Yellowspeed
Guest
Hi guysm I am looking to upgrade the lights at the front and don't really know where to start, any one point us in the right direction??
Cheers
Cheers
-
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Yellowspeed
Guest
Please do a search, but the quick answer is that bulb upgrades cost £20 and are legal; HID upgrades cost £100-200 are are illegal.
Simon.
Simon.
I thought this debate had been sorted out ages ago. They are not illegal to fit or use on the road, will pass an MOT and the police will not be pulling you over and giving you a fine or a telling off. Retro fit HID`s do not need headlight washers or self leveling headlights unlike factory fitted systems which do.
The Department of Transport disagrees with you.
"Dear Sir,
The situation for Gas Discharge (HID High Intensity Discharge) (commonly known as Xenon) headlamps is complex.
I attach links to the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 which regulate the situation in the UK.
Under these Regulations Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.
However you will be well aware that new vehicles have Xenon 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 Xenon headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (Lighting Installation on the vehicle).
For the aftermarket, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "Xenon is banned in the aftermarket" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require Xenon in the aftermarket to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.
Therefore a Xenon headlamp sold in the aftermarket 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.
Hope that helps.
***
We are aware of kit available in the aftermarket where a Xenon "burner" or bulb is fitted inside a headlamp designed for use with conventional Halogen filament bulbs. The burner is fitted with a "bayonet" type fitting so it fits where the Halogen bulb should fit. This is not legal and the vendor, the person who mounts it on the vehicle and the person who drives the vehicle are all committing an offence. (Which also means that he is invalidating the insurance.)
The reason for this is that headlamps and bulbs are made to tight tolerances and the wrong type of bulb will cause an incorrect beam pattern to be emitted, which could cause dazzle and discomfort to other drivers. "
The only legal way to put HIDs on a Leon Mk1 is to buy the £900 from that dutch company that comes with new headlights, reflectors, high pressure washers and self levelling sensors.
Oh and in Harlow I have witnessed the police impounding a Nova with HIDs.
You will pass an MOT though.
Simon.
"Dear Sir,
The situation for Gas Discharge (HID High Intensity Discharge) (commonly known as Xenon) headlamps is complex.
I attach links to the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 which regulate the situation in the UK.
Under these Regulations Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.
However you will be well aware that new vehicles have Xenon 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 Xenon headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (Lighting Installation on the vehicle).
For the aftermarket, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "Xenon is banned in the aftermarket" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require Xenon in the aftermarket to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.
Therefore a Xenon headlamp sold in the aftermarket 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.
Hope that helps.
***
We are aware of kit available in the aftermarket where a Xenon "burner" or bulb is fitted inside a headlamp designed for use with conventional Halogen filament bulbs. The burner is fitted with a "bayonet" type fitting so it fits where the Halogen bulb should fit. This is not legal and the vendor, the person who mounts it on the vehicle and the person who drives the vehicle are all committing an offence. (Which also means that he is invalidating the insurance.)
The reason for this is that headlamps and bulbs are made to tight tolerances and the wrong type of bulb will cause an incorrect beam pattern to be emitted, which could cause dazzle and discomfort to other drivers. "
The only legal way to put HIDs on a Leon Mk1 is to buy the £900 from that dutch company that comes with new headlights, reflectors, high pressure washers and self levelling sensors.
Oh and in Harlow I have witnessed the police impounding a Nova with HIDs.
You will pass an MOT though.
Simon.
So you have it writting that it will pass an MOT.
If the Nova got impounded i bet it wasn`t just because he had an HID kit fitted there wound be other more important reasons. I and several of my friends have had HIDs fitted to several cars over the years which have been pulled over and looked at by normal police and traffic pigs and neither one has said anything. There must be thousands of people with HIDs fitted now that they are so popular but i have never heard of anyone getting their car impounded for it. Believe what you want at the end of the day.
Not the change from Italitcs to normal. I wrote that the MoT testers won't notice. The DoT say they are illegal.
And it was a highways agency inspection point where the police pulled the nova in front of me. The verbal reason for pulling it was "illegal headlights", they may have found other faults.
Simon.
And it was a highways agency inspection point where the police pulled the nova in front of me. The verbal reason for pulling it was "illegal headlights", they may have found other faults.
Simon.
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