After market HID's

[cian]

Tryed searching but it seems to down :( Any way, I want to do something about the poop lights in my 08 vRS Combi. Either better bulbs http://www.powerbulbs.com/product_detail.asp?prod=81 or HID's What are peoples opinions about after market HID's? Worth it? Do they actually work?

[greek 5vrs]

Nothing compares to an HID Xenon set.

[jcdub]

I have after market HID's fitted to my 08 RS and they are great! Perfect beam. The are ideal for the projector beam headlight like ours ;-). Make sure you get the no can-bus error ballasts. I went for 4300K bulbs as they are the same colour as the OEM.

JC

[cian]

Any links to buy some, my google searching is failing as bad as my search on here :(

[wardth]

I've returned a set of £70 ones to Hids Direct - concerned about quality. Returned another set of Wideview £160 ones to same place because of Canbus errors and lights going on and off and I'm just about to rerun a £200 Ultimate set to Hids - 4 - U because the ballasts are too big for the OEM ballast holders at the rear of the lamps and mounting them on the outside will cause other issues.Quality of these kits is very very variable and to be honest, most of what is on ebay is rubbish and its not worth risking your cars electrics by fitting them.I will get to the bottom of the issue because when they >did< work, the Wideview kit was lovely and it was a complete pain switching back to standard halogens. Ignore the people who moan on about the legality and fact they blind people. They no more blind people than the halogens because with projector lenses the beam pattern is identical and in ffact its even more defined and accurate so alignment is easier.Watch this space.......

i have to say that hids direct were brilliant and there was no aggro returning the kits.

Be VERY careful with the £50 ebay kits on offer - they are not very good quality IMHO.

Edited 27 November, 2009 by wardth

[k.young]

I have after market HID's fitted to my 08 RS and they are great! Perfect beam. The are ideal for the projector beam headlight like ours ;-). Make sure you get the no can-bus error ballasts. I went for 4300K bulbs as they are the same colour as the OEM.

JC

What set did you use ? Are they showing any bulb errors ? and finally..........Does your ballasts fit inside the ballast box on the back of the light housing ?? sorry for the interogation style of questioning.

[gadgetman]

Remember aftermarket hids are illegal, and some forces and MOT station are now actively targeting them.

[k.young]

Remember aftermarket hids are illegal, and some forces and MOT station are now actively targeting them.

I have headlamp washers on my non-Xenon Octy and I'm not fully sure about the legallity issues in Ireland of fitting aftermarket HIDs.

[jcdub]

What set did you use ? Are they showing any bulb errors ? and finally..........Does your ballasts fit inside the ballast box on the back of the light housing ?? sorry for the interogation style of questioning.

Hi i used this kit here with no problems: http://www.hids4us.co.uk/h7.htm The Can-Bus ballasts and the 4300K bulbs for the OEM colour.I removed the headlights to fit these as its so easy to do. I used tie wraps to secure the ballasts just inside the wing behind the headlights. A nice neat job if I do say so myself :-)

[k.young]

Hi i used this kit here with no problems: http://www.hids4us.co.uk/h7.htm The Can-Bus ballasts and the 4300K bulbs for the OEM colour.I removed the headlights to fit these as its so easy to do. I used tie wraps to secure the ballasts just inside the wing behind the headlights. A nice neat job if I do say so myself :-)

Thanks. Sorry for going off topic, did you get 352lb of torque from a stage1 remap ??

[DeeBe]

A requirement of HiD's is self levelling lights/suspension, so they can accurately and constantly point at the correct level, but I have NEVER been dazzled by a car with 'projector' lenses that have HiD's fitted, only regular reflector lenses CAN be a pain.

[gadgetman]

A requirement of HiD's is self levelling lights/suspension, so they can accurately and constantly point at the correct level,

Headlight washers and washer fluid level sensor.

[jcdub]

Thanks. Sorry for going off topic, did you get 352lb of torque from a stage1 remap ??

Hi,

I'd only had 13k kms on the car when dynoed after the remapped. Its a so called custom remap, it would be a stage 1 type and the power delivery is seriously smooth. Its very easy to manage in the wet with no sudden break of traction .

[patrolman]

Remember aftermarket hids are illegal, and some forces and MOT station are now actively targeting them.

Got called out to a Police ,VOSA vehicle check on the M42 in the summer,a guy had been pulled and VOSA had found his after market HID lights , and if he didn,t remove them he would have his car impounded , so system removed and bulbs fitted .

[k.young]

That sort of thing just doesn't happen in Ireland. If your car has tax disc, insurance disc and if over 4 years old a NCT (MOT) disc in the window you will not be bothered by the authorities unless your commiting a driving offence.

[wardth]

Got called out to a Police ,VOSA vehicle check on the M42 in the summer,a guy had been pulled and VOSA had found his after market HID lights , and if he didn,t remove them he would have his car impounded , so system removed and bulbs fitted .

