adequate. If i were to do this i would only use genuine D2S bulbs from Philips or Orsam, so you can be sure the bulbs output is actually correct. Ballasts are less important with respect to light output, however crappy ones often refuse to strike or can be a bit intermittent.

A single genuine Phillips D2S lamp costs more than the entire conversion kit that most people buy, and yet people think they're buying stuff thats actually going to work properly!

I'm now looking into retrofitting a proper Bi-Xenon projector into a pair of LHD S4 headlamps i picked up cheap. Sure it'll be more expensive, but it'll also be a far better solution!

 

[205man]

Glad i asked it so much easier when you ask someone who knows these things..i may forget the idea now and spend the money on car elsewherer

Re: wheel bearings look like ill have to ring them as they not listing any parts for my car lol

 

[205man]

Glad i asked it so much easier when you ask someone who knows these things..i may forget the idea now and spend the money on car elsewherer

Re: wheel bearings look like ill have to ring them as they not listing any parts for my car lol

 

[aragorn]

Take a look here:

Fix for weak headlights in stock Valeo housings?

Thats what i'm going to be doing shortly.


And yeh, just give them a call about the bearings, they will sort you out.

 

[caistor_bmx]

I don't want to sound harsh but.... improper HIDs are for complete twats, sure you can see where you are going but you dazzle and irritate every other road user and cause danger to them. Imo even most cars with HIDs as standard dont self level nearly quick enough.

 

[205man]

lol thank you for your contructive reply caistor lol

the only reason i asked about the hid was the fact that mine is fitted with the projector lens and headlamp washers as standard and apart from the self leveling that i dont have fitted, i wasnt aware that the reflectors were also different, if they had been standard lens headlamps i wouldnt have even considered the idea.

 

[caistor_bmx]

lol thank you for your contructive reply caistor lol

the only reason i asked about the hid was the fact that mine is fitted with the projector lens and headlamp washers as standard and apart from the self leveling that i dont have fitted, i wasnt aware that the reflectors were also different, if they had been standard lens headlamps i wouldnt have even considered the idea.

Here to help haha, sorry they are (in my opinion) the single most annoying problem on the roads at the moment. I do alot of night driving between edinburgh and Leics so often find myself heading up to a roundabout/set of bends and having to drop to 20mph cos I cant see what the hells going on due to HIDs

 

[Oranoco]

To go against the grain and with more than a smattering of knowledge on the subject (I'm a lighting engineer). In my experience fitting HIDs to a reflector type headlamp assembly is beyond stupid. However fitment to a projector type unit is acceptable if you spend some time setting them up. I thought long and hard before finally biting the bullet and trying a conversion kit. Now I have them I won't go back to halogen lamps. Behind the wheel they are simply like night and day to what was fitted. I have completed a few journeys with my missus behind the wheel of the Audi and me in her Clio and had no issues at all with them. In fact for half of one of the journey I forgot to check the lamps from my position as they caused so little impact on me.

There's a lot of over the top anti HID hype bouncing around the internet. Some of it is founded some of it is not, it's down to the individual to make up their own mind and be sensible with their application of the technology.

I've been dazzled by as many factory fit HID kits as people driving with their foglights in the past so the dazzle issue is not soley the realm of the retrofit kits

 

[S4_dan]

I agree with Oranoco.

I too have HID's fitted into my facelift headlights. I'm using 5k 35W system. I too spent ages setting up my lights correctly using an official headlight beam pattern machine that my boss has for MOT's. It took a while and several drives to ensure I wasn't dazzling anyone with them. They are within beam pattern specs, albeit, almost at the lowest limit. I can see well and and don't dazzle.

Not like those idiots who fit them into reflector headlights and dazzle the poo out of everyone!!

 

[jcb]

dont get blown away by the non believers
sensible level HID's in projector lenses look no different to factory.

I have the factory beam cut off, have sailed through 3 MOT's (that may change though) and have the full adjustable height using the wheel next to the ingnition.
best mod I have ever done, cost £50-60 IIRC

just dont get chavvy purple ones!

there are plenty of write ups on here, including mine.

 

[aragorn]

The point is the beam is NOT the same.

The HID projector is a different shape, and casts a wider flatter beam.

If you actually browse over to HIDPlanet, and read all the information over there about the different issues with retrofitting, you'll understand why i'm against it. I'm not suggesting its impossible to have a glare-free retrofitted HID in a halogen projector, but its not the same as doing the job properly.

You'll find out for instance why OEM's use 4300k (color rendering), and why cheap and cheerful bulbs that you find in the retrofit kits are almost never 4300k (the salts are expensive), and also what effect using inexpensive salts to make a 6000k bulb actually has on your ability to see properly.

Theres a reason two proper D2S bulbs cost more than your entire retrofit kit!