Views on HIDs.
02 January 2011, 04:14 PM
#33
should ban them imo..... You dont need to have double brightness or to have "daylight" at night time. It's dark at night so what? Drive slower if it hinders you that much ffs.
If people were honest, the only reason they "need" these is because they look "cool" or maybe because all of the newer cars have them it will drag a slightly older car up to date a little in the looks department.
Someone should tell the manufacturers that just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Goddammit. I have been waiting to rant about that for ages, it's been building up I tell you! Oh the rage!!!!!
02 January 2011, 04:24 PM
#34
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I had a factory fit set on my bugeye they were great without any dazzle to other road users, but i am not sure about the one's for classic cars as they do cause problems for other drivers.
Oh and no problem getting it MOT'd as it was a JDM STI Bug
Oh and no problem getting it MOT'd as it was a JDM STI Bug
02 January 2011, 04:52 PM
#38
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They supremely pi$$ me off as well. They are dangerous. They dazzle you, they prevent you from being able to see 100% at times. Especially the Chelsea tractors - they perma blind me untill they have passed, the *****!
You dont need to have double brightness or to have "daylight" at night time. It's dark at night so what? Drive slower if it hinders you that much ffs.
If people were honest, the only reason they "need" these is because they look "cool" or maybe because all of the newer cars have them it will drag a slightly older car up to date a little in the looks department.
Someone should tell the manufacturers that just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Goddammit. I have been waiting to rant about that for ages, it's been building up I tell you! Oh the rage!!!!!
You dont need to have double brightness or to have "daylight" at night time. It's dark at night so what? Drive slower if it hinders you that much ffs.
If people were honest, the only reason they "need" these is because they look "cool" or maybe because all of the newer cars have them it will drag a slightly older car up to date a little in the looks department.
Someone should tell the manufacturers that just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Goddammit. I have been waiting to rant about that for ages, it's been building up I tell you! Oh the rage!!!!!
02 January 2011, 04:55 PM
#39
They supremely pi$$ me off as well. They are dangerous. They dazzle you, they prevent you from being able to see 100% at times. Especially the Chelsea tractors - they perma blind me untill they have passed, the *****!
You dont need to have double brightness or to have "daylight" at night time. It's dark at night so what? Drive slower if it hinders you that much ffs.
If people were honest, the only reason they "need" these is because they look "cool" or maybe because all of the newer cars have them it will drag a slightly older car up to date a little in the looks department.
Someone should tell the manufacturers that just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Goddammit. I have been waiting to rant about that for ages, it's been building up I tell you! Oh the rage!!!!!
You dont need to have double brightness or to have "daylight" at night time. It's dark at night so what? Drive slower if it hinders you that much ffs.
If people were honest, the only reason they "need" these is because they look "cool" or maybe because all of the newer cars have them it will drag a slightly older car up to date a little in the looks department.
Someone should tell the manufacturers that just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Goddammit. I have been waiting to rant about that for ages, it's been building up I tell you! Oh the rage!!!!!
I considered fitting spot lights for full beam but they look **** so HID's are the way.
I will appologise now for if I pass you in the future you will be dazzled but hey ho at least I'll see where Im going.
02 January 2011, 05:00 PM
#41
Yep H4's for your car. Aztec performance do a great set up for all years. I have a set on the way for my classic. Oh and i am getting them as i live in the sticks and there are no street lights for miles so always nice to see yet another deer jump out of a field a little sooner. + they do look good.
02 January 2011, 05:06 PM
#42
Just found this, not been bothered with S/N much today as I'm not well.
Anyway, HIDs.........
First, let's deal with the MoT thingy. It's nowt to do with the colour, although that could come, as lighting regs demand WHITE light at the front except for fogs which can have a yellow tint. It's to do with the fitment. Any car which has them from new is OK, but retrofitting is supposedly a no-no. At the moment MoT stations SEEM to just check the beam pattern, and since the kit-makers KNOW this they make sure the dip beam pattern is acceptable. More of this later.
However, there seems once again to be talk about checking the lights more thoroughly and retrofitted HIDs could, under those circumstances, be a fail. Only time will tell. The DfT word is that "in our opinion" the lights are illegal. However, AFAIK, this has not yet been tested in a court of law, and until it is...........
