Recommend A Hid Kit

Try to always get metal based bulbs and buy of a good dealer like HIDs direct they seem to be quite good
 
OEM is 4300k iirc some manufacturers use 5k though either of the two in OEM units will do
 
Bradderz_1988 said:
OEM xenons or osram nightbreakers nothing else !!
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Xenons would be nice, I had them on my e91 touring, the difference over standard halogen is profound! I imagine the xenon's from either the S4 or RS4 b5 are ridiculous to buy and probably not a simple 'bolt on' mod?

So you reckon Osram night breakers? Big difference over standard bulb?
 
I have OEM xenons that i scored on ebay for £80 posted, they normal go for £200+ on SRS.

There just plug and play although you should have level sensors and HL washers i have washers but dont work lol

Ive never personally used osram nightbreakers but heard only good things or get the ring branded equivalent ones.
 
Bradderz_1988 said:
I have OEM xenons that i scored on ebay for £80 posted, they normal go for £200+ on SRS.

There just plug and play although you should have level sensors and HL washers i have washers but dont work lol

Ive never personally used osram nightbreakers but heard only good things or get the ring branded equivalent ones.
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That's a very good price as there normally, as you say, £200+.

They would be plug 'n' play on a FL? What about the ballast unit etc? Would that marry up with my existing wiring?

Would not having washers be an MOT failure? I understand that it's mandatory to have functioning washer on cars fitted with xenons?

I might give the osrams' a go, they've got to be better than what I have fitted!

Cheers mate.
 
The MOT rules are odd. They say something like "cars with HID's may have headlamp washers and automatic levelling" then go on to say "where fitted these must work".

Seems to me that due to the "may" in the first part, its possible for a car without washers to pass just fine, even though its technically illegal to have HID's but no washers.
 
aragorn said:
The MOT rules are odd. They say something like "cars with HID's may have headlamp washers and automatic levelling" then go on to say "where fitted these must work".

Seems to me that due to the "may" in the first part, its possible for a car without washers to pass just fine, even though its technically illegal to have HID's but no washers.
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Yeah the rules are very much open to interpretation. It seems odd that if you retro fit HID's to your car you don't need washers? What about Xenons though? Hypothetically, if fitted S4 or RS4 Xenons to my FL A4, which doesn't have washers of auto levelling, would that fail it's MOT? Do you think testers would know the difference as the physical headlight unit doesn't look that different, besides the light it emits? For all they know, I could have fitted brighter bulbs?
 
HID's and Xenons are the same thing.

Like i said, legally to comply with the european type approval, the car must have washers and levelling. However the odd wording in the MOT regs implys you should pass without. One of those many situations where a car thats actually illegal can still pass an MOT.

When i recently MOT'd my avant (which has FL S4 headlamps fitted) the guy failed it becasue the washers werent working. I pointed out that the car didnt have washers, and he pointed at the front bumper (its an S4 bumper with the washer caps). I ended up getting him to stick it up on the ramps and proved there was no washers fitted, just the caps and he passed it.
 
So I guess you could get away with fitting OE xenons with a stock non-S4 bumper and they'd be none the wiser.

I'll try some uprated bulbs first and see what I think. I suspect OE xenons come up rarely?

Could you recommend a good HID kit?
 
I dont recommend using conversion kits in standard headlamps.

Only use genuine D2S lamps with a projector designed to use D2S lamps.

Its the only way to get the correct beam pattern.
 
aragorn said:
I dont recommend using conversion kits in standard headlamps.

Only use genuine D2S lamps with a projector designed to use D2S lamps.

Its the only way to get the correct beam pattern.
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Thanks for your response. Been looking at these D2S lamps and I don't know if it's because I'm being a biff but they only seem compatible with xenon headlights? Mainly the S4. Do they exist for normal projector lamps?

Thanks.
 
You need a h7 hid kit if you are putting hid's into your current headlights, I think the thread got confusing as the oem xenon headlights use d2s bulbs, I take it you don't have them right?

