HID's

[Dragonlady]

We are contemplating on getting some HID's for the dipped beam (fed up of cars not seeing us and cutting us up).
Which set would people recommend as I know there are some dodgey ones about?

Thanks Ian

[ollie]

hi Ian

i have done that mod and used Dan @ DTA as recomended by Luke , 07876 684354 , nice helpful chap , very pleased with the up grade ,

steve

ps he sells clear indicator lenses as well

[AR]

As I said onec before guys if you have an 02 plus please be aware of this:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

Saying that whichever kit you choose 4300k IMHO is the best for lighting up the roads.

Cheers,

AR

[sorepaws]

My driving style does not challenge the level of illumination provided by the standard fittings .. :-D

[Hagasan]

We are contemplating on getting some HID's for the dipped beam (fed up of cars not seeing us and cutting us up).
Which set would people recommend as I know there are some dodgey ones about?

Thanks Ian

Hi Ian,

somewhere on here Ewan did a write up of an HD installation on an 02+.

Although Ary mentions 4300K for the "bulbs" I've always been advised a cloour temperature of 6000K is the closest to natural daylight. These don't give off a blue chavvy hue or anything dodgy looking. It really is light night & day once you change......

I just went dipped beam, HID's not needed for the mains. Also, not sure of the sidelight set-up on the 02+ but you might want to change those to the same value LED's otherwise you'll have yellowish halogen sidelights and white dipped.

I got mine from Dan at DTA as well, very helpfull. Probably others available but his has been ok so far.

Good Luck,

Gary

[jaytip]

As i have mentioned before,the 02+ does not need HID's.They have excellent lights.Now he pop up lights are a different story,and they can definately be improved upon.

[AR]

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

[Hagasan]

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

I don't really try to get embroiled in the "argument" as such and the potential to blind oncoming traffic is obvious....That said many OEM Xenon lights can be quite blinding but the OEM aspect will get away from any litigation on that issue should an accident arise whereas aftermarket HIDS would make the owner more vulnerable to that charge.

Mind you, how many people flout the true MOT standard with their CAT-less exhausts once the test is "done"?

All up to the owner at the end of the day.....I can't comment on the 02+ lighting standard as I'm a lowly pop-up owner but as the OP is an 02+ owner....and if they have commented that they may fancy as set then I guess they've made their assesment to a point already on what they feel is acceptable lighting?? Unless it's just for show...Ian you chav ;-))

Gary

[Papalazarou]

Standard 02 lights suck. I have some from DTA and they're awesome. It's definitely worth getting the LED side lights also.

Cheers,


James.

[AR]

Hi Gary,

I am not denying that the NSX OEM light are not very good, they suck. More so when compared to European Bi-Xenon cars. Not a fair match, but you get the idea.

As for the DOT thing as you said is all up to the owners, but I just wanted to elucidate prospective H.I.D. convertees. :)

[Dragonlady]

Standard 02 lights suck. I have some from DTA and they're awesome. It's definitely worth getting the LED side lights also.

Cheers,


James.

Totally agree, standard do suck. Poor range and width and very yellow as we found out parked next to our friend a week or so ago.
The main beam on the other hand is very good and we have no intention of changing this.
It's not so much of a problem if you lived in a modern built up area with good street lighting, but Lincolnshire is still in the stoneage with lots of poor, twistey, badly lit bad roads full of tractors:(. We need good lights.

Thanks for your responses guys.

Ian

[Chris B N]

I have just fitted HID to my, like Hagasans lowly 97 pop up
the improvement in lighting is awesome, the OEM dipped beam was to say the least poor.
The UK pre facelift cars have washers and although not self leveling the lights are adjustable.
Also read somewhere that the flat beam of the pre facelift projector lens keeps the beam well focused.
Got mine from Dan at DTA, 6000k which is white not blue, standard Halogens I believe are 4800k.
the kit supplied by Dan also comes with fitting instructions written by himself.
these available for both pre an 02+
Chris B N

[AR]

From many different posts and sellers here is the quick colour temp:

4300k - OEM White
5000k - Ice White
6000k – Ice Blue
8000k – Aqua blue
10000k – Pale Blue

[britlude]

i have 6000k hids in my dipped beam, a worthwhile mod, straightforward, and a definate improvement! replacement led sidelights to match help too, and modernise the look!

in daylight fog you can't tell if they are on, same basic colour as the ambient fog!!! and you have to get use to seeing 'blueish' numberplates driving towards you!!!

