Hid Kit..?

[althepal101]

Aye up. Looking at getting one as I've tried the super bright bulbs and not that great an improvement. Tried rubbing the outside and cleaning inside the inner surface but to no avail. Any recent recommendations of a decent kit from eBay?
TIA,
Allan.

 

[oilburner]

HIDs in a Puma are illegal in the UK

 

[althepal101]

Yes I know.. due to lack of auto levelling and headlamp washers.. it won't pass an Mot and all that but I don't plan on towing anything and don't cart around 4 folk and their luggage so doubt I'll be dazzling anyone..
Legal issues aside.. can anyone recommend one of the kits from eBay at all? They al look similar but just checking to see if anyone has recent experience and can recommend a set.
TIA.

 

[Dal]

If you want to do it correctly, then you'll need to change the back shield of the light as a Halogen bulb projects it's light in a different pattern to HIDs. If you "just" fit HID bulbs into a halogen headlight assembly, then you will be dazzling oncoming traffic.

I've seen a kit before that does offer a complete projection assembly to replace an existing Halogen one - I think it was on ebay so might be worth a search.

EDIT: Something like this that includes the new projector assemblies:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-2-5-Bi-Xenon-HID-Projector-Kit-Lens-Car-Headlights-Retrofit-Shroud-AC-35W-/331702112121?hash=item4d3afc8f79:g:UiIAAOSwgQ9V5nrf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



Not sure if those will fit - you'll need to research some more.

 

[TGPlayer1]

Seeing as Pumas have projector lenses already HIDs should be fine as the beam will be concentrated.

 

[Dal]

The halogen projector rear parabola is different to a HID one though so will diffuse too much still.

(Although will obviously be far less noticeable than say a standard open H7 headlight)

 

[althepal101]

Hmm. From the posts on here I thought that it was just a drop in upgrade... beam shots posted looked ok.
Had a look at that kit posted above and tbh having had the headlight out already it doesn't look any different to what's in that kit..
That appears to be for a car that's never had projector lenses and also has the dipped and high beam in one unit.
Puma already has the projector lenses so I reckon the basic kit with just the bulbs would be ok.
Cheers tho Dal.

 

[TGPlayer1]

I ran HIDs in my civic which has regular style lights and they weren't as bad as people make out. They were obviously a different beam to halogen but there was a discernible shape to it.

There's a lot of people who err on the side of caution with things like this, but so far I've never been pulled, or know anyone who has, over having HIDs, because when it comes down to it PC Plod can't be arsed to fill out the paperwork.

Then again all it takes is one Bobby with a grudge.

 

[oilburner]

A lot of people don't realise it's actually a licence endorsable offence

 

[althepal101]

Is it? Wonder how many beat cops would know though? Traffic I would deffo imagine would be aware..
I do kinda agree with the premise that as long as it's not stupidly bright or dazzling people routinely most cops wouldn't have an issue with it- esp as the puma has projector lenses which are almost exclusively fitted with hids these days. .

 

[JAC]

If you have an accident in the dark, and your car was found to be running illegal lights, would the insurance cover you?

I don't know about in the UK, but here they would do anything possible to get out of paying, and illegal lights would definitely give them plenty of ammo.

 

[tractorboy]

I think the worst case would be if you had an accident or caused an accident in which another party claimed you had dazzled them, or had serious accident that was investigated by the police as a serious collision.

That's what stops me doing a conversion.

Bob

 

[moondustka]

Anyone tried something like this?

151725401455

That's an eBay number - I can't seem to get a link on my phone, sorry.

 

[gingerdave]

Are you sure you don't need a visit to Specsavers?.I run just uprated bulbs in both Pumas and find they work well enough even on country lanes.

 

[moondustka]

They're rubbish! :lol: what 'uprated' lamps are you using Dave?

If you've ever driven a car with and HID kit or projected xenons in newer cars, when you go back to the Puma it's like driving with candles :lol:

 

[gingerdave]

How DARE you! Inferring I only drive old bangers :lol: I realise they are not as good as modern cars but they can be made adequate without being illegal. I take my Puma 2 or 3 times a year on a 600 mile drive through France .Often drive late at night and like to go cross country last 100 mles.Always enjoy that part of the journey and find the lights adequate for my old eyes. :grin:

 

[moondustka]

Oh I don't drive anything new either :lol:

But I did have an HID kit on Ka and they were lovely. The kit was poo back then but the light was lovely. Swore I'd never drive without them again, but here I am :roll:

So, that's why I was asking about the LED replacement lamps :wink:

 

[rigsby]

Sorry guys, but I'm a bit confused by all this - I know, it's probably me, not being quick on the uptake :roll:

So, if you fit HIDs to a standard Puma, they are technically illegal? Mainly because the light will be dispersed incorrectly as the lens/reflectors are not designed to work with a HID bulb? There's also the business about self-levelling and headlamp washing blah, blah, but not too sure how relevant this is to a Puma.

However, the net result seems to be that:
a) you may be blinding oncoming traffic,
b) at MOT time you could receive a FAIL for having them fitted, and
c) if you have an accident and make a claim, you may find your insurance is invalidated as you have non-standard/illegal headlamps fitted.
Is that a fair summation?

I've been given a set of Xenon HID's 6000k and was looking to see if it was possible or worth fitting them to the Puma and what was involved. At the moment, after reading around the posts on this forum, I think I'm going to hold off fitting them and firstly clean/refurbish my headlamp covers (the plastic is starting to haze) and then upgrade the bulbs down the Halfords Ultra/Extreme Brilliance, OSRAM Nightbreakers, Philips WhiteVision or similar Headlight Bulb route. I don't do any "extreme" (lol) driving so probably don't need the ultimate night-lighting anyway and from what I can gather, these legal Xenon HB3 bulbs improve significantly from standard (although not as good as HIDs), but remove any of the potential worry of legality/illegality.

 

[oilburner]

The other problem is you could get points on your licence if a copper sees them too

 

[YOG]

[post]347456[/post] They're rubbish! :lol: what 'uprated' lamps are you using Dave?

If you've ever driven a car with and HID kit or projected xenons in newer cars, when you go back to the Puma it's like driving with candles :lol:

I don't have any trouble with switching between my Puma with uprated bulbs and my Audi S1 with Xenon Plus.