I guess although possibly illegal still, a H3 main beam kit for the fabia is going to be less offensive than the dipped beam one?

I've gone back to halogens again on the dipped beam, and now thinking that a HID main beam kit might make negotiating those lanes a little better at night. No need to worry about dazzling other people as it will be a case of the usual dip for oncoming cars (to halogen bulbs)

Any thoughts?

Why did you revert back to halogens??

Why did you revert back to halogens??

Slight problem with the kit. One side was not holding the beam and it was going to half strength, triggering the "light out" beeeep!! Probably a voltage issue (I could make it dip by putting on main beam...) so I have a relay coming from Hong Kong. In the mean time I didn't want the hassle so went back to halogens. I also have a suspicion one is a 8000k, not 6000k as it was bluer and more glarey. Both had 6000k labels on though and I cannot see any other way of identifying them. C'est la vie - should be sorted soon. I was just mulling over the idea of having mains instead.

Alright i see - i just bought a 6000k H7 kit, hopefully it will be fine

Alright i see - i just bought a 6000k H7 kit, hopefully it will be fine

Hope so - Once I'd been flashed the third time by oncoming traffic too, I decided to switch back. It could have been that dodgy brighter/bluey side though as it was on the driver's side.

Only issue I can see on a main beam HID kit is the startup time on the ballast Jason. If you need to flash someone, right of way or to let someone out, it might not fire quickly enough and the ballasts will wear out more quickly too. I think on more advanced bi-xenon kits, a separate halogen bulb is wired in for this purpose. Just a thought....

Jon TDi fitted a kit for main beam to his xenon-equipped Fabia (now sadly deceased), as it was a kit I was going to use when I had my Ibiza. Not sure he ever got round the 'flashing' issue, but might be worth an ask.

Steve

Well - my H3 kit came "on" pretty much right away with only a slight brightening time needed. Would hope the use of the relay kit would negate any issues with using them as flashers / turning them on/off a lot.

I purchased my HID kit on my dipped lights from Awesome gti few weeks back, unbelievably bright! brighter than my dad's new AMG Merc with factory xenons, the kit is 8000k and takes 3-4 seconds to reach full brightness once powered up. I do, however, get flashed by oncoming traffic now and again. Having said that, it's the best mod i've done to my car so far, there are no dim sections of my lights' beam; it just seems to be an incredibly full light. Would highly recommend.

Smithy

Well I hope I don't meet you coming the other way! If you're getting flashed, they're annoying people. Simple as that. And 8000k isn't really suitable either; the output should be between 4500-6000k ideally. At that colour temperature, the output is too blue and the actual light output is reduced. So they look 'bright', but they're not actually helping you see any more detail in front of you, or any further distance ahead.

Steve

Once again, been there, done that, "I told you so".

The long and short of it is, the Fabia headlights ARE NOT suitable for aftermarket HID kits.

Yes some are, even the Ibiza headlights are passable as they have a glare guard at the front.

Had some on mine, blinded everyone, and they looked crap - like a big blob of blue coming down the road. Removed them after about a week.

Jase, I dont see a problem with them in the full beam, but tbh, I find the headlights bright enough as standard.

edit: actually I'd advise against putting them in full beam, as HID hate to be flicked on and off, it knackers the ballasts.

For those reading that may be sure they must have a HID kit for their fabia, hids4u seem to do a kit that might work better for you and give others less glare. Still non legal, but hopefully less issue causing:

http://www.hids4u.co.uk/store/product.php?productid=64&cat=16&page=1)

With the H7R anti glare bulbs.

What about driving lamps? Legal and adds some style to the front of your car too.