BANJOBOY

Who can recommend a supplier of HID kits please.I was thinking of 5000k H7 for my bugeye Morrette dip beam theres too many on ebay to choose from.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

My only recommendation is to buy the best you can quality-wise.

I don't use them, having proper projectors in my classic, but have seen others' kits fail due to water ingress into ballasts, poorly designed ballasts, wiring problems, and poorly aligned bulbs.

Please DO NOT go above 5000K. I assume you know the relationship between usable light and and colour temperature, so I won't repeat it here.

Ash Webster

This. don't buy cheap. they work for like a week. buy a proper kit and make sure you protect it from the elements.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Get yourself a set of OE JDM STi Bugeye HIDs, rewire and sit back.

EBay - 111784548855

As alcazar said, not all are good (if any), buy cheap pay twice and be prepared to get flashed constantly by drivers coming the other way.

Be there done it, fitted better bulbs instead.

BANJOBOY

Thanks for the advice given, I'd like to update the existing Morrettes with good quality bulbs and ballasts 4500k or 5000k but as you say not any higher not keen on that blue tint some have either.Have any of you got a kit you would recommend? cheers

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

I highly recommend TRS in the states. I bought two kits, one projector retrofit kit for my classic and one kit for my insignia that has projectors already. Very high quality morimoto equipment. I got both kits in 35W 4500K. They have a sale on at the minute too, decent discounts depending how much you spend. Delivery to the UK was about a week I think.

www.theretrofitsource.com

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

That's where my kit came from.

BANJOBOY

Thanks piehole1983 just clicked the link to TRS looks like good stuff and you and alcazar seem happy with them i'll give them a closer look tomorrow.Do we pay a lot of post and duty importing them? cheers

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

Well you might get lucky and pay nothing but I think it's about 22% of the total value for UK import duty and VAT. My order was of a fairly high value and I did get hit with duty sadly.

myblackwrx

iTrader: (1)

Bought my kit from those guys as well (for a Classic though) I saw alcazars thread.
Very good customer service, they answer emails quickly (obviously a time delay difference),quick delivery.
iirc the tax and p+p were quite low but it was sometime ago I bought the kit.

Absolutely magnificent results especially for the old crappy Classic lights

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

I paid about $20 delivery, didn't get done for tax.

brendy76

iTrader: (6)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
For what its worth, I bought these back in December for my bug projectors, still going well, one had a slight flicker for the first hour or two but all seems to work 100% now.

BANJOBOY

Just ordering H7 35W 4500K xenon kit from theretrosource $150
but postage must have gone up as follows
30+days $33
10-15 business days $55
6-10 business days $68

Are there any companies here in the UK with good equipment

BANJOBOY

sorry theretrofitsource

mazbow

You could try these they aint in the uk but they are very helpful https://www.retrofitlab.com/

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Basically every after market kit you can buy is illegal to fit because they are not E marked.

Only 1 way around it, fit washers, self levellers and factory units, and then they need to pass an MOT and be adjusted/checked.

Remember the higher the kelvin, the less the light, I would suggest not going higher than 6000k but really anyone fitting these risks the lives of other road users due to glare.

Watch this before doing ANYTHING!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Factory units, I agree, but the law as it stands does NOT require either washers or self leveling, only that IF FITTED, they must both work.

As a matter of interest, the self leveling ONLY sets the lights back to level as set by the beam adjusters. It has NO WAY of knowing where the beam is pointing. I pointed this out to a copper whose HID lights were blinding me, and when I complained, he mentioned self leveling. Check it out if you don't believe me.

bro82

iTrader: (1)

JDM models fitted with OEM HID lights don't have washers or self leveling system so I don't think that it will be illegal to have them fitted

myblackwrx

iTrader: (1)

My kit is 4500K (which is bright enough).
Car had it's MOT just over a week ago and passed.

In the video that Tony has posted the beam cutoff of my kit is more like the standard bulb result .....the HID result is terrible probably a poor quality kit.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

I'll post up the DfT's take on hids later but JDM's are a bit of a grey area, those kits you buy are all illegal to fit to a road going car, read the small print, normally states "for off road use only'".

Anyone who fits these really needs to be shot, they do glare and they do blind, even in projector units as they are not adjusted correctly.

Ive both LED and HID factory fitted units, Hids by law require washers to be fitted, this is because dirt in those units can cause scatter, led units dont, also self levelling and mine are directional Hids.

Mots are not strict enough on the light front, this will change and if the police dont like the look of your lights then you have to get them tested/removed if not standard.

Jdms would basically fail an mot so as in the past, would have to have the units removed.

