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Its my birthday next week and my girlfriend was gonna buy me a bi-xenon kit for then Capri as my mate bought two (for his silvia and 200sx) about 6 months ago from ebay for about £45 all in and they are superb, the same kits on there now are nearer £80!  Cant really justify that, anyone know where to get some from for sensible prices? |
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Bi-Xenon kitsjettadeluxe
@GUEST
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Blimey, £45 was a bargain, most DECENT xenon kits are well over £100 unless you buy Far Eastern market stuff.
£80 is not a bad price at all, pry your wallet open!
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Agreed. Most of the cheap kits on eBay will blind oncoming traffic - just like Range Rovers do....
These kits ought to be banned IMHO. Super bright lights are fine for off road use and country roads when there's no-one around, but they're a PITA for anyone in front of you, or coming the other way. Range Rover headlamps are set at just the right height to blind me via the rear view mirror on my Peugeot. Downright dangerous.
Here endeth the rant.
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1951 Split Window Beetle - SOLD!
1965 Mercedes 230SL
1966 VW Beetle
1968 Mercedes 280SE
1972 VW 412LE Variant - SOLD!
err.... 2004 Toyota Corolla
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surely if you put the effort in to adjust them correctly though and get the angles right - they're okay?
or is a lens pattern issue with the beams?
I've always wondered about gettig a bi-xenon kit for the Mx5 but never bit on it - I'd like to see one installed and also find out how much of a PITA it was to install.
Are replacement bulbs easy to get?
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awoo
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,505
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If they're adjusted properly they're fine and if they're good enough quality you wont get bad glare from them either.
Ive got some as i sell them for group buys on a honda forum.
which HID's do you need for a capri? i can beat ebay prices if i have them.
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Awoo, I need H4 Bi-Xenon 6000k ideally
Ive driven in front of my mate a lot and they don't dazzle if they're correctly adjusted - and they are the cheap foreign ones! Only reason I'm reluctant is that he paid £45 for the very same kit not long ago!!
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H1 and H4 interest here. Sorry to hijack...
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Davenger
Club Retro Rides Member
It's only metal
Posts: 7,272
Club RR Member Number: 140
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Bi-Xenon kitsDavenger
@dminifreak
Club Retro Rides Member 140
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Sounds like you'll have to bite the bullet and pay the £80
Like VIP said, there are plenty more expensive ones out there
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awoo
Posted a lot
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I have H4 single beam 6000k, if you mean Bi-Xenon as in high and low beam in one, I'm all out. I can get more but they're going to be more simply due to the obscene exchange rate atm.
best quality i could find too and i looked for a long time.
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this is interesting as I plan this for my E12. since double dippers are apperently illegal, I thought I'd do something to spruce up the usually dim bmw lamps. I heard that its better to have the reflector close to the lens for xenon, anyone else heard that? on that advice I was gonna chop up some e34 "smiley" lamps (they're easy to do and my lights are the same as capri ones  ) and then xenon them. have I heard bunkum? |
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Are they not illegal unless you have self levelling headlights and headlamp washers as standard>
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awoo
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Are they not illegal unless you have self levelling headlights and headlamp washers as standard> that only applies to newly manufactured cars, and i can think of new cars with HIDs that don't have self leveling and washers. |
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think thats type approval for new cars. supposed to have a failsafe so the lights fall right down if theres a problem. self leveling sensors are a pian in the behind!! keep seeing cars in my rear veiw that look like they're flashing me, bloody self sevelling tosh  |
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,195
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Bi-Xenon kitsChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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If they're adjusted properly they're fine and if they're good enough quality you wont get bad glare from them either. Ive got some as I sell them for group buys on a honda forum. which HID's do you need for a capri? I can beat ebay prices if I have them. Rubbish. A mate of mine with a Ford Focus tried endlessly to adjust his out (normal H7 6000k bulbs), even an MOT centre couldn't with the light thingymajigs. What he found was that whilst the glare was 'ok' for most cars, it was the coaches and trucks were getting the brunt of the glare, hence he kept getting flashed by many truck and coach drivers. I know on the GTi-6 forum one guy said he had no glare, but also mentioned how he could see the back of the heads of people who were in a car ahead of him... With H7R bulbs (Designed for reflector headlamps), the difference in glare was night and day. So much that I may just buy a set for the 306 (in 4300k format and H7R) Again, a mate with a MkIV Golf had DEPO R32 replica lights. With the genuine R32 lamps he has now, the beam pattern much better defined. Whilst the user may get better light, it's the others who have to put up with the glare. |
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Last Edit: Mar 5, 2009 21:28:22 GMT by ChasR
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Reason I mention it is that I was thinking of putting HIDs in an older car, did some asking around and found they would not be legal for road use. I've dug out the official line on it:
In the Department's view it is not legal to sell or use after market HID lighting kits, for converting conventional Halogen headlamps to HID Xenon. If a customer wants to convert his vehicle to Xenon HID he must purchase completely new Xenon HID headlamps. The reason for this is that the existing lens and reflector are designed around a Halogen filament bulb, working to very precise tolerances. If one places a HID "burner" (bulb) in the headlamp, the beam pattern will not be correct, there will be glare in some places and not enough light in other places within the beam pattern.
