My HID story (read/final)

[pritchp]

So back in august/september time i brought some HIDs for my car off of a user on another forum.

They arrived pretty quickly and i couldnt wait to get them fitted.
I drove down to my mate in Ipswich to fit them for me as i had no idea what i was doing.. got there.. started fitting.. tried them and one of the ballasts was knackered it just wouldnt work, we tried it on both sides, we tried it on his car. and nothing.. the ballast was dead..

so after the long drive back (around 70-100 miles) i got in touch with the seller, i then sent the ballast back and started the wait for the replacement. The issue still has not been sorted however we are slowly getting somewhere i hope...

Anyway, its now november, i got desperate to get them fitted so i wont onto ebay and brought a spare ballast which i would use until i got my original one replaced. i got in touch with my mate again to see if he was about to fit them and unfortauntly he was busy at the weekend,

I decided to man up and set about fitting them myself this morning, after a shaky start i managed to get it all wired in and working!! so pleased with myself! (pics below)

The hid kit cost me £77, the extra ballast i brought was about £30+ so you can imagine im fairly out of pocket due to the broken ballast.. but im hopeful that it all gets sorted soon and i will either get some money back or a spare ballast which i will replace with the other one on my car and then have a spare!

so pics:
original light:

the ballasts:

my HIDs :

rate/slate

 

[Herr Flick]

slate!

xenons need projector lights to work correctly as they will be all distorted.

 

[J0sh]

They arent Xenons though, theyre HID's. Theres a difference irrc...?

 

[ForceIndia]

Horrific. Reflector units aren't designed for xenons. They look s**t, they don't control the light effectively, and they look cheap. Projectors, or don't bother.

 

[ForceIndia]

They arent Xenons though, theyre HID's. Theres a difference irrc...?

One has become slang for the other. Either way, hid's are not designed for reflectors. Thankfully it's something that the police are cracking down on.

 

[Danny133]

i love em lol

 

[kev182cup]

I don't see the problem with them they look good in the pics. ya could of got sone from china for like 20 quid. Lol mates had the same ones 3 years now.

 

[ForceIndia]

I don't see the problem with them they look good in the pics. ya could of got sone from china for like 20 quid. Lol mates had the same ones 3 years now.

They are illeGal for a very good reason fella. A reflector unit that hasn't been designed specifically for HID's cannot control the spread of light effectively. It's impossible for them not to dazzle oncoming drivers.

 

[pritchp]

They are illeGal for a very good reason fella. A reflector unit that hasn't been designed specifically for HID's cannot control the spread of light effectively. It's impossible for them not to dazzle oncoming drivers.

least im not out raping old grannies to steal their pension money...

 

[fearless]

They arent Xenons though, theyre HID's. Theres a difference irrc...?

Oh Rly?

High Intensity Discharge lights are exactly the same as 'Xenons'. They are only refered to as 'xenons' due to the gas used inside the bulbs. They fuction in exactly the same way, arcing through a gas to emit light.

Agree with Warren, chav-tastic.

 

[SC03OTT]

Brought - fail
HID's - fail

Good thread.

 

[Dink]

i don't see the problem tbh

as long as where the light is produced is in the same position as where it would be with the tugsten filament halogen lamp i don't see how a metal halide discharge lamp would suddenly spread light everywhere.

 

[kev182cup]

Wow a set of bulbs is now seen as being a chav. Lol in all my years I've never been dazzled by these I won't be losing any sleep over this blatant criminal. Bring the death penalty back I say.

 

[ForceIndia]

i don't see the problem tbh

as long as where the light is produced is in the same position as where it would be with the tugsten filament halogen lamp i don't see how a metal halide discharge lamp would suddenly spread light everywhere.

Then you don't understand how lamps work. I do.

This gives some explanation into the problem.

 

[bmh.01]

Scatter a plenty, my pet hate. When some chav in his fiesta/saxo/clio comes the other way with a hid kit in his halogen clusters how do you not notice the fact that he might as well have their full beam on.

 

[Dave..]

Horrific. Reflector units aren't designed for xenons. They look s**t, they don't control the light effectively, and they look cheap. Projectors, or don't bother.

Couldn't be more right.

F*cking hate them. Dazzle everyone in sight, and coming head on with a car down a country lane, can't see a thing past them.
Fair enough if you have projector headlights, but you haven't.

 

[Dink]

r reg megane? does that use the front glass to focus the light?

if so means f**k all in this case

also i've seen lagunas who use non projuector lights with metal halide lamps

 

[bmh.01]

r reg megane? does that use the front glass to focus the light?

if so means f**k all in this case

also i've seen lagunas who use non projuector lights with metal halide lamps

Accord Type-Rs do too, but they're not using halogen reflectors. And no the reflector focusses the light not the front glass/plastic.

 

[pritchp]

alright alright..

lets leave it as you lot dont like them. end of story.

 

[Dink]

Accord Type-Rs do too, but they're not using halogen reflectors. And no the reflector focusses the light not the front glass/plastic.

on older cars (e.g the one in the video) use the front glass to focus the light not like new ones that use the reflector behind

 

[ForceIndia]

r reg megane? does that use the front glass to focus the light?

if so means f**k all in this case

also i've seen lagunas who use non projuector lights with metal halide lamps

Those reflectors are specifically designed for hid's. Frankly, you don't have a clue what you're talking about. Reflectors designed for halogens are not suitable for hid's. It's not even a point that can be argued, it's fact lol.

