HIDs Fitted - Not impressed at all!

Its a bulb designed to be retrofitted into an incorrect fitment, therefore is, by design, shonky!

HID's come in D2S, D1S etc fitments, which are designed for HID use.

You will not find a Philips or Orsam or other reputable manufacturer making "H7" fitment HID burners, irrespective of what the packaging on some of the kits may suggest.
 
i maybe wrong in this but i think you will find its just the uk the are illegal not europ mate
 
simon2004 said:
i maybe wrong in this but i think you will find its just the uk the are illegal not europ mate
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It's the US that is exempt - check out here under glare which states:

"Vehicles equipped with HID headlamps are required by ECE regulation 48 also to be equipped with headlamp lens cleaning systems and automatic beam levelling control. Both of these measures are intended to reduce the tendency for high-output headlamps to cause high levels of glare to other road users. In North America, ECE R48 does not apply and while lens cleaners and beam levellers are permitted, they are not required;[33] HID headlamps are markedly less prevalent in the US, where they have produced significant glare complaints.[34][35] Scientific study of headlamp glare has shown that for any given intensity level, the light from HID headlamps is 40% more glaring than the light from tungsten-halogen headlamps."

World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations if you really can't get to sleep.
 
ECE 48 also says that HID's must only be fitted to Housings that have been Type Approved for use with HID's, meaning even with the levelling and washing systems added, the H7 conversion kits still dont comply, because a H7 lighting unit is not type approved for use with HID lamps.

There is no provision in the UK road traffic act for HID lighting, which means they're only legal for use in the UK because the ECE Type Approval overrides the UK Construction and Use Regs. But that only happens if the lighting you've fitted actually meets ECE48.
 
thanks for clearing that up ao im just guessing in czech where i spend alot of time they are like us and just dont care then lol.
 
If you've got two headlights in Czech you're good to go :thumbsup:
 
yeah can see your point but to be fair its not a problem if they are set up right or it would be an mot fall id have thought and to be fair its all so a no no for not doing the speed limit but every one on here gose over it or you get the dicks that drink drive and they still do it and that **** kills.
 
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Just picked this thread up after being away for a few days,

I also ordered a kit from HIDsdirect and the ballasts did NOT fit in the OEM section under the light unit, they stuck out about 5mm...

As there is no room between the base plate and the underside of the headlamp unit, I returned them and went for a slimline kit. If you have fited these larger ones and then put your lights back in, this would explain why the beams are so low....

Personally my HID's are a massively better than my old lights, however I did also buy 2 brand new headlamp units as well....
 
aragorn said:
Most people get away with it here in the UK too, but that doesnt change the fact that its illegal.
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Fair enough (and this is not directed at anyone here) but if audi had made the lights on the B6 half way decent there wouldnt be a need for after market HIDs
also if the car manufacturers fitted them as standard as in my eyes good lighting is a safety issue there also wouldnt be a problem
i have no intrest personally in them as a style fitment it is purely for safe night time vision .
 
And the reason its illegal is that its not "safe" if your dazzling other motorists with the glare from your converted headlamps! Safety is more than just about you being able to see slightly further up the road.
 
I think the dazzling comes from people incorrectly fitting them, particularly to cars that do not have projector headlamps, my friends have commented that my HID's just look like factory xenons, no glare just brighter than they were before.. parked next to my friends new M3 they look identical....

I did fit a standard 4300K bulb and had the beams correctly set by my independent after I fitted the kit....

They may be *illegal* but they are fitted into the OEM spaces, and everything done professionally (electrical engineer in aerospace industry) and I can now see what roads I am driving down at night....

Would love to do a factory xenon upgrade but costs are way too prohibitive at the moment in terms of levelling/washer systems, may do it in the future though once I've sorted the rest of the car out...
 
I've seen this argument brought up a 100 times, the housings for both HID and Halogen are the same, the lens is the same (it's acutally stamped both inside the housing) the only difference is the lamp carrier. Once the burning position is correct and the lights correctly set, levelling used and are cleaned, I think everything should be fine.
It's the bollockses with standard halgoen lights that annoy me...
 
the first thing i did when i fitted mine was have them set up by my local MOT place so not to blind any one and to be fair there is more ppl out there with fog light on and just there normal lights not set right and blinding every one so if your lights are out it makes no dif if they are HIDs or not your going to blind every one ;-)
 
aragorn said:
And the reason its illegal is that its not "safe" if your dazzling other motorists with the glare from your converted headlamps! Safety is more than just about you being able to see slightly further up the road.
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As already said the A4s projector lamps give the exact same pattern as a OEM xenons so how is it dazzling anyone when set up to MOT specifications on a beam setter
 
HID threads never fail to degrade into an argument about their legality!
 
