I have heard many different views on the law about aftermarket hid kits, some people say the car needs to have headlight washers, others say gas dischargers, others say 12,000k are dull and glare other road users etc etc...

 

My 92 UK tt has gas dischargers and h/l washers...

 

Can i fit aftermarket hid`s to my car within the perimiters of the law?

 

& if so, whats the law on temperatures as i like the 10,000k and 12,000k kits...

 

cheers fellow Zedeers

dono but I get loads of people flashing me when mine are busy melting thier face off

 

hahahaha

There are some on ebay, Bosh and are fully e aproved.

 

4k is a yellow look like std

6k is the best pure white with a tint of blue

8K is like the mercs etc

 

anything above that (10K-12K etc) it turns to pure blue then purple like a uv light

 

6K is the one to go for as you can tell they are HId's but will not stand out like a sore thumb :)

dono but I get loads of people flashing me when mine are busy melting thier face off

 

hahahaha

 

 

You may need your lights to be re alined as they sound to high :)

 

Or do like me. fit them to your high beam aswell, then if they flash, you can flash back and give them a double dose :rofl:

 

& if so, whats the law on temperatures as i like the 10,000k and 12,000k kits...

 

cheers fellow Zedeers

 

They look terrible IMHO and are actually poorer clarity/light than lower temp lights.

 

I have 6,000k in mine. Even they are slightly too blue for me, but look a lot more like the Merc/BMW HIDs.

 

Mine's been through an MOT with them and no problems.

You may need your lights to be re alined as they sound to high :)

 

Or do like me. fit them to your high beam aswell, then if they flash, you can flash back and give them a double dose :rofl:

 

nar they are adjusted to be low, but they get people if I go over a bump or anything.

the way the law stands on these are that you need to have auto leveling and washers on your lights if you have hid's fitted, we have recently been through all this at work, i have them fitted on my Z, and i'm more than happy with the extra vision, also passed mot no probs.

The law does not stand for modifications to the vehicle. The law is for manufacturers building new cars...

They look terrible IMHO and are actually poorer clarity/light than lower temp lights.

 

I have 6,000k in mine. Even they are slightly too blue for me, but look a lot more like the Merc/BMW HIDs.

 

Mine's been through an MOT with them and no problems.

 

you sure you dont have 8K as 6K is almost pure white :confused:

I'll have to have a look, maybe it is...can't remember. I'd choose 6k if I were to go again anyway.

you sure you dont have 8K as 6K is almost pure white :confused:

 

No, i got 6k ones to, and as funki says, their to blue for me really as well..

Strange?? i have 6K in my main beam which are pure white and 8K in my high beam and there blueish????

 

who cares as long as they look good :D

4600k is Pure white

6000k is White with a blue tint, anything higher than 6k and your wasting your money.

 

Bmw and Merc's and other oem fitments are actually closer 4k range but a 6000k is closer in colour when going aftermarket (something to do with the Design of the oem xenon headlight units themselves I believe)

6.5 k is natural pure white! if you check on any photo shop programme that is what gives you a true natural image. 4k yellowish, 8k bluish.

OK - once again for those who've just joined the programme:

 

Technically speaking, and if you take the law at its word, retrofitting a HID conversion kit into your existing headlights is ILLEGAL. The primary reason for this is that it invalidates the E-Mark of the headlights which was obtained and applies to the headlight unit and the original lightbulb for which it was designed. In our case it means halogen bulbs. E-Marking applies to the ENTIRE headlight unit (ie, the housing and lightbulbs). Therefore, if you change the halogen bulb for a HID bulb you are altering the way the headlight works and thereby invalidating the E-Mark which in turn is against the law.

 

However, in practice, companies (such as myself) are allowed to continue selling HID conversion kits so long as they are clearly marked "FOR OFF-ROAD USE ONLY" (which is what I do in all my advertising). I have personally operated my Zed with HID's for over three years now and (a) have never had a problem at MOT time and (b) not been pulled over by the police on account of my headlights.

 

The other part of the law concerns NEW vehicles which come onto the UK/EU market with so-called Xenon headlights direct from the manufacturers. These MUST have self-leveling systems and washer units in order to be considered LEGAL. Their headlights will have an E-Mark based on the headlight unit and HID bulb in it. If you were to change the HID bulb to a halogen bulb then that would be illegal as well - go figure!

 

What is of utmost importance when retrofitting HID kits to your car is that you:

 

(a) check the headlight alignment after installation (99% of HID converted headlights will be aimed too high due to longer bulb changing the focal point of the projector lens), and

(b) keep both the INSIDE and OUTSIDE of your headlight glass (and projector lens) clean.