The colour temperature MIGHT, just MIGHT attract the attention of PC Plod with nowt better to do than find ways to tax motorists, so watch out.
As regards how GOOD they are, lets get one thing clear:
I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST THE KITS FOR SINGLE FILAMENT BULBS AND CANNOT SING THEIR PRAISES HIGHLY ENOUGH.
It's H4's that get my thumbs down. I posted all this a few days back, only to have one of the mods delete the whole lot because a trader disgreed with it, so I REALLY hope this one is allowed to stay.
The design of an H4 bulb places two filaments close to each other, each at the correct focal position to produce the required beam and it's pattern: a good oval for main beam and a flat topped dip with a kick up to the left for right hand drive cars. The H4 halogen bulbs enclose both filaments in the same glass envelope in order to have them optically correctly positioned. This is VITALLY important as any discrepency will lead to light scatter, loss of light and possible dazzle problems. You only have to look at tests in which cheap halogen bulbs perform far worse than decent ones, yet some apparently have HIGHER wattage. It's not the output, it's what you DO with it. Put it all where it should be, the light performs well. Allow it to scatter and you lose light that OUGHT to be illuminating your way ahead.
And so on to HID's. The HID has NO filament, it is what's known as a cold discharge. That's what the "D" in HID stands for. Now at present, the technology to place TWO of these discharges EXACTLY where they need to be so they are optically correctly positioned, DOES NOT EXIST. Some manufacturers have been promising a set that have this for a while now, (three years sounds about right), but I have yet to see one. And when I do, I'll STILL be sceptical as to whether it works or not until I've seen it: remember what I said about EXACT positioning of the filaments? Well the discharge would have to be exact too, to within FRACTIONS of a millimetre..........and the SHAPE of the discharge is all wrong for lights designed for halogen. Look at different halogen bulbs. Why have some got vertical and some horizontal filaments? Because the lens and reflector USES that shape. So a lens/reflector that is designed to work 100% accurately with a FILAMENT lamp CANNOT do the same with the discharge lamp's differently shaped light output.
And that's aside from the present poor positioning of the discharge in H4 lamps.
So what do H4 HID kit designers do?
They have various tricks, the most often used being slightly moving the discharge from one focal point in the reflector to another. But to do it properly would need it moving fractionally off centre, nearer the reflector and downwards. Present technology can't do it accurately enough, so a compromise has to be used.
Rememeber when I talked about dip and main beam patterns and the MoT? Well the ONLY beam pattern actually CHECKED by MoT is the dip. So HID kit manufacturers ensure that DIP beam pattern is as near decent as possible.
Unfortunately, this leaves a poorly focused MAIN beam. Yes, it's BRIGHTER, but nowhere near as good as it should be. If you don't believe me, try a car with retrofit H4 HIDs against one with PROPER HID main beam. I've seen the difference and it IS large, trust me.
Now classics use H4 halogen lights. The lights are crap. Why? Wel it's NOT the bulbs, as people who have put uprated or higher wattage bulbs in, will tell you. Nope, it's the DESIGN of the lights themselves.
They cause scatter. End of. There's no getting round it, they are just a poor design.
So is it REMOTELY possible that placing an HID into these lights will somehow CURE the problem? Not a hope in hell. And ANYONE who tells you different is, shall we say, "mistaken". In fact the inherent focus problems of HIDs can only exacerbate the problems with the OE Scoob lights Sorry, but it's simple physics.
As I said before, I have NOWT against HIDs. In fact, I was probably one of the first people in the UK to approach manufacturers with a view to converting halogen lights to HID. Just as I was one of the first to use the new Halogen technology in lights designed for the old BPF flanged bulbs. I ended up in a workshop carefully converting a pair of Lucas LR7 "Flamethrower" lamps to take the then new halogen bulbs, with some success, since I understood the need to place the halogen filament EXACTLY where the old BPF filament was. It did work, but again WAS NOT perfect because the filament was vertical, not horizontal, but it didn't matter so much for a long-range rally light.
I mention this last so that no-one can accuse me of either a lack of knowledge, or of simply being somehow "against" HIDs.
I hope the above is of use.
Try to keep in mind that I, personally, have NO axe to grind. So why would I tell lies, make false statements, or mislead people as I have been accused in the past?
