Adam M

OK,

long time back I bought an H4 dual beam hylow kit, which I have never fitted as I dont have a bloody car yet.

On opening the box the wiring was excessively complicated.

I want to know if the wiring on the HYLOW kit from the group buy is the same as that of the normal kits, I.e. unplug standard bulbs, attach multiplug to igniters and transformers etc, and plug into bulb, ie all the new kit does is introduce two boxes between the loom and the bulb (and maybe a power a supply although why it needs it I dont know if it draws less current).

In short, I dont want a load of mess in my engine bay when I could possibly get dedicated HID driving lamps and low beam only H4s, all of which have far neater wiring.

and btw. there is no way I am putting a morette conversion on a 22B.

Adam M

jesus,

cant believe this has been here this long and not one reply.

no one is oin a position to record their experiences of the hylow kit and possibly answer some questions?

myp1

amwaiting to fit mine first observation is u need to extend the live feed wire as space restrctions mean all the relays and control box need to be on offside of car

Adam M

Thanks BDF,

what of the performance of the system?

is it worth the grief if you have the standard lenses.

I always thought the headlamp units themselves rather than the bulbs were the reason for the **** lights on the impreza. Does this kit at all solve the problem?

BDF

You know the old adage 'you can't polish a turd' - Well it's not entirely true. The limiting factor is definately the design of the reflector/lens, but with the HID units installed the light output is greatly improved - There is a nice big carpet of white light, reflective signs etc are picked out much earlier. On main beam, I'm not sure that the HID's throw light any further than a good pair of performance halogens, but this could be something to do with my kit being the 6000K version rather than the 4100K.
Something I have had to fiddle with was the adjustment of the headlamps - The HID's must put the light source in a slightly different position to std halogens. Had to lower the drivers side lamp some more as the 15 degree light kick up to the left seemed rather exaggerated and appeared to annoy other drivers.
I've got my MOT coming up soon, so we'll see how the tester reacts to them for that.
The Hylows (being dual beam) are a bit of a compromise by nature and will never be as good as a single beam version with better optics.
In all, I personally think the lights do justify the expense but you have to be prepared to spend some time 'tweaking'.

Stuart Knight

iTrader: (2)

Adam,

As you know, I have the same kit as you. I find the low beam performance excellent, but the high beam is no better than the standard. However, coupled with my pair of 130W driving lamps, high bea, is acceptable. I can always bring the car over one dark night if you want to see what they are like.

Stuart

Adam M

stuart, thanks for the offer, you should do that anyway so that we can meet, willget the rest of the guys round too.

I sold my kit as I needed the money temporarily, but am considering buying another one.

This is raising the question of whether or not I should bother!

BDF

There is a massive amount of wire involved isn't there! - Far more than the single beam versions, yet the method of connection is the same. I believe the lamp units themselves are bulkier than the single beam ones too.
I extended my main live wire and earth wire by a suitable amount to route the cables neatly beneath the radiator. The remaining wires I left as standard - Though finding somewhere to stow them is a real problem.
The 2 boxes that you speak of - To my understanding, consist of a ballast unit (The larger metallic box) which is basically a step up transformer that produces up to 23Kv and which also contains some very complex voltage monitoring/regulating circuitry. The black plastic box - I believe contains a pair of relays - One for switch-on and one for changeover between dipped and main beam.
When attempting installation , you might consider removing your battery to allow easier access and neater cable routing.
This isn't a job you can do in a couple of hours on a classic Scoob. Allow yourself plenty of time for fiddling around with tidying cables and mounting boxes.
If you get any problems, contact Janet at Autolamps - She is extremely knowlegable and helpful.

[Edited by BDF - 2/11/2003 12:51:59 PM]