HID's on a mk2?

[Ben Lessani]

In the rain - when people have dipped beam on, you can't see f - all for the glare off the road. They might be easier to spot, but its a major annoyance on the road when sidelights are perfectly sufficient in normal rain

[dubber36]

I have to say that in 23 years of driving, I've never been dazzled by headlights reflecting off a wet road.

[Reasty]

This is an Interesting thread,how I understood it was that there are two types of hid kits you can buy and aslong as you get the kit that does both dip and main beam and stick to 6k so they are White and not blue then they where legal and will pass the mot?

[Ben Lessani]

I have to say that in 23 years of driving, I've never been dazzled by headlights reflecting off a wet road.

Well in 6 and living in rainy cities like Manchester and Glasgow - that's all I see.

[dubber36]

I have to say that in 23 years of driving, I've never been dazzled by headlights reflecting off a wet road.

Well in 6 and living in rainy cities like Manchester and Glasgow - that's all I see.

Maybe thats the difference. I can see that in towns, headlights may not be necessary, and that the light would reflect off the wet road surface, also making road markings less readable.

My point was aimed more at out of town driving, where speeds are much higher and you need to be able to see vehicles that are much further away.

This is an Interesting thread,how I understood it was that there are two types of hid kits you can buy and aslong as you get the kit that does both dip and main beam and stick to 6k so they are White and not blue then they where legal and will pass the mot?

HID's for main beam do not work well as they do not react quick enough. HID's need a short while to warm up, and will not give full power as soon as you switch them on or flash.

New cars with Bi-Xenons generally have one projector light that does both dip and main beam. Once switched onto dip, the lamp will stay on and a shutter lense with alter the pattern from dip to main when required. Most will also have a separate hallogen or LED light for flashing when dip beam is not switched on as that can react quickly

[Reasty]

So basically companys selling hids and claiming they have both main and dip beam and are fully legal are talking shyte? coz if this is the case when the main beam is flashed in the mot nothing will happen which means the car will fail and they Are not legal? man this is a real grey area isn't it.

[dubber36]

Thinking about it, they may be ok switching from dip to main, as the ballast unit will already be warmed up, but they will not work for a "cold" flash

[Ben Lessani]

The MOT test for main beam isn't flicking them on and off like you are letting someone out of a junction.

They turn them on, move to the front of the vehicle and check the (almost definitely scattered HID) beam pattern.

Fully legal HIDs are those factory fitted, anything else requires a strict set of installation standards, self levelling, headlight washers, projector style HID compliant lens etc.

[mac7]

So basically companys selling hids and claiming they have both main and dip beam and are fully legal are talking shyte? coz if this is the case when the main beam is flashed in the mot nothing will happen which means the car will fail and they Are not legal? man this is a real grey area isn't it.

Not a grey area at all - unless the HID light assembly was designed, tested, approved and fitted to your vehicle (e.g. Mk4 Golf) as new by the vehicle manufacturer, they are illegal.

[AdamMk2]

I think to make this point proven we need someone to supply a photo of a HID setup and someone with an uprated loom setup.

This should clear things up

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