HID kits

[stu.gtx]

Hi,

Anyone got any experience with these kits? I'm thinking of getting one for the A6 and if I'm happy with that, might get one for the rocco. There's a few cheapies on ebay from Honk Kong and the like. I'm a bit reluctant to buy one from there but don't want to buy a supposedly UK one only to find they're made in the same factory anyway.

Cheers

Stu

[Ryan]

Hey Stu,

I've got a 4300 kit on my B5 passat - and it's good.
So much so, I got one for my Dad's B5.5 as he was always going on about how rubbish the lights were - and went through loads of aftermarket 'brighter' bulbs. Now he can't stop going on about how good it is!

Definitely recommended by me.
I will get one fitted to the Bora in time.

Mine were both the cheapo Honk-Gong ones - they're fine for £45 ish to your door.

Good luck,

Ryan

[Jay4424]

I've gopt them on my bike, the best system (in my eyes) is the one that uses just one tube, and a built in solenoid to push the tube in and out of the beam pattern in the luminar... other use one tube and a std. filiment to act as dip beam (HID on full only), or two tubes (teh expensive ones).

the only thing to remember is that "legally" you need to have self alining head lamps, if not a proper diffuser too. ...that is my understandign anyway.

Jay.


Ps ...the i love ballet brillant!

[Nate]

legally speaking, they are illegal. the rocco was type approved for "normal" headlights and therefore fitting, allowing the fitting of, or using HID kits on them is illegal.

some light hearted reading for you

department of transport page regarding aftermarket HID kits

auto express 3 minute film about why not to fit them

[stu.gtx]

Good point. The Renault in the vid looked like it had some proper chav ones - probably the 55w type - it just looked wrong.

[Ryan]

Good point. The Renault in the vid looked like it had some proper chav ones - probably the 55w type - it just looked wrong.

Also they're not projector lamps.
What year is your A6 - does it have projector lamps? (I fitted FK projectors to mine at the same time, Dad's B5.5 has the projector lamps as standard).

[Junglist]

for the scirocco, if you're after improved visibility i can recommend the upgraded light loom. You only need it for your main headlight and it's 13 quid on ebay with easy fitting instructions. 5 minute fit. There are 30 to 50 quid versions but they're for doing your sidelights, fog lights, spots, etc. Totally unnecessary in my opinion, especially for the money. I also got some "90% brighter" bulbs with a slight blue tint to counteract the natural yellow tinge. They're not 90% brighter but maybe 20% at a push. At 10 quid a pair (unless you go to hal-FRAUDs) i'd say they're worth investing in too. 23 quid in total and probably 50% more visibility at least. Very easy to fit too. If you know what you're doing you could make your own light loom. It's just a relay, a fuse holder and some push on crimp terminals and wire. Personally i'd just buy it. I could make my own but it'd cost me over a fiver in parts so i'd rather buy it ready made.

[Nate]

Good point. The Renault in the vid looked like it had some proper chav ones - probably the 55w type - it just looked wrong.

Also they're not projector lamps.

still can't figure the point of this comment. what have projector lamps got to do with HID lights? the 2 are not them same and you can have 1 without the other (provided of course that they're 'e' marked)

[Jay4424]

By right you should not have proper HID lamps with out projectors. the projector is what defines the beam and makes it focuced on the road ahea, not just a mass of light.. like mine is atm!!!!

...really it should be self adjusting too, but that is by the by.

...google it (FK lights in germany) or theres a better one in america somewhere!


Jay.

[Ryan]

Yep - projector headlights focus the light to reduce scatter.

[Nate]

i know what a projector lamp is, but it isn't a legal requirement for an HID headlamp. similarly, projector lights are available with "normal" halogen filament bulbs, like the ones used by older BMWs. a reflector headlight with an HID lightsource is legal, providing it has been designed for that purpose. you can get 2 different types of HID bulb "S" and "D" which are intended for use in projector and reflector headlamps respectively

[Jay4424]

i know what a projector lamp is, but it isn't a legal requirement for an HID headlamp. similarly, projector lights are available with "normal" halogen filament bulbs, like the ones used by older BMWs. a reflector headlight with an HID lightsource is legal, providing it has been designed for that purpose. you can get 2 different types of HID bulb "S" and "D" which are intended for use in projector and reflector headlamps respectively

Man awith knowlage! ...thank you, I'll go check what lamps i have!

[Nate]

that should be "S" for projector and "R" for reflector, not D. wasn't awake!

the bulb type should be 3 characters. DxS or DxR

D is for Discharge (the type of bulb they are - high intenstity discharge aka gas discharge) x is a number 1 to 4 which is the style of bulb (just the same as in normal headlights H1, H2 etc) and either S or R for what type of enclosure it's designed for. the reflector bulbs have a painted area the same as a "normal" bulb, the projector one is just plain glass

HTH

[stu.gtx]

Good point. The Renault in the vid looked like it had some proper chav ones - probably the 55w type - it just looked wrong.

Also they're not projector lamps.
What year is your A6 - does it have projector lamps? (I fitted FK projectors to mine at the same time, Dad's B5.5 has the projector lamps as standard).

The A6 has projector lamps and HID's do seem to look better with projectors.

Looks like I've opened a can of worms here lol.

[Nate]

HID's do seem to look better with projectors.

normal halogen filament lights look better as projectors too