In the end, those wanting brighter lights, or a bluish tinge, must make up their own minds. These are YOUR cars, not mine. All I'm doing is giving you enough info to make up your own minds from a knowledgeable standpoint.
Anyway, HIDs.........
First, let's deal with the MoT thingy. It's nowt to do with the colour, although that could come, as lighting regs demand WHITE light at the front except for fogs which can have a yellow tint. It's to do with the fitment. Any car which has them from new is OK, but retrofitting is supposedly a no-no. At the moment MoT stations SEEM to just check the beam pattern, and since the kit-makers KNOW this they make sure the dip beam pattern is acceptable. More of this later.
However, there seems once again to be talk about checking the lights more thoroughly and retrofitted HIDs could, under those circumstances, be a fail. Only time will tell. The DfT word is that "in our opinion" the lights are illegal. However, AFAIK, this has not yet been tested in a court of law, and until it is...........
The colour temperature MIGHT, just MIGHT attract the attention of PC Plod with nowt better to do than find ways to tax motorists, so watch out.
As regards how GOOD they are, lets get one thing clear:
I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST THE KITS FOR SINGLE FILAMENT BULBS AND CANNOT SING THEIR PRAISES HIGHLY ENOUGH.
It's H4's that get my thumbs down. I posted all this a few days back, only to have one of the mods delete the whole lot because a trader disgreed with it, so I REALLY hope this one is allowed to stay.
The design of an H4 bulb places two filaments close to each other, each at the correct focal position to produce the required beam and it's pattern: a good oval for main beam and a flat topped dip with a kick up to the left for right hand drive cars. The H4 halogen bulbs enclose both filaments in the same glass envelope in order to have them optically correctly positioned. This is VITALLY important as any discrepency will lead to light scatter, loss of light and possible dazzle problems. You only have to look at tests in which cheap halogen bulbs perform far worse than decent ones, yet some apparently have HIGHER wattage. It's not the output, it's what you DO with it. Put it all where it should be, the light performs well. Allow it to scatter and you lose light that OUGHT to be illuminating your way ahead.
And so on to HID's. The HID has NO filament, it is what's known as a cold discharge. That's what the "D" in HID stands for. Now at present, the technology to place TWO of these discharges EXACTLY where they need to be so they are optically correctly positioned, DOES NOT EXIST. Some manufacturers have been promising a set that have this for a while now, (three years sounds about right), but I have yet to see one. And when I do, I'll STILL be sceptical as to whether it works or not until I've seen it: remember what I said about EXACT positioning of the filaments? Well the discharge would have to be exact too, to within FRACTIONS of a millimetre..........and the SHAPE of the discharge is all wrong for lights designed for halogen. Look at different halogen bulbs. Why have some got vertical and some horizontal filaments? Because the lens and reflector USES that shape. So a lens/reflector that is designed to work 100% accurately with a FILAMENT lamp CANNOT do the same with the discharge lamp's differently shaped light output.
And that's aside from the present poor positioning of the discharge in H4 lamps.
So what do H4 HID kit designers do?
They have various tricks, the most often used being slightly moving the discharge from one focal point in the reflector to another. But to do it properly would need it moving fractionally off centre, nearer the reflector and downwards. Present technology can't do it accurately enough, so a compromise has to be used.
Rememeber when I talked about dip and main beam patterns and the MoT? Well the ONLY beam pattern actually CHECKED by MoT is the dip. So HID kit manufacturers ensure that DIP beam pattern is as near decent as possible.
Unfortunately, this leaves a poorly focused MAIN beam. Yes, it's BRIGHTER, but nowhere near as good as it should be. If you don't believe me, try a car with retrofit H4 HIDs against one with PROPER HID main beam. I've seen the difference and it IS large, trust me.
Now classics use H4 halogen lights. The lights are crap. Why? Wel it's NOT the bulbs, as people who have put uprated or higher wattage bulbs in, will tell you. Nope, it's the DESIGN of the lights themselves.
They cause scatter. End of. There's no getting round it, they are just a poor design.
