Just a quickie guys,

 

Is it possible to convert the standard projector headlights, to become HID headlights?

 

Although the lights are good, i want something brighter and cleaner white (if that makes sense)

LOL

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Lee

Yes I've done it myself. On ebay search for a seller called London colour. Buy the non canbus kit and get it code it with vcds.

Is yours a facelift or pre facelift? General consensus seems to be that HIDS are risky on a facelift as people have had their Bcm fried. Haven't seen any issues posted with pre facelift.

Just a quickie guys,

 

Is it possible to convert the standard projector headlights, to become HID headlights?

 

Although the lights are good, i want something brighter and cleaner white (if that makes sense)

LOL

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Lee

Yep, just change the bulbs & add the starters (whatever the boxes are called) and check the aiming afterwards.

 

It's a great mod.

 

I found the kick-up on the left was a bit high so I just flicked the Euro-lights shutter on permanently so the beam is flat.

Have a look here

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/338193-london-colour-hid-upgrade-kit-install-guide/?view=getnewpost

Its a prefacelift. 

Thanks guys

If you are going to convert to HID for the love of god, change the whole headlight unit, not just the halogen bulb for a HID bulb.

 

Regardless of what the sellers say - the beam pattern will be all over the place. Even if the glare to other road users is OK (which is unlikely) the beam pattern on the road can be distracting to the driver of the car as the wrong amounts of light are focused on the wrong parts of the road.

 

HID headlights (kits) are much brighter than Halogen but that doesnt mean you can see more at night if the beam is in the wrong place. Headlights, reflector or projector are designed around the light source been in a defined and fixed place. Move that light source (which happens when using HID bulbs from kits) the light reflected or projected will appear on the road in a place other than intended. 

 

I have had two HID kits in the last 6 years and at the time thought they were great. Its only when you drive a car with factory Hids you see the true difference. No comparison.

 

However, least if you are changing the headlight units that are designed for HIDS, the beam pattern will be correct - even though, if on a lower spec car you wont have auto levelling or wash.

You dont need to replace the headlights on a octavia as the are projector units as standard,just fit the non canbus H.I.D kit from londoncolour & get the car coded,best thing i ever did to my car.There are lots of topics on here about it. 

So I've just bought a canbus kit so now your saying I can't use that ?

Ta Matt

So I've just bought a canbus kit so now your saying I can't use that ?

Ta Matt

If you do a search on here there is lots of topics about this,i was told by those in the know & that have done this upgrade that you need to fit the non canbus ones & get the car coded to accept them,i think the canbus ones can cause damage to control units & wiper motors.If yours is a facelift vrs then dont fit any H.I.D kit as there has been people having problems,this only works on the pre-faclift models.

So I've just bought a canbus kit so now your saying I can't use that ?

Ta Matt

Fit the non canbus ones and code it in

I can code it for you if you need.

I assume yours is a pre facelift car?

I'm using a non-canbus London Colour kit on a Facelift Blackline coded via VCDS, with no ill effects (lights installed for 9 months).

 

There are hundreds of threads on HIDs, and it can be difficult to find the plain information needed - just to add more contradiction, I had not been aware of any recommendation to avoid aftermarket HID kits on a FL Octavia before reading this thread.

I'm using a non-canbus London Colour kit on a Facelift Blackline coded via VCDS, with no ill effects (lights installed for 9 months).

 

There are hundreds of threads on HIDs, and it can be difficult to find the plain information needed - just to add more contradiction, I had not been aware of any recommendation to avoid aftermarket HID kits on a FL Octavia before reading this thread.

There are some people with them fitted to the facelift models & like yourself have had no problems & there are others that have had problems,i cant remember which member it is but he had 2 control units burn out & he removed the H.I.D kit in the end,it seems pot luck with the facelift models if you fit a H.I.D kit. 

Fit the non canbus ones and code it in

I can code it for you if you need.

I assume yours is a pre facelift car?

Yeah pre fl model 06 plate

I've got my mates vcds full version cable at the minute but just annoyed I was told need to buy canbus safe stuff and now don't need it :-/

If you are going to convert to HID for the love of god, change the whole headlight unit, not just the halogen bulb for a HID bulb.

 

Regardless of what the sellers say - the beam pattern will be all over the place. Even if the glare to other road users is OK (which is unlikely) the beam pattern on the road can be distracting to the driver of the car as the wrong amounts of light are focused on the wrong parts of the road.

 

HID headlights (kits) are much brighter than Halogen but that doesnt mean you can see more at night if the beam is in the wrong place. Headlights, reflector or projector are designed around the light source been in a defined and fixed place. Move that light source (which happens when using HID bulbs from kits) the light reflected or projected will appear on the road in a place other than intended. 

 

I have had two HID kits in the last 6 years and at the time thought they were great. Its only when you drive a car with factory Hids you see the true difference. No comparison.

 

However, least if you are changing the headlight units that are designed for HIDS, the beam pattern will be correct - even though, if on a lower spec car you wont have auto levelling or wash.

Tomo, you don't know poop from clay.

 

I converted the halogens on my Octavia to HIDs 120,000km back.  The beam pattern isn't all over the place.  It's extremely defined with a good cut-off.  

 

On my daily 90km commute I pass at least 2 HWP cars a day (often 6 depending if they are blitzing my area).  I have my lights on all the time (Scandinavian mode).  The HWP pay no attention.

 

Sure if you have reflector type housings then it's a disaster but for projectors that are aimed properly after the new bulbs go in, it isn't an issue.

 

To the OP:  I've got a "canbus friendly" kit in my Pre-FL.  It hasn't caused an issue.  I would have preferred a non-resistor unit but found out too late that it would have worked.

Tomo, you don't know poop from clay.

 

I converted the halogens on my Octavia to HIDs 120,000km back.  The beam pattern isn't all over the place.  It's extremely defined with a good cut-off.  

 

On my daily 90km commute I pass at least 2 HWP cars a day (often 6 depending if they are blitzing my area).  I have my lights on all the time (Scandinavian mode).  The HWP pay no attention.

 

Sure if you have reflector type housings then it's a disaster but for projectors that are aimed properly after the new bulbs go in, it isn't an issue.

 

To the OP:  I've got a "canbus friendly" kit in my Pre-FL.  It hasn't caused an issue.  I would have preferred a non-resistor unit but found out too late that it would ha

Yes the cut off will be pretty good but then again I didnt say it wouldnt be - I said the beam pattern. The light on the road is not just the cut off, its how the light is placed onto the road. The cut off is just a piece of metal inside the unit that stops light getting through and thus creates that nice defined line.

 

Dont take my word of poop for it, take a read of http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

 

I have had two HID kits in four different cars in the past, incl an Oct II vRS - Yes, great beam pattern but the spread of light on the road, especially I found when the road was damp or early evening was atrocious. 

 

But who am I eh? I just have my opinions backed up by some research - plenty of people seem to know better just cos they want to be cool.

As has already been mentioned, the UK spec MkII Octavia is fitted with projector headlights as standard, whether the car is factory specified with halogen or xenon headlights.

 

In fact the headlights themselves are identical, I believe that there is no difference to the projector lens between halogen and xenon, simply the addition of the xenon bulbs, igniters and ballasts for the xenon's.

 

I've had two Octavia's with factory fit xenon's and now drive a Superb with a London Colour 35W 4300K non-CANBUS HID kit fitted and in terms of light output and beam pattern I struggle to tell the difference. The biggest issue with the HID kit is the warm-up time. When turned on they are very blue for 5-10 seconds until they properly warm up. The OEM xenon's on the Octavia take 1-2 seconds.

Yes the cut off will be pretty good but then again I didnt say it wouldnt be - I said the beam pattern. The light on the road is not just the cut off, its how the light is placed onto the road. The cut off is just a piece of metal inside the unit that stops light getting through and thus creates that nice defined line.

 

Dont take my word of poop for it, take a read of http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html

 

I have had two HID kits in four different cars in the past, incl an Oct II vRS - Yes, great beam pattern but the spread of light on the road, especially I found when the road was damp or early evening was atrocious. 

 

But who am I eh? I just have my opinions backed up by some research - plenty of people seem to know better just cos they want to be cool.

Your entitled to your opinion but i've done HIDs in an Octy2 and it was a huge improvement in lighting.  Beam pattern was great.  

 

Maybe it's something to do with which HID bulbs you get?  They do vary from great (Genuine Philips) to atrocious (those cheap $6/pair chinese units).

Projector headlights still have a reflector bowl and there are differences in the reflector bowl between the halogen and xenon headlights for the Octavia.

This means that although the cut off will still be pretty good, the distribution of light under the cut off will be different when comparing OEM xenons and a halogen conversion kit. This is not checked at mot time as it requires specialist equipment to do so. There is also a chance the cutoff won't be as clean as the OEM system.