[jaytip]

Standard 02 lights suck.


James.
Why do you say that? I had xenon headlights in my RS4 as a standard fit and what i found with them was BECAUSE they are so bright they tend to be set lower so as not to blind oncoming traffic.
The 02+ NSX headlights by comparison,while not as "white" have a far more reaching beam pattern on dipped beam.You can see further up the road with them.

[markc]

Totally agree, standard do suck. Poor range and width and very yellow as we found out parked next to our friend a week or so ago.


The 02+ NSX headlights by comparison,while not as "white" have a far more reaching beam pattern on dipped beam.You can see further up the road with them.

The first thing anyone unsatisfied with their lights should do is replace the current bulbs like for like. Halogen bulbs age becoming less bright and yellowish after a couple of years and new set will likely improve things a lot.

Having said that HID's are about a third brighter (measured in lumnens) than halogen so have the potential to work better. It's a bit hit and miss how well a projector headlamp designed for a halogen bulb will work with an HID light source. Remember that you're not using a "factory" spec bulb i.e. D2S/D3S/D4S, and aftermarket HID bulbs vary a lot in the positioning of the light source (in relation to the lenses) which effects the beam focus. Some are really terrible!

HID bulbs also age becoming noticably duller and yes yellowish, they will require replacement after about 5-6 years of normal use.

Cheers

Mark

[Papalazarou]

Why do you say that? I had xenon headlights in my RS4 as a standard fit and what i found with them was BECAUSE they are so bright they tend to be set lower so as not to blind oncoming traffic.
The 02+ NSX headlights by comparison,while not as "white" have a far more reaching beam pattern on dipped beam.You can see further up the road with them.

Ok, perhaps a little sweeping. But from experience the HIDs are considerably better than the standard 02 lights. However, the standard lights were considerably better than the pop ups.

Cheers,


James

[Silver Surfer]

I just adjust my pop-ups to shine a little higher and now I can see further and not had anybody flash me to say I am dazzling them. ;)

SS

[jaytip]

However, the standard lights were considerably better than the pop ups.

Cheers,


James
Now that i can agree with.

[NSX 2000]

I THINK it's all down to carrots:D Some of you are just not eating enough them! I never had a problem with my pop up's and I find the 02+ great as well.

The best advice I would give is make sure your windscreen is clean inside as well as outside.

Paul

[AR]

Paul is a heck of a difference mate, carros or not. :-)

[Sudesh]

The speculation of this conversion always rises in many car forums, and there are many answers as to how legal they are, what's better and so forth.

From my understanding based on the UK. Its illegal to have HID/Xenon if the vehicle does not have "Auto Levelling" and "Headlight Wash"

However this seems to be down to the MOT station/garage/tester on that day!

Last year I put through 4 cars with aftermarket 6000k HID/Xenon, all of which were not an issue; and believe me our mot here in N.I is much more strict than you UK guys.

However, my NSX was one of those cars, and this year at the same MOT station the actual "Tester" of my car said the lights were not acceptable!!!:eek:

I was very annoyed and questioned the "tester" on how it was allowed to pass last year with the same lights, but not good enough this year? and he was stuck for words! Ended up the car was passed and got an apology.

[AR]

Sometimes is up to the local cops are feeling once they come across the car too. There are many great men and women who police our streets, but there are lots of them that could pass for Volkspolizei!

[Sudesh]

Not sure on that Ary or may be different for you guys but; police dont actually have a say when its been passed by MOT/DVLA rules!

My car for exmple only covered 400 miles between last years mot and this years, and best thing about it was, I actually have pics of it from last mot, to this one with the HID/xenon, and the date stamped in the pic frame so they were well stuck.






Sometimes is up to the local cops are feeling once they come across the car too. There are many great men and women who police our streets, but there are lots of them that could pass for Volkspolizei!