 

[Dink]

Those reflectors are specifically designed for hid's. Frankly, you don't have a clue what you're talking about. Reflectors designed for halogens are not suitable for hid's. It's not even a point that can be argued, it's fact lol.

so what makes them not able to focus non halogen light?

 

[Dave..]

so what makes them not able to focus non halogen light?

A halogen light bulb has a little cap on the end which prevents light leaving the headlamp directly, meaning that any light emitted from a halogen bulb, is reflected off the back of the reflector. This angles the beam away from the right hand side of the road, and down.

A xenon bulb scatters light wherever the f*ck it likes, relying on a projector lense to refract the light into a beam pattern.

 

[Danny133]

who gives a s**t seriously its his f**king car!

i like them .. the thread isnt about the law of HIDS

 

[pritchp]

wait... the HID kit has a cover on the end of the bulb .. lemme find a pic...

doesnt that act the same way as the cup on the halogen light?

( i dont know im just asking!)

 

[ForceIndia]

so what makes them not able to focus non halogen light?

Reflector unit's control the spread of light via reflection. This relies on positive and negative interaction. It's why you don't get an even spread of light with reflectors (ie within the beam pattern the intensity of the light varies). Increase the intesity of the light source by a significant margin, and the dull reflections wihich lie out side of the main beam marging (which are dull enough to be ignored) become much brighter and are visible.

Now you can alter the angle of the reflectors at the design stage to control a more intense source. If you use a halogen bulb in a hid designed reflector, it would give a pathetic beam. Beacuse the design is completely different. Still not ideal for a hid, which is why projectors are now used more (despite them being pricier to design and produce).

Compare that to a projector, which optically focuses the beam. If you double, triple the intensity, the actual spread of the light (ie the area of light coverage) doesn't change. The intensity within the beam increases, but the size doesn't. You could put a bulb in as bright as the sun, and it wouldn't increase the spread (would probably melt your car though).

 

[Dave..]

....what he said^ lol

Basically to the OP, your lights arent legal, and only people coming the other way will care.

If you're ok with potential interest from the police, and people on the internet going psyco, carry on

 

[nth]

Reflector unit's control the spread of light via reflection. This relies on positive and negative interaction. It's why you don't get an even spread of light with reflectors (ie within the beam pattern the intensity of the light varies). Increase the intesity of the light source by a significant margin, and the dull reflections wihich lie out side of the main beam marging (which are dull enough to be ignored) become much brighter and are visible.

Now you can alter the angle of the reflectors at the design stage to control a more intense source. If you use a halogen bulb in a hid designed reflector, it would give a pathetic beam. Beacuse the design is completely different. Still not ideal for a hid, which is why projectors are now used more (despite them being pricier to design and produce).

Compare that to a projector, which optically focuses the beam. If you double, triple the intensity, the actual spread of the light (ie the area of light coverage) doesn't change. The intensity within the beam increases, but the size doesn't. You could put a bulb in as bright as the sun, and it wouldn't increase the spread (would probably melt your car though).

he's right, I had them in my corsa...
(6K)

 

[Dm_26]

Sick and tired of the HID brigade. Both me and my mate have HIDs and have went past each other and not been affected by the light. You can see the lights are brighter but it doesn't blind me at all.

I don't see everyone jumping down peoples throat when they put illegal front number plates on or decats that mean your car is destroying the environment, or even the people that remove their sidelights "because it makes their xenons look better"

 

[nth]

Sick and tired of the HID brigade. Both me and my mate have HIDs and have went past each other and not been affected by the light. You can see the lights are brighter but it doesn't blind me at all.

I don't see everyone jumping down peoples throat when they put illegal front number plates on or decats that mean your car is destroying the environment, or even the people that remove their sidelights "because it makes their xenons look better"

the affect that illegal HID's have on other drivers in comparison to front number plates, decats, removed sidelights is much greater.

 

[pritchp]

the affect that illegal HID's have on other drivers in comparison to front number plates, decats, removed sidelights is much greater.

grow a pair

 

[SC03OTT]

Lol, a good well thought out response.

 

[nth]

grow a pair

lol... dont be dissappointed at the fact that the slating is greater than the rating

 

[ForceIndia]

Have to love people that start a thread after opinions. They don't like the opinions, so get precious.

 

[krisbutler02]

There are Hid bulbs designed for reflectors , get a set of those

Just bought myself a set they are H7R (For reflector type headlamps)

These are suppisidly legal

 

[Waitey]

There are Hid bulbs designed for reflectors , get a set of those

Just bought myself a set they are H7R (For reflector type headlamps)

These are suppisidly legal

They are the same bulbs just rebranded.

Just get some projector head lights.

 

[ForceIndia]

There are Hid bulbs designed for reflectors , get a set of those

Just bought myself a set they are H7R (For reflector type headlamps)

These are suppisidly legal

It's not bloody possible! You can not have a HID bulb that will leGally/safely work with a reflector setup designed for Halogens. Stop being cheap and buy some projectors.

 

[Waitey]

You can even see the awful light spread in this photo.

HID filaments cannot be shaped to be the same as a filament in a normal halogen headlight. Since one is a chamber of gas and one is a filament....

 

[pritchp]

It's not bloody possible! You can not have a HID bulb that will leGally/safely work with a reflector setup designed for Halogens. Stop being cheap and buy some projectors.

do they even make projectors for a twingo???

 

[ForceIndia]

do they even make projectors for a twingo???

I was referring to the guy with the cup. No they don't make projectors for the Twingo.