Improving your vehicle

Ok so you’re wanting to improve your car nightime lighting, ad some resale value / appeal and improve its looks. A xenon HID kit is really the way to go. Most modern and luxury cars now come from the factory with xenon HID so there’s no reason why you cant retro fit it to your car if its done properly with a quality kit. Many people feel £ for £ value its one if the best modifications that you can do to improve your vehicle.

OEM fitted HID

HID conversion kits are offered from most new car manufacturers now nowadays for somewhere between £700 to £1500 as an optional upgrade. If you lucky enough to own a luxury Mercedes, Audi or BMW you may even have them standard.

Aftermarket HID

Now choosing the right aftermarket HID kit can be somewhat more difficult than people first think as theres quite a few things to take into consideration:

Bulb type

Ie do you know the bulb type your car requires not every car headlamp bulb is the same fitting you see. EG. H1 H7 H4 hi / low etc.

Colour choice

Most aftermarket xenon lighting kits come in a choice of colours - 6000K being the most popular as thats whats factory fitted on many vehicles. Then they re are more colourful options offered (some not recommended for road use due to intense colour)

Is the kit compatible with your particular vehicle?

Surprisingly many vehicles can be rather complicated when it comes on to they re lights. This is with modern day electronics systems, traction control an abs etc etc can all be connected to the cars lights meaning many newer vehicles and more advanced cars wont work with just basic HID kits. Many post 2002 vehicles an luxury vehicles will require special ballasts with built in capacitor / resistors to over come the cars onboard electronics interfering with the kit an vice versa. Beware of this as many sellers just sell basic standard kits which will fit but but not function correctly giving you all sorts of errors, dash lights and warnings. Many sellers arent even in fact aware of the fact that every vehicles needs are different and a special kit may be required.

So my car is a newer 2002 on vehicle what now?

Well 9 times out of 10 you will require a special kit. The standard "universal" kits will just not cut it on a vehicle like this and probably cause you more problems than its worth. Try searching for a seller whom details a specific kit for your car an understands that every cars needs are different. You may have to pay bit extra to get the right kit but member your paying for the extra bits an pieces required to get the kit functioning correctly on your car.

We ourselves use a HID pro series kit which is tailored towards newer more problem vehicles, beware though just because a seller advertises s kit as "no warning / dash errors etc" doesn’t mean it will be fine. I can stress enough how every cars needs are different and there’s no such thing as one kit which fits all.

What about these cheap kit being sold from china and out side uk?

You have probably herd the old saying "you get what you pay for". Well im afraid this same tales applies when buying car HID theres now an array of cheap imported kits flooding into the uk. You can usually spot them a mile away on ebay as the kits are at "give away prices" postage rates are what seem extortionate or the seller is listed as living outside uk. Many buyers fall into the trap of thinking they have found a bargain when in fact quite the opposite, heres some of the problem with buying cheap kits from sellers abroad that you may want to read through if your considering this as an money saving option:

VAT and DUTY

Goods sent to you from outside EU are subject to VAT an DUTY charges just as with any goods from abroad. These charges can range from 20%- 30% of the good purchase price meaning your cheap kit in fact becomes much more expensive. Also delivery times can be long as goods are often held back by uk customs whilst uk vat and duty are paid (by you the receiver of the goods.) All in all its hardly worth the long wait uncertainty an hassle when there’s reliable sellers here in uk.

Quality

Goods shipped from outside EU are subject to less stringent law and quality testing many fail to meet any criteria. In addition many of these cheap imports are being sold as CE and E MARKED when in fact many of tht testing has never took place. We have even come across fake branding of HID kits on ebay "BOSCH" have recently had there copyright laws broken by bogus companies imitating them an using there branding to gain customers support / sales. Be realistic if it looks dodgy or too good to be true it probably is.