Trups
 
Thats the point, D2S lamps are Xenon lamps, and only fit xenon headlights that are designed for d2s lamps. Its the Xenon equivalent of "H7" etc.

The conversion kits take a cheap nasty copy Xenon lamp unit, and fit it onto a base which is compatible with your standard H7 or H1 or H4 lamp holder. Its a total bodge, the arc capsule ends up in a different position and has a different composition to a halogen capsule, which means the optics of the projector arent properly tuned for the mess that results.

The cheap copy lamp units also dont have the correct halide salt mix which gives crappy color reproduction (the correct salts are expensive) which gives the copy kits the horrible blue color.
 
Understood, cheers Aragorn. So in your opinion what's my best option to improve the brilliance of my standard projector headlight?
 
Replace them with S4 Xenons is the only proper way.

Or you can purchase HID projector units and modify the stock headlamps to fit them inside, its a fair amount of effort though, i've started on a set of mine.

Many people choose the conversion route, because its cheap and fairly effective if done carefully, but i dont like it.
 
There was a place that installed hid's in my Volvo xc70 a few years ago and never had one problem! I'll see if I can find their number im pretty sur ethey were metal
 
A good replacement H7 HID kit will improve on your standard halogen bulbs 100% , buy a kit from a good company like Hids Direct who sell car specific kits and avoid the cheap Hong Kong ones on ebay and you'll be fine . As for the MOT it really depends on the tester who's doing it . Projector lenses are total crap with halogens and i really dont know why manufacturers do that as they would be better using old style non-projectors if using halogens.
 
A good quality retrofit kit in the stock projectors (not reflector) will perform just fine. It's the route I went with and as a lighting designer I have found little notable beam pattern degradation and the cut off is just fine. In my proffesional opinion, get a quality kit, stick to a colour temp of 4300k to 6000k and 35w and they will be fine

There are a few cars, usually Japanese that came from the factory with HID lamps, no washers or self leveling.
 
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Cheers for the feedback guys, definitely food for thought. Proctor, a number would be very helpful, thanks. Are most people in agreement that HIDs Direct are a good source of reliable kits? Having owned both a PFL and now a FL b5 I can honestly say that the only difference in my opinion is aesthetic. The FL unit looks more modern and cleaner as for lighting performance I struggle to tell them apart with standard bulbs fitted. From those with experience fitting these HID kits, are they relatively straight forward? Assuming you buy a good quality one. Cheers.
 
MaverickTDi said:
Cheers for the feedback guys, definitely food for thought. Proctor, a number would be very helpful, thanks. Are most people in agreement that HIDs Direct are a good source of reliable kits? Having owned both a PFL and now a FL b5 I can honestly say that the only difference in my opinion is aesthetic. The FL unit looks more modern and cleaner as for lighting performance I struggle to tell them apart with standard bulbs fitted. From those with experience fitting these HID kits, are they relatively straight forward? Assuming you buy a good quality one. Cheers.
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Pretty much straight forward to fit , the only thing is trying to keep all the wires , ballasts tidy in the engine bay. I fitted a kit with slimline ballasts in my old e60 bmw but was able to put everything inside the actual light unit , not sure if you would have enough room for that in your car
 
Oranoco - is there any where specific you'd recommend to get a HID kit from? HIDs Direct? Cheers.

DavieK - where did you get your kit from for your e60?
 
I just searched error free H7 HID conversion kit on Google and that dropped me to Amazon (iirc, it was a while ago) plumped with a kit that was fairly middle priced seller said I could return if I wasn't happy. Kit arrived, looked well put together so I fitted the kit. Only issue I had was a ballast failed after 18 months but this was replaced at a cost of £8 and has been fine since.

HIDs Direct have been going ages and as good a place as any to go for. The cheap kits are cheap for a reason but you don't need to spend the Earth for something functional.
 
MaverickTDi said:
Oranoco - is there any where specific you'd recommend to get a HID kit from? HIDs Direct? Cheers.

DavieK - where did you get your kit from for your e60?
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I've bought many kits for various cars over the last 8 years , all from Hids Direct ...never had one problem
 
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