E30 Zone Wiki - User contributions [en]

HID Headlight Conversion

2011-02-20T18:43:49Z

Morat:

''(Originally Submitted on the E30 Zone by'' [[Morat]])

Fitting is very simple. The kit only touches the existing wiring where you connect up the red/black terminals on the back of the HID bulb to the yellow/black wires inside the headlight.
First of all I used a Dremel to make a hole in the back of each headlight rear cover. The holes in the picture aren't finished. They ended up about the size of a 50p (and about as round!) so that the new bulb and wires could be threaded through.

[[Image:Hidmorat1CAPS.JPG]]

To hook up the bulbs, first you thread the new bulb into the place where the old one was. It fits, but only just. You need to be careful to approach the headlight straight or you could damage your new bulb. I shifted the water bottles out of the way to get a bit more space on the right hand side, and moved the coolant hose/cables to get some space on the left side (which is even tighter because of the ABS pump).

Then you just use the red/black spade connectors in the picture below to connect to the brown/yellow ones in the existing wiring (you can see them in the picture above). Its obvious which goes where, due to the different sizes. I spent some time cleaning up the old connectors which were pretty filthy and corroded - probably the reason that the original headlights were so dim in the first place. The connector in the black wire fits inside the circular connector on the yellow wire which normally connects to the headlight reflector. It looks a bit dodgy but works fine. I taped up the bare copper so that they won't short out inside the headlight and laid them round the inside of the rear cap so that they wouldn't get in the way of the new bulb.

[[Image:Hidmorat2BULB.JPG]]

After that you can just pop the grommet into place to make a seal. I'll probably put some silicon sealant on it to make it really waterproof but it looks OK as it is. Here's the right hand light fitted, easier than the left hand side to see what’s going on...

[[Image:Hidmorat3RHS.JPG]]

Fitting the ballasts should be easy but it found it more tricky since I couldn't actually get under the car. In the end I just zip tied them in place for a temporary measure (which may well end up permanent depending on how well it works). Connecting the ballasts to the lights is simple. 3 connectors which can't go on the wrong way round - the kind of wiring I like!

Here's where I put the left hand one. If anyone comes up with a better place - please tell me. I'm not really happy with it there.

[[Image:Hidmorat4LEFT.JPG]]

The good news is that they work! Awesome light and no radio interference or noise that you can hear in the cabin. If you turn the lights on with the bonnet open you can hear a whine from the ballasts but it doesn't matter in use.

[[Image:43HID6K.jpg]]

This is a shot taken at Squires Cafe just after dusk. The car on the left has 4300k HID's fitted and the car on the right has 6000k burners. Its a very hard thing to capture on camera but the light from the car on the right is slightly but noticeably bluer on the 6000k HIDS. It is impossible to see here but the car on the left has standard sidelight bulbs which look very yellow in comparison to the HIDs. The best LED replacements look much better, but you'll probably have to see it "in the flesh" unless a pro photographer can capture it.
Photo by Stonesie.

Here's another comparison shot, this time between 35W and 55W HIDs. The drivers side HID has been replaced with a 55W setup. A better test would be to compare two cars back to back because the difference isn't particularly great from the driver's seat, but there is considerable overlap in the beam pattern anyway. The good news is that noone flashed me on the test drive so it seems 55W HIDs don't cause any extra dazzle. Sadly, they are so bright within their pattern that you can't really see the main beams beyond.
[[Image:35w55whid.JPG]]

[[Category: Modifying]]

File:35w55whid.JPG

2011-02-20T18:41:27Z

Morat: Comparison shot of 55W HID (Driver's side) and 35W HID (Passenger side)

Comparison shot of 55W HID (Driver's side) and 35W HID (Passenger side)

HID Headlight Conversion

2011-02-20T18:40:06Z

Morat: Comparison between 55W and 35W HIDs

''(Originally Submitted on the E30 Zone by'' [[Morat]])

Fitting is very simple. The kit only touches the existing wiring where you connect up the red/black terminals on the back of the HID bulb to the yellow/black wires inside the headlight.
First of all I used a Dremel to make a hole in the back of each headlight rear cover. The holes in the picture aren't finished. They ended up about the size of a 50p (and about as round!) so that the new bulb and wires could be threaded through.