In practice, it probably makes little difference as the conversion will give out more light and shouldn't dazzle if the headlight height is adjusted appropriately and lenses kept clean.

Tomo1971, I've read that page before and its quite out of date now, I'd be interested to see a comparison of halogen, OEM xenon and xenon conversion in a modern projector headlight rather than old reflector headlights.

As has already been mentioned, the UK spec MkII Octavia is fitted with projector headlights as standard, whether the car is factory specified with halogen or xenon headlights.

 

In fact the headlights themselves are identical, I believe that there is no difference to the projector lens between halogen and xenon, simply the addition of the xenon bulbs, igniters and ballasts for the xenon's.

 

I've had two Octavia's with factory fit xenon's and now drive a Superb with a London Colour 35W 4300K non-CANBUS HID kit fitted and in terms of light output and beam pattern I struggle to tell the difference. The biggest issue with the HID kit is the warm-up time. When turned on they are very blue for 5-10 seconds until they properly warm up. The OEM xenon's on the Octavia take 1-2 seconds.

They are not identical.

 

Listen, its horses for courses - Im just trying to point out that after market HIDS aren't all just about how bright they are. Cut off is more than likely to be OK and wont or at least shouldnt dazzle other road users in normal use. I'm just making the OP and others aware that its not just the cut off and brightness that makes a good headlight.

 

I used to have them in cars, a Nissan X-Trail, then navarra, Octy vRS then a Citreon C-Crosser - the first two with normal reflectors and the latter with projectors. 

 

Been honest - I just saw how bright they were and didnt really think about the scatter on the roads and hoards of people flashing me. When I had the kits in the vRS and the CC with projector headlamps there was a HUGE difference. The beam cut off was very good if not perfect and very bright. I kept on top of cleaning the headlights and making sure I adjusted the aim for weight in the car. However, I did notice my eyes were drawn to certain parts of the road ahead and would start to strain sooner than normal. Thinking back, the light output and beam pattern in the vRS was better than that of the CC even though the same kit.

 

Maybe, just maybe, some kits work better than others as are a better match to the internals of the headlights.

 

Im not going to be losing any sleep if people buy the kits - just pointing out its not quite as clear cut and for people to research rather than listening to folk in the pub.

 

Re the MOT's - The mot doesnt check beam pattern - just cut off but think that recent guidance has suggested they check for aftermarket HIDS although suspect in projector lights, most slip through.

 

The article I linked to is a few years old but the technology hasnt changed - the only thing that has, is the marketing blurb put out to justify their use. 

They are as near as damit, especially with regard to cut off and beam pattern.

 

Your original post suggested that the OP should for the "love of God change the whole headlight unit".

 

This is duff advice for the MkII Octavia for the reasons pointed out by myself and several others and is why I believe you got the responses you did.

Apologies for bringing this post back to life again I own a pre FL Octy 2005 with maxidot do I need to go for one of those?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/H1-Xenon-HID-Conversion-Kit-Super-Mini-Ballasts-UK-/330380921630?hash=item4cec3ccb1e

Buy this one instead. It's the same company.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CNLIGHT-Xenon-HID-Conversion-Kit-SLIM-BALLASTS-35W-AC-H7-H7R-H1-H9-H11-HB3-HB4-/371432563883?var=&hash=item567b1b24ab:m:mr7EAgFyhll27Qq6C6HXhqQ

 

H7 4300k bulbs.

 

£24.99

 

Lots and lots of people have used Cnlight/Londoncolour units on the forum and they are good quality.

I had a kit supplied by londoncolour fitted to my Octavia. Still going strong after over 3 years. Passed 3 MOTs (one at the supplying dealer and 2 at a dedicated MOT station).

 

The beam pattern with the HID bulbs is very good and a huge improvement in light output over halogens yet the cut off is still very sharp and no excess glare.

 

I have noticed a slight difference in the overall output though going to a stock bi-xenon system in the Saab. I always found the light output was bright in the Octavia but a bit patchy with the HID bulbs and with "hot-spots" of light in the middle. This must be down to how the reflector bowl is different for halogen and xenon and didn't quite focus the light properly.

 

This didn't in any way create any glare or adverse affects and I wouldn't hesitate in fitting them again. I also helped a member fit a kit to his MK2 superb with similar positive results.

And the London Colour kit fitted in the Superb by Phil is now at 105,000 miles without fault.