True
but im not saying there legal retro fit as we all know they are illegal ,
my argument is that retro fit well set up in projectors is no worse than oem .
 
jbcalvin said:
Just picked this thread up after being away for a few days,

I also ordered a kit from HIDsdirect and the ballasts did NOT fit in the OEM section under the light unit, they stuck out about 5mm...

As there is no room between the base plate and the underside of the headlamp unit, I returned them and went for a slimline kit. If you have fited these larger ones and then put your lights back in, this would explain why the beams are so low....

Personally my HID's are a massively better than my old lights, however I did also buy 2 brand new headlamp units as well....
Click to expand...

As above mine are slimline this is not the problem at all. The problem hopefully and the guy at HIDs direct seems to agree is that they are the wrong bulbs... just waiting to return them, then they will be fine.

And about the whole legal/illegal thing. Hate to put it bluntly, but I could not give a **** if it's illegal, I was aware it was illegal when i bought them. A4 lights are poo anyway. Correctly setup in a projector lens, they are not going to dazzle anyone.
 
And my point is that they cant be setup correctly.

You dont have auto levelling and washers for a start, and the bulb/projector lens alignment is nothing more than guesswork.

I can fully understand your reasoning, and have to admit i've been tempted myself because the stock lights can seem pretty crap in certain lighting, but i simply dont accept it can be done right with a conversion kit. Which is why i havent done it.

I've picked up a set of proper S4 OEM light units last month for one of my A4's and they'll be getting installed over the next few months once i've collected the parts to retrofit the washers and auto levelling at the same time. I'm on the lookout for a facelift set for the other car, but these seem rarer unfortunately :(
 
(lens alignment is nothing more than guesswork) is that evan if they have had the alignment set up by an MOT places
 
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aragorn said:
And my point is that they cant be setup correctly.

You dont have auto levelling and washers for a start, and the bulb/projector lens alignment is nothing more than guesswork.

I can fully understand your reasoning, and have to admit i've been tempted myself because the stock lights can seem pretty crap in certain lighting, but i simply dont accept it can be done right with a conversion kit. Which is why i havent done it.

I've picked up a set of proper S4 OEM light units last month for one of my A4's and they'll be getting installed over the next few months once i've collected the parts to retrofit the washers and auto levelling at the same time. I'm on the lookout for a facelift set for the other car, but these seem rarer unfortunately :(
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And why not get a garage to do it for you with a correct lens setter ? The bulbs burning point is the same as a halogen, once the aftermarket bulb is the right length the there should be no problem. Auto-leveling is only done when the car is started or the weight changes, they aren't constanlty moving up and down with the road. So once the cars condidtions are the same, and if loaded the level adjuster is used correclty and the lenses are kept relativley clean you should have no problem...
 
because i'm not talking about alignment of the lens with the outside world, i'm talking about the alignment of the HID burner and the lens/projector assembly, which is required to give a proper even distribution of light.

You claim they're the same, but i've had mine apart to joey mod them, and theres no mention of D2S on the projector or lens assembly. Sure the plastic casing says both, but thats just a casing.

The geometry of the HID light output is completely different to a halogen bulb, and the optics ARE different to cope with this.

Read here for more information:

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply
 
just had a look throu that mate and from what i can see its on about the standered head lights not projectors as they make the patern also see this in the vidoe on there the car he is showing them as being bad in dose not have projectors ether but i do see what you are saying and i was not going to fit them to mine but got ****** with them being so bad at night thought what the hell
 
If you actually read it, he does specifically mention projector lamps on numerous occasions, and say that they give the appearance of a crisp cutoff, but nothing more.

Shall i quote?

When designing the optics (lens and/or reflector) for a lamp, the characteristics of the light source are the driving factor around which everything else must be engineered.
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Now, what about those "retrofit" jobs in which the beam cutoff still appears sharp? Don't be fooled; it's an error to judge a beam pattern solely by its cutoff. In many lamps, especially the projector types, the cutoff will remain the same regardless of what light source is behind it. Halogen bulb, HID capsule, cigarette lighter, firefly, hold it up to the sun—whatever. That's because of the way a projector lamp works. The cutoff is simply the projected image of a piece of metal running side-to-side behind the lens. Where the optics come in is in distributing the light under the cutoff. And, as with all other automotive lamps (and, in fact, all optical instruments), the optics are calculated based not just on where the light source is within the lamp (focal length) but also the specific photometric characteristics of the light source...which parts of it are brighter, which parts of it are darker, where the boundaries of the light source are, whether the boundaries are sharp or fuzzy, the shape of the light source, and so forth.
Click to expand...
 
j033y said:
As above mine are slimline this is not the problem at all. The problem hopefully and the guy at HIDs direct seems to agree is that they are the wrong bulbs... just waiting to return them, then they will be fine.