Beware of much of the cheaper "made in china" kits they may appear a bargain but are cheap for a reason. Poor manufacturing no proper warranty an to be honest you will be lucky to get a few weeks use out of many of these cheap kits let alone a year. Its very frustrating when your car breaks down keep it reliable use quality parts after all you get what you pay for 90% of the time.

Warranty an backup

Many companies selling on ebay uk come and go. Very few have actual facilities over here although they may pose as doing so. Its worth bearing in mind when the wrong item arrives at your door or things dont go to plan there’s someone you can get in touch with preferably english. This is not the case with most sellers from outside uk. You may eventually recieve your products but you will get very little or no after sales support when things go wrong. Many are giving tempting 5 year and two year warranties with no intention of fulfilling them as they know they wont be around for that long, look for a longstanding uk business and not getting duped by worthless warranty. The majority of good uk sellers will offer you a 12month warranty, a manufacturers warranty is much different and if parts go faulty they woul need returning to factory abroad which is a long n pain staking process an costly. Any good resellers will keep parts in uk here an ready for immediate replacement should they be required.

H.I.D FAQ FOR ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS:

What is Xenon Light?

Bulb is a micro discharge bulb filled with a mixture of elite gases including Xenon. The bulb has no filament as is the case with a conventional halogen lamp. The light is created by striking and arc between 2 electrodes. The xenon lamp needs a starter for quick ignition and an electronic ballast to function correctly.

Are these HID systems easy to install?

Yes. Our HID systems are as far as we are aware to be the easiest systems to install. This is because they incorporate a fully plug n play wiring system with no soldering or re-wiring required. There is no wire cutting involved when fitting these and all connectors are colour coded and fitted with fool proof connectors. This ensures that they can only be connected the correct way. Full installation instructions are included. And the kits can be fitted in around 45 minutes usually. If in any doubt however we do suggest you get an auto electrician to install them.

What are the advantages of Xenon Light?

The xenon lamp produces 2 to 3 times as much light as an conventional halogen lamp whilst only consuming half of the power. Therefore the driver of the vehicle can see more clearly and the car is safer and economical to run. The light produced by the Xenon bulb is the same as daylight. Research has shown that this encourages better driver concentration and obviously better safety. The life expectancy of the xenon lamp is that of the life of the car and only needs replacing in rare exceptional cases.

Why was Xenon Light developed?

The car over the last decade has been made safer and more comfortable with the introduction of such technologies as ABS, Airbags and Air-conditioning. However 60% of all accidents take place in night driving. Therefore vehicle lighting plays a very big role in traffic safety. It is a fact that a 60 year old requires 10-11 times the amount of light to perform the same functions as a 20 years old. The overall increase in the average age of the population more light is required to drive safely.

Why does a Xenon bulb produce blue light?

The light produced by a xenon HID bulb is not in fact BLUE but WHITE falling well within the International specification for white light. The light only appears blue compared to the warmer yellower light produced by inefficient halogen lamps. It clearly appears white when compared to daylight. However with the introduction of certain crystals it is possible to create a stronger blue tint which gives a more distinct look to your headlights. If you want the stronger blue tint then please select the 8000K – 12000k systems will produce a more blue to purple light respectively.

Doesn't the use of Xenon lamps cause more irritation amongst other drivers?

The International regulations on light distribution and intensity on the road are very strict. Xenon light falls well within these standards. Technically speaking , xenon lighting is less irritating than halogen lamps. This is because the light darkness transition borders are much more clearly separated. Less light is reflected into the eyes of oncoming drivers on properly set height units. The increased light output is used to give more lush light distribution and to improve the illumination of the side verges.

Why is it that Xenon light sometimes causes irritation to oncoming drivers?

In normal conditions drivers look to the road straight ahead. Due however to the conspicuous colour of the new technology drivers are more inclined to look at the other cars headlights. The same phenomenon was experienced with the introduction of now conventional halogen lamps in the early sixties. In those days drivers spoke of those quote 'irritating white lights'. Everybody will gradually become used to this type of light as they did to the introduction of yellow lights in France and the use of a third brake light there after.