So is it REMOTELY possible that placing an HID into these lights will somehow CURE the problem? Not a hope in hell. And ANYONE who tells you different is, shall we say, "mistaken". In fact the inherent focus problems of HIDs can only exacerbate the problems with the OE Scoob lights
Sorry, but it's simple physics.As I said before, I have NOWT against HIDs. In fact, I was probably one of the first people in the UK to approach manufacturers with a view to converting halogen lights to HID. Just as I was one of the first to use the new Halogen technology in lights designed for the old BPF flanged bulbs. I ended up in a workshop carefully converting a pair of Lucas LR7 "Flamethrower" lamps to take the then new halogen bulbs, with some success, since I understood the need to place the halogen filament EXACTLY where the old BPF filament was. It did work, but again WAS NOT perfect because the filament was vertical, not horizontal, but it didn't matter so much for a long-range rally light.
I mention this last so that no-one can accuse me of either a lack of knowledge, or of simply being somehow "against" HIDs.
I hope the above is of use.
Try to keep in mind that I, personally, have NO axe to grind. So why would I tell lies, make false statements, or mislead people as I have been accused in the past?
In the end, those wanting brighter lights, or a bluish tinge, must make up their own minds. These are YOUR cars, not mine. All I'm doing is giving you enough info to make up your own minds from a knowledgeable standpoint.
02 January 2011, 05:43 PM
#43
Just found this, not been bothered with S/N much today as I'm not well.
Anyway, HIDs.........
First, let's deal with the MoT thingy. It's nowt to do with the colour, although that could come, as lighting regs demand WHITE light at the front except for fogs which can have a yellow tint. It's to do with the fitment. Any car which has them from new is OK, but retrofitting is supposedly a no-no. At the moment MoT stations SEEM to just check the beam pattern, and since the kit-makers KNOW this they make sure the dip beam pattern is acceptable. More of this later.
However, there seems once again to be talk about checking the lights more thoroughly and retrofitted HIDs could, under those circumstances, be a fail. Only time will tell. The DfT word is that "in our opinion" the lights are illegal. However, AFAIK, this has not yet been tested in a court of law, and until it is...........
The colour temperature MIGHT, just MIGHT attract the attention of PC Plod with nowt better to do than find ways to tax motorists, so watch out.
As regards how GOOD they are, lets get one thing clear:
I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST THE KITS FOR SINGLE FILAMENT BULBS AND CANNOT SING THEIR PRAISES HIGHLY ENOUGH.
It's H4's that get my thumbs down. I posted all this a few days back, only to have one of the mods delete the whole lot because a trader disgreed with it, so I REALLY hope this one is allowed to stay.
The design of an H4 bulb places two filaments close to each other, each at the correct focal position to produce the required beam and it's pattern: a good oval for main beam and a flat topped dip with a kick up to the left for right hand drive cars. The H4 halogen bulbs enclose both filaments in the same glass envelope in order to have them optically correctly positioned. This is VITALLY important as any discrepency will lead to light scatter, loss of light and possible dazzle problems. You only have to look at tests in which cheap halogen bulbs perform far worse than decent ones, yet some apparently have HIGHER wattage. It's not the output, it's what you DO with it. Put it all where it should be, the light performs well. Allow it to scatter and you lose light that OUGHT to be illuminating your way ahead.
And so on to HID's. The HID has NO filament, it is what's known as a cold discharge. That's what the "D" in HID stands for. Now at present, the technology to place TWO of these discharges EXACTLY where they need to be so they are optically correctly positioned, DOES NOT EXIST. Some manufacturers have been promising a set that have this for a while now, (three years sounds about right), but I have yet to see one. And when I do, I'll STILL be sceptical as to whether it works or not until I've seen it: remember what I said about EXACT positioning of the filaments? Well the discharge would have to be exact too, to within FRACTIONS of a millimetre..........and the SHAPE of the discharge is all wrong for lights designed for halogen. Look at different halogen bulbs. Why have some got vertical and some horizontal filaments? Because the lens and reflector USES that shape. So a lens/reflector that is designed to work 100% accurately with a FILAMENT lamp CANNOT do the same with the discharge lamp's differently shaped light output.
And that's aside from the present poor positioning of the discharge in H4 lamps.
So what do H4 HID kit designers do?
They have various tricks, the most often used being slightly moving the discharge from one focal point in the reflector to another. But to do it properly would need it moving fractionally off centre, nearer the reflector and downwards. Present technology can't do it accurately enough, so a compromise has to be used.
Rememeber when I talked about dip and main beam patterns and the MoT? Well the ONLY beam pattern actually CHECKED by MoT is the dip. So HID kit manufacturers ensure that DIP beam pattern is as near decent as possible.