And about the whole legal/illegal thing. Hate to put it bluntly, but I could not give a **** if it's illegal, I was aware it was illegal when i bought them. A4 lights are poo anyway. Correctly setup in a projector lens, they are not going to dazzle anyone.
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these ones yup?

Single beam Canbus Pro HID Conversion kit - Xenon HID Headlight Upgrade Kits from HIDs DIRECT Ltd

Im so scared to fit mine now haha. Still confused how they will fit under the headlights :( Mine seemed to stick out loads from the light unit :\

And to everyone complaining about HID kits... drop it... its boring....
 
jd26 said:
these ones yup?

Single beam Canbus Pro HID Conversion kit - Xenon HID Headlight Upgrade Kits from HIDs DIRECT Ltd

Im so scared to fit mine now haha. Still confused how they will fit under the headlights :( Mine seemed to stick out loads from the light unit :\

And to everyone complaining about HID kits... drop it... its boring....
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I, that's the badgers I have. Dont worry, they fit, maybe stick out a couple of mm but nothing to worry about it all fits in the OEM spot.

As long as you have H7 bulbs, and not H7c bulbs you'll be fine.

Also I as yet not loked at sorting out the error for brake/abs yet. maybe asking whoever mentioned about cancelers earlier.

Get em fitted don't be shy, and don't give a **** about the legality :happy:
 
aragorn said:
because i'm not talking about alignment of the lens with the outside world, i'm talking about the alignment of the HID burner and the lens/projector assembly, which is required to give a proper even distribution of light.

You claim they're the same, but i've had mine apart to joey mod them, and theres no mention of D2S on the projector or lens assembly. Sure the plastic casing says both, but thats just a casing.

The geometry of the HID light output is completely different to a halogen bulb, and the optics ARE different to cope with this.

Read here for more information:

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply
Click to expand...

Next time i have my headlights out i'll take a picture of the sticker that says D2S/Halogen housings...

As for the expert URL , what do you expect if you put a brighter bulb in ? It's still burning between 2 points... And the glass collector (lens) uses refraction to collect all the stray light...

Anyways , a picture is worth a few words... but i'm not taking them out now..
 
Well just to update.

I gave up on the HIDs. Was coming back from work last week, down the A1, it got a bit dark so i turned them on, put it onto sidelights frst, waited a bit then onto dipped.

Dash lit up like a christmas tree. Flashes beeps, the works. Speedo even stopped working and car lost power. Pulled into slow lane and car seemed to get its power back. Speedo still didnt work and lights were flashing on the dash. warnings of ABS failure, brake failure, the full works.

Pulled onto hard shoulder turned off, switched lights off and waited 2 mins, started up and all lights had reset off (thank god) speedo worked (thanked god) drove home on sidelights were i ripped the things off and threw them in the bin.

Halogens are the future! (for my A4 at leats)
 
It's funny how some cars seem to suffer so much and others not at all. CMD had similar issues to you I think, must be an S-Line thing lol!
 
is it not a case of lowline v's highline electrics for the errors? i dont have any bulb warnings come up (well ive had bulbs go and no warnings)so im thinking that when i fit my hids soon i should be ok
 
It's not quite that simple. I've got full DIS with bulb out warnings, and have never had any HID issues. VERY occasionally my nearside front led sidelight will flick a warning when I start, but it goes out within 5 seconds.
 
Nothing to do with "bulb failure" DIS as most errors are "ABS" & "BRAKE" errors which suggests High Voltage switch on interference of the HID's with the ABS control unit - behind n/s headlight.
 
cool i will try fitting in the oem position and re routing the crash wires if needed. one question i think in the past that ive read that some fit the ballasts to the bulkhead, do all the kits come with wiring that long? or is it a case of extending them
 
The only problem I've had with my HIDs I'd getting them to turn on. Sometimes they will, sometimes it takes a few attempts. Apart from that they are spot on, so much brighter than the halogens.
 
I have both led sidelights and HIDs fitted and I have had zero problems, I mounted mine in the engine bay not in the lights though so they are away from anything they could interfere with.
 
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