Also, heat is an issue with hid/led lights, its worth reading up on this.
And as they are not E marked.... illegal to use.

Hope that clarifies it a little better all these companies are basically just robbing you and putting in a clause so you cannot get your money back if done by the police.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

PLEASE stop posting this myth, Tony, the law DOES NOT require either washers or self-leveling to be fitted. It ONLY requires that, IF THEY ARE FITTED, they must work.

JGlanzaV

iTrader: (3)

They must also be e marked.

I doubt yours a are...

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

It also requires that the unit/bulb are E certified, NO after market kit is so.... mute point but your car is illegal.

From DfT, those people in charge of VOSA, who deal with MOT's....

Aftermarket HID Headlamps
Statement
This document provides general guidance and advice on the legislative
requirements in Great Britain relating to aftermarket HID headlamps. Every
effort has been made to ensure that it is factually correct but recipients should
check with the producers of this document if they have reason to believe any
part is not correct or is now out of date.
General requirements

In the Department for Transport's (DfT) 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 with
European type approval regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle
with a European type approval. These approvals relate 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 aftermarket, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because this
only applies to new vehicles. However DfT does not think it reasonable simply
to ban HID in the aftermarket. Instead the Department makes analogies with
new vehicles. It seems reasonable to require HID in the aftermarket to meet the
same safety standards as those for new vehicles. The same level of safety
should apply.

Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the aftermarket 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); and
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 selflevelling
(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 in the same way as 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.
Further information
A note on legislation for vehicle lighting is annexed to this information sheet.
If you require any further information regarding the content of this information
sheet, please contact the DfT at the address below:
International Vehicle Standards
Department for Transport
Zone 1/33
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London
SW1P 4DR
Telephone: 020 7944 2091
Fax: 020 7944 2196
Email: TTS.enquiries@dft.gsi.gov.uk
NOTE: The information in this document is a summary of DfT’s understanding
of what the law requires. However, ultimately the interpretation of the law is a
matter for the courts based on individual facts of any particular case. You are
therefore advised to consult the relevant legislation and, if necessary, seek
independent advice.

JGlanzaV

iTrader: (3)

Tony, I have pointed this out before. Alcazar won't believe you....

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

It's advice. It's NOT the law.

TylerD529

"Law", "Advice" etc etc
Think it all comes down to a massive degree of common sense and not being an utter twonk - if you do fit HID's in reflector housings your a twonk regardless of common sense right enough
Fitting them in original E Marked projector housings shouldn't pose an issue if they're 35w or less and a reasonable temp (K) rating - no more than 5000.
Having them clean and correctly adjusted should pose no other issues to other road users than if you had 100w Halogens installed.
Yes it may not follow Govt. department GUIDELINES to the letter but when it comes to modifying anything on a road going vehicle VERY little does.
I've had a few cars in the past i've retrofitted HID bulbs into the standard projector headlights (FTO and Gen7 Celica) and the improvement in vision on the road was literally night and day - also didn't blind, dazzle or get flashed at by other road users as they were suitably adjusted.
Common sense.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

No it clearly states the "law", not guidelines, only NEW cars can be fitted with these as that complies with the regulations, anything else is deemed illegal, read it again.

DoZZa

iTrader: (4)

Properly fitted, good quality projector HID kits are nowhere near as bad as what that video tries to make out.

If you want good HID's, then TRS is the only place I would recommend. But they need to be fitted correctly, if they are not then the light pattern will blind other road users and thats bad news as we all know.

I actually find that a lot of OEM headlights on newer cars seem to blind me quite a lot, and Audi seems to be the worst of the lot, very bright indeed!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Tony, I've been through it loads of times, it states "view" "advice" etc and tells the recipients to "refer to legislation and get independent advice".


As such, they are NOT quoting laws. They are giving advice about their view. It's a trick.

I suggest you find the relevant law and post that...because I've searched and NO MENTION is made of any requirement IN LAW to have self-leveling or headlamp washers fitted, only that IF FITTED, they must both work. That's on the MoT...check if you don't believe me.

And I've asked that question of two different MoT places.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Give you a clue again, DfT are in charge of VOSA who do the MOT's. So the LAW is that if it doesnt comply with the EU legislation (which is a LAW), then its NOT legal, ie illegal.

So laymans terms, HID's are only legal if fitted to the car from NEW, retro fitted are basically ILLEGAL because they dont comply with the Legislation set down.

To add to this, IF you have an accident then your insurance my well be invalidated, especially if you cause the accident due to blinding the oncoming vehicle due to glare.