HID upgrade kits

daveydave

daveydave

daveydave

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Right gents, I know 99% of the legality surrounding upgrading to HID's but I have come across something which is puzzling me...

There are now aftermarket HID's on the market with blacked out strips and I can only assume these are so they can be fitted without a projector lens (i.e. to a simply reflector lens)...is this the case?

Many of these sites offering guarantees that these HID bulbs will not be the reason for a MOT failure.

So does anyone know if its safe to use these "blacked-out-strip" HID's without blinding other road users?

Cheers
 
Having purchased a car with HIDs in standard reflectors, and having owned a car with proper HIDs in projectors - I wouldn't touch with a barge pole.
 
I have HIDs on my Alfa and it passed MOT and has had no problems with the police at all. I have headlight washers as standard too which helps I guess. It's a reflector lens, but works beautifully.
 
Freefaller said:
I have HIDs on my Alfa and it passed MOT and has had no problems with the police at all. I have headlight washers as standard too which helps I guess. It's a reflector lens, but works beautifully.
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Ah my new car (to be reveled on thursday when I collect it) has washers too...so do your HID's have the black strips?
 
Nope - they just fitted into the "reflector" shield inside the light cluster, and produce a sharp line at the end of the beam, don't dazzle, and I can adjust the pitch anyway. The beam is sharper, the light is clearer, and it makes a huge difference.
 
Draeger said:
Oh dear.

Can of worms, anyone?.

Retro-fit HID's are fine with projector lens units. But without?. Nah. Don't even think about it. Not rocket science, is it?. LOL.
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I retro-fitted HIDs to my Focus, on reflectors and they worked, as advertised. As cleanly cut beams as projectors? Obviously not. But far far far more light on the road. Was worth the money I paid for them twice over. No black strips here.

Ballasts and bulbs, direct fitment into lense with a little drilling of plastic to route cables.
 
Don't get cheap ebay kits however.

Mine were hids4u ones and were quality enough with waterproofed connectors etc. Backed by a warranty too so can't complain.

Also, if your model of car came with a Xenon/Projector factory option then you can buy the housings and fit them with a retro-kit. Should work out cheaper than an OEM full HID fitment.
 
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All these people who have responded with "not a problem" - not a problem to who exactly?
Sure the amount of light you're throwing on the road has increased - not a problem to you.
Sure the intensity of the light you're throwing on the road has increased - not a problem to you.
Cut-off looks OK from the driving seat - not a problem to you.

However with reflector lenses the problem is for all of the poor drivers coming towards you.
The reflector lenses bounce that light all over the place and it just dazzles oncoming traffic.
It would seem that as long as it isn't a "problem for you" the fitting of these after-market kits is OK, sod the poor sole who has to drive towards you.

I'm not in favour of the after-market HID kits.
DOT would seem to agree and with MOT stations cracking down on "small things" these days (I know 3 people who have failed their MOT due to missing BSU numbers on their number plate) maybe MOT's will start picking up on these.

Whatever your stance on the aftermarket kits - if you must do it then please, for heaven's sake only do it if you've got projector lenses.
Your reflector lenses are "no problem" from your point of view, but you need to realise (along with nearly all of the younger drivers these days) you are not the only person on the roads.
 
Sin_Chase said:
Don't get cheap ebay kits however.

Mine were hids4u ones and were quality enough with waterproofed connectors etc. Backed by a warranty too so can't complain.

Also, if your model of car came with a Xenon/Projector factory option then you can buy the housings and fit them with a retro-kit. Should work out cheaper than an OEM full HID fitment.
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samo, hids4u are top quality
 
although as you quite rightly said, the "cut off" point wont be correct with reflector lenses
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The cut off point on mine is spot on, although it is a modern car (does it make a differance? maybe)

Don't get cheap ebay kits however.
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y not? I've bought from both places and the package was exactly the same, infact I'll go as far as to say the ebay ones were better.... and a damn site cheaper.



bullit
 
Flukester said:
samo, hids4u are top quality
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Yep, i've had two kits from them now, both costing around £280 quality is fantastic, been very happy with both.

Agree with the reflector lens situation, i've seen a few saxos with HIDS fitted to reflectors its like driving towards a spotlight, good job i've got bright main beams too :p
 
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HIDs in reflectors is just LOL. Ever come across a car coming towards you with them? It's just shocking how blinded you are. But even more shocking is the level of ignorance the owner must have.

HIDs in projectors though... seem to be completely fine. The projectors tidy up the beam pattern and they look spot on.
 
NathanE said:
HIDs in reflectors is just LOL.
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you can spot them a mile off. hids in reflectors turn the entire headlamp blue, again it looks like some 17 year old trying way too hard to "have bluu lites yo"

i dont think ive come across many retrofit hids behind projectors that were particularly bad unless they were aimed badly tbh

mine went in last december, i actually got flashed by an oncoming car the other night, but afterwards realised it was becuase there was a hidden police camera van 400m up the road
 
Matt82 said:
you can spot them a mile off. hids in reflectors turn the entire headlamp blue, again it looks like some 17 year old trying way too hard to "have bluu lites yo"

i dont think ive come across many retrofit hids behind projectors that were particularly bad unless they were aimed badly tbh

mine went in last december, i actually got flashed by an oncoming car the other night, but afterwards realised it was becuase there was a hidden police camera van 400m up the road
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HIDs come in varying colour temperatures, if you want to look like a tit then sure go for anything above 6000K but you don't have to.

Plus if your lights are setup wrong you WILL fail the MOT.

People are generalising rather a lot here, it's all about getting the right lights and getting them setup correctly.
 
Its got very little to do with the kit or the Kelvin rating of the HID's its all to do with the reflector design and how they reflect the light onto the road, you end up with a light unit with the full glass area lit by the HID light with it going in all directions.

People are generalising rather a lot here, it's all about getting the right lights and getting them setup correctly.
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Correct its about not fitting HIDS into old style reflectors.
 
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