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I would like ti fit on of these kits onto my 54 Golf. They are selling quite a few on ebay but want peoples opinion's on these kits before i buy one. Has anyone on here brought one? They easy to install?
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I have never fitted one, but I know people who have and they seem OK. Its a lot of money to pay for slightly brighter headlamps though - more of a fashion statement I suspect.
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A total and utter waste of time and money they are not the same as a factory fitted system.All they are is an ordinary bulb filled with zenon gas to give a different colour and do not as some claim give better light .A test on them in Auto Bild said not only could they not find one that was better than the original normal lights but some were worse and it is also illegal in Germany to retro fit them.
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Andy are you thinking of the same thing as me. To me it sounds like you are on about the Filament bulbs that are filled with Zenon gas. I want the proper Xenon bulbs that require a Ballast with the ignitor built in.
These are what i think your on about?
cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-GOLF-MK4-XENON-ICE-BLUE-HEADLIGH...m
This is the sort of thing i want.
cgi.ebay.co.uk/PILOT-6000K-8000K-XENON-HID-CONVERS...m
Any feed back on these kits would be appreciated
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If they are genuine HID lights,it is a legal requirement that the car must also be fitted with automatic-repeat automatic-headlamp levelling.
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Looked at the units and they are illegal in Europe as jc2 says they have not got automatic headlamp leveling units .Just forget it.
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I put some on my 330D and am pleased with them. Though I would still rather some OEM Bi-Xenons as my main beans are still quite dull. The aftermarket kit is much brighter than even posh Halogens, more so than even some OEM Xenon lights I have compared them to. If buying a set avoid the temptation to go for a 6000K or higher bulb temperature as these just look more blue or purple (and a fashion accessory as mentioned) without giving any more useable light. I have a 6000K kit and while I have gotten used to them now, when I first tried them at night I wish I had gone for the 4300K.
I paid £135 shipped from a seller on US Ebay so shop around before shelling out the £200 plus some UK based sellers want for them.
As for legality, maybe they are, maybe they aren't. I know for certain that exceeding the speedlimit is illegal, but I still do it on a regular basis. Your choice really.
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Just checked your links and it is indeed the Pilot system that I have. Interestingly, I bought mine from the seller watermarked on the pics shown in that auction. Don't know if they are one in the same though.
Another thing to note is despite the fact that they are H7 or whatever bulbs and some sellers claim "direct fit" you will need to do some modification of your old bulb holders to fit them due to the fixed wires coming off the back of the Xenon bulbs. So if you are expecting a 5-10 minute plug and play job, then look more carefully into it.
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On the legality side, technically all Xenon lights are illegal in the UK, because they're not mentioned in the relevant bit of our law, but the government can't do anything about it because they're EU type approved, and EU law over-rules ours.
However it's the system that's EU approved, and this means the lights, leveling *and* washing.
After market kits are a very grey area, but I've never heard of anyone being done for having them, or failing an MOT. However I would imagine that if the governement ever gets around to updating the law then they'd probably be made specifically illegal.
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I really look forward to being blinded by an oncoming car with non self levelling HID lamps!!! These lights are extremely powerful and dangerous if not properly controlled. I was followed on a dark motorway by a new Range Rover with these lights, one light was fine but the other was faulty and set high. It was absolutely dazzling. I believe that anyone who fits these kits knowingly without self levelling, is totally irresponsible.
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The UK has little if nothing on "in-service" regulation on vehicles, but as you say,pity the person coming the other way.
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I was followed on a dark motorway by a new Range Rover with these lights, one light was fine but the other was faulty and set high.
I've been blinded by new Range Rovers with HIDs a couple of times while driving on the motorway, I wonder if it is a fault or just the mounting position.
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Most likely to do with the physical height of the headlights themselves. Even when adjusted down the height of the RR headlamp will be eye level for the driver in an averaged sized car.
HIDs emit more light, but its the reflector and aiming of such that directs the light. If the lights are correctly aimed they won't cause more light to reach your eyes, you just get better illumination of what your Halogens would have illuminated anyway. Had my kit in for nearly two months now and haven't been flashed by oncoming traffic, have followed co-workers home at night and asked if I dazzled them and the response was no and when parked up in front of the mirrored office windows at work I don't find that they dazzle me.
I am well aware that having said all that, there are some people that will still whinge about even factory fitted OEM self-adjusting HID lights even when properly aimed etc, so no pleasing them at all other than to make sure I don't equip my car with anything better than what they have themselves...and thats not going to happen. 8-)
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I'm going to speak to the dealer Monday when it does in to have the DMF changed where i stand with headlight and if fitting such a kit would it invalidate my warranty. £720 for a OEM Xenon headlights from Volkswagen is a bit steep unless they themselves sell the HID Kits. Doubtful though.
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It's not just the aiming of the light that dazzles but also the source.Scorpio,Puma and other projector lights coming towards me would leave two dark spots on the retinas of my eyes for several seconds as do the sources of HID.
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