Has anybody converted their headlights to HID? After a most disconcerting experience on a dark country road last night, I am wondering whether to convert my headlights to take the extra bright HID bulbs. I'd really appreciate your thoughts if you have converted your headlights and info about what products you have used. Thanks

 

HID kits are on the market but be wary of cheap poor quality ones. They can be fitted as a DIY job but are a bit of a fiddle. I very nearly went along this route, as the XF standard headlight bulbs are well known to be dull! Instead of HID I went for simply upgraded headlight bulbs and the difference was amazing. Halfords do a range of suitable bulbs (Type H7). I went for Zenon 6000K bulbs to replace all 4 (high beam/low beam). These have a slight blue effect. The higher the number (ie 8000K), the bluer they are but my choice was twice the brightness of the standard ones. They are a devil to fit, so get the Halfords man to fit them for you! Good luck!

 

It is my understanding that the K (Kelvin) is a color measurement not brightness. The higher the K number the dimmer and bluer to purple the lights become. Thus the 3000 and 4300K bulbs are brighter.

Correct me if I am wrong.

I have HID (4300K) lows and Sylvania Ultras for the high beams and the difference is very obvious. The Ultras look like the yolk sitting above the white of an egg compared to the HID's when shone on a wall.
I have 3000K spare bulbs but I have not compared them to the 4300K's yet.

 

Yes, 4300K - 5000K is pure white. You will also find that many members on here have been running the low-ish cost HID kits for several years now with no problems. I upgraded to HID lows and fogs, and the difference is absolutely amazing. I purchased mine from HID Kits, BMW Aftermarket Bumpers & Lighting, DEPO - DDM Tuning

Here is a color chart for comparison:

 

[QUOTE=onehundred80]It is my understanding that the K (Kelvin) is a color measurement not brightness. The higher the K number the dimmer and bluer to purple the lights become. Thus the 3000 and 4300K bulbs are brighter.

YES your are correct - I just realised that I said "brighter" when I should have said "Bluer" Thanks for pointing that out Its been a long day!

p.s. Some cheap kit over here have worked well, but have caused the "bulb out" warning light to come on in the dash.

 

I got the brighter bulbs like yours as soon as I got the car but even so, I understand you can't use the very brightest ones because they can damage the plastic headlights...not 100% sure on that though. Even so, it's still nowhere near what I'm used to on roads that have no street lighting. All things considered, I think I'll have a look round for a good quality kit & have it fitted. It can't be any worse can it?

 

A month ago I put in 35 watt 8000k I love them. They were plug and play and paid under $40.

 

Had these in for a year now - wouldn't be without them, did both dipped and main beams, takes a little while to warm up when switching to main beam. Used the 5000k version.

Xenon HID Headlight Upgrade Kits from HIDS 4U - H7, H4, H1

Crosers

 

Crosers....Thanks for the contact..I'm thinking of upgrading to the 55w Pro Max HD kit..The company is local to me..

Perhaps we will touch base at future meets?...Castle Combe xfire meet in June is one not to miss.

UKKen.

 

The lovely people at HIDS4U advised the following for a 2004 or later model:

"As your vehicle has a bulb warning system you would need our "Ultimate" kit. This kit will be compatible with that system and the warning light will not come on.
Please follow this link for more information.
H7 Xenon HID Headlight Conversion Kit for Can-Bus: HIDS 4U"

Of course this is more expensive but the warning light would be a bit of a nuisance I suppose

 

When you put them in, did you disconnect the battery? If so, did it mess up the FSS or the radio?

 

I have just installed 35W 4300K HID's in my lows and I did not disconnect the battery. With the lights off there is no power in the wires for the lights. Just remember if the HID bulb does not light up at the first test you may have the wires to the ballast reversed.
I also installed brighter Sylvania Ultras in my highs but these appeared to suck big time compared to the HID's.
Frankly I could not see any difference really between the Ultra's and the OEM bulbs. I think I was ripped off with these bulbs on eBay. This would be the first time I was screwed so I guess I'm lucky.
I may not have noticed but by a stupid mistake I took out one OEM bulb and later put it back in, not knowing I compared the brightness of the Ultras and the HID's. Both Ultras looked more or less the same but dim and yellow against the HID's. Later I noticed that the two bulbs on the bench were an OEM and a new 'Ultra'.
I may get real Ultras or put HID's in the highs and suffer the slow warm up. The odd thing is the real Ultras are more expensive than many HID's with reasonable shipping charges, go figure.

 

Thanks! I got ultra bright hallogens - is that wat you mean? They were a bit better but still not great. I've just got HIDs for the low beam so far simply because the kit was quite expensive because I had to get one that had a 'starter' in it (something to do with the car being far too clever and knowing that a bulb is out and a warning light...) but I may get them for the high beam too in time. I also indulged my inner chav and got some LED daytime running light strips like the new Audis have. I hope they look ok. I'll put a photo up when they're fitted.