Retrofit HID lights/bulbs illegal?
Discussion
Theres some guy on cliosport that keeps harping on about these being illegal, due to the lack of washers and self levelling equipment. On the other hand I've seen a guy with a Griff on here fit them, and another guy with a VX220 fit them (think it was Muncher).
Anybody know the score?
Just curious, as after having them on the clio I wouldn't ever want another car without them, so would be buying a set of the retrofit ones to go in whatever car it is I have next (likely TVR T350
) for the simple reason to give better visibility at night.
I was on a run and pbirketts Integra Type R had HID lights, and they didn't have washers, so surely they cannot be illegal?
I just don't know what the truth is. If they are illegal then I think I'll have to get friendly with my dodgy MOTer in a couple of years.
Anybody know the score?
Just curious, as after having them on the clio I wouldn't ever want another car without them, so would be buying a set of the retrofit ones to go in whatever car it is I have next (likely TVR T350
) for the simple reason to give better visibility at night. I was on a run and pbirketts Integra Type R had HID lights, and they didn't have washers, so surely they cannot be illegal?
I just don't know what the truth is. If they are illegal then I think I'll have to get friendly with my dodgy MOTer in a couple of years.
been a few threads about theses before some would say try searching.
i think the rule is that no one knows. i believe all hid light are illegal in the uk but in Europe there legal. and since European law over rules uk law there not. with regards to retrofitting them i don't think any one had a definitive answer, the police and courts included.
i think the rule is that no one knows. i believe all hid light are illegal in the uk but in Europe there legal. and since European law over rules uk law there not. with regards to retrofitting them i don't think any one had a definitive answer, the police and courts included.
My car, which has HID lights fitted, passed its MOT as I have washer jets and because I can adjust the height of the beam.
If however I have no washer jets and the beam couldnt be adjusted then apparently I would fail according to my MOT station?
Thats all I really know on the matter.
If however I have no washer jets and the beam couldnt be adjusted then apparently I would fail according to my MOT station?
Thats all I really know on the matter.
i will disagree, i read that if you buy the car with HID fitted by the factory then these type of lights must be self levelling, auto cleaning and i think they also follow the steering to a certain degree. i'm fairly sure that the article i read stated that if fitting after market units then these criteria were not needed. Ifounfd this website that also seems to share the same view. Hope this helps.
www.xenonshop.co.uk/
www.xenonshop.co.uk/
Kinky said:
Search for the thread - that will answer your questions.
K
K
mdm123 said:
been a few threads about theses before some would say try searching.
Okay, I just typed in 'xenon' highlighted general gassing and speed, plod, & the law forums. Searched back one month.
The only thread that came up as a result was the best bargin barge thread!!!! WTF!!!!????
I
ing hate this search.Robatr0n said:
If however I have no washer jets and the beam couldnt be adjusted then apparently I would fail according to my MOT station?
Only if its too bright. The machine they use to test the brightness of the lights isn't that brilliant at it, and they aren't allowed to remove the bulb to check it. I had these retro-fitted last year, then i heard the rumours about the need for washers and self-levelling.
Mine went through it's MOT in January with no issues. Once the certificate had been issued the tester was asked about this, and apparantly he had not heard of these "laws".
They are absolutely brilliant by the way
pun intended
Mine went through it's MOT in January with no issues. Once the certificate had been issued the tester was asked about this, and apparantly he had not heard of these "laws".
They are absolutely brilliant by the way
pun intended
Not sure if this helps, but I thought about changing the lights on my Griffith, and looked at lots of different makes of them in the Demon Tweeks catalogue. Obviously there are different output versions of the fittings, but they all seemed to say ' not suitable for public road use. Track or off road only' as a disclaimer.........
beyond rational said:
No doubt great behind the wheel, but are they as good for those in front?
Who gives a toss? Let them deal with it. Its not as if you see some xenon lights and think what the
was that, and then immediately crash because of the light. They don't appear that much brighter than halogen lights, but are more effective when the user has them.
The amount of arseholes I've seen with badly adjusted halogen bulbs takes the piss and they are a lot worse.
Thanks for contributing nothing to this thread as well!
Polarbert said:
beyond rational said:
No doubt great behind the wheel, but are they as good for those in front?
Who gives a toss? Let them deal with it. Its not as if you see some xenon lights and think what the
was that, and then immediately crash because of the light. They don't appear that much brighter than halogen lights, but are more effective when the user has them.
The amount of arseholes I've seen with badly adjusted halogen bulbs takes the piss and they are a lot worse.
Thanks for contributing nothing to this thread as well!
Do you have low blood sugar? Need a rest? That was a pretty OTT response to a sensible comment.
I can only report as I see, but I frequently find even factory fitted HID's dazzling and distracting as a driver and pedestrian at night. Allowing people to retro-fit cheapo models without regulation seems a poor idea to me.
My understanding is that you need 2 of a certain number of criteria including washers, self-levelling, adjustable beam, and others.
jwyatt said:
Polarbert said:
beyond rational said:
No doubt great behind the wheel, but are they as good for those in front?
Who gives a toss? Let them deal with it. Its not as if you see some xenon lights and think what the was that, and then immediately crash because of the light. They don't appear that much brighter than halogen lights, but are more effective when the user has them. The amount of arseholes I've seen with badly adjusted halogen bulbs takes the piss and they are a lot worse. Thanks for contributing nothing to this thread as well!
Polarbert said:
I was on a run and pbirketts Integra Type R had HID lights, and they didn't have washers, so surely they cannot be illegal?
I was under the impression that people switched their HIDs for halogens to get Integras etc through the ESVA, then switched back. If this is to be believed, there may be a (remote) chance of being landed with a 7 point penalty.
It must be true - it's on the internet
Edited by risotto on Tuesday 20th March 11:12
richb said:
jwyatt said:
Polarbert said:
beyond rational said:
No doubt great behind the wheel, but are they as good for those in front?
Who gives a toss? Let them deal with it. Its not as if you see some xenon lights and think what the was that, and then immediately crash because of the light. They don't appear that much brighter than halogen lights, but are more effective when the user has them. The amount of arseholes I've seen with badly adjusted halogen bulbs takes the piss and they are a lot worse. Thanks for contributing nothing to this thread as well! Well if you had read my comment above you would find that I searched for the most obvious term there was and nothing came up.
I don't need answers, I was just curious.
I'm sorry that came out how it did I didn't mean it to be that negative. I just don't find it a distraction at all when I'm driving.
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=347611
That was one of the threads, there were others though, one very long one I seem to remember.
That was one of the threads, there were others though, one very long one I seem to remember.
Polarbert said:
Well if you had read my comment above you would find that I searched for the most obvious term there was and nothing came up.
There you are getting all stroppy again, I did read it, and as I said you aren't doing it right! 
try these:- www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=312580&f=9&h=0&hw=HID
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=308006&f=9&h=0&hw=HID
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=305291&f=8&h=0&hw=HID
...there's loads of threads out there
Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff