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Worried About Hid


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I fitted HIDs to my car a while ago now and i couldnt belive the light. They were so much better than my old headlights. They were great and lighting up signs and lines on the road.

However i had a few other drivers flash my as if they were blinded. I was worried my lights were annoying other drivers as i hate it when other cars blind me. So i took my car to have its lights aligned to make sure they were perfect. Anyway after having this done i was still flashed by on comming cars.

So i looked into the matter on the internet and as it turns out our halogen projectors just arent up to the job of HID. The beam given off with a halogen bulb is crisp and wont blind other drivers when aligned properly however given the nature of HID light it can disperse and distort when you use a halogen projector. It gives off a glare and a blured cut off line. Anyway i was speeking to a few friends last night and they said that a few peoples cars have been impounded by the police as a result of having after market HIDs. Obviously you get your car back but you are made to pay a fine and you have to put the old bulbs back in.

Well after having heard this i was worried i was gonna loose my lovely Lex so i have taken them out and put the old halogens back in cos i dont want to risk it.

I have also found out the HID 4 U now sell anti glare bulbs to combat this problem so i am gonna try and get them to give me some. I have emailed them regarding all of this and i have said i have had to remove the kit.

So has anyone on here had the same problem?

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If other people have had their cars impounded regarding HIDs then I imagine it would have been for having very blue/purple ones (e.g. 10,000K). I am very very sceptical that anyone would have had their car impounded for having reasonable (e.g 6000K), properly aligned aftermarket HIDs, since the law is somewhat grey on this area. There are lots of other reasons the police could pull cars too, to do with insurance/tax/tints etc.

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i have 10k's and never been flashed once!also the wife use's it to drive to her work the funny thing is for those of you who dont know shes a traffic cop i have even given the sarg and the inspector a lift to their night out and they didn't even blat a eye lid!!!i doubt any one has ever had their car impounded due to hids!!!!!!!

on a diff note andrew d are you selling your old hid kit?pm me.

as for brightness 6k's are brighter than 10k's, 10k's are more blue.

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I've never heard of anyone having their car impounded for HIDs, as above perhaps if you have the purple ones (12000K) but never with pretty standard ones........

I actually once got pulled in central london where the policeman was questioning the brightness of my headlamps but when it came down to it he didn't care about them, and was more interested to see who I had in the car as it was a Friday night and my car was slightly customised - what I learnt from that was if you have something to hide, then definitely don't draw attention to yourself with HIDs!

It is true that HIDs in a Halogen reflector aren't the perfect combination as HIDs put out too much light so there is too much scatter (mine actually didn't get through its last MOT and they swapped them to set of halogen bulbs to get it through) but a projector retrofit sounds like too much work :lol:

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oright, so the IS220 / IS250 dont have them, i would have thought there would

Ahh sorry mate didn't realise you were talking about the mk2 IS :blush:

Yep they're standard on the SE-L and Sport versions (again 4300K), the base and SE have halogens (but they all have projector headlamps so should get a clean cut-off with an aftermarket kit)

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I think it depends onwhat brand of HID you are going to buy. i did bought here HID first one with 35 watts and 6k the light are not level and it spreads unevenly. when i bought a branded one its totallydeferent.. i got a apex cone brand and ddm tuning-regular and slim ballast with 55watts each and using 6k and 8k( when using 8k since its running on higher wattage it flushes the color down) so when i change it now the beam is even and much better. so it stil comes down to brand and how much you pay.

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I think it depends onwhat brand of HID you are going to buy. i did bought here HID first one with 35 watts and 6k the light are not level and it spreads unevenly. when i bought a branded one its totallydeferent.. i got a apex cone brand and ddm tuning-regular and slim ballast with 55watts each and using 6k and 8k( when using 8k since its running on higher wattage it flushes the color down) so when i change it now the beam is even and much better. so it stil comes down to brand and how much you pay.

I could be wrong, but I think it's a lot more likely that the first one you installed was just pointing in a slightly different direction. Bear in mind that when you plug the HID "bulb" in, then it's pointing in a specific direction based on how it was attached to the bulb-holder at the factory. The direction that all the light goes in is really down to the reflector, but the bulb itself will point in a direction based on the bulb-holder.

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I'm with Stevie on this, I don't think different HID kits can cause too much variation. The reason why they aren't totally suitable is that an HID bulb puts out so much more light in all directions than a halogen bulb, and halogen reflectors simply do not constrict and focus the beam sufficiently which leads to all the light scatter.

Technically the 55W bulb will be even brighter so should be worsening the condition, so it's more probable that the bulb is better lined up inside your reflector. 8000K bulbs put out less light than a 6000K bulb so the fact the the 8000K looks cleaner is a no brainer :)

Having said that I have been considering swapping to 4300K bulbs and at the same time swapping to 55W but not sure if that will be so bright it'll get me in trouble.......... :shutit:

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Lifted from the DOT's web site:

Fact sheet: Aftermarket HID headlamps

December 2006

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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What markings are required on your head light units?

again info lifted from a government site:

A normal tungsten filament bulb (old cars) assuming its a ECE approved and not BS approved unit will be marked with a “CR” The “C” refers to low beam approved and “R” to high beam.

Modern headlights designed for halogen bulbs will be coded with a “H” as well as the “CR”, So “HCR”. A headlight for HID lights will be codes with a “D” and not the "H". It is illegal to use the wrong bulb in a “E” approved headlight on the road.

So in summery:

This is the way I see the law, if your head light is marked "DCR" you can use HIDs if it is marked "HCR" you shouldent really put HIDs in.

and unless I am forced to remove my HIDs they are staying put, both high and low beams.

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Well thanks to all of you for your info i have decided life without HID is ridiculous you cant see a thing so they are going to have to go back in. By the way mine are 6000k which i forgot to mention. I am going to use the new anti glare bulbs though cos i really dont want to blind any other drivers as i hate it when other drivers do it to me.

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