The following is the legal rationale:
The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK.
Under these Regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.
However new vehicles have HID headlamps. This is because they comply to European type approval Regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle with a European type approval. These are to ECE Regulation 98 (for the HID headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (Lighting Installation on the vehicle).
For the after market, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "HID is banned in the after market" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require HID in the after market to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.
Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the after market should:
1. be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.
2. when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place).
3. Comply with RVLR as far as "use" is concerned.
In practice this means:
1. The headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be "e-marked" to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory.
2. Once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have "self-levelling suspension" and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam.
3. The headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly like any other headlamp.
Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.
In summary it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.
If you require any further information regarding the regulations covered by this fact sheet, please contact the DfT at the address below:
Transport Technology and Standards 6
Department for Transport
Zone 2/04
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DR
Telephone: 020 7944 2078
Fax: 020 7944 2196
Email: TTS.enquiries@dft.gsi.gov.uk
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awoo
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,505
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If they're adjusted properly they're fine and if they're good enough quality you wont get bad glare from them either. Ive got some as I sell them for group buys on a honda forum. which HID's do you need for a capri? I can beat ebay prices if I have them. Rubbish. A mate of mine with a Ford Focus tried endlessly to adjust his out (normal H7 6000k bulbs), even an MOT centre couldn't with the light thingymajigs. What he found was that whilst the glare was 'ok' for most cars, it was the coaches and trucks were getting the brunt of the glare, hence he kept getting flashed by many truck and coach drivers. I know on the GTi-6 forum one guy said he had no glare, but also mentioned how he could see the back of the heads of people who were in a car ahead of him... With H7R bulbs (Designed for reflector headlamps), the difference in glare was night and day. So much that I may just buy a set for the 306 (in 4300k format and H7R) Again, a mate with a MkIV Golf had DEPO R32 replica lights. With the genuine R32 lamps he has now, the beam pattern much better defined. Whilst the user may get better light, it's the others who have to put up with the glare. you can say thats rubbish but going by what youve written it appears that some things there are highly subjective. stick them in a curse word headlight or one without those caps over them it will give a bad pattern, cheap bulbs glare like the sun so that wont help, cheap kits don't have the right reflectors etc etc etc something you don't get with higher quality HIDs projector lights (only going by the ones ive done) are the best for HIDs. they give the best beam pattern and send the light downwards. ive been in cars with badly set or wrong headlights + £35 ebay HIDs and they get flashed - alot. ive set mine up right, driven with them for over 18months and never been flashed in however many 1000s of miles, neither does it glare when you stand 50ft in front of it. also have a mate whom is a police man with hids in his prelude, he has no problem with them, the MOT garage thought they were fine and couldnt fault them on beam pattern, my dad (whos the most negative old goat going) advocates them in his car and neither has he had any issues. Its all a very grey area like with banding wheels, cutting springs, chopping roofs etc but I'm yet to find anyone that would actually pull your car for it. ultimately if you don't do it right and do it on the cheap its not going to work properly. |
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Tell it like it is.... NOT how it should be |
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try ebay.com.au the exchange rate seems slightly better for us
i very much suspect they're all made in a cheapo chinnese factory , so no gains in paying top ££ for the same set from a english seller
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91 golf g60, 89 golf 16v , 88 polo breadvan
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i bloody hate them, makes adriving a nightmare down dark roads these days, cant see where i'm going in the Merc if something comes towards me with them fitted as everytime the vehicle hits a bump i get a bright flash into my eyes (which are perfect by the way, or were at last eye test just before xmas) and then cant see curse word all for a bit after they have gone past.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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Cant really justify that, anyone know where to get some from for sensible prices? 
) and then xenon them. have I heard bunkum?
