Are Aftermarket Hid's Illegal Now?

[Steve VTi]

I hear today that aftermarket hid's are illegal from the start of the new year. Does anyone know if this is true? I've just got a set for the integra and don't want to be fitting them if im going to get hassle from the law.

 

[Eager]

apparently come april time to pass MOT they need to be self leveling and also have washers

 

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

apparently come april time to pass MOT they need to be self leveling and also have washers

What he ^^^ said is correct

 

[DC.]

yep.

will be an MOT fail if they don't have both. I suspect people will just change them over to get through the test.

sooner they're illegal the better in my opinion.

 

[NATMAN]

Nothing as bad as getting blinded at night by these twonks that have these fitted grrr. Youre better pulling over and letting the guy go past then stick the full beam on him.

 

[scub]

I hear today that aftermarket hid's are illegal from the start of the new year. Does anyone know if this is true?

hope so - dangerous and sheeeite lookin in every single case !

 

[Rover Repair]

IMO 4.3k units are fine its the twats with 10 or 12k units that bugs me!

 

[Bigman]

I thought they were already illegal if you didnt have headlamp washer?!

 

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

They are, it just wasn't enforced.

 

[Paddy H]

This is not before time!

I hope the pently, if found, is having the OP's eyes gouged out!!!

And the problem isn't the bulb temperature, it the folk that fit them to housings with out the convex lens to shape / cut the beam.

 

[dross432]

they arent that bad as long as they are fitted correctly and aimed more to the ground than a normal bulb would be. when i fit them i always lower the beam pattern and if more than 2 people flash me ill drop it down a bit more so that i dont get flashed and they are that bright you can still see alot better than a standard bulb

 

[Paddy H]

they arent that bad as long as they are fitted correctly and aimed more to the ground than a normal bulb would be. when i fit them i always lower the beam pattern and if more than 2 people flash me ill drop it down a bit more so that i dont get flashed and they are that bright you can still see alot better than a standard bulb

I would still argue its a sin to fit them to a housing that doesn't shape the beam. (has a lens) IMO

Any I see I give them a good dose of full beam.

 

[dross432]

you cant beat fire with fire, if the person with high beam hid's was to do the same it could be raller messy. i dont even bother flashing cars leaving high beam on its not that bad just dont look at the light keep watching the road.. you dont stare at the sun do you lol??

 

[Paddy H]

No, but the sun can't give consideration to others!

I just think ill fitted HIDs, inconsiderate to other road users.

To be fair its a pet hate of mine. So ill never come round to the notion.

And also, how can you fit a bulb 'properly' if it was never designed for the housing its located?

 

[Nicky]

Met a Mk4 Golf with a set of these this evening. I think his passenger 1 was loose as it looked to be held in place by a drunken fool with Parkensons, it was shaking about that much.

The 2 100w H4 bulbs in the headlights, the 2 100w H3s in small spots and the 2 100w H2s in the big spots do the trick though:

600w vs 55w tacky HID's could only have 1 outcome... Lol

 

[Paddy H]

Gees with the above we could do without the sun....

Not for public road use?.... right

 

[Nicky]

No, off road use only. I met the Golf as it was driving up our shared lane which leads to 5 other houses...

 

[Lyons]

IMO 4.3k units are fine its the ****s with 10 or 12k units that bugs me!

I agree, I dont see why so many people are against them. As long as its 4.3k are they really that different from the brightness of Xenons? Theres more folk driving round with their main beam on or 1 ordinary headlight brighter than the other anyway.

 

[DaddyCC]

The number rating is only to do with the colour bit of it, it is nothing to do with the brightness of the bulb.

Agreed that i have nothing with trying to make yourself more safe on the roads with brightening them up more, but as said, its these twonks who dont adjust headlights to compensate or have a massive reflector style headlight that drives me insane with getting blinded

What he ^^^ said is correct

By any chance did you get to enquire about the question i made about what happens with those cars that come from factory without washers and self levellers?

 

[Sgt_Major]

In my last motor, I put 80 watt bulbs in, never got anyone flashing at me for them, and they were much brighter than the legal 55W

 

[Noel McQ]

I have 6k HID's in the leon, fitted properly and not pointing to the sky like most, but still get people flashing. To be honest i feel the people who flash at me when theyre like 10 feet from me are causing more danger to me than I am to them

 

[syecadelic]

I have the 8000k fitted, but ive a projector lense, which gives a crisp, definate beam pattern, not all over the place like when people put them in a standard headlamp housing. Never once got flashed at! Unless i have accidentally forgtten to turn the main beam off (ooops)
Unfortunately going to have to remove them for MOT, but I will be putting them back in, as the standard bulbs give f/al view of the road IMHO, mother has the same car, and driving it at night is hard work on the eyes

 

[_Stu_]

I have 6k in the Audi and have them levelled slightly lower to compensate. Have been driving around with them since April and only been flashed once. I will admit whenever I was 18 I stuck a set of 8ks in to a Mk2 Clio and nearly blinded half of the country because they were poorly leveled but I have learnt a lot since then.

 

[allan_tifa]

6k in the yaris never been flashed once have a perfect beem pattern no splattered all over so to be honest i think its fine although did have a guy in a nova racing up behind me think he must have had least 8k but it was like god opening up the sun behide me that is def bad really depends how their set imo

 

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

The number rating is only to do with the colour bit of it, it is nothing to do with the brightness of the bulb.

Agreed that i have nothing with trying to make yourself more safe on the roads with brightening them up more, but as said, its these twonks who dont adjust headlights to compensate or have a massive reflector style headlight that drives me insane with getting blinded

By any chance did you get to enquire about the question i made about what happens with those cars that come from factory without washers and self levellers?

Yeah, it still needs them, should have been picked up at tthe SVA as its been a legal requirement since manufactures started fitting them