![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
It depends what you drive. If you've got a car with decent projector headlights then you'll be fine. If you've bodged HID's onto an older car with reflector lights then you probably wont be, but the fact it'd fail the MOT means you shouldnt really be driving with them anyway.
HID Upgrades
- Thread starter [TW]Fox
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It depends what you drive. If you've got a car with decent projector headlights then you'll be fine. If you've bodged HID's onto an older car with reflector lights then you probably wont be, but the fact it'd fail the MOT means you shouldnt really be driving with them anyway.
[TW]Fox;11710003 said:
Got them on my ST24.
You're right that I possibly shouldn't have them on but as I haven't had any problems with them in the 5-6 months I've had them I'm quite happy keeping them on. If they affected other drivers then I'd take them off but they don't appear to.
I got bulb warnings on my old 530i on a HIDs4u kit. I emailed and complained and they sent me a "fix" for it. This required splicing onto the OEM wiring which I said I was not happy to do. I paid a premium for a kit which was meant to give an OEM look and be supplied with the correct plugs. After som badgering they supplied a fix with the plugs on so I didn't have to splice any wires.
6 Months later the fixes had overheated (they were just resistors in heatsinks) and the glue helding them in the heatsink turned to a crumbly chalk-like substance, and my bulb warnings came back.
Phoned them and asked for another set and they once again sent fixes with no plugs that required splicing. I phoned them and moaned and they said they didn't stock the fixes with plugs on anymore, but could make me some up for £10. I told them to get stuffed.
The ballasts they supply also vary... I ordered around the same time as OllyM and paid for the same kit, but got different ballasts. They look identicle to some I have seen in cheaper kits - I'm not sure their price premium is necessarily worth it really... having said that there will be countless others who have had no problems with them.
6 Months later the fixes had overheated (they were just resistors in heatsinks) and the glue helding them in the heatsink turned to a crumbly chalk-like substance, and my bulb warnings came back.
Phoned them and asked for another set and they once again sent fixes with no plugs that required splicing. I phoned them and moaned and they said they didn't stock the fixes with plugs on anymore, but could make me some up for £10. I told them to get stuffed.
The ballasts they supply also vary... I ordered around the same time as OllyM and paid for the same kit, but got different ballasts. They look identicle to some I have seen in cheaper kits - I'm not sure their price premium is necessarily worth it really... having said that there will be countless others who have had no problems with them.
I didnt realise you spoke to the drivers you pass on the other side of the road. Thats quite a talent. Take them out. I wantd HID's for my Mondeo but resisted because it's a car which is not designed and not suitable for HID lights. End of. If you want HID's buy an ST220.
That doesn't seem good. I got mine from Autobulbsdirect on a BMWLand Groupbuy 18 months ago and they have been fine - the same kit is now £99 so was wondering if there was anything else before I simply went for the same again.
[TW]Fox;11710070 said:
Not sure where I said I'd spoken to other drivers or indeed have the talent to do so while driving past them so not sure where that sarcastic comment came from
A lot of drivers will flash their lights to let people know their lights are blinding them if that's what they're doing. Leave your main beam on at night and drive towards other cars and you'll see this is what they'll do. I haven't had anyone flash their lights at me so it's a reasonable assumption after almost 6 months that they're not affecting other drivers.
It's not 'end of' at all, IF (like I believe) they're not affecting anyone then what's the harm with leaving them in? just because you say the car is not suitable?
[TW]Fox;11710139 said:
So only cars with it as an option can have them? and whether it affects anything/anyone or not doesn't count?
I'm not sure the ST24 had an option for 19" wheels but I expect there are ST24's with them on - does that make those wheels unsuitable as there wasn't an official option for them
Maybe a bad example but it explains the point that just because there isn't an official options doesn't mean a car can't have them.
I appreciate what you're saying as the car doesn't have the correct lenses but I really don't see the problem if no one is being affected by them.
HID's on a non projector lamp just give out a bright scattered light with no real focus, whereas projector based HID's give a nice well defined beam, like or not HID's on a non projector lamp with out self levelling are rubbish, and quite franly your better off with Osram night breakers, as many here have found.
No becuase there is no adverse safety implication of having them. The taste police are offended by 19's on a Mk2 Mondeo as it looks gash but thats the most serious side effect.
You can't possibly know that. The very fact you are worried about them failing the MOT is enough of a problem, why would they fail the MOT if they were properly alligned - they wouldnt. The only reason they can fail the MOT is if they are incorrectly alligned/too much scatter. Which would mean you shouldnt have them.
I went for Phillips Visionplus on my Mondeo instead of HID's after looking into the whole safety aspect. When it comes to something as critical as lighting, safety > looking bling.
thing is, people comming the other way wont be blinded by the bling of the 19alloys you've got
same cant be said of your bodged HID kit.
Sticking HID bulbs /wiring inside projector headlamps isnt a good idea. end of discussion.
Clearly people don't agree with me and that's fair enough.
Also please don't keep picking up on my bad example re the 19" wheels. It was an example to show that just because it wasn't an official option doesn't it mean it's bad. I obviously didn't use the example to show that it is or isn't dangerous to other drivers so no point in comparing to the HID's like that!
Hopefuly I haven't caused too many deaths by my bodged HID's
So I'll take them off for the MOT and then put them back on
Also please don't keep picking up on my bad example re the 19" wheels. It was an example to show that just because it wasn't an official option doesn't it mean it's bad. I obviously didn't use the example to show that it is or isn't dangerous to other drivers so no point in comparing to the HID's like that!
Hopefuly I haven't caused too many deaths by my bodged HID's
So I'll take them off for the MOT and then put them back on
I made a thread on HID's to be used in my Focus without projector lamps. The kit I bought was verified as a decent aftermarket retro fit.
I fitted the bulbs and it turned out they were absoloutely crap. My Halogen Nightbreakers actually seemed to give out more light!
I also have polycarbonate lenses so the scatter wasn't that bad it's just with projectors it could have been 100 times better.
[TW]Fox;11710387 said:
I don't want to risk it failing so I have to go back another time for a retest, so I think I'll take them off for the MOT and consider what to do after.
Also, for those going on about how crap it looks and how 'bling' it might be, I went for the white ones rather than blue/whatever so they don't look crap.
Man of Honour
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Another fan of HIDs4U here - really good aftermarket care, knowledgeable engineers, and nice people with good quality components. Have always used their stuff. 
Never failed MOTs with legal kit as long as the beams are properly levelled. You just get more light on the road, but it doesn't or at least shouldn't glare.
Never failed MOTs with legal kit as long as the beams are properly levelled. You just get more light on the road, but it doesn't or at least shouldn't glare.