Unfortunately, this leaves a poorly focused MAIN beam. Yes, it's BRIGHTER, but nowhere near as good as it should be. If you don't believe me, try a car with retrofit H4 HIDs against one with PROPER HID main beam. I've seen the difference and it IS large, trust me.
Now classics use H4 halogen lights. The lights are crap. Why? Wel it's NOT the bulbs, as people who have put uprated or higher wattage bulbs in, will tell you. Nope, it's the DESIGN of the lights themselves.
They cause scatter. End of. There's no getting round it, they are just a poor design.
So is it REMOTELY possible that placing an HID into these lights will somehow CURE the problem? Not a hope in hell. And ANYONE who tells you different is, shall we say, "mistaken". In fact the inherent focus problems of HIDs can only exacerbate the problems with the OE Scoob lights Sorry, but it's simple physics.
As I said before, I have NOWT against HIDs. In fact, I was probably one of the first people in the UK to approach manufacturers with a view to converting halogen lights to HID. Just as I was one of the first to use the new Halogen technology in lights designed for the old BPF flanged bulbs. I ended up in a workshop carefully converting a pair of Lucas LR7 "Flamethrower" lamps to take the then new halogen bulbs, with some success, since I understood the need to place the halogen filament EXACTLY where the old BPF filament was. It did work, but again WAS NOT perfect because the filament was vertical, not horizontal, but it didn't matter so much for a long-range rally light.
I mention this last so that no-one can accuse me of either a lack of knowledge, or of simply being somehow "against" HIDs.
I hope the above is of use.
Try to keep in mind that I, personally, have NO axe to grind. So why would I tell lies, make false statements, or mislead people as I have been accused in the past?
In the end, those wanting brighter lights, or a bluish tinge, must make up their own minds. These are YOUR cars, not mine. All I'm doing is giving you enough info to make up your own minds from a knowledgeable standpoint.
Anyway, HIDs.........
First, let's deal with the MoT thingy. It's nowt to do with the colour, although that could come, as lighting regs demand WHITE light at the front except for fogs which can have a yellow tint. It's to do with the fitment. Any car which has them from new is OK, but retrofitting is supposedly a no-no. At the moment MoT stations SEEM to just check the beam pattern, and since the kit-makers KNOW this they make sure the dip beam pattern is acceptable. More of this later.
However, there seems once again to be talk about checking the lights more thoroughly and retrofitted HIDs could, under those circumstances, be a fail. Only time will tell. The DfT word is that "in our opinion" the lights are illegal. However, AFAIK, this has not yet been tested in a court of law, and until it is...........
The colour temperature MIGHT, just MIGHT attract the attention of PC Plod with nowt better to do than find ways to tax motorists, so watch out.
As regards how GOOD they are, lets get one thing clear:
I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST THE KITS FOR SINGLE FILAMENT BULBS AND CANNOT SING THEIR PRAISES HIGHLY ENOUGH.
It's H4's that get my thumbs down. I posted all this a few days back, only to have one of the mods delete the whole lot because a trader disgreed with it, so I REALLY hope this one is allowed to stay.
The design of an H4 bulb places two filaments close to each other, each at the correct focal position to produce the required beam and it's pattern: a good oval for main beam and a flat topped dip with a kick up to the left for right hand drive cars. The H4 halogen bulbs enclose both filaments in the same glass envelope in order to have them optically correctly positioned. This is VITALLY important as any discrepency will lead to light scatter, loss of light and possible dazzle problems. You only have to look at tests in which cheap halogen bulbs perform far worse than decent ones, yet some apparently have HIGHER wattage. It's not the output, it's what you DO with it. Put it all where it should be, the light performs well. Allow it to scatter and you lose light that OUGHT to be illuminating your way ahead.
And so on to HID's. The HID has NO filament, it is what's known as a cold discharge. That's what the "D" in HID stands for. Now at present, the technology to place TWO of these discharges EXACTLY where they need to be so they are optically correctly positioned, DOES NOT EXIST. Some manufacturers have been promising a set that have this for a while now, (three years sounds about right), but I have yet to see one. And when I do, I'll STILL be sceptical as to whether it works or not until I've seen it: remember what I said about EXACT positioning of the filaments? Well the discharge would have to be exact too, to within FRACTIONS of a millimetre..........and the SHAPE of the discharge is all wrong for lights designed for halogen. Look at different halogen bulbs. Why have some got vertical and some horizontal filaments? Because the lens and reflector USES that shape. So a lens/reflector that is designed to work 100% accurately with a FILAMENT lamp CANNOT do the same with the discharge lamp's differently shaped light output.
