Craig_mate
Active Member
- Posts
- 118
- Location
- Suffolk
Factory HIDs are completely different to fitting an HID burner in an H4 or H7 base plate. All factory HID lights are mandated to have a reflection plate, a shutter and a focus lens. Additionally an HID equipped vehicle must have auto levelling beam correction and a lens cleaning system.
If any of those parts are missing, the vehicle will fail an MOT as it's non complaint.
You can't get the FL1 within the vehicle lighting and use regulations, simply by putting a so "legal" HID kit in it. There's no such thing. Regardless of what the supplier said, they are illegal. They don't even make a decent light on the road. They simply throws 3000+ Lumens of uncontrolled light forward. Very little actually hits the road. The rest simply blinds on coming traffic.
The cops are hot on them down this way. I know many local "modders" that have had the vehicle impounded, with prohibition orders, with hefty fines and points for the driver.
It's much better to fit a decent set of filament bulbs to the lamps.
You can't get a tug or fail an MOT for being legal
I see. I fully understand why they'd ban those horrible cheap kits that blind everyone and have no discernible beam pattern.
I keep the original H4s in my glove box so i can simply unplug the wiring, remove the HID bulb/reflector/solenoid assembly from the headlamp and refit the H4s. I keep the originals in the car as I've seen the ballasts on cheaper kits fail and leave people stranded.
My kit gives me a perfect beam pattern in low and high positions with a razor sharp top line - less uncontrolled light than the original H4s by far. The amount of light on the road in front of my vehicle is also far superior. The light is crisp and white unlike the dull, slightly yellow hew of the H4s. The HIDs also highlight details in the distance far better than the H4s, i think because of the frequency being that much closer to natural daylight.
I think maybe your local modders are fitting inferior kits or fitting the kits incorrectly....
My kit may not be legal, that being the case, i'm willing to risk a stern talking to for the safety and visibility I've gained.
I'm sorry, i can't tell you the manufacturer, I'll try and find their case next time i'm in the loft. If memory serves, the kit was about £149 and has brought the little landy's headlights up to modern headlight standards. I had factory fit Xenons on the Rav4, Mini and Jag and the first time i drove the Freelander i was appalled by how poor the quantity and quality of light was. First i upgraded to some Nightbreakers but i knew this would only be a temporary fix. Once you've had cars and bikes with high quality lighting, driving with old fashioned lights is just scary haha!
I've installed high quality HID kits to dozens of customers cars and bikes over the years and they've all made a huge improvement.
I can't help thinking that maybe you just haven't had the best of luck with kits you've seen/used....? I completely understand people wanting to follow the law to the letter. I really think you ought to try out some of the latest generation of HIDs before trashing them though. I'm not saying all kits are created equal but some of them are phenomenal!
As an aside; I see a great many 4x4s with extra lamps on the front and can't help thinking that it would have been cheaper and simpler to upgrade the existing lamps.
