thanks peeps some good advice from all:thumbup:now erring towards some plain old supa bright bulbs and if anyone has advice on these it would be muchos appreciated:thumbup:

The isuue on legality is unanswered as there has never been a test case to prove it. It will only fail an MOT if the alignment is out but so can normal bulbs.

The department of transport state they are illegal as mentioned due to no E mark, however, there is a strong argument this only applies to the vehicle manafacturer and not after market accessories (do seat covers need E marks). Until a case goes to court there is no test case either way, hence legality has not been established.

It's still early days, These kits have only been available for a couple of years or so, Take the recent toughening of number plates legislation. In the past if they were legible you'd be OK apart from giving Plod a reason to pull you for a "chat" never an MOT issue. My stand point is if you want to upgrade do so, But be aware of the risk and who really wants to be the test case. You can be guaranteed it'll be a bloody big book they'll throw at you, Really wouldn't like it to be one of you guy's:(

thanks peeps some good advice from all:thumbup:now erring towards some plain old supa bright bulbs and if anyone has advice on these it would be muchos appreciated:thumbup:

I fitted the Philips X-Treme H7 (Main beam) I was Initially underwhelmed, But with a couple hours of burn time under their belts they seem to be improving!

I think the aftermarket xenons will be knocked on the head pretty soon given the growing number of people fitting them to everything from HGV's to motorbikes.

I like the non commital attitude of the DOT: For the after market, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "HID is banned in the after market" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require HID in the after market to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.

Fence sitting or what??

They say fitting entire new HID units is fine as long as you follw the rule book.

Converting existing halogen units to HID is not permitted as the fitting is no longer type approved when used with a xenon lamp.

I fitted the Philips X-Treme H7 (Main beam) I was Initially underwhelmed, But with a couple hours of burn time under their belts they seem to be improving!

I noticed this with them, I thought they were no better to start but now they are quite good.

Not as good as the OEM Xenons I had on my Fabia though :(

Which is actually a nonsense argument. It would mean that, for example, fitting an Audi TT facia or a TVR interior into a Corrado is illegal, but I know people who've done both of those mods.

Retro fitting them to PROJECTOR style lights such as on your roomster is fine.

Technically, they ARE illegal. But its pretty unlikely you'd get caught unless they were incorrectly aligned.

HOWEVER fitting them to the Dual Epsilloid style lights such as on the standard FABIA 1 lights is VERY DANGEROUS as it will scatter the beam pattern not concentrate it.

ah but they arent fitted to my roo, they are on my old vectra which has the older style lights similar to the ones on the older fabias. the beam only seems to scatter when the lights are dirty. which is why im in the process of fitting washers

Which poses another question itself; how much of the improved performance of OEM plasma discharge units is down to the PDs, and how much to the headlight washers? On a really filthy day, my Octy's lights (H4s, with washers) outperform my old Xantia's (dual H1s, no washers), but on a clean and clear occasion, the Xantia would have an edge on dip and be way better on full beam.

Which poses another question itself; how much of the improved performance of OEM plasma discharge units is down to the PDs, and how much to the headlight washers? On a really filthy day, my Octy's lights (H4s, with washers) outperform my old Xantia's (dual H1s, no washers), but on a clean and clear occasion, the Xantia would have an edge on dip and be way better on full beam.

HID Retrofit Parts Projectors Ballasts D2S Bulbs

^ From their forums. There's quite a choice of projectors on the market from different manufacturers. They offer competing characteristics ranging from outstanding performance to small package size.

J.

Which poses another question itself; how much of the improved performance of OEM plasma discharge units is down to the PDs, and how much to the headlight washers? On a really filthy day, my Octy's lights (H4s, with washers) outperform my old Xantia's (dual H1s, no washers), but on a clean and clear occasion, the Xantia would have an edge on dip and be way better on full beam.