And that's aside from the present poor positioning of the discharge in H4 lamps.
So what do H4 HID kit designers do?
They have various tricks, the most often used being slightly moving the discharge from one focal point in the reflector to another. But to do it properly would need it moving fractionally off centre, nearer the reflector and downwards. Present technology can't do it accurately enough, so a compromise has to be used.
Rememeber when I talked about dip and main beam patterns and the MoT? Well the ONLY beam pattern actually CHECKED by MoT is the dip. So HID kit manufacturers ensure that DIP beam pattern is as near decent as possible.
Unfortunately, this leaves a poorly focused MAIN beam. Yes, it's BRIGHTER, but nowhere near as good as it should be. If you don't believe me, try a car with retrofit H4 HIDs against one with PROPER HID main beam. I've seen the difference and it IS large, trust me.
Now classics use H4 halogen lights. The lights are crap. Why? Wel it's NOT the bulbs, as people who have put uprated or higher wattage bulbs in, will tell you. Nope, it's the DESIGN of the lights themselves.
They cause scatter. End of. There's no getting round it, they are just a poor design.
So is it REMOTELY possible that placing an HID into these lights will somehow CURE the problem? Not a hope in hell. And ANYONE who tells you different is, shall we say, "mistaken". In fact the inherent focus problems of HIDs can only exacerbate the problems with the OE Scoob lights
Sorry, but it's simple physics.As I said before, I have NOWT against HIDs. In fact, I was probably one of the first people in the UK to approach manufacturers with a view to converting halogen lights to HID. Just as I was one of the first to use the new Halogen technology in lights designed for the old BPF flanged bulbs. I ended up in a workshop carefully converting a pair of Lucas LR7 "Flamethrower" lamps to take the then new halogen bulbs, with some success, since I understood the need to place the halogen filament EXACTLY where the old BPF filament was. It did work, but again WAS NOT perfect because the filament was vertical, not horizontal, but it didn't matter so much for a long-range rally light.
I mention this last so that no-one can accuse me of either a lack of knowledge, or of simply being somehow "against" HIDs.
I hope the above is of use.
Try to keep in mind that I, personally, have NO axe to grind. So why would I tell lies, make false statements, or mislead people as I have been accused in the past?
In the end, those wanting brighter lights, or a bluish tinge, must make up their own minds. These are YOUR cars, not mine. All I'm doing is giving you enough info to make up your own minds from a knowledgeable standpoint.
Hope your feeling bettter soon btw
02 January 2011, 07:27 PM
#46
Scooby Regular
HID kits that do not use the proper lenses are UTTER UTTER GASH imo! The light pattern is aweful and they just look absolute crap, especially as someone in an on-coming vehicle. I have had them and would never use them again without the proper lenses.
02 January 2011, 07:45 PM
#47
i have had hids for years
had loads in my old cars have 4300k hi/low and 3000k yelolow in fog lights not used unless foggy ,
had them down mot sation straight away and beams set etc and had no trouble forthe old bill and vosa so each to your own i agree they are bright too ur eyes
but down here most drivers dont dip there beams when ur driving towards them hid or no hids !
at the end of the day people will winge regarding them and others wont each to your own .
had loads in my old cars have 4300k hi/low and 3000k yelolow in fog lights not used unless foggy ,
had them down mot sation straight away and beams set etc and had no trouble forthe old bill and vosa so each to your own i agree they are bright too ur eyes
but down here most drivers dont dip there beams when ur driving towards them hid or no hids !
at the end of the day people will winge regarding them and others wont each to your own .
Last edited by b3mwe; 02 January 2011 at 07:47 PM. Reason: cant spell !
02 January 2011, 08:26 PM
#48
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I have been following various threads regarding HIDs etc and as a classic driver I have a pressing need for good headlights. I have seen a company selling a H4 projector beam HID set up that fits into the bulb holder for a standard H4 light. It seems to be the answer and makes an easy job of mods that others on this web site have already carried out.