[AR]

Sudesh this has been effect with most police forces across the UK for a while AFAIK:

http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=3113&p=0

If they think is a deffect you can get done.

[Ewan]

to chime in ... it may be illegal to have aftermarket HIDs fitted, but it's not legislated against by the MoT test. ie. The MoT doesn't check what kind of lights you have, only that they are aligned properly and working. My 02+ car's been through 2 or 3 MoTs (at Honda main dealer) since fitting the HIDs and they've not been mentioned.

I got mine from Dan at DTA and it does make a big difference: I don't believe they're any more likely to dazzle or blind oncoming traffic, but I have been on the receiving end of poorly aligned aftermarket HIDs fitted to a very stiffly sprung hatchback - it was driving behind me and every bump in the road left the beam of light bouncing up and down, which was distracting.

IMHO, the risk of BIB getting involved would be highest if you were seen to be dazzling because of badly aligned lights, or like the example above, if your car was so stiffly sprung that the beam wasn't very stable.

My Accord has a similar projector headlight arrangement to the NSX (with H1 lamps), and I've replaced its yellowish bulbs with Osram Nightbreakers (eg http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/258652/osram_night_breaker_plus.html)- and they are very good, for a halogen fitment bulb. If you're worried about the legality of fitting HIDs, it could be worth getting a set of higher output standard bulbs (eg http://www.powerbulbs.com/product_detail.asp?prod=160)

Autoexpress do annual tests of bulbs, it seems - http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/258424/headlamp_bulbs_tested.html

[markc]

The plain fact of the matter is that an HID light source does not work properly in a projector headlamp designed for a Halogen one!

You can argue all you like how well your particular installation works or how similar the Halogen projector is (looks) to the HID version BUT there are sophisticated optics at work here and the entirely different nature of the light sources means they are not interchangeable.

If you're really interested in why the above is true there's some useful information here...
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/Hid/conversions/conversions.html
http://dsl.torque.net/images/DSL_8885.pdf

Now all of the above doesn't mean your HID retrofit doesn't subjectively appear better to you or not appear to cause issues with oncoming drivers but if an MOT man decides to fail your car or a Police officer fine you, you can't complain.

My own car has factory Honda (made by Stanley) HID projector headlamps, which mean the projectors do work properly with the HID bulbs, BUT I have neither a automatic leveling system or cleaning system as required by European regulations.

I've not had any problems with the BiB or at MOT time yet but I would not be surprised if I were, at some point in the future, forced to replace them with E marked Halogen versions.

Cheers

Mark

[havoc]

Mark, if yours is a grey import you may find it's exempt from the legislation.

Also, does anyone have any ideas where I could get said Honda/Stanley HID projectors from? I don't drive the car much at night, but even with Halfords brightest bulbs I'd still only describe the lights as 'adequate'.


Of bigger concern to me is my 'teg - the projectors on that are bloody awful, to the extent that coming home in the dark down the A46 the last few nights I've been forced to slow down once out of the lit sections! Didn't notice it so much before we moved as my night-time route home was through town. Have been idly wondering if the JDM-98 'teg HIDs might be 'adaptable' to fit the UKDM front-end...

[Nick Graves]

At the risk of aiding & abetting, I'd try an HID kit!

The ones on the Prelude (aftermarket rice projectors) do produce a bit of de-focussing round the edges, but the beam cutoff is excellent and they're not a bad substitute for the S2000's OEMs, which are widely regarded as one of the best anywhere. The 'Lude seems to produce less annoyance than any bloody Range Rover does, for example.

The rice lights in the Civic are better than the OEM H4s, but then so's a white stick. I'd not risk HIDs in them though & may try some Ring 100% brighter H1s.

The NSX's HID lights aren't as good as the 'Lude's. Partly I think the bulbs are 6000K which is bluer than my language. I made that mistake with the 'Lude initially and a set of 4300Ks works vastly better. If I could get the screws on the headlight cover unseized...

I did try HIDs in the 'Lude's homofocals, but because the bulb's focal point is in a different place, the results were truly crap. Don't try that at home folks. Actually, I bonded on some stumps to move the bulb back 1mm, and the result improved dramatically. Then I tried projectors.