HID headlight conversion kits?

[wardh]

My D3 tdv6 S has Halogen headlights and I am tossing a few ideas around as to how to generally improve the lighting system particularly the low beam spread as well as longer range high beam.

Has anyone fitted or had any exerience with the HID conversion kits that seem to be gaining popularity. There seems to be a wide and varied difference in prices for these kits ranging from $50.00 to $500.00 dollars.

I first thought that I would put a good set of driving lights on the vehicle, I used to have Hella 4000s on the old D1, fantastic lights, but all of these quality lights have become very expensive and the other concern is because this vehicle will be used for towing the large size of these driving lights can be restrictive to radiator air flow. Driving lights would also not improve low beam spread.

So my questions are:-
Has anyone had experience with or fitted one of these kits.
Whats your opinion on the improvement gained
Can you recommend a particular brand or what to steer clear of.
Have you heard of any damage to plastic reflectors cause by heat from the zenon lamps.

Anything else that could be relevant.

D3 now has King spring lift, 1800 x 1250 Rhino rack fitted and moving on to the next project.

Cheers

Howard

[Neil P]

Have you any prices for what you're thinking about ( $50 sounds like blue bulbs, to be honest ) fitted ?

What about OE LR lights ? Phone your local LR Dealer and then .......

ask Nick at Yeovil LR for a quote and freight estimate.

DISCO3.CO.UK - Viewing profile (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/member2459.html)

PS Bixenon produce hardly any heat .... 600% more efficient than conventional bulbs.

[Scouse]

I've converted my 87 & 96 RRs to HID using the cheap Chinese eBay kits.
The 87 has 35w 4300K globes, the 96 is 50/55w (to match the original current use for 'bulb warning' reasons), again with 4300K globes.
Brilliant lights :).

[wardh]

G'day Neil P

No the $50.00 lights are not blue bulbs they are China HID kits on Ebay this is part of the problem, there are so many being advertised its a Mine field knowing what is good or bad and price may not be the real indicator. Also thanks for the contact, I have sent Nick an Email

Thanks Scouse for your input, If I go with this it will be the 4300k bulbs and I am thinking 55watt in the high beams and 35watt in the low but need more infor at this stage

[rangieman]

I fitted a chinese kit to my Defender 4300k 35w , Im very impressed with low beam but on high beam the spread of the beam is all over the place :eek:.

The high beam effect does not worry me as i have lightforce 240 blitz driving lights to take care of long distance light at night;)
I work night shift and drive on a country highway at night to go to work , i find the H I D,s are fantastic on wet roads and in the fog
The kits are very easy to fit and should not take more that a hour to fit ,its all plug and play

The only suggestion i recomend is to adjust your head lights down as at factory halogen settings they do dazzle oncoming drivers:cool:
Apart from that you will be a very happy camper with the result;)

[amtravic1]

I have had an HID H1 42 watt kit in my driving lights for around 4 years and a 35 watt H4 kit in the headlights for around 3 years. All I can say is I would never go back to halogen given the choice.
I did try a couple of cheap H4 kits that I was not happy with and settled on a much more expensive kit.

Ian

[wardh]

Thanks every one for the usual quick replies.

I am pretty well convinced that this is the way to go, now the only problem is which kit to get. Any advice in that respect would be appreciated, maybe the better way to put it is "which kits to avoid" and how do you define a cheap kit.

Ian (amtravic1) you indicated that you tried a couple of cheap kits. what was the problem and what in your opinion is a cheap kit.

Rangieman I thought about the dazzle issue. The ability to ajust the beam level from the cab of the D3 should take care of this. In fact I seem to recall seeing that for the HID conversions to be legal the vehicle had to have a auto headlight leveling system?

Cheers every one, Happy roving.

Howard

[wardh]

More interesting information on the HID subject and how quickly this information can add to the implications of going ahead without checking the facts.

Further research into this subject indicate's that these retro fit HID kits are illegal and possibly dangerous. There is some interesting information on the site address I have included that suggests strong evidence as to why. Read and make up your own minds. In this world of litigation and insurance cop outs it pays to get it right.

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply (http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html)

For the moment I think I will wait and find out more, in the meantime a Narva 50+ bulb change may be my only option apart from replacing the whole assemblies to a zenon specific unit and I guess that would be expensive.

I hope this is interesting for people contemplating fitting these kits.