I have attached a link to the item in question - I would be grateful if some of you could take a look and see if these HID projectors are any good?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Many Thanks
I have attached a link to the item in question - I would be grateful if some of you could take a look and see if these HID projectors are any good?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Many Thanks
02 January 2011, 09:54 PM
#49
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I thought aftermarket HIDs that use the existing lens are illegal both to sell and use in the UK?
Badly adjusted lights are a real danger on the roads, HIDs without self level make this far worse imho.
Badly adjusted lights are a real danger on the roads, HIDs without self level make this far worse imho.
02 January 2011, 10:13 PM
#51
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But if you use crystal lights as per the mods carried out by others on this bb you are not using existing lenses as the front part of the light is clear the projector just shines through clear glass and does not use the lens.
02 January 2011, 10:18 PM
#52
the main issue with aftermarket HID's is fitting them with headlamps with reflectors cut into the glass, the later classics have the reflector in the back of the lamp so wont have as much scatter and as for full beam scatter,,,,,,, reality check is you dont use full beam with cars infront of you OR cars comming towards you so blinding people aint a issue as you have to turn them off anyway
aslong as you dont have scatter in the beam i cant see the kit being a problem,,,,,,, or if it is then i guess it will be delt with like all of the decat scoobys
aslong as you dont have scatter in the beam i cant see the kit being a problem,,,,,,, or if it is then i guess it will be delt with like all of the decat scoobys
02 January 2011, 10:20 PM
#53
02 January 2011, 11:46 PM
#54
I am of the opinion there are crap kits and good HID conversion kits. I understand that the crucial concept for headlamps to focus correctly is to have the filament of the bulb in EXACTLY the correct place. Now, this is down to the bulb's construction and how it is placed in the light fitting in addition to the geometry of the lens and reflector quality.
I've had poor beam focus issues happen on normal non-HID Halogens, where the bulb wouldn't locate in the reflector correctly, so the beam produced on the beam tester (or against a wall from 6ft+) was just a mess, with a very poor and blurred beam cut-off, lots of scatter and the main portion of beam focused like a "blob". Adjusting the aim made no difference and it turns out the headlamp was a non-OEM replica item.
Right, lets see if this can be a productive thread and keep it factual rather than another load of people/traders taking verbal chunks out of each other like before. I would LOVE to see pictures of people's beam patterns (with dated loaf of bread for validation
), be it on a beam tester or against a wall.To get things rolling, this is how your beam aim should look, be it HID or Halogen (sealed-beam and left hand drive car used on the continent excepted, If you use a LHD car in the UK, please please please fit beam adapters and check them on a beam tester, yes I mean you Mr Polish Trucker and visiting French/Spanish ex-pats!
):
Notice the clean white light all across the width below the cut-off (no fading towards the curbside). Very little leakage above the cut-off lines, with good beam "kick-ups" towards the curbside. The beam aim in this pic maybe a little on the high side, but this maybe due to the car being parked facing up hill, either way its something that can be easily corrected via adjustment using a beam tester.
If your beam pattern is any different then you have a problem; If there is scatter or leakage above the cutoff lines, you WILL dazzle other road users. If there is little or no "kick-up" then curbside illumination will be very poor, this is inferior to normal headlamps (you will less likely see pedestrians, cyclists and pothole on the nearside etc). If the light is strong in the centre but fades towrads the far nearside and far off side, again this is inferior beam spread.
Finally: regardless of bulb/headlamp type check security reflector and bulb, by shaking the bulb fitting at the connector base, if it rattles or moves, it WILL dazzle other road users and is usually indication of worn/broken adjusters.
Also if you have halogens; bear in mind halogens get dimmer and more yellow with age. Like tyres, they are a consumable item and do wear out. You can see this by looking at the filament and noting crusty metal deposits on it, where in comparison a new bulb will have a clean wire coil (do not touch the glass, fingerprints will vastly shorten its lifespan). If you have poor headlamps and don't know how old the bulbs are, consider replacing them. Also re-check your beam aim on a MOT beam tester to ensure its aim is as high as legally allowed, as even a new halogen bulb can have faulty geomtery and cause focus issues.
Last edited by ALi-B; 03 January 2011 at 12:14 AM.
