Headlights

[DeeBe]

I was wondering whether or not it was possible to have 'projector' style headlights on my '02 TDi. I kow the L&K had them, but they will be muchos expensive and rarer than rocking horse pooh...

I know SuperSkoda do aftermarket lights, but the projector on those is the foglight - so I'd be no better off, plus they look ghastly! Especially with those LED strips!

So, any ideas? Thanks people!

David.

[Mad_customer]

I guess you could buy or source OE Xenon parts etc but I am sure they would come with a hefty price tag too.

A quick ebay search found this...

SKODA OCTAVIA all Models HID Xenon Conversion KIT on eBay (end time 11-Nov-09 19:01:24 GMT)

May be worth a look?

[mbames]

mmm, I am almost tempted too :-) anyone kitted a kit like this to an Octy before, or think of a reason not to?

[fatbob33]

this may sound real daft but what is the diffrence in the two and why is it soooo expensive to change ( :rotz:i am ready for the on slaught of abuse now for asking such a daft question)

[ExAudiSi]

I fitted something similar to my Bora and the results were not good. In the end I took the kit off, bought some OEM xenons and used the balasts / igniters from the kit to power them. The basic deficiency is in the headlight design, not the amount of light from the bulb. You will most likely finish up with lots of glare and just annoy oncoming drivers. In my opinion if you want xenon headlights, you need to go down the OEM route I'm afraid.

[DeeBe]

I have a Xenon kit fitted at present in the standard lights, and I don't get any flashes from oncoming drivers or anything, but was actually thinking about a new headlight housing which incorporates the projector unit into it. Like a half glass ball. It focuses the beam a lot more effectively.

[ExAudiSi]

I have seen Octavias with HID kits fitted driving around near me and although I haven't bothered flashing them (what's the point?) the amount of glare coming off the headlights is ridiculous.

[Oet]

I'm mixed on this, I had hid retrofitted iin my a6 avant (projectors) and they were great.

I have read up a LOT on different kits and have considered fitting some a6 projector units to my octy headlights recently as its not that hard to do. Recently i found a company on ebay selling retrofit projector kits making it even easier however.....i have read a couple of posts stating that hid kits should not be fitted to projectors without self levelling as they can make the glare worse (ie in the area that the beam is pointing as the light here is more focussed and can dazzle people more) and that instead hid kits should be fitted to reflector style headlights.

I do know where you can get self levelling kits (kufatec.de) and this with a retrofit projector unit in my headlights could be a good compromise. The cost of retroftting oem headlight units is just way to expensive, especially for what they are....i would rather diy.

If you look at the way reflector style headlights do work, and how some of the kits fitted to chav cars do offer lots of glare i cant help but think this cant be right to do. However ready seatcupra.net there are lots of leon drivers who do this who state they have no issue and they seem to be reasonable and responsible forum members.

Any thoughts?

[Choongmu]

Unless you're driving down a lot of unlit roads in the dark is there really any point? Yeah they look good, but you're inside the car! and on lit roads the benefit is kinda lost.

Buy a decent set of bulbs for max of £20 and happy days, money saved and ready for spending elsewhere.

[ExAudiSi]

I think that the dazzle is worse with reflector type lamps than with projectors. The main problem is caused by the scattered light which is emitted in all directions because the HID burner does not produce light in the same position as the filament bulb that the headlight was designed for. This is the glare that is bad for oncoming drivers.

[Oet]

I agree Si, i think really these kits should be fitted to projectors not reflectors.

Yes there is every point in improving your lights, 'good' bulbs do not work anywhere near as well as modern xenon bulbs.

Anyone who fits them for how they look rather than how they perform is a bit misguided. The reason to retrofit these is too improve the standard lighting, hid/xenon gives a much much better overall and peripheral view!

[mbames]

I am in a position where I drive 60 miles to work in the dark and the same again in the evening. Most of those roads are unlit roads. At the moment I have in some 30% brighter bulbs, but I find the best thing I can currently do is ensure the front of my lights are nice and clean (in the winter I clean them twice a day)... should I just stick with what I have?

[ExAudiSi]

... should I just stick with what I have?

Yes, or get a set of Philips Extremes which are 80% brighter than standard and seem to last better than Osram Nightbreakers.

I really don't think that retrofitting HIDs into Octy 1 headlights is worthwhile. Fitting OEM xenons is another matter.

[Oet]

why dont you think its worth doing? i agree to retrofit hid reflectors is probably not the right thing to do, but to retrofit projectors to your own headlights wouldnt be that hard, there are plenty of posts online where people have done this.

Kits like this make it much easier...with a bit of adaptation.

PROJECTOR LEN HID XENO KIT Angel Eye E46 M3 TSX H4 D2S on eBay (end time 10-Nov-09 12:45:53 GMT)

Uprated bulbs are still not as good as a hid/xenon setup thats the problem, its not just aboout the brightness of the bulb but how much more light there is all around.

The oem upgrade route would be soooooo expensive thats the problem:eek:

[Choongmu]

60 miles........wow, i'd move closer to work! Appreciate your issue as i live in the sticks, but fortunately not many other people do so i can drive on full beam for most of the time.

