another HID kit thread :)

4th October 2008, 13:41

dont know if this is the right section so please move it if you feel it belongs else where

well..... ive had a good search and i realise that they are illegal with scattering etc etc etc
but i really like the look of them

ive tried a few bulbs and they havent come close at all to an HID look

what i cant decide is that if i do go ahead and get a kit is do i get 6000k or 8000k ?
some people on here say 6000k ftw with 8000k being slightly too blue then others saying that 8000k looks really white with more of a blue tinge than 6000k

its all really confusing tbh lol
if they did a 7000k id take it straight away but they dont hence my predicament

so im looking for a general opinion with pics of your 6 and 8 k's if possible to help me decide and pros and cons

(i know they look bluer on pics etc)

thanks guys

4th October 2008, 13:45

I had an 8k kit mate, loved it at the time (they blew up, dont get them from turborevs.com), but my next set will be 6k ones. 8s look cool but theyre a little too blue i think, look a tad chavvy. 6s are just incredibly white and fresh and look blue from a distance which is how they should be

4th October 2008, 13:52

hmmm.... 6's sound good there haha

4th October 2008, 18:56

The variation in colour us because most retrofit HID bulbs are very poor quality and the colour actually varies massively. One 6000k bulb can look totally differently to another 6000k bulb. This is why you tend to have to replace both globes if one goes.

As for what colour if you look at the HID equipped BMWs, Mercedes, Mazda and so on none of them are above 6000k. Most OE HID bulbs are Osram or Philips and the highest temp they provides as a OE is 5400k for Osram and 5800k for philips. With most of bulbs they provide as OE are in the high 3000 to low 4000 k mark. True 6000k light is marginally blue and 8000k is very blue and would be very poor light to see in.

OE bulbs do not surpass 6000k because they are not legal to use on the public highway and also fail a MOT. Headlights must be white or yellow in colour and any other colour is not permitted. Blue is actually reserved for emergency vehicles only and there are specific laws prohibiting its use as well as the above I already mentioned. There are also specific laws against having red headlights but I don't think any one is that mad to try that one.

I know I have said it before but retrofit hid bulbs are illegal and if your bothered at all have a look at this link for the UK governments department for transports words on it http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps or for a slightly more detailed view http://hid.moonfruit.com or for a nice simple video if you don't wish to read all that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVuSSdZNsZw

5th October 2008, 11:58

and there is no way to make them legal apart from buying projector style headlights ?

5th October 2008, 12:58

No even that is illegal.

There are so many regulations its not practical to list them all and some ramble on for ever, so I will just listed a few very relevant ones in a summery format.

All headlights (bulbs, lens, reflector, projector) must all be ECE approved to work with one another and have the corresponding markings (There is no such thing as a HID bulb approved to replace a halogen bulb).

Any light with a bulb of or exceeding 2000lm (All HIDs apply as over this threshold) must have ECE standard self levelling and cleaning systems to reduce the possibility of glare (This is to help significantly reduce glare as the bulbs are so bright they can be temporarily blinding and so very dangerous)

Light given off by said headlight must be of constant and steady white or yellow colour. Any flickering or changing of colours whilst driving is prohibited (This was set as this is the best colour range for us to see in and standardised car lights helps stop confusion and so increases safety. this is also part of the UK MOT)

All headlights must comply with the UK MOT standards and in so be aligned correctly (simply so your low beam is not dangerous dazzling form the outset)

Many cheap retrofit HID bulbs have a nasty habit if giving you darkness between switching between high and low beam and this is illegal and for quite blatant reasons is also very unsafe.

There are legal kits available to convert many cars to HID with all the above features. Though due to the cost they tend to be for more expensive cars. This is also why cars that have HID as a optional extra it tends to cost in the thousands to have it fitted.

5th October 2008, 22:29

So basically theyre illigal, but if you choose to fit em thats the risk you take. I know 7 guys with HID kits and theyve never been pulled for em. Personal choice at the end of the day

6th October 2008, 09:54

ok

well in that case, a bit of a silly question but how much of a blue tint does the 6000k give off, ive had a browse around youtube but a camera doesnt do them any justice tbh

28th October 2008, 13:21

new question then lol

if i were to buy an 8000k kit and didnt like it could i buy 6000k bulbs individually and switch them, or are the ballasts unique to each temperature or make bulb etc

thanks

28th October 2008, 13:30

yeah you can buy the bukbs separately mate the ballasts are all the same. Whatever you get, I reccommend www.hids-direct.co.uk. Me and a few others on here have the H$ kit from them and theyre shit hot, quality is excellent. Cheaper than my first set but much better build quality.

As you say, on pics and videos the light ALWAYS looks more blue so it doesnt give and accurate view of em. In real life, 6ks look like std fit HIDs, eg you can tell theyre HIDs but they look smart and dont look aftermarket. *s are much more blatently blue and they look cool as fook but you can tell theres no way theyre standard. So it depends how you feel about your car aswell really. A mate whos got a civic has HIDs but std yellow sidebulbs so it looks OEM

28th October 2008, 13:41

now looking replacement bulbs are £50 anyway so mayaswell get another kit.....bit pointless lol
i like the look of 6k on local X5's etc and the deep blue tint from different angles is what im looking for but isnt this only true for the projector style headlights? (correct me if im wrong) as the sphere thing is what gives the tint

as i got projector headlights on my ped lmao and they got a blue tint from standard halogen