HID Conversion

[Howard]

Do you have wash wipe , and self levelling ? I don't mean the rotary knob on the dash to adjust the beam up or down. Without these , they will be illegal .

You can't just put a HID source into a unit designed for halogen , you need to change the whole unit , the lense is different .

Did you read the link i posted ?

How much is he charging you for this conversion ?

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Howard, if the kit uses H7R bulbs, they have a shield to make them the same pattern as a stock bulb.

This would mean that your headlights would cast more light but without the glare and need to fit a projector headlight and sensors.. and so on.

 

[Howard]

Not denying that , just trying to get across that they aren't legal regardless of the schpiel that the OP is being fed by the conversion companies.

Only way to do it legally is to put OEM xenon units in the car , with OEM levelling and OEM washers ( and bumper ) ..

Anything else is illegal .

We looked into this before , and because the gas discharge lamp doesn't have a filament but is in fact an arc , it doesn't arc in the same place ( exactly ) that the filament of a halogen bulb does . Hence the light is diffused into the wrong places by the lense.

If you look at a CLK with OEM xenons for example and compare it with a CLK with halogens , you will see that the lense is completely different.

I do have a little bit of an idea about this , as i researched it extensively when i was going to do my car.

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
xenon discharge lamp will never give the same beam pattern as a halogen regardless how well made xenon lamp is, as Howard has said halogen lamps and xenon lamps produce their light in completely different ways, the lamps focus points are in a different places with in the headlight.
I have done a full xenon headlamp conversion on my C43 including the headlamp cleaning system and the replacement of the manual levelling with the electric auto levelling system, and i believe Whitenemesis has done the same on his 203 to do this conversion is not really to difficult though it can be pricey if you can,t get the parts second hand.
If the O/P's car has self levelling rear suspension there is no need for the electric auto levelling system, and the manual adjusters i believe can be fitted in the xenon headlights where the electric adjusters were fitted.

 

[timskemp]

Ahhhh sod it... woke up early...

RVLR 1989

(none of the amendments seem relevant either)

As summarised by me, me not being a law expert or professional, but go and read it yourselves, maybe even go pay a solicitor to do so for you.

Filament lamps need approval marks
All required lamps must be in good working order and clean

Headlamps must not be used so as to cause dazzle or discomfort to other users of the road

Headlamps on cars first used after 1 april 1986 must have an approval mark

There are no requirements as to intensity or wattage from 1 april 1986, before then must be minimum 30 watts.

Dipped beam headlamps need to be adjusted as per the markings.

So it's grey. HIDs are not filament lamps, approval marks are on the lamp units but nothing in the regulations seems to me to say anything about the wattage, type of filament etc. If your headlamp causes dazzle or discomfort to other users, you're stuffed though.

 

[lynall]

I was going to get these for my old disco td5 with sls rear suspension but pretty sure regs say the headlamp has to be self levelling not the car.

Both mine and the wifes are xenons and both have sensors pn the front and rear suspension to keep the lamps level.

In reality i cant see you having any bother from the law or mot time, lets be honest how often do you see a copper? and just think of all the much more important things hes got to do like fill in forms in triplicate etc .

Take some pics of your beam pattern parked 50 foot from a wall and do the same when hids fitted and post them here as i have always wanted to see the difference.



Lynall

 

[DangerMouse786]

i will be taking photos of a before and after. think im going to get em done next weekend though. so ill keep you posted...

the deal he has offered i cant go wrong... he has assured me that he fits HD for Porsche in Stratford, and has even done ferreris, astons, merc, bmw's etc... so he seems professional and ive heard alot of good things about the guy from other people.

cant wait, daylight at night...

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Not denying that , just trying to get across that they aren't legal regardless of the schpiel that the OP is being fed by the conversion companies.

Only way to do it legally is to put OEM xenon units in the car , with OEM levelling and OEM washers ( and bumper ) ..

Anything else is illegal .

We looked into this before , and because the gas discharge lamp doesn't have a filament but is in fact an arc , it doesn't arc in the same place ( exactly ) that the filament of a halogen bulb does . Hence the light is diffused into the wrong places by the lense.

If you look at a CLK with OEM xenons for example and compare it with a CLK with halogens , you will see that the lense is completely different.

I do have a little bit of an idea about this , as i researched it extensively when i was going to do my car.

Yep but with the H7R kit you aren't changing anything!

All you would be doing is changing the style of bulb from one that is powered from 12V to one that is powered from around 25kV.

The H7R kit lamps have the same shield as a normal bulb and thus do not need to be fitted behind a projector to prevent light scatter.

Given that people use Osram and Philips bulbs to get a "blue" light these bulbs would not look any different.

 

[andy27168]

Yep but with the H7R kit you aren't changing anything!

All you would be doing is changing the style of bulb from one that is powered from 12V to one that is powered from around 25kV.

The H7R kit lamps have the same shield as a normal bulb and thus do not need to be fitted behind a projector to prevent light scatter.

Given that people use Osram and Philips bulbs to get a "blue" light these bulbs would not look any different.

A car with self levelling rear suspension is considered to fulfil the headlight levelling requiremments as previously stated in an earlier post in this thread, though not sure of the source of his info, it is worded as if it is from an "official goverment site".

 

[andy27168]

Yep but with the H7R kit you aren't changing anything!

All you would be doing is changing the style of bulb from one that is powered from 12V to one that is powered from around 25kV.

The H7R kit lamps have the same shield as a normal bulb and thus do not need to be fitted behind a projector to prevent light scatter.

Given that people use Osram and Philips bulbs to get a "blue" light these bulbs would not look any different.

If this is the case why do you see the statements such as "not legal for use in the UK" and "not UK approved" if they were the same do you not think some one would have put them through the approval system?

 

[BTB 500]

Yep but with the H7R kit you aren't changing anything!

All you would be doing is changing the style of bulb from one that is powered from 12V to one that is powered from around 25kV.

As Howard said, that's not true.

The arc in a HID unit is not the same size/shape/position as the filament in a normal incandescent bulb. Therefore the pattern thrown out by the lens/reflector isn't the same, even if - externally - the HID tube is the same size as the bulb.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

I would agree with you if the burner were a standard item as documented by the DfT.

However the 'R' suffix denotes that these items have a screen to shape the light output.

These are claimed to have the same lighting shape as a stock bulb from say Osram or Phillips.

It is not the same as mounting a D2S burner in the headlamp shell and filling random parts of the sky with light.