[[Image:Hidmorat1CAPS.JPG]]

To hook up the bulbs, first you thread the new bulb into the place where the old one was. It fits, but only just. You need to be careful to approach the headlight straight or you could damage your new bulb. I shifted the water bottles out of the way to get a bit more space on the right hand side, and moved the coolant hose/cables to get some space on the left side (which is even tighter because of the ABS pump).

Then you just use the red/black spade connectors in the picture below to connect to the brown/yellow ones in the existing wiring (you can see them in the picture above). Its obvious which goes where, due to the different sizes. I spent some time cleaning up the old connectors which were pretty filthy and corroded - probably the reason that the original headlights were so dim in the first place. The connector in the black wire fits inside the circular connector on the yellow wire which normally connects to the headlight reflector. It looks a bit dodgy but works fine. I taped up the bare copper so that they won't short out inside the headlight and laid them round the inside of the rear cap so that they wouldn't get in the way of the new bulb.

[[Image:Hidmorat2BULB.JPG]]

After that you can just pop the grommet into place to make a seal. I'll probably put some silicon sealant on it to make it really waterproof but it looks OK as it is. Here's the right hand light fitted, easier than the left hand side to see what’s going on...

[[Image:Hidmorat3RHS.JPG]]

Fitting the ballasts should be easy but it found it more tricky since I couldn't actually get under the car. In the end I just zip tied them in place for a temporary measure (which may well end up permanent depending on how well it works). Connecting the ballasts to the lights is simple. 3 connectors which can't go on the wrong way round - the kind of wiring I like!

Here's where I put the left hand one. If anyone comes up with a better place - please tell me. I'm not really happy with it there.

[[Image:Hidmorat4LEFT.JPG]]

The good news is that they work! Awesome light and no radio interference or noise that you can hear in the cabin. If you turn the lights on with the bonnet open you can hear a whine from the ballasts but it doesn't matter in use.

[[Image:43HID6K.jpg]]

This is a shot taken at Squires Cafe just after dusk. The car on the left has 4300k HID's fitted and the car on the right has 6000k burners. Its a very hard thing to capture on camera but the light from the car on the right is slightly but noticeably bluer on the 6000k HIDS. It is impossible to see here but the car on the left has standard sidelight bulbs which look very yellow in comparison to the HIDs. The best LED replacements look much better, but you'll probably have to see it "in the flesh" unless a pro photographer can capture it.
Photo by Stonesie.

[[Category: Modifying]]
Here's another comparison shot, this time between 35W and 55W HIDs. The drivers side HID has been replaced with a 55W setup. A better test would be to compare two cars back to back because the difference isn't particularly great from the driver's seat, but there is considerable overlap in the beam pattern anyway. The good news is that noone flashed me on the test drive so it seems 55W HIDs don't cause any extra dazzle. Sadly, they are so bright within their pattern that you can't really see the main beams beyond.
[[Image:Example.jpg]]

File:M20AuxBelts.jpg

2010-11-03T15:01:10Z

Morat: Picture of the M20 aux belts with the radiator, viscous fan and coolant pipes removed.

Picture of the M20 aux belts with the radiator, viscous fan and coolant pipes removed.