Cheers

Howard

[Neil P]

LR OE Bixenon system(entire optic assem and other lights too ) is about
GBP600( from memory ). The Yeovil discount will cover the freight, so
about $700 a side ( sounds better that way ).
Would I pay for it if I had an S ....... I would , but then I bought
a Mantec plate , Tasmod sills and a personal plate too , so I like
a few add ons Howard.
FYI The Bixenons will not "flash" like conventional bulbs because there
is a 1 second warm up. So, if you flash the lights during the day, the
Halogens flash instead, whereas at night the Bixenons flash high beam.
The penetration is superb ..... lights the cane fields up a treat :cool:
The low beam has an amazing sharp edge produced by the mechanical
mask ..... It's a one discharge tube system.
It's worth noting that all the parts in the Bixenon system are covered
by a 3 year warranty .... as in the vehicle new .... if a Dealer HERE
supplies and fits.

[amtravic1]

More interesting information on the HID subject and how quickly this information can add to the implications of going ahead without checking the facts.

Further research into this subject indicate's that these retro fit HID kits are illegal and possibly dangerous. There is some interesting information on the site address I have included that suggests strong evidence as to why. Read and make up your own minds. In this world of litigation and insurance cop outs it pays to get it right.

Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply (http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html)

For the moment I think I will wait and find out more, in the meantime a Narva 50+ bulb change may be my only option apart from replacing the whole assemblies to a zenon specific unit and I guess that would be expensive.

I hope this is interesting for people contemplating fitting these kits.

Cheers

Howard

That document from Daniel Stern has been around for years. Sounds to me like sour grapes from someone whose wife wont let him spend money on the latest and best technology. If I was was you I would ignore it and upgrade to HID. Those of us who use HID would never go back to halogen. If you do plenty of night driving then there is no option as far as I am concerned.

In answer to your other post I had two sliding type H4 units that failed and I was not happy with the light pattern, I bought a more expensive kit with two HID bulbs on the one stem and this has been very good. This kit has been fitted for around 3 years now. The driving light kit for around 4 years.

Ian

[hoadie72]

Daniel Stern raises a number of issues though, first and foremost the legality of the conversion.

I've done a lot of research into HIDs before and I'm really unimpressed with the cutoff and the fact they dazzle oncoming traffic.

[djhampson]

I put an eBay HID kit in my Freelander without too much difficulty. The FL has electronic height adjustable headlights so I've adjusted the lights so that for city driving I can have the setting at about 50% and it won't dazzle oncoming traffic.

If I'm on a more remote road I can roll the adjustment up and let the lights aim higher up so they throw a bit further down the road.

I didn't make any changes to the reflector or lens so I don't believe the beam of light changed all that much after I made the change except for being 'whiter' and somewhat brighter. I don't get flashed by oncoming traffic at night so I assume they don't dazzle to much. When I installed the kit I parked the car on some level ground and set-up a ladder 15-20m away and marked the height of the beam before installing the new bulbs and using the mark as a guide while adjusting.

The only time I've had another driver bring to my attention that my lights were annoying him (i.e. he flipped me the bird) was when I pulled up behind a lowered Imprezza and my lights shone above the level of his back windscreen. It didn't help that the Imprezza was extremely lowered and I was sitting on a slightly higher part of road.

[wardh]

The Daniel Stern document may have been around for years but it still contains relevant and thought provoking questions and as hoadie72 says first and formost the legality of the conversions.

I don't think I have seen one supplier who has stated that the kit they supply is 100% compliant with Australian rules and standards. But I stand corrected if this is the case and would confidently go ahead and fit one.

It is up to each individual to make their choice and weigh the risk.

Interesting subject.

[Neil P]

How much are the LR OE prices Howard ?

[Disco]

I might as well throw in my 2 cents worth ;)

Before doing anything read the ADR's especially ADR's 78/00, 77/00 which deal exclusively with Gas Discharge Lamps and headlights.

Things to note: ONLY colour temperatures (CIE chromacity coordinates) between 3600K and 5000K are legal in Australia. 6000K is illegal for on road use.

Any prospective HID converter should also read ADR's 46/00 , 45/00 and 51/00. and 75/00

Supplimentary to the above is ADR 13/00 which addresses driving lights.

What you do with then is up to you, at least you've made a fully informed decision!

[amtravic1]

Daniel Stern raises a number of issues though, first and foremost the legality of the conversion.

I've done a lot of research into HIDs before and I'm really unimpressed with the cutoff and the fact they dazzle oncoming traffic.

As stated I have used HID for around four years. Not once have I been flashed by oncoming traffic and being stopped by police at breath testing stations at night caused no comment at all. If people want to use old technology because they are scared of some imaginary problem then it is up to them I suppose. If you buy a quality product you usually do not have problems.

[wardh]

Neil P, I'm going into the local LR dealer next Monday I will make some enquiries re price's. I am also waiting to hear back from an enquiry I made in England on the complete head light assemblies.

Howard