I think the law should be amended to include aftermarket HIDs, that way they would have to fitted correctly, personally I don't see the necessity for headlamp washers or self leveling!

They are allowable IF you fit all the other requirements as well; levelling, washers, correctly marked lenses.

What a lot of people don't realise is that the focal point of a HID is in a different place to a H3 or 4 bulb. Even the OP admits that his HID was longer than the standard bulb.

Having this different focal point affects the way either the reflector or the lens structure focuses the light pattern. In the projector type unit this is often not too bad; it gets worse where the large type rear reflector provides the focusing, and is worst of all where the actual lense is the focusing medium.

No one has flashed me so far, however if it was to start happening on a regular basis I would throw in the towel and refit my Ring Xenon Max halogens bulbs.......

I do agree, the last thing I want to do is dazzle other drivers, god knows the majority of them are bad enough with out giving them an excuse to drive s##t!!

I think the law should be amended to include aftermarket HIDs, that way they would have to fitted correctly, personally I don't see the necessity for headlamp washers or self leveling!

But the thing is - the additional features of a "proper HID setup" are important too.

Because the beam can be disruppted so easily by dirt and deflected into the eyes of oncoming traffic - keeping lenses clean is important.

So you could argue that you will keep them clean, but a washer system that automatically washes every third time the lights are used ensures the lenses stay clean.

The self-levelling doesn't help with small bumps and dips in the road, they simply don't work quick enough.

But up and down large hills - the HID's without levellers do dazzle and a lot.

It's the combination of HID lights, proper lenses, auto-levelling and eashers which make it such a good system.

Start omitting any one of them and you risk dazzling.

The self-levelling doesn't help with small bumps and dips in the road, they simply don't work quick enough.

But up and down large hills - the HID's without levellers do dazzle and a lot.

It's the combination of HID lights, proper lenses, auto-levelling and eashers which make it such a good system.

Start omitting any one of them and you risk dazzling.

AIUI they do not work like that, they only dip when there is a difference of height between the front and rear suspension, for example when you put something heavy into the boot, go over a large speed bump (slowly) etc, otherwise when you drive down a steep hill you lights would adjust themselves up and blind everyone.

Any responsible driver should keep their lights clean at all times anyway, either by manually wiping them or by the more common way nowadays, which is to cater for the stupid and doing it automatically (auto lights also fall into this category IMO - if you don't know i's getting dark enough to have your lights on then you should not hold a licence!)

I agree about the lens issue, which is why when I fitted a HID kit into my MKI Superb (which has projector headlights) I made sure that they were the correct colour (4,300K) and the bulb length was exactly the same as the OE bulbs they were replacing, the result was in 2 1/2 years they passed the MOT's every time and I had never been flashed.

But the thing is - the additional features of a "proper HID setup" are important too.

Because the beam can be disruppted so easily by dirt and deflected into the eyes of oncoming traffic - keeping lenses clean is important.

So you could argue that you will keep them clean, but a washer system that automatically washes every third time the lights are used ensures the lenses stay clean.

The self-levelling doesn't help with small bumps and dips in the road, they simply don't work quick enough.

But up and down large hills - the HID's without levellers do dazzle and a lot.

It's the combination of HID lights, proper lenses, auto-levelling and eashers which make it such a good system.

Start omitting any one of them and you risk dazzling.

This is complete ballcocks on so many levels.

A good quartz-xenon bulb setup can deliver light a mile away fro mthe car; just how far do you need to see?

The main effect of dirty headlight lenses is to reduce the light output of the headlights, which happens irrespective of the type of luminaire installed.

Self-leveling is just a load correction; if it acted the way you seem to think, cars with self-levelling suspension, such as Hydropneumatic Citroens, wouldn't be deemed to have an acceptable self-levelling system given that they can take up to 30s to correct addition or removal of mass from the rear.

They are allowable IF you fit all the other requirements as well; levelling, washers, correctly marked lenses.

What a lot of people don't realise is that the focal point of a HID is in a different place to a H3 or 4 bulb. Even the OP admits that his HID was longer than the standard bulb.

Having this different focal point affects the way either the reflector or the lens structure focuses the light pattern. In the projector type unit this is often not too bad; it gets worse where the large type rear reflector provides the focusing, and is worst of all where the actual lense is the focusing medium.

Iirc when the law comes in on 1/1/2012 you will not even be allowed to retro fit Xenon's even with all the required components, factory fit is the only legal option......apparently! :yes:

This is complete ballcocks on so many levels.

A good quartz-xenon bulb setup can deliver light a mile away fro mthe car; just how far do you need to see?

The main effect of dirty headlight lenses is to reduce the light output of the headlights, which happens irrespective of the type of luminaire installed.

Self-leveling is just a load correction; if it acted the way you seem to think, cars with self-levelling suspension, such as Hydropneumatic Citroens, wouldn't be deemed to have an acceptable self-levelling system given that they can take up to 30s to correct addition or removal of mass from the rear.

Wrong on so many levels?

So I was not aware of the self-levelling system, I was wrong on ONE level.

Dirty lenses make a hell of a difference to the beam pattern - you're telling me dirt on the lenses does not start deflecting beams?

I don't mind being pulled up on mistakes I make in posts - but please don't start saying everything I've written is *******s when it so clearly isn't.

A good quartz-xenon bulb setup can deliver light a mile away fro mthe car; just how far do you need to see?

There's a difference between from how far away a light can be seen and what distance the light provides illumination. That's even more the case for dipped beams given the legal requirements.

This is getting fun now......

Wrong on so many levels?

So I was not aware of the self-levelling system, I was wrong on ONE level.

Dirty lenses make a hell of a difference to the beam pattern - you're telling me dirt on the lenses does not start deflecting beams?

No; I'm telling you that general road grime makes a filter, and reduces the total light output from the unit.

There's a difference between from how far away a light can be seen and what distance the light provides illumination. That's even more the case for dipped beams given the legal requirements.

Ok, I wasn't completely 200% explicit in saying this, but this is the measured distance at which I can get a return I can see whilst driving my car with correctly adjusted headlights using QX bulbs.

this is the measured distance at which I can get a return I can see whilst driving my car with correctly adjusted headlights using QX bulbs.

I'm still not clear about what you are saying ... AIUI the ECE regs for headlights means that the 'touchdown' point of a dipped beam headlight is around 40-45 metres. There is some additional illumination about the cut-off but it is only a small proportion of the light output; are you claiming this small amount of light is enough for you to see so far into the distance?