Gas discharge headlights
Discussion
Having had a minor but infuriating 'off' on Christmas Eve in my Chim, 40mph, dual carriageway, move out into overtaking lane and find myself going laterally at about 45 degress to intended direction of travel until the concrete central reservation halts all progress. Enough cosmetic damage to keep me not entertained but at least all seems fixable. Resolve never to venture out again unless centigrade temperatures are in double digits.
Anyway, I need two new headlights.
Has anyone actually replaced the standard unit with gas discharge/xenon lights? There's tons of stuff in the forums about people thinking of doing it and knowing where to get the units etc etc but I can't find a thread from anyone who has actually done it.
If you have replaced your headlights, was it:
a) do-able, b) Legal afterwards and are you happy with the job? What units did you fit and where did you source them? Would you recommend them bearing in mind that they seem to be about £300 for a pair vs £30 for standard units? Any first hand info would be warmly received.
Anyway, I need two new headlights.
Has anyone actually replaced the standard unit with gas discharge/xenon lights? There's tons of stuff in the forums about people thinking of doing it and knowing where to get the units etc etc but I can't find a thread from anyone who has actually done it.
If you have replaced your headlights, was it:
a) do-able, b) Legal afterwards and are you happy with the job? What units did you fit and where did you source them? Would you recommend them bearing in mind that they seem to be about £300 for a pair vs £30 for standard units? Any first hand info would be warmly received.
I did headlight upgrade with kit from TVR bodyshop (speed 12), the headlights are a great improvement. I'd guess you should talk to Julian at Fibre-on for possible options cos it looks like you may want some of his replacement panels anyway.
If you just want std headlamps, joo 'Trackcar' stocks kits for Xenon upgrades. These only replace the bulbs, but it looks like you have a fair bit of work to be done before that...
Dave
If you just want std headlamps, joo 'Trackcar' stocks kits for Xenon upgrades. These only replace the bulbs, but it looks like you have a fair bit of work to be done before that...
Dave
Most people fit HID bulbs (plus ballast resistors and other assorted bumpf) into the standard lamp units - you don't need to buy different ones to get HID lighting. At least since you're buying new units anyway, they'll be shiny and new as opposed to the dull and full of dirt look that seems to be sported by ten year old lamp units...
As for prices, the kits are about £150 - you'll need an H4 bi-xenon kit for the Chimaera, make sure it's bi-xenon or you'll only have dipped headlamps and no full beam!
Tons of kits on fleabay - make sure you stick to a fairly low temp rating - OE xenon lights are about 4-5,000K, you can get kits as high as 12,000k but what you're getting here is a very blue or purple light, with light output not much better if at all than a standard bulb. The lower temp bulbs are the ones that will give you brighter lights.
This one looks suspiciously cheap for Bosch parts:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BOSCH-HID-Xenon
Some look a bit more plausible and have better feedback:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HID-XENON-CONVE
Incidentally, if you'd rather buy from a shop:
www.hids4u.co.uk/product_details.asp?id=44
Bottom of the page, there's a comparison pic on a Cerbera.
As for prices, the kits are about £150 - you'll need an H4 bi-xenon kit for the Chimaera, make sure it's bi-xenon or you'll only have dipped headlamps and no full beam!
Tons of kits on fleabay - make sure you stick to a fairly low temp rating - OE xenon lights are about 4-5,000K, you can get kits as high as 12,000k but what you're getting here is a very blue or purple light, with light output not much better if at all than a standard bulb. The lower temp bulbs are the ones that will give you brighter lights.
This one looks suspiciously cheap for Bosch parts:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BOSCH-HID-Xenon
Some look a bit more plausible and have better feedback:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HID-XENON-CONVE
Incidentally, if you'd rather buy from a shop:
www.hids4u.co.uk/product_details.asp?id=44
Bottom of the page, there's a comparison pic on a Cerbera.
Edited by -JUT- on Wednesday 3rd January 02:09
SpudMurphy said:
Having had a minor but infuriating 'off' on Christmas Eve in my Chim, 40mph, dual carriageway, move out into overtaking lane and find myself going laterally at about 45 degress to intended direction of travel until the concrete central reservation halts all progress. Enough cosmetic damage to keep me not entertained but at least all seems fixable. Resolve never to venture out again unless centigrade temperatures are in double digits.
Anyway, I need two new headlights.
Has anyone actually replaced the standard unit with gas discharge/xenon lights? There's tons of stuff in the forums about people thinking of doing it and knowing where to get the units etc etc but I can't find a thread from anyone who has actually done it.
If you have replaced your headlights, was it:
a) do-able, b) Legal afterwards and are you happy with the job? What units did you fit and where did you source them? Would you recommend them bearing in mind that they seem to be about £300 for a pair vs £30 for standard units? Any first hand info would be warmly received.
Anyway, I need two new headlights.
Has anyone actually replaced the standard unit with gas discharge/xenon lights? There's tons of stuff in the forums about people thinking of doing it and knowing where to get the units etc etc but I can't find a thread from anyone who has actually done it.
If you have replaced your headlights, was it:
a) do-able, b) Legal afterwards and are you happy with the job? What units did you fit and where did you source them? Would you recommend them bearing in mind that they seem to be about £300 for a pair vs £30 for standard units? Any first hand info would be warmly received.
There's an article in Auto express this week which says fitting these lights is illegal (headlights need to be self leveling and have wash wipe) and suprisingly might not give the enhanced lighting we expect due to poor beam patterns, this was checked by a mot tester after auto express had the lights fitted to a Megane.
The article went on to say that there was a small risk of being stopped by the police basically because there are fewer patrol cars out there.
Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff