Discussion
OK listen up, guys. There are things you can do with your car that make it look a bit prettier, go a little faster, but this is something that will literally transform your night-time driving experience. I kid you not. Shock, horror, you will be able to see!
They are called HID lights (High Intensity Discharge) lights - sometimes known as xenon lights. But don't confuse proper HIDs with replacement bulbs that make reference to 'xenon' in the title. They are not the same. HIDs have no filament and require a starter and ballast to give off their characteristic intense light. I had mine fitted by Skip at NobleLondon yesterday, and the difference when driving at night was simply stunning. Before I would turn on the lights, and then think Hmmmm maybe I need to turn on the lights. Anything over 50mph on country roads was just downright dangerous. This was with standard Phillips halogen lights, correctly aligned.
With the new lights, even in the current crappy conditions where the tarmac is covered with salty sh*te and every photon of light just seems to be absorbed rather than reflected, I had clear white light allowing me to see full width of the road and kerb with the reach extending almost as far as full beam. As they were correctly adjusted I had no problems with on-coming traffic. Wasn't flashed once. Manufacturers claim 300% increase over halogen, and I can believe it. They also operate at 35W rather than 55W, so you get an environmental brownie-point as well.
Kits are pretty easy to get hold of - I got mine from HIDS4U (Pro PLus at around £140). They do an 'Ultimate' for another £100 for modern cars with sophisticated ECUs. Take it from me -you don't need one of these for a Noble lol.
Fitting was simplicity itself - I just handed the kit over to Skip!
He tried fitting the ballast under the lighting shroud , but unfortunately it didn't quite fit. Although the system is supposed to be waterproof, it's intended site is in an engine bay. The alternative on the Noble was in the front wheel arch which Skip reckoned was not a great place for an electrical component, so he mounted it in the radiator fan housing (see pic below)where it will remain relatively dry and dirt free
This entailed drilling through the side panel where the rad fans are located and drilling another hole through the lighting shroud and also extending the stock wiring by another 2-3 feet.
No doubt you could botch something together far simpler than this , but if you want a really professional finish that will last - this is the route to go.
We also have a photo when one HID light was done and one halogen was still in so you can compare the difference in light intensity - I'll post this later when I get it from NL.
They are called HID lights (High Intensity Discharge) lights - sometimes known as xenon lights. But don't confuse proper HIDs with replacement bulbs that make reference to 'xenon' in the title. They are not the same. HIDs have no filament and require a starter and ballast to give off their characteristic intense light. I had mine fitted by Skip at NobleLondon yesterday, and the difference when driving at night was simply stunning. Before I would turn on the lights, and then think Hmmmm maybe I need to turn on the lights. Anything over 50mph on country roads was just downright dangerous. This was with standard Phillips halogen lights, correctly aligned.
With the new lights, even in the current crappy conditions where the tarmac is covered with salty sh*te and every photon of light just seems to be absorbed rather than reflected, I had clear white light allowing me to see full width of the road and kerb with the reach extending almost as far as full beam. As they were correctly adjusted I had no problems with on-coming traffic. Wasn't flashed once. Manufacturers claim 300% increase over halogen, and I can believe it. They also operate at 35W rather than 55W, so you get an environmental brownie-point as well.
Kits are pretty easy to get hold of - I got mine from HIDS4U (Pro PLus at around £140). They do an 'Ultimate' for another £100 for modern cars with sophisticated ECUs. Take it from me -you don't need one of these for a Noble lol.
Fitting was simplicity itself - I just handed the kit over to Skip!
He tried fitting the ballast under the lighting shroud , but unfortunately it didn't quite fit. Although the system is supposed to be waterproof, it's intended site is in an engine bay. The alternative on the Noble was in the front wheel arch which Skip reckoned was not a great place for an electrical component, so he mounted it in the radiator fan housing (see pic below)where it will remain relatively dry and dirt free
This entailed drilling through the side panel where the rad fans are located and drilling another hole through the lighting shroud and also extending the stock wiring by another 2-3 feet.
No doubt you could botch something together far simpler than this , but if you want a really professional finish that will last - this is the route to go.
We also have a photo when one HID light was done and one halogen was still in so you can compare the difference in light intensity - I'll post this later when I get it from NL.
Originally, I was going to go for the 55W Pro Max, but they didn't have any in stock at the time and was told that they were originally designed for serious off-road use -which is something I hope none of us get up to in our Nobles 
For normal road use the 35W are brilliant.
The higher up the colour temp range you go the bluer and purple the lights will appear and also you get less visible light (I guess some folk just think they look cool). Ideal is 5-6K. I specified 5K but noticed 6K on the box when I got them. When you first turn them on you can notice a v slight blue tinge, but in a matter of seconds they heat up and you get a crystal white colour which makes the halogens look a dirty yellowy orange in comparison. Mine look about the same colour temp as on my Beemer, and I don't get any problems with eye-fatigue with them.
For OEM you're right, xenon lights have to come with self levelling and washing mechanisms. But this rule does NOT apply to after-market conversion kits (no matter how daft that may seem). So no problems with MOT.
For normal road use the 35W are brilliant.
The higher up the colour temp range you go the bluer and purple the lights will appear and also you get less visible light (I guess some folk just think they look cool). Ideal is 5-6K. I specified 5K but noticed 6K on the box when I got them. When you first turn them on you can notice a v slight blue tinge, but in a matter of seconds they heat up and you get a crystal white colour which makes the halogens look a dirty yellowy orange in comparison. Mine look about the same colour temp as on my Beemer, and I don't get any problems with eye-fatigue with them.
For OEM you're right, xenon lights have to come with self levelling and washing mechanisms. But this rule does NOT apply to after-market conversion kits (no matter how daft that may seem). So no problems with MOT.
Biggriff said:
Looks great. Definitely want to do this.
Was it this one you bought?
http://www.hids4u.co.uk/store/product.php?producti...
How are you going to get on for the MOT as they need to be self levelling and have a washer system I thought?
Richard
Richard -yep, that's the one. See comment on MOT above.Was it this one you bought?
http://www.hids4u.co.uk/store/product.php?producti...
How are you going to get on for the MOT as they need to be self levelling and have a washer system I thought?
Richard
I would have thought so, but I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. AFAIK the critical feature is whether it has a projector rather than reflector lens system. If they are of the old reflector type then you'll get a lot of light 'scatter' and blind on-coming traffic (and fail your MoT to boot). When the alignment is checked you need to make sure that there is sharp cut-off, so as not to blind on-coming traffic.
V good point, Jim. I'll pass this on to Skip. Looking at my arrangement I think I'd have to cut the connectors to the ballast and pull the wires through the grommet. Not the end of the world, but if the grommet hole was bigger say, you could then pull the whole lot through without having to cut any connections.
nigelw said:
just been on T'interweb and have found some HID units from china for £25.00 a set plus about £28.00 P&p so I'm going to order two sets (dip and main beam) and try to do a deal on postage ...will have to wait a couple of weeks for them to arrive . Will let you all know how I got on and pass on all the info if it is a success ! 
Old Chinese proverb 'you get what you pay for' 
(But not always true, so let us know how you get on.)Gassing Station | Noble | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff