Hi all, Merry xmas ,has anyone done a head light conversion to" hid "bulbs ,my h/lights are rubbish and i would like to upgrade, has anyone done this upgrade ,what do i need and what sort of a job is it  

regards

Pretty easy job to do, you need a H7 (non CANBUS) 4.300K kit from someone like londoncolour (eBay) 

 

Ideally the front bumper needs to be removed (20 mins job) so you can mount the ballasts out of the way with the bumper removed you can also remove the headlights to make fitting the bulbs easier, they can be done in situ, but for 20 mins extra work it makes life easier.

I've been looking at the HIDS4U Pro Max 55w kit on hids4u . com, the write up's sounds pretty good, what do you reckon - would obviously be the 5000k?? Or are these overpriced and better from your guy above?

 

http://www.hids4u.co.uk/h7-55w-pro-max-xenon-hid-conversion-kit.html

do you know if my 2002 superb is fitted with bulb failure warning as i want to fit hid bulbs

My 2002 classic and it has the warning, Look for my posts as I posted about fitting the HID kit, I needed bulb holders for mine.  It throws the odd bulb error but I just turn them off and on and it goes away..

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/289696-xenon-hid-swap-where-to-buy-part-number-for-the-metal-bulb-retaining-clip/

Edited 16 December, 201312 yr by technics100

I have factory bixenons, but as the car is a 2002, I was finding the dipped beam to be very weak (relative to my second car a Primera Sport with those very good Valeo Xenons).  New bulbs (Osram) made the light output much better, but the cut-off was blurry and still not as bright as I .S.

Since then I managed to source a pair of headlights from younger cars with the headlight lenses nearly mint.  Made a big difference.

So all I am saying regardless of what the OEM spec of headlights is and what HID kit you may go for, if your lenses are milky and nasty it is worth hunting for a pair of decent ones off a bidding website to maximise the bang for the buck.  The halogen ones are quite cheap usually.  My bixenons cost just over £200 for the pair, well worth it in my opinion, and I used the opportunity to replace all the other bulbs as they are otherwise such a pain to remove (both sidelights died within a week on mine just after the new headlights arrived). 

You can polish the headlight glass to almost mint condition with ease. There are a few things to consider upgrading to HID/Xenon. We've had long discussions here before, so i will try to narrow it down a bit. 

 

You need to draw power directly from the battery in order to have the ballasts ignite perfectly every time. (wiring to the headlights is only 1 karat cobber, which is not enough)

The ECU will register a bulb out error with a long annoying beep. This can be turned off with VCDs. Then you need to check manually from time to time.

Choose 50/55W ballasts for optimal light output of the dipped / low beam H7. 

Get 4300 or 5000 Kelvin color temperature to get perfect eye vision, specially at night. 4300/5000 is the best color for your eyes.

 

Hope i remembered it all. 
Alternatively see more in this post, good read:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/233066-hids-now-fitted/

55W HID is exceptionally bright, but not sure the reflectors will take it for many years due to heat build up and intense UV.

Yes you can polish headlights, but by doing so UV filter is removed, they will look nice for a few months, but after that will turn nasty and yellow.

There are UV resistant clear lacquers that are available, but may not be chip resistant at speed.

Ultimately I decided this was not the way forward for me though. I do like 5000K. Any more and light output will drop.

Avoid cheap chinese bulbs, go for a brand. Also be aware that most Philips D2S bulbs on ebay are copies. Go for a reputable seller and be suspicious of low prices. My Osrams cost me over £100 a pair.