Hi all,

I took my 61 plate Monte for its first longish night run to test the lights and mpg. The mpg was a pretty good result, managed 58.2mpg in hard rain on a mix of hills and b roads. Pretty pleased with that and it only has 230 miles on the clock

The lights weren't quite so good, I have to say they are fairly weak and certainly need a tweak. I am going to go straight down the HID route as I have never found a filament bulb that in any way near compares to Xenon systems. I just wanted to see if anyone else had fitted HID's on the Fabia and if there are any pitfalls in the fitting. I have fitted six sets of HID's to various cars and never had any real issues barring the Avensis which required the front bumper to come off! Am I right in thinking the bulbs are H7 in the Monte and that I will have to use a Canbus compatible set. I'm aware the MOT tests will be changing and that it will fail if they don't have levelling and washing systems. The car isn't scheduled an MOT until September 2014 so I'm happy to use them until then. As they are projector lights they are absolutely ripe for HID conversion as the MK2.5 MX5 I had was the best beam pattern I have ever seen and was just as lame before HID conversion.

If anyone has any feedback please let me know.

Thanks,

Matt.

100% with you, the lights are awful ive the elegance with curve headlights I've put H7 xenon filled ultra bulbs in all 4 but haven't been out after dark yet so can't say how good they are

I'm aware the MOT tests will be changing and that it will fail if they don't have levelling and washing systems. The car isn't scheduled an MOT until September 2014 so I'm happy to use them until then.

It's not just MOT rules.

For the past year traffic police are being trained on how to spot after-market HIDs

You might think it's almost impossible...I disagree, it is really obvious which of those cars out there are aftermarket.

So your risking fines, prohibitions etc.

I would recommend that you find the best bulb possible - it will save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

There is a whole raft of regulation for them, because fundamentally they are dangerous in terms of dazzling in normal use but especially in terms of an acident situation where approved HIDs will be permanently shut down to prevent electrocution of emergency workers, ignition and so on.

Also it's an aside but having stronger near-field illumination reduces visibility further afield, particularly because of the eyes response to the strong blue component. OEM HIDs make use of the extra light output typically for wider beam pattern, since illumination at specific points is regulated so cannot be increased en-mass.

There is a whole raft of regulation for them, because fundamentally they are dangerous in terms of dazzling in normal use but especially in terms of an acident situation where approved HIDs will be permanently shut down to prevent electrocution of emergency workers, ignition and so on.

Also it's an aside but having stronger near-field illumination reduces visibility further afield, particularly because of the eyes response to the strong blue component. OEM HIDs make use of the extra light output typically for wider beam pattern, since illumination at specific points is regulated so cannot be increased en-mass.

Someone certainly knows their stuff!!

I'm aware the MOT tests will be changing and that it will fail if they don't have levelling and washing systems. The car isn't scheduled an MOT until September 2014 so I'm happy to use them until then

I have fitted six sets of HID's to various cars and never had any real issues

Hope you don't live near me. :| You've had no problems, wonder how many people travelling the opposite way have had a problem with it though...?

A friend of mine is an MOT tester and has said the regulations are really tightening up next year. The aftermarket side of things should be pretty much killed next year as the auto levelling and washer requirements will pretty much wipe out any bolt on kits. I see cars with H4 type HID kits and the beam patterns are all over the place, barring the friends MK1 VRS I've only ever fitted them to cars with projector lights which react very well to the upgrade, never fitted anything above 5000k though as the blue light is just silly.

I guess I'll have to Look into high output bulbs, don't want to get any fines or points :(

Ok, so if I scrap the HID idea which bulbs should I get?

100% with you, the lights are awful ive the elegance with curve headlights I've put H7 xenon filled ultra bulbs in all 4 but haven't been out after dark yet so can't say how good they are

Let us know how you get on, I'd be keen to see how much better they are. To be honest the standard ones are so crap that I would be very surprised if match didn't do a better job!

Let us know how you get on, I'd be keen to see how much better they are. To be honest the standard ones are so crap that I would be very surprised if match didn't do a better job!

Looking back my comment seems harsh as the stock bulbs are awful. Can see why people would get HID's for their Fabia. Phillips Xtreme are the only way to go.

Looking back my comment seems harsh as the stock bulbs are awful. Can see why people would get HID's for their Fabia. Phillips Xtreme are the only way to go.

phillips extreme. Best upgrade for minimum cost. I tried Osram nightbreakers but the xtreme gave a noticeable difference. I would still only describe the lights as adequate now rather than the previous dismally poor rating.

I think there are two versions of the xtreme now. The first generation are plenty good enough and if I recall correctly only about 20 quid online.

The only car I own with decent lights as standard seems to be my 09 Audi TT. The lights are fantastic on that and I've never had even a thought to upgrade. The projectors on the Monte are verging on dangerous in my opinion. On the drive the other night (driving rain etc though) it was almost impossible to see the way. Why Audi don't release some of their technology into the VAG sector is beyond me. Hopefully they'll do something about the lights as standard, I'd love to see the option of factory fit HID lights for the Monte, I'd have bought them for definate.

I do take peoples points re the HIDs and until now was completely unaware of the risk of electrocution. As I have quite a few friends in the Police I doubt I'd be very popular with them!