F#@king how much?....

[Eddie Honda]

*built up area = 30mph zone or street lighting less than 200m apart of something like that (and if the lamposts are that close they don't need to stick 30 signs up IIRC)

[Richard]

.

[Kiltox]

HIDs on my Laguna are woeful. Suspect the levelling is a bit fucked

 

Halogen daytime running lights on my Duster are as bright, headlights far brighter.

[Longblackcoat]

HIDs on my Laguna are woeful. Suspect the levelling is a bit fucked

 

Depends how old the bulbs are - they wear out over time (and go purply-blue). Lifetime before needing to change is about 3000 hours though - or about 10 years for most people

[Isaac Hunt]

Is it still law to carry a bulb kit in France? If so, why? Its not like most punters will be able to change something as minor as an indicator these days...

Moderns-r-shite etc...

 

Just carry a wee kit of 380's, 472's, 410's, 382's and 501's,  Who knows what bulbs are fitted and you aren't going to be able to change it at the services in the dark and the rain

[Noel Tidybeard]

Depends how old the bulbs are - they wear out over time (and go purply-blue). Lifetime before needing to change is about 3000 hours though - or about 10 years for most people

 

they go pink after pupley blue- i have seen more than one kwalidee german car so equiped

[SiC]

HIDs on my Laguna are woeful. Suspect the levelling is a bit fucked

 

Halogen daytime running lights on my Duster are as bright, headlights far brighter.

Do they move to top, middle, bottom and then top again on startup? Mine didn't and the back sensor arm had fallen off the mount. I put the arm back on, triggered recalibration and all seems good. If anything they may be a bit high now.

[puddlethumper]

Never having had a V hickle that needed half the said V hickle being taken apart  to change a blub, at an extortionate cost, I dread the day when I have to mourn the passing of my old van. 

I can change a blub in no more than 10 mins, literally, and at some of the costs of those examples so far, I could renovate my whole van. Blub, headlight, approx £10, and I've changed one in 7 years, plus I have a box full of assorted ones for all lighting  failures. Ok, its not a huge box, ooer, I admit.

Sorry, had to get one ooer in. ( Ooer )       Ok two.

[Isaac Hunt]

All modernz are shite.   Yoof had a headlamp bulb out and progress has been made more complex because it has a HID conversion.  The conversion was fitted by the PO so we don't know if it is 6000k or 8000k bulbs with or without a blue rinse let along H7 or H7R (I think). 

 

So I though I better go out in the dark and at least have a 'gander' to see if I see and ballast resistor type wiring.  I get him to fire up the lights and i can see a dipped beam on, but no in the light !!!!.   Ere, shine the torch in here, look, there is no bulb in it, it's just dangling down somewhere.   

 

Armed with a few you tube hints, drop the air box off and you have just enough room.  Getting that off is a bit of a mission but with the odd FFS and PITA phrases it was off and so was the rear light cover.  

 

Bulb was retrieved by the wires and sure enough, the HID bulb was there, albeit covered in some 'melted shite wot stinks burnt' on it.  Anyway, it works, but for how long we wonder, but given in my huge box of spare bulbs of all styles, I have no HID's, thus a minging one is better than none at all.

 

After a bit of WTF holds it in (or in this case didn't) and some faffing with a torch and a mirror I conclude that it is just a push fit into some very small metal clips.  None of that wire clip shite that for years has stopped bulbs falling out.   I conclude that the previous 'fitta' had not clipped it fully home, it is a right fiddle, but I hear/feel it click somewhat reassuringly.  Then it was another 30 mins to reinstalled the lamp rear cover and another mission to get the air box back.   Yoof is getting frustrated and as usual Dad's a twat despite having just solved the problem, or at least temporary until that HID decides the shite on it is going to call its day.

 

Maybe a Corsa D you can change it at the services in the dark and the rain 

[xkjagnz]

The halogens are a twat to change on the wifes s320 (1999) but can be done and at about $6 a pop they are plenty bright enough

[Lukas]

I asked the local Mitsubishi-dealer for a quote on the plastic bumper-caps. The black ones on the edges of the bumpers:

 

 

They are 265 Euro. One! So not only new cars are expensive when it comes to parts. But I´d better be lucky they are still available. 

[wuvvum]

And should never be used on a moving vehicle. Headlights or nothing.

Depends on the car.  If the sidelight is a wee capless bulb glowing dimly away somewhere at the back of a mahoosive headlight reflector, then yes it's pretty useless.  If a car has a separate dedicated sidelight (old Volvos and Saabs, my Innocenti etc) then they're usually bright enough to be useful when it's not so dark that you need headlights to see where you're going.

 

I disagree with switching the headlights on as soon as it isn't blazing sunshine any more.  There's far too much light pollution on the roads as it is, without making things unnecessarily worse.

 

Back on topic:  every car I've had with HID headlights they've been utterly shit.  I would be tempted to find a conversion kit to turn them back into H4s.  My local "everything shop" charges £1.49 for an H4 and they seem to last perfectly well.

[AMC Rebel]

OEM HIDs on my (previous) Mondeo, Jaaag and (current) Discovery 3 were/are all excellent.  Never needed a replacement either.  The ones on the MG ZT-T weren't so great, but still not bad.  Jag and Landy ones best as they have mechanical dip/main in the outer units, although the Mondy's were by no means bad.  Since the ZT is in bits I've fitted new OEM-spec burners - resisted the temptation to go for OMG eleventy-billionK don't these look germanic versions.

 

With that said, the H4 7" halogens on the Rangie are fine, and the standard halogens on the (current) Mondeo are really excellent for what they are.

 

I think the main advantage of HIDs comes in dark and rainy conditions.  Maybe due to more space, Jaaag and DIsco burners look like an easy change.  ZT-T is a bumper off job though.

[Guest Hooli]

Best lights I've ever had were on a four headlight Xj40, much better than the HIDs on the goona.

[LC Torana]

I find the lights in the Rover 75 marvellous, but all they are is a pair of H7s.

[Bobthebeard]

I find the lights in the Rover 75 marvellous, but all they are is a pair of H7s.

Agree... The lights in the ZT are excellent. Ok, they are Osram Nightbreaker bulbs, but still fairly easy to change when they fail.