Topic

I've had an enquiry about the xenon HID lights I fitted around ten months ago. All I can add is that they were an easy fit, as the video above shows, and they were still working well when I sold the car.

Not once did they trouble other road users, nobody flashed their lights at me for dazzling them and they didn't get me pulled over by the law. They did make a difference in the field of view and clarity viewing the road ahead. Particularly on those dark winter mornings, evenings and nights.

I used the 4300k bulbs kit. However, I might have gone up to 5000k for a slightly whiter light. Anything more tends to look bluer and attracts too much interest from the boys in blue. Good luck to the chap who made the query with me and don't forget the pics please. They're a great upgrade and they actually use 35% less energy than halogen bulbs.

Leigh Ping wrote: wrote:

Not once did they trouble other road users

Come on. You can't quantify that.
I'll bite my lip for the rest of it, but that is a pretty vague statement.
I have been dazzled by loads of cars that I haven't bothered flashing, doesn't mean they haven't troubled me.

Have to say I agree with your sentiments Clive .... there's a fair few dodgy HIDs setups out there, certainly moreso than the normal badly aligned headlights.

I know they have to be Ok'ed at MOT time, but I'd be a whole lot happier if our boys in blue pulled more cars guilty of this and ticketed them for it.

I've absolutely no reason to doubt your setup was done to the best of your ability Leigh ... but I'd be a whole lot happier if all aftermarket HIDs were only approved for fitting at MOT licensed garages.

Just to add it into the mix, what about Osram Night Breakers Plus? They are Xenon gas filled but not HID. No voltage regulator needed and they claim 90% more light on the road. Anyone tried them?

Dave, I had the Phillips equivalent to teh Night Breakers in my TF and while they made some difference it was far more noticeable on main beam rather than dipped.

Leigh, Have you gone through an MoT with your HIDs yet?

My new car has factory fit Xenons and the level of engineering that's gone into them shows there's a lot more to it than just the HIDs themselves. With the self levelling and washers, built into the headlight itself, it's no wonder that replacement units are £400 each!
I've thought about replacing the headlights in the family wagon as there was a factory fir Xenon option and the washers are already fitted but it also got me thinking that what would be the legality of fitting a complete Xenon lights from another model of car to an F or TF?

The nightbreakers (or equivalent) are totally road legal. They do make a significant improvement, but if the silvering has gone off the reflector they won't compensate for that. Nothing will!
I use them and am very happy with them!

The HID question has been debated many times on here and elsewhere.
The fact is that aftermarket HIDs are illegal.
Fitted to projector headlights ie TF they will probably pass the MOT. They are still illegal.
Fitted to reflector headlights ie F they will probably fail the MOT. They are still illegal.

Hence my question David,
Aftermarket HIDs are illegal but it mostly comes down to them not being type approved. It's not illegal to retro-fit factory Xenon lights to cars that were originally supplied with Halogens so would it be legal to fit factory Xenon lights from one car to a different one. E.g Ignoring the bodywork and connection issues and assuming you had them correctly aligned, if you fitted the Xenon headlights from my Mini to an F would it be legal?

My understanding would be no Andy. They'd still be illegal as they are fitted after-market to the MG

That would be my understanding too.

Obviously retro fitting an entire HID headlamp unit would give a usable system, which would likely be acceptable for MOT and probably not cause problems for other road users(well no more than legal HIDs) but by my reading of the regs it would still be illegal.

An HID unit specifically designed for the vehicle is the only acceptable way.

So if there was an HID unit fitted to the later Chinese TFs you could retro fit it to the older TFs and be legal.

David Aiketgate wrote: wrote:

So if there was an HID unit fitted to the later Chinese TFs you could retro fit it to the older TFs and be legal.

You would also need for these lights to be for a right hand drive car.
As the Chinese market is left hand drive except for Hong Kong, I wouldn't like your chances of finding any.

I won't try to preach to the unconverted. Here's my counter argument.

First point.. They are not illegal!

Illegal describes an act that is unlawful and also a criminal act, such as drug trafficking. It's not a crime I'm afraid.

I find the ones that dazzle me are always fitted to newer cars. Usually BMW, Audi and Mercs. All factory fitted. Take a closer look the next time you're blinded.

I never put them through an mot as I fitted them after it was done. However, it's no more than a five minute swap over for the bulbs if indeed an issue was to occur during mot. The ballasts don't need to be removed.

Not once did they trouble other road users

I'll qualify this earlier statement with some facts as I see them.. In ten months of driving approximately 50 miles a day, no-one ever complained by flashing their lights at me for dazzling them. I commute into the biggest city in Britain and nobody held their hands aloft to their eyes and swerved as though blinded and the drivers and occupants of the myriad of oncoming police vehicles, and foot patrols, I passed during that time never so much as batted an eyelid in my direction or pulled me over.

My new car has factory fit Xenons and the level of engineering that's gone into them shows there's a lot more to it than just the HIDs themselves. With the self levelling and washers, built into the headlight itself, it's no wonder that replacement units are £400 each!

F's and TF's aren't new. This we know. You could probably buy one for less than those lights cost. The upgrade I did cost 25 quid and thousands have been legally sold in the UK. They're a doddle to fit. What's not to like?

Those lights allowed me to see further and lit the road ahead more clearly for me to view. That folks, amounts to an increase in safety for all. Well, that's the way I see it anyhow. Excuse the pun.





My clio sports has factory fitted, officially recognised xenons. Call them 'legal' if it makes you feel better. Anyway, I'll go video the lights and upload how they look here for us all to see once it's dark. Should be interesting.

illegal 1) adj. in violation of statute, regulation or ordinance, which may be criminal or merely not in conformity. Thus, an armed robbery is illegal, and so is an access road which is narrower than the county allows, but the violation is not criminal.

And you say thousands have been sold legally in the UK when The DfT deems it illegal to sell them for road use?

I'm not trying to rain on your parade here. You have made the decision to fit them and you like them, that is your business, and anyone who knows all the ins and outs of the whole HID legality issues and decides to fit them are in the same position, but I feel some of the info you are passing on to other members is, at the best, a little misleading.