HID headlight install and comparison

[Mr Morlock]

I thought my statement was pretty clear- which part is not correct? Original HID light sources were 35W and Philips and Osram units used in gas discharge systems for OE were of course approved products. But as has been stated many times Europe defined for headlamps washing systems and self levelling and no aftermarket units provide this let alone having got approvals.

[Mr Morlock]

the move to custom made headlamps with different shapes took place in the early 80's eg Camira, Falcon, Magna, Commodore. These used either metal reflectors and then around 1984 plastic reflectors. Glass lenses was still the order of the day but these products had shapes to compliment the vehicles and performance was increasing. By far the bulb of choice was H4 though H3 and H1 also were used for driving lamp pockets. That was also the time of the Button plan ie an 80/20 system to support local production. Local car co's were really starting to sell in volume.

All lamps had to meet car co and legal requirements and all headlamps ( and other lamps) were certified with NATA testing and overseas certification as well. The stipulation for bulbs was that they were to be "e" marked and the leading makers were Osram and Philips and to a lesser extent Tungsram later becoming GE. The standard for the light sources in Europe was H4 60/55, H1 55, H3 55. These bulbs were certified to an approved type eg H4 but only for 60/55- today this bulb is still listed as an H4 to ADR51/00 and 100/90 as an example is not approved at all. The same applied to higher wattages in H1 and H3 - these were regarded as rallye bulbs and not for normal road use in Eu. No headlamp made in Au used anything else other than the standard wattages for OEM fitment and only from the best makers in the world. Our lighting stemmed essentially from the European model- USA was way behind the game.

Consumers were at liberty to change bulbs to higher wattage and for fashion as is the case today. But higher wattage often produced more heat, certainly shorter life and very often interfered with optics because the tolerancing was variable on cheap bulbs.

[rjastra2]

For those wanting a slightly more professional conversion:

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/

[droo]

heres a 6 month follow up.

As mentioned, i have my lights adjusted toward the road surface a reasonable amount, and it's still beyond plenty to light the road ahead a significant distance as well as several times brighter then normal globes.

The added brightness helps with concentrating on avoiding objects on the road - people in melbourne would appreciate that in terms of debris fallen from recent storms etc. There are many pot holes and many subtle/sharp bumps and tears in the roads near my place, and having brighter lights helps me identify them sooner, without having to concentrate so much on them instead of oncoming traffic.
I'm not sure if that makes much sense to anyone but the closest analogy is reading at night under a dim light, while you can read still, its a little more effort then compared with turning on a brighter light, you can read the same content but asborb it much faster.

I've NOT once been flashed for my lights, literally half of my driving is night based and have also dríven past police, passed through breathaliser setups both in Melbourne and rural areas..


It doesnt make it right or legal but i'm just sayin'. : )

My headlight assemblies havent melted, my bonnet hasn't caught fire, and best of all it hasn't depleted any more ozone then i normally would have. It's saved the dolphins and rejected less tuna for John West.

There comments here are interesting and educational and i appreciate the opinions and statements, i really honestly do (honestly to god no sarcasm), but simply for me, the stock halogen output from the roadster is not suitable for my area (stipulated as rural road night driving, NOT city/suburban driving)

Again, if i 'get in trouble' with it on, i'll remove it. Along with the other tools in my boot, there still actually is room for the 10mm spanner, medium phillips head and two H4 globes just in case the constabulary demand it changed.

: )

[slimx]

Without bothering reading the hole thing.

My input:

HID kits are the best.

1. looks better
2. lights up better
3. doesnt dim when u have all the electricals on or when u have heavy duty sound system
4. reflective (all the signs light up) so u dont miss a sign even if its covered by a branch/leaves
5. lasts longer

---------

Legal info
from what i remember:
Hid is only legal if u have it engineered
To engineer it u must have the following (again from memory)
1. projector lamps (NB8B/C factory)
2. headlight washers

-----------

Long as u aim them properly (most of the time its just 3 cycles down) a little bit lower then the standard allignment they dont blind anyone. except for lower vehicles (lambo's). If u do have a reflective housing headlight though i dont recommend them, then u are blinding people not by the projection but when people look at your car.. its just .. glaring.

