Xenon HID FAQ'S

1. What is a Xenon HID system?
   H.I.D. stands for High Intensity Discharge. This is a different technology to a standard halogen filament bulb that produces a much more intense light. Requiring 24,000V to start up, these systems come with an independent power pack called a ballast. This feeds the HID bulb with the required power to create an arc of light that is 300% brighter than the light produced from a standard halogen bulb.
2. Why should I choose HID?
   HID systems produce a 300% more light than a standard halogen. This improved light output allows for a much increased field of vision when driving at night. HID light is naturally closer to daylight which in turn reduces driver fatigue and improves the quality of night time driving.
   
   HID technology is also longer lasting than a filament bulb. HID systems will normally last 5-10 times longer so despite the obvious price difference, when you take into account the extra life and safety, they really can be great value for money.
3. Are HID Conversion kits road legal?
   Unfortunately no aftermarket HID kit is strictly road legal as you are changing the lighting system (halogen to Gas discharge) in your car and for this reason the bulbs can't be E marked which is a legal requirement. You also won't have the self levelling and washer systems installed which is also a legal requirement for HID. Saying this however they will pass an MOT as the beam pattern and colour of the light (as long as you don't go higher than 6/8000K) will be correct and this is what gets tested in MOT's
4. Will these interfere with my cars ECU system?
   On a lot of the newer vehicles (BMW's being a prime example) these kit's can cause the bulb failure alarm to show up on the dash board. This is due to them running on a much lower wattage than your standard halogen bulb. This is why we have specifically designed our Ultimate kit to get around this issue. This kit has everything inbuilt into the ballast unit to get around this issue without the need for additional resistors on 95% of vehicles.
5. My ballast units are buzzing. Is this normal?
   Yes this is perfectly normal. This is just indicating that power is getting to them and they are working as they should. Please note that some ballast units will buzz but some will not. This is not an indication of a fault.
6. Are the conversion kits suitable for plastic headlight units?
   Yes these kits will be fine to use. As they run on a lower wattage the bulbs actually produce less heat than a standard filament bulb will. The bulbs are also UV protected so will not cause any damage to the units what so ever.