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http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/videos/feat..._test.html

so any1 got them, had better take them out

*cough* ant *cough"

dont most new cars come with them standard now?

mine have been in for nearly 3 years and are staying there !!!

zenons that come with standard cars are made properly and alined right so they dont blind on-coming cars.

they're just as dazzling though

they arnt illegal!!!!!!!!! it will just fail its MOT if they shine up.

soooooooo just turn your headlight adjuster so it points down at the road.

but bollox if you think im takin mine out, best investment on the car

and its people like you that hurt my eyes lol

i dnt because mine are in my main beam only because im mostly driving on country lanes so Icon_smile

mine are staying put Icon_smile

an im sure that artical is months old

And also, just for your information
watch the video right at the start look at the cars, the megan doesnt have projector style headlights so they send out a scattered beam.

My HID's are staying, they are perfectly legal and level to MOT standards Icon_smile

and just for comparison see the megans lights then look at this.

beam is fine.

exactly as the video says, scattered beams, BECAUSE THERE NOT PROJECTOR LIGHTS. If i was the guy in the video id feel a TWAT everyone knows you need projector style headlights for HID

Changing a headlamp that was not designed to take a HID bulb to a HID bulb is against the DOT's rules weather it is a projector lamp or not having just any old projector lense does not necessarily ensure that the beam pattern will be correct HID units have a very sharp cut off.

Also a car fitted with HID must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling systems as well afaik and acording the the stuff i read on them.

I love my HID's their awsome Icon_biggrin

From department of transports website:

Quote:

Fact sheet: Aftermarket HID headlamps
December 2006
In the Department's view it is not legal to sell or use after market HID lighting kits, for converting conventional Halogen headlamps to HID Xenon. If a customer wants to convert his vehicle to Xenon HID he must purchase completely new Xenon HID headlamps. The reason for this is that the existing lens and reflector are designed around a Halogen filament bulb, working to very precise tolerances. If one places a HID "burner" (bulb) in the headlamp, the beam pattern will not be correct, there will be glare in some places and not enough light in other places within the beam pattern.

The following is the legal rationale:

The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK.
Under these Regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.

However new vehicles have HID headlamps. This is because they comply to European type approval Regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle with a European type approval. These are to ECE Regulation 98 (for the HID headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (Lighting Installation on the vehicle).

For the after market, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "HID is banned in the after market" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require HID in the after market to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.

Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the after market should:

1. be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.

2. when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place).

3. Comply with RVLR as far as "use" is concerned.

In practice this means:

1. The headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be "e-marked" to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory.

2. Once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have "self-levelling suspension" and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam.

3. The headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly like any other headlamp.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

In summary it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.

If you require any further information regarding the regulations covered by this fact sheet, please contact the DfT at the address below:

Transport Technology and Standards 6
Department for Transport
Zone 2/04
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DR

Telephone: 020 7944 2078
Fax: 020 7944 2196
Email: TTS.enquiries@dft.gsi.gov.uk

all vehicles with xenons from factory have automatic headlight adjusters which adjusts the beam automatically when your on bumpy roads etc to help prevent the dazzle it does this via input from a sensor fitted to the vehicle that measures the angle of the car. an aftermarket would pass an mot as your only checking the beam pattern and colour of the light not the type of light fitted.

So... it will pass a mot if the pattern is right, but you can be done under the Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 for haveing a part fitted that is not legal ?

So non legal parts can pass a mot, as long as they pass the checks your require?

Absolutely, it's like having an aftermarket exhaust or something. A car can pass an MoT test with one on, but be pulled up on the way home for it not being road legal (in the eyes of the law). My old Camaro passed MoT without having a parking brake, yet if I'd have been pulled by the cops they'd have done me in a shot. There's a definite difference between MoT-worthy and "legal". An MoT test is to declare that a car is safe to use on the public road, and although it implies otherwise, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's legal.

A big problem with HID conversions is their lack of any discernable pattern at all. Xenon light or HID's refract through glass a lot differently to Halogen or "conventional" light patterns. Even if the beam is ok for the standard MoT test, at a different distance the effect of the light being filtered through a surface it wasn't designed for can be a mile out. Light lenses designed for use with HID's are a countrly mile different to those originally meant for a regular bulb, that's before reflectors are even considered (which is where the big deal about having a cleaning system comes from, Xenon and HID light patterns are super sensitive).

absolutely barrel man. Being a mot tester myself some of the mot requirements are a lot less strict as many think, the main concern is corrosion the ministry are strict on that BUT yet again only if its in the prescibed areas, like other day for instance i tested a vehicle and i for one would not like to be in that vehicle if some one collided into the rear as the rear panel was absolutely knackered corrosion wise but because it was not in a prescribed area i could only advise it - crazy !!!

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