elise-shop HID kit review

[rodgling]

I got this fitted to my S1 today, and thought I'd share the results with other Elise drivers who like to be able to see at night. I found the standard lights basically terrifying when something bright is coming the other way on a country road.

I went for the works (driving lights + dipped / full), which was a slightly shocking £500. Not sure how much difference the driving lights make, as I got them fitted all at once - but I suspect it probably helps. The garage charged four hours labour for fitting, so this isn't the cheap option (but then eliseparts offer a £1k kit, so it's not the most pricey either). Kit seemed good quality; beam pattern etc looks good and, according to the garage, will pass MOT with no problems.

Results are pretty much as I'd hoped. On dipped, range is the same, as you'd expect, but it's so much brighter that much less active concentration is required to see, and when things come the other way, you can see a lot more, and you are less blind immediately afterwards, because your eyes don't need to adjust so much. On full beam, which was fine to start with - again things are much better. Better distance, brighter, clearer view of the road. Dipped or on full, it's easier to see more details with less effort, which feels a lot safer.

Appearances: colour is a not-too-chavy very-slightly-blue-tinted white. I might be tempted to try and ask for 5500k or 5000k bulbs if doing it again, but the default 6000k option is absolutely fine. You'll defo want some white led sidelights to match (these are dead cheap). I didn't do this, but will fit some asap. I think it would probably look a bit rubbish without matching driving lights, so from that point of view they're worth doing.

Downsides: apparently when they first switched them on in the garage, it killed the radio... they tried again twenty minutes later... and it did it again. This might be a downside for you (it is a little concerning), OR, it could be a brilliant weapon against chavs with noisy car radios. I haven't investigated the effect on the Elise's radio yet.

Worth £690? It's a good improvement in comfort and safety, so if the standard headlights scare you, it probably is.

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

Nice review, all these kits though, they all look like they are made in the same factory in China if you look at the ballasts, 95% of them look exactly the same, with just different stickers on them and perhaps a different choice of bulbs. Personally I'm probasbly going to fit an £80 dipped kit from hids-direct, as it looks exactly the same as the kit from Hids4U which is £210. Like with blank CDs/DVDs, I'd imagine there are 3 or 4 manufacturers in thw world, making all of them.

[Gooby]

My HID's affect the analog radio reception, adds a small but noticable amount of "crackle". No problem, just switch the digital radio on. As the switchover gets closer the better the digital coverage.

[Grinnders]

LivinLaVidaLotus said:

Nice review, all these kits though, they all look like they are made in the same factory in China if you look at the ballasts

Agree to some extent. Got my Bosch "labelled" ones through ebay Hi/Lo for £100, but shipped form China. The item that does seem to vary between kits however is the bulb holder/burner, and that's even when comparing simialrly functioning H4 Hi/Lo with one another.

Great upgrade though especially with LED sidelights.

[Tyrant]

I've just ordered some HIDs off of eBay for £75. I'll let you know how I get on with them if anyone is interested. What fitment are the sidelight bulbs and where can I buy the LED versions?

[aussiebeano]

I recently got the Bosch HID low beam upgrade kit for my 111R and what a great £90 investment in safety at night. They were shipped from China as well. What was laughable was the shipping invoice for customs valued them at US$20. Probably worth this much as well as being the regular insurance avoidance scam shippers often use.

[jsa_simms]

Hi guys...

Is this the item that you bought from ebay?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BOSCH-Xenon-HID-6000K-H1-Con...

[wantalotus]

looking at these too. are they reputable or rip off? Have considered HID Direct on www. Any reviews, any ideas? Also which bulbs go where? can you get driving as well as dip/main?

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

If you neglect the fact that Bosch don't actually made after market HIDs, so it is a deffinate scam they are pulling, you might as well pay £80 for a set from someone with a business in the UK - you'll end up with the same kit and some comeback if it's crap.

[Tyrant]

I bought these;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...

The ad claims they are E-mark Certified. They are properly shielded at least.

I spent a few hours fitting them yesterday. I'll be taking them to my MOT tester tomorrow to make sure they are fine. No major issues during installation, attach ballast behind the arch liner and connect blue and black wires to existing loom with push fittings, no need to cut the wires.

You will have to skotchlok two wires together on the lighting stalk behind the steering cowl, so that dip beam doesn't go out when you turn on the driving lights with this kit. A 10 minute job.

All in all very pleased with the results. Bright, but don't appear to dazzle oncoming traffic.