03 January 2011, 12:07 AM
#55
In comparison THIS IS A MESS:
Lots of scatter and leakage above the cut off lines
Kick-ups hard to distinguish,
Light fades off towards the left
Beam aim incorrectly adjusted or headlamps possibly not fitted correctly (or a car that has had front end impact)
Lots of scatter and leakage above the cut off lines
Kick-ups hard to distinguish,
Light fades off towards the left
Beam aim incorrectly adjusted or headlamps possibly not fitted correctly (or a car that has had front end impact)
03 January 2011, 12:36 AM
#56
I have attached a link to the item in question - I would be grateful if some of you could take a look and see if these HID projectors are any good?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
I've used them here: https://www.scoobynet.com/lighting-a...r-project.html, but just haven't got any ballasts to get them working yet.
03 January 2011, 12:19 PM
#58
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Same here, as long as you don't go above 6000k and get them set up and aligned properly you shouldn't have an issue. I fitted the 4300k in mine and had them aligned at an MOT centre and haven't been flashed once. The standard lights in the classic are pathetic and due to the quality in the wiring you can't simply fit more powerful bulbs as the current they draw is too high. So HID's were the only way for me.
03 January 2011, 01:29 PM
#60
Ali: I need to take issue with you on two points, one major, one very minor, but being a pedant, I'll do it anyway
Firstly, it's not really the dip beam pattern that is at issue here. As I stated, most responsible kit manufacturers recognise that their kit will have to pass an MoT and since ONLY the dip beam pattern is tested, (the main beams are simply checked if they WORK or not),, that pattern is generally pretty good.
Yes, by all means look for scatter on dip, but if you listen to most people's criticism of H4 HIDs, it is that the main beam is poor. Brighter? Yes, but so poorly focused as to be worse than a good quality halogen. And when I say good quality, I mean a decent lens/reflector and a good bulb, so that lets out ANY bulb in a Scoob light
Now for the pedantry: Halogen bulbs don't yellow, they blue. The way to check if a halogen bulb is on it's way out is to look closely at the GLASS ABOVE the filament, which will be starting to blue over, due to the filament depositing on the glass. The WORST cause of this is under-volting, so if you have a volts drop issue, it WILL eat your bulbs.
Lastly, the problems with Chelsea Tractors: this is pretty much the same with most big 4x4's and vans: their lights are positioned too high OFF THE GROUND. They are, however, measured with the SAME beam setter as a standard car, just raised a foot or so higher off the ground.
To see the problem, try this: take a torch and shine it at a fixed angle so it hits the ground say 20 feet ahead of you. Now WITHOUT CHANGING THE ANGLE, raise the torch a foot higher in the air. Where does it shine now? yep, MUCH further ahead, thus THOSE lights are set to dazzle.
The only way we'll get round that is to convince someone in the DfT so to do. Best of British with THAT little exercise
Firstly, it's not really the dip beam pattern that is at issue here. As I stated, most responsible kit manufacturers recognise that their kit will have to pass an MoT and since ONLY the dip beam pattern is tested, (the main beams are simply checked if they WORK or not
),, that pattern is generally pretty good.Yes, by all means look for scatter on dip, but if you listen to most people's criticism of H4 HIDs, it is that the main beam is poor. Brighter? Yes, but so poorly focused as to be worse than a good quality halogen. And when I say good quality, I mean a decent lens/reflector and a good bulb, so that lets out ANY bulb in a Scoob light
Now for the pedantry: Halogen bulbs don't yellow, they blue. The way to check if a halogen bulb is on it's way out is to look closely at the GLASS ABOVE the filament, which will be starting to blue over, due to the filament depositing on the glass. The WORST cause of this is under-volting, so if you have a volts drop issue, it WILL eat your bulbs.
Lastly, the problems with Chelsea Tractors: this is pretty much the same with most big 4x4's and vans: their lights are positioned too high OFF THE GROUND. They are, however, measured with the SAME beam setter as a standard car, just raised a foot or so higher off the ground.
To see the problem, try this: take a torch and shine it at a fixed angle so it hits the ground say 20 feet ahead of you. Now WITHOUT CHANGING THE ANGLE, raise the torch a foot higher in the air. Where does it shine now? yep, MUCH further ahead, thus THOSE lights are set to dazzle.
The only way we'll get round that is to convince someone in the DfT so to do. Best of British with THAT little exercise