[TieNN89]

Legal info
from what i remember:
Hid is only legal if u have it engineered
To engineer it u must have the following (again from memory)
1. projector lamps (NB8B/C factory)
2. headlight washers

and auto levellers

[Mr Morlock]

in other words if you want to be legal its virtually impossible.

[Regie]

Without bothering reading the hole thing.

My input:

HID kits are the best.

1. looks betterNot when you are blinding other road users
2. lights up betterWithout propper hid projectors....rain driving sucks
3. doesnt dim when u have all the electricals on or when u have heavy duty sound systemMx5s dont need subs
4. reflective (all the signs light up) so u dont miss a sign even if its covered by a branch/leaves[color=#FF4040i agree[/color]
5. lasts longerAlso cost much more

---------

Legal info
from what i remember:
Hid is only legal if u have it engineered
To engineer it u must have the following (again from memory)
1. projector lamps (NB8B/C factory) Still not legal
2. headlight washersToo hard on mx5

-----------

Long as u aim them properly (most of the time its just 3 cycles down) a little bit lower then the standard allignment they dont blind anyone. except for lower vehicles (lambo's). If u do have a reflective housing headlight though i dont recommend them, then u are blinding people not by the projection but when people look at your car.. its just .. glaring.

Ive done mine semi legally, when I bought the car I ripped the headlights apart and retrofitted some proper hid rx330 lenses and cut off panels

[green_comet]

Best 7" hid projector retrofit guide I have found so far, thinking I might give it a go.

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/924-931-944-951-968-forum/688711-diy-bi-xenon-hid-projector-lights.html

[droo]

hell yeah - definitely going to give this a go!

[manga_blue]

Pretty much all my driving is country roads. I'm starting to notice a lot more dodgy HID conversions among the ute and 4WD crowd. At least it gives me this happy little story to relate.

I was driving back from Braidwood to the coast on the Kings Highway at night in March with wife and son aboard a large 4WD. There were 3 cars oncoming in a group. The second of them had that familiar big blue/white cloud of glare. I could hardly see a thing. Through the glare I was trying to figure out what was that funny little red/brown smudge in front of me. At the last moment the smudge warped into a wombat trotting directly towards us, right in front of me. With no shoulder on that narrow road and no time I managed only a slight swerve and clipped the wombat with the driver's wheel and it spun off to my right. Looking back in the mirrors the first car got through OK but the second and third cars were all over the place. I think I got the prick with the ebay HIDs though.

[bruce]

The above link to the Porsche conversion is a major hack job. Lots of glue, silicon and plumbing connectors holding it together. It will probably vibrate to bits, melt or fill with water after a few months.

[green_comet]

Agreed his work is pretty average, but it does give people a good idea of what is involved in doing HIDs correctly. There are a heap of much cleaner retrofits in 7" headlights on http://www.hidplanet.com go knock yourself out.

[Aussie Stig]

Pretty much all my driving is country roads. I'm starting to notice a lot more dodgy HID conversions among the ute and 4WD crowd. At least it gives me this happy little story to relate.

I was driving back from Braidwood to the coast on the Kings Highway at night in March with wife and son aboard a large 4WD. There were 3 cars oncoming in a group. The second of them had that familiar big blue/white cloud of glare. I could hardly see a thing. Through the glare I was trying to figure out what was that funny little red/brown smudge in front of me. At the last moment the smudge warped into a wombat trotting directly towards us, right in front of me. With no shoulder on that narrow road and no time I managed only a slight swerve and clipped the wombat with the driver's wheel and it spun off to my right. Looking back in the mirrors the first car got through OK but the second and third cars were all over the place. I think I got the prick with the ebay HIDs though.

So you are saying your dropkicking an innocent wombat into oncoming traffic was an offensive weapon designed to cause a road accident.

I am ashamed that wildlife can be so shamelessly exploited in this forum.

[hks_kansei]

I think it's more "if I wasn't blinded by the retard with the illegally bright and badly aligned headlights I would have been able to see the wombat and avoid it rather than hit it"