HID Bulbs in S type

[jobsworth]

Hi everybody

 

I have a 2004 S type silver which I love and I have done 97,000 miles. Had a few problems with gearbox and centre dash panel whiich was replaced after it kept flashing.

 

I think my headlights are not nearly as bright as they could be. I know I could take it to Halfords and they would fit either the full HID bulbs or the half whatever I bought. My man who does the servicing says they burn too hot and this could cause heat problems. Halfords claim they are suitable for plastic headlamps. What do others think? Also - can you buff up the plastic HL lenses from the outside because they have discoloured somewhat?

 

Thanking you in advance.

[JOE-DOT-COM]

Hi,

If it were my car I'd fit the Hid's, but there are many on here who would say, not, they would say "they must be projector" must be " self leveling" and must have " lamp washers"

I've fitted them to many cars and the beams have been perfect, ive never had any complaints off other people and they have allways past mot's

I think there actually safer, once you fitted them there much brighter, anything with reflecting type material on it glows from really far away, like road signs and cyclists and your cars stands out and so your less likely to get pulled out on.

but some might say "only a boy racer saxo driver would fit them"

I'd make your own mind up

as for your lenses, if you type it in on youtube, theres loads of clips on there how to do it, you can polish them up and bring them back, think there laquered as standard, as this fades with age

cheers

Joe

[Raistlin]

Hi Lou, welcome to JoC :)

 

I am not, by any means a boy racer saxo driver   however, I do have an opinion on HID headlights.

 

I had an aftermarket kit on a previous car and they were so hot that they distorted the headlight lens. I was impressed with the light output and penetration though so I bought a set of OEM HID headlights to do the job properly and safely. I also fitted the appropriate headlight auto leveling system and headlight wash for two reasons, firstly because I am an inveterate retro-fitter but also because car manufacturers are subject to the constraints of various regulatory controls, not least of which is the construction and use regulations. When providing a car with HID headlights they are obliged to use auto leveling and headlight wash.

 

Clearly, if one retro-fits OEM equipment then MOT testers can't be expected to know that it was retro-fitted so they will insist that the auxiliary items are fitted as well.

 

The HID kits may or may not burn too hot for our headlamps, I personally don't intend to fine out but I do intend to look into the feasibility of retro-fitting the OEM setup. Headlamp wash is perfectly feasible, having already done so on my car and I don't think the auto level sensor(s) will present any difficulties although I've yet to research this sufficiently to make that definitive. I assume the headlamp units themselves are a straight swap.

 

Further to the aftermarket kits. Those that I have seen are very shoddily put together and bearing in mind the HT voltage required, I'd be less than happy, in my own car, to be taking such a risk. In addition, if the lens is not designed for HID then the is a very real risk that the beams will not be properly aligned. I'm sure we have all been subject to the blinding light of the boy racer saxo driver coming towards us

 

I've also noticed that many of those with the aftermarket kits choose to use a very blue colour temperature which, in actual fact, reduces their effectiveness rather than enhancing it. It DOES get them noticed though, albeit by the forces of darkness

 

In summary, I believe HID to be excellent at what they do and well worth specifying. I, personally would go the retro-fitting route though, and intend to do so in the near future for the reasons I've outlined :)

 

I have to say though, that my present car has Osram nightbreaker bulbs and they seem perfectly competent to me so far.

[Old Peter]

Hi Lou, and welcome to the Club.

 

Just about headlamp lenses, and adding to what Joe has said, there is a cleaning kit at Halfords, which several members have used,  and also some members have used T Cut, Brasso, and toothpaste with a lot of elbow grease.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[Russ68]

I reiterate Paul's recommend of the Osram Nightbreaker, I've just fitted these to both the Jag and one of the Land Rovers and they really make a difference. I just have them on the main beam at the moment, did you do the full beam as well Paul?

 

Our cleaning of the milky lenses has not been 100% successful though and despite coming up quite well earlier in the summer, they've now frosted back up. Can  a member recommend something that has worked well for them please, I'll buy a kit but would prefer not to get it from Halfrauds.

 

Cheers, Russ

[Old Peter]

Hi Russ,

 

You could try Amazon or eBay for lens cleaning products, but a good independent Auto Accessory shop will often know and source something that will do the job.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[Raistlin]

All four lights Russ :)

[Mike_eng]

I fitted the "Saxo HID kit" about 2 years ago, I went for one of the warmer colours (5200K I think) as they don't have the blue tint, they give a nice white light.

 

My car was already fitted with the headlamp washers and it's passed two MOTs without a comment.

 

Personally I would recommend them but would suggest paying a bit extra to get decent quality ones. 

[jobsworth]

Thanks guys for all your helpful contributions. One or two things I am not clear about. My car has HL washers using a jet as standard. Are some of you referring to any other HL washer fix? Also do you fit all 4 HL bulbs both innner / main and outer / dipped with HID bulbs? Some people seem to be just fitting the outer / dipped bulbs.  And does all this mean that the beams need to be checked for level? If so that would need to be done at a garage I suppose. Quite keen to do some of this work myself. Thanks.                                                                                                  

[Raistlin]

Lou,

 

The standard washer kit that you have fitted is what is required for HID when installed as an OEM option. In addition, you will need the ride height sensors which continuously monitor the car's pitch angle and feeds back to adjust the headlights accordingly.

 

HID burners take an appreciable time to ignite and achieve full brightness and so are fitted as standard to the dipped beam positions. For example, if you wanted to flash your headlights, there is a probability that they wouldn't light up sufficiently in the time allowed by the momentary operation of the light switch.

 

I would always check for datum level after changing headlight units. MOT fail otherwise.

 

Hope this helps :)