To be honest it's like the difference between night and day, The headlight washers are automatic so no manual control, Recently on a two hour drive wash/wiped windscreen countless times, Lamps were only jetted twice. Which pretty much takes the wash out of the equation. And once you've driven an HiD equipped car you start to struggle driving one with incandescent lamps, You really have to experience it for yourself its a combination of the amount of light and the quality of light.

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Not the greatest picture in the world but gives an idea i hope

This might be of interest....

Department for Transport - Aftermarket HID (Xenon) headlamps

Chris

i know this is an old thread but i just been reading through different threads as im new here, im not so happy with my lights and i have fitted halfords super brilliance bulbs which are not quite good enough.anyway what i keep reading is you need projector tyupe lenses, if this is the case why has the last shape nissan primera not got them nor the new civic nor the renault laguna to name a few. fair enough im talking about renault and nissan old incarnations but the civic is a new model so its not required to have projector lenses its just more cars have them now as they produce a sharper light which will not scatter.

but this is how i see it and im still researching the best option for my octavia vrs.

Best you'll do with an Octy A4, short of bi-xenons, is Phillips or Osram high output H4s. This means going to a specialist such as Powerbulbs (qv).

Ive just been looking on good old ebay and H4 bi xenon kits are available. how about you buy a kit and do before and after pics for the rest of us guys. if you dont like them send them back and everyones a winner

In this context, I deliberately tested them this morning, and the Elegance (so L&K and I expect vRS) headlight washers are fired by the combination of headlights plus windscreen washers.

how about you buy a kit and do before and after pics for the rest of us guys.

A couple of photo's in daylight, these are in a Superb with projector headlights,

Top pic is with Philips H7 Vision Plus bulbs (55W +50% upgrade over a std bulb)

Bottom pic is 4300k xenon's

The more blue in the light the more chance you have of getting pulled over, plus as you add the blue you actually take away the brightness of the bulb, IMHO making it pointless.

yeah im actually looking at hi lo 6000k hids on ebay at the mo, not bad price but i havent fitted hid's before and i dont really wanna be drilling anything just to fit them. it seems with projectors your ok as the pattern stays the same but with reflectors it can possibly changed on the heat discharged for some reason.has anyone got a set on their octavia I as im sure oem washers n headlights will cost silly amount to aquire and fit.

i dont really wanna be drilling anything just to fit them.

There is no way around this, it is only the bulb cover you have to drill anyway, so it can be taken off easily to drill it.

The headlight has to be watertight otherwise condensation will get into the light and ultimately blow the bulbs.

why do you have to take the bulb cover off?

they should just plug into the original holes for the bulbs

You take the bulb covers off purely to put the bulbs in.

You then have 2 going to the std headlight plug which powers the ballast and 2 wires running ballast box to the xenon (HID) bulb.

The ballast box has to be mounted outside the headlight, therefore the need for the holes to be drilled.

Excuse the crude drawing, but a picture speaks a thousand words

ohhhhhhhhhhhh.

ive just gone and purchased some so il be having fun as well then installing them.

You take the bulb covers off purely to put the bulbs in.

You then have 2 going to the std headlight plug which powers the ballast and 2 wires running ballast box to the xenon (HID) bulb.

The ballast box has to be mounted outside the headlight, therefore the need for the holes to be drilled.

Excuse the crude drawing, but a picture speaks a thousand words

ok cheers mate, i was thinking more about into the car for the ballasts but covers thats ok i can just order some spares so i can put it to standard again if i sell it as i may well do so in 18 months for an octy II vrs.

the ballasts you can mount anywhere. some come with sticky pads to mount, some come with holders that you drill and screw into the engine bay to hold them

'Anywhere' is not quite true, they have to be pretty close to the headlight as the cables are only just over a foot long.

Mounting (or actually finding somewhere to mount them)the ballast is the hardest part of fitting them, as you want to keep them as dry as possible with the cables pointing down to keep any water out.

how did you manage to keep the hid bulb in the socket as mines a loose fit than usual and the springs being a pain