Bloody ridiculous if you ask me. If you fit aftermarket HIDS correctly into a projector headlight then you are actually improving safety as you can see better!. All this cobblers about blinding people - the beam patter is the same as halogen and in fact cutoff is more pronounced so overspill is less. I'm more worried about uninsured drivers in unroadworthy cars with bald tyres, defective brakes, worn windscreen wipers, no MOT ....the list goes on. VOSA should be pulling more trucks for defective / missing spray screens and dodgy lights and tyres than some poor bugger who's only "offence" was probably no self levelling and washing lights. The octy has adjustable lights and as long as you keep the lenses clean - not difficult then whats the issue?Bloody nonsense making him rip them out.

Edited 29 November, 2009 by wardth

[k.young]

Bloody ridiculous if you ask me. If you fit aftermarket HIDS correctly into a projector headlight then you are actually improving safety as you can see better!. All this cobblers about blinding people - the beam patter is the same as halogen and in fact cutoff is more pronounced so overspill is less. I'm more worried about uninsured drivers in unroadworthy cars with bald tyres, defective brakes, worn windscreen wipers, no MOT ....the list goes on. VOSA should be pulling more trucks for defective / missing spray screens and dody lights and tyres than some poor bugger who's only "offence" was probably no self levelling and washing lights. The octy has adjustable lights and as long as you keep the lenses clean - not difficult then whats the issue?Bloody nonsense making him rip them out.

Here here............well said.

[insane79]

does fitting after market HID give an error on the display of the car? can a standard digital ballast be used in the octavia or only the can-bus ballast can be used? i m planning to put after market xenons in my fl octavia, thanks.

Edited 29 November, 2009 by insane79

[k.young]

There are kits for Can-Bus type cars, Audi,Skoda ,Seat, VW and these don't give errors.

[insane79]

so the can-bus hid kits wont give errors in the display? i suppose these can-bus kits are more expensive..

[Browny_37]

There are also adaptors that can fit into the standard digital balasts to stop the dash warning triggering. http://www.sinax.co.uk/hids4us/canceller.htm Does anyone else think that these high spec 4x4's going around with the factory HID's are a little dazzling? There the only ones that tend to cause me any hassle, especially when there sat on your rear bumper on a empty motorway! :(

[wardth]

Guys I've been going mad the past month trying to fit HIDS. A £60 kit from HID's Direct was not great - too blue at 6K and was concerned about the quality. I swapped it for a £160 Wideview kit only to find that while the ballasts were nice and small, they had seperate ignitors and seperate canbus error cancellers. Basically a bit of a rats nest of little boxes and connections. After suffering bulb out errors and lights going on and off on the motorway I contacted HID's Direct only to be told that the kit was unsuitable for the Skoda so back they went. I now have an "Ultimate" kit from HIDS - 4 - U however to be honest it just doesn't feel like £190 worth of kit. The ballasts are also too big to fit into the OEM ballast covers and hence fitting would be a pain in the backside so........they are goin back!I'll find a good kit sooner or later but it will need a smallish ballast and be Korean made not chinese crap like 90% of those available on ebay.

Be very very careful - fitting £50 hid kits to the wiring of your £15K pride and joy is risky. Chinese quality is poor and the ballasts tend to die quickly leaving you with no choice but to replace the lot. The more expensive kits appear to be better quality but not massivly so and there are still issues with later cars canbus systems.It might be worth getting a sticky list together of known good systems that can be fitted int he OEM ballast covers for ease of fitment and neatness.........

Edited 29 November, 2009 by wardth

[Strugs]

Apologies for nudging this back to the top..

As a prospective vRS owner.. is it possible to retrofit the OEM Xenon option (if there was such a beast?)?

[vRS Carl]

If you want a decent kit get the 50w Kit from HIDs Direct

I had a 35w kit from HIDS 4 U and it was good ( i had the original version which everything Fit inside the oem cover of the headlight) but when i went to the 50w kit i was amazed at how much extra light it gave out.

The kit cost £75 delivered and took me all of 10 mins to fit. Because its 50w no bulb error cancelling stuff needed and works perfectly. It also fit inside the OEM cover JUST.

Basically ring HID's direct tell them what car you have and they will send you the correct kit. Don't buy the Slim kit though as wardth says or you end up with lots of little boxes to hide away.

Carl

[Strugs]

If you want a decent kit get the 50w Kit from HIDs Direct

I had a 35w kit from HIDS 4 U and it was good ( i had the original version which everything Fit inside the oem cover of the headlight) but when i went to the 50w kit i was amazed at how much extra light it gave out.

The kit cost £75 delivered and took me all of 10 mins to fit. Because its 50w no bulb error cancelling stuff needed and works perfectly. It also fit inside the OEM cover JUST.

Basically ring HID's direct tell them what car you have and they will send you the correct kit. Don't buy the Slim kit though as wardth says or you end up with lots of little boxes to hide away.

Carl

I've got aftermarket HIDs on my VX220 so would be prepared to go down that route, but did wonder if it's possible to retrofit the OEM kit (thereby completely avoiding all legality issues, if nothing else!)..?