 

With regard to point (b) above, dirty headlights will scatter the light emitted by the HID bulb and cause glare to oncoming drivers. Remember, HID bulbs burn approximately 300% brighter than the brightest halogen bulb so the potential to blind oncoming traffic is significantly increased with HID equipped headlights.

 

Now for the colours:

 

4500K: pure white (mostly fitted to new cars as OEM equipment)

6000K: white/blue (most effective upgrade when retrofitting)

8000K: white/purple (less light output than 6000K kit)

10000K+: purple (even less light output than 8000K kit)

 

I have been selling HID kits for over 3 years now and only sell the 6000K kits. If you are worried about being pulled over by the police on account of your headlights I would STRONGLY suggest you DO NOT fit 8000K or 10000K kits as these are far too purple and will be picked out by the police or MOT station. Also, there is hardly any benifit in fitting the 8000K/10000K kits as you won't have any more light put out onto the road than with the stock 55W halogen bulbs.

 

Furthermore, for those of you worried that upgrading your headlights with HID's will melt the wiring harness - it WON'T! Stock halogen bulbs consume 55W of power, HID's consume 28~35W of power once warmed up. The initial current and voltage require to ignite the bulbs is significantly higher but is completely regulated by the ballast. The car-side wiring loom never sees more than a 55W draw and so will not "melt".

 

HID conversions are more suited to cars equipped with projector style headlights than reflector style (on a Zed, dip beam is projector style, main beam is reflector style).

 

If anyone has any further question please feel free to contact me. We've got HID kits available priced between £99 to £215 depending on the application.

 

Cheers,

 

Dan

:bow: Better than Wikipedia Dan.

Maybe that should be a sticky somewhere?

I'll have to have a look, maybe it is...can't remember. I'd choose 6k if I were to go again anyway.

 

I have 4K in mine Si, and they are pure white. I think the misconception of these lights is that the higher the power the better the light, and that is not the case.

I have 4K in mine Si, and they are pure white. I think the misconception of these lights is that the higher the power the better the light, and that is not the case.

 

This is indeed true. The amount of light projected onto the road (measured in "lumens") is inversely proportional to the colour temperature.

 

See table below for approximate values of our kits:

 

4500K = 3400Lumen

6000K = 3280Lumen

8000K = 2500Lumen

10000K = 2100Lumen

 

As you can see, as the colour temperature goes up (ie becomes more blue/purple) the amount of projected light goes down.

 

One thing I forgot to mention in my original essay of a response (;)) is that it is always best to change both HID bulbs at the same time, especially if you are changing bulb brand. There are slight variations in light colour between the various manufacturers. I once tested a pair of 6000K bulbs side by side - one was made by Philips and the other by Hella - the Philips bulb was bluer/white where as the Hella bulb had a greenish/white colour. Both bulbs were rated at 6000K so it just goes to show that there are subtle differences between all the kits out there.

 

One thing I would recommend is stay away from ebay kits. Yes, there are a few people out there who have had no problem with these kits and they function fine however, I hear my share of horror stories especially warranty related issues.

 

All our kits come with a 1 year replacement guarantee and you always have a local point of contact to deal with. Not someone half way around the world.

so to conclude they ARE ILLEGAL, but they look cool and work better than the O/E ones, PEACE :D

:bow: Better than Wikipedia Dan.

Maybe that should be a sticky somewhere?

 

 

Just put the relevant info in our FAQ section :) Many thanks Danny :)

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=105679

Just put the relevant info in our FAQ section :) Many thanks Danny :)

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=105679

 

Not a problem Andy - glad to be of service to the ZX community! :D

 

Cheerio!

 

Dan

so to conclude they ARE ILLEGAL, but they look cool and work better than the O/E ones, PEACE :D

 

answer:-

99 Spec lights

 

I had an HID kit fitted by the guy who imported my car.

 

It was nightmare it shorted under the bonnet, started going faulty, got pulled by the rozzers, bulbs too long had to have beams adjusted etc. etc.

 

IMHO Nissans own 99 spec std HID lights with silver insert reflectors are the nads

 

If you cannot do that then ferchrissakes get a good 6000k set from someone who knows their stuff like DTA and get them fitted properly.

 

anything 6000+ is max power stylee chavness and stoopid :nono:

answer:-

99 Spec lights

 

I had an HID kit fitted by the guy who imported my car.

 

It was nightmare it shorted under the bonnet, started going faulty, got pulled by the rozzers, bulbs too long had to have beams adjusted etc. etc.

 

IMHO Nissans own 99 spec std HID lights with silver insert reflectors are the nads

 

...and they are also a ridiculous amount of money!

so did 99 zeds have auto level lights and washers

Not on the pics i have seen.

 

Here is a pic of mine fitted on one side

 

I'm blind! I'm blind! Dear god my eyes!

 

;)