Xenons would be the way forward, but yep cost is ridiculous and you never seem to find any second hand!

No idea of any other way to get the beam spread for a decent cost. guess its just trial and error with the ones you've seen. Saw some myself at autotint design.co.uk which i was going to get, but then thought i'd save the money and spend it else where.

[ExAudiSi]

why dont you think its worth doing? i agree to retrofit hid reflectors is probably not the right thing to do, but to retrofit projectors to your own headlights wouldnt be that hard, there are plenty of posts online where people have done this.

Kits like this make it much easier...with a bit of adaptation.

PROJECTOR LEN HID XENO KIT Angel Eye E46 M3 TSX H4 D2S on eBay (end time 10-Nov-09 12:45:53 GMT)

Uprated bulbs are still not as good as a hid/xenon setup thats the problem, its not just aboout the brightness of the bulb but how much more light there is all around.

The oem upgrade route would be soooooo expensive thats the problem:eek:

Hmm... never seen a kit like that before. That could be a way forward. The only thing is that you need to make sure that they are set for right hand drive.

I meant that the HID conversion into a standard headlamp was not worth doing, but fitting projector units designed for HID could be.

[Oet]

Cool, i get you.

I hadnt see a kit like that until recently either. Been looking for parts on their own to source my own kit however the front end parts have been keeping me busy (and poor) so this will have to wait a bit.

Recon it wouldnt be too difficult to do...

[mikey vrs]

Yes, or get a set of Philips Extremes which are 80% brighter than standard and seem to last better than Osram Nightbreakers.

I really don't think that retrofitting HIDs into Octy 1 headlights is worthwhile. Fitting OEM xenons is another matter.

I want to upgrade my standard bulbs,if i fit these philip extremes do i need to upgrade the wiring,fit a relay etc or are they a straight swop? Are they legal too?

[ExAudiSi]

The Philips Extreme bulbs are still rated at 55/60W, so they are legal and you won't need to uprate the wiring or fuses.

[DeeBe]

I hope I haven't started a debate here!

I must say though, my car recently passed an MOT test with the HID kit installed into the standard headlight housing, no adjustment needed either - and no it wasn't a 'friendly' MOT station!

However, I do see chav cars running with these cheap Chinese kits in all manner of colours, and sometimes the glare can be ridiculous, plus they look a lot more OEM if they are in a projector housing.

The light output is increased dramatically for me, and I can see a lot further than with Halogen filament bulbs, so they are definitely the way forward, but I am not 100% happy with them being in the standard housings.

I appreciate my car, and enjoy spending some money on it, but I don't want people thinking I'm a 'boy-racer'!

[ExAudiSi]

DeeBe, I have just noticed that you are also in the North East, whereabouts are you?

Maybe my views have been coloured by the kit that I had in my Bora and by the kits I have seen on other Octavias around here. I would be interested to see what your lights look like if you are not too far away.

[DeeBe]

Slice of humble pie for DeeBe!

On my way to work this morning (5am start) I was pulled over by a Police BMW 330! Asked why my headlights were so bright. I told him that I had a HID kit fitted and he informed me they were actually illegal. He informed me that a car can only utilise them if the headlight was specifically designed to do so, and mine aren't as they won't have a self-levelling system - whatever that is!

I explained that my car had passed an MOT with them in, and he remarked that it shouldn't have and that I had to remove them, or risk a fine. He was actually rather decent about the whole thing.

Famous last words...

Bought some Osram Nightbreakers today and fitted them - they seem a bit weak! Now have to go to an MOT station to get them checked and produce at my local Police station.

To be honest, it's probably a good thing, because the HID kit only used one original 3pin H4 plug to power both lamps, so maybe theres an upside to this!

I'm in South Shields Si, where are you?

[ExAudiSi]

That's unfortunate!

I would have been interested to see what they were like.

I live just ouside Middlesbrough DeeBe.

On the MOT they only test beam aim and pattern, so there is no real reason for an MOT tester to fail a car which has been retrofitted with HIDs.

See how you get on with the NightBreakers as in my experience they don't last very long which is why I now use the Philips Extremes.

Edited 27 October, 2009 by ExAudiSi

[Oet]

hmm, shame......it seems hids are too bright in a reflector housing then.

Phase 2 it is.........a projector unit like i posted before grafted into our headlights (rather than pay over £400 for hid oem headlights....then fitted with something like this.....KUFATEC GmbH - Xenon/Auto-Leveling Headlights - Retrofit - Skoda Octavia 1U 34564, they even do a loom to fit washer units too.

[ExAudiSi]

I still think that the main problem is glare rather then brightness.

I have travelled behind Police traffic cars on many occasions in my old MkII GTI with 100/160W bulbs in and never been stopped.

I'm OK for headlamp washers with the Elegance as they come fitted as standard

Might be worth trying your local Andrew Page for the OEM xenon headlamps. I nearly bought a pair of Bosch ones off them for my Bora and they were significantly cheaper than the stealers. The rest of the bits can be made up from an aftermarket kit.