File:Rad.jpg

2010-10-18T11:36:25Z

Morat:

File:Viscousfan.jpg

2010-10-18T11:21:01Z

Morat:

File:Distributorcap.jpg

2010-10-18T11:19:57Z

Morat:

File:Rockercoverignitionleads.jpg

2010-10-18T11:19:20Z

Morat:

File:Hosesandsockets.jpg

2010-10-18T11:18:28Z

Morat:

File:Auxbeltson.jpg

2010-10-18T11:16:53Z

Morat:

File:Auxpulley.jpg

2010-10-18T11:15:03Z

Morat:

File:Distributerarm.jpg

2010-10-18T11:14:33Z

Morat:

File:Triggerwheelandpulleys.jpg

2010-10-18T11:14:00Z

Morat:

File:Exhaustmanifoldon.jpg

2010-10-18T11:13:27Z

Morat:

File:Cranktimingmark.jpg

2010-10-18T11:12:00Z

Morat:

File:Camtimingmark.jpg

2010-10-18T11:11:17Z

Morat:

File:Pumpandpulley.jpg

2010-10-18T11:10:32Z

Morat:

File:Waterpumpgasket.jpg

2010-10-18T11:09:44Z

Morat:

File:Movewires.jpg

2010-10-18T11:09:08Z

Morat:

File:Headboltsin.jpg

2010-10-18T11:08:31Z

Morat:

File:Blockafter.jpg

2010-10-18T11:07:50Z

Morat:

File:Blockbefore.jpg

2010-10-18T11:07:26Z

Morat:

File:Headout.jpg

2010-10-18T11:06:57Z

Morat:

File:Exhaustmanifoldzip.jpg

2010-10-18T11:05:57Z

Morat:

File:Partspile.jpg

2010-10-18T11:05:10Z

Morat:

File:Heatermatrixstubs.jpg

2010-10-18T11:04:45Z

Morat:

File:Radout.jpg

2010-10-18T11:03:48Z

Morat:

File:Inletmanifold.jpg

2010-10-18T11:02:56Z

Morat:

File:Airbox.jpg

2010-10-18T11:02:11Z

Morat:

File:NewHead.jpg

2010-10-18T10:53:10Z

Morat: Shiny refurbished cylinder head

Shiny refurbished cylinder head

Touring

2009-07-23T12:17:41Z

Morat:

{{stub}}

[[Image:Touring_drift.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Touring]]

The five door 'estate' variant of the E30.

The E30 Touring reached the UK in 1988 with the facelift models of the E30. It featured a new rear body with an estate style rear door and split folding rear seats, and was available in 316, 318, 320 and 325 versions. The touring is approximately 80kg heavier than the standard saloon mainly due to the reinforcement that runs vertically around the car level with the rear suspension turrets. This reinforcement compensates for the removal of the metalwork behind the saloon seats to allow the folding rear seats. This extra weight towards the rear means that all tourings came with the battery mounted under the bonnet, and shorter (lower geared) final drive ratios than the equivalent saloon.

To cope with load carrying, all tourings are equipped with the 325i spec suspension of 51mm struts, disc brakes front and rear, and rollbars front and rear. Nearly all tourings are equipped with ABS, but there are some early four cylinder cars without ABS.

The E30 Touring, along with the cabriolet versions, outlasted the two and four door saloons as BMW swapped production over to the E36. The youngest tourings on the road today are generally 1993 K although some 1994 L vehicles do exist it is unclear whether they are late registered 1993 built cars or whether they were actually built in 1994.

In terms of reliability the E30 Touring benefits from the same strengths and suffers from the same weaknesses as the E30 saloons. Tourings have developed a reputation for possibly rusting less than other versions, but ironically their distinctive tailgate is a noted rust spot, usually starting with the rubber seal beneath the rear window shrinking with age and trapping water in the channel it is designed to protect. These seals should be replaced before rust starts. The load capacity of the touring, while useful, is not generous. The floor plan is identical to the saloon and the rear hatch opening is restricted (possibly BMW were conservative in their attempts to retain rigidity) so although a touring does have the useful ability to take long loads with the seats folded, it is hard to take advantage of the whole load area with a single item.

On the move, E30 Tourings have more weight over the rear wheels and have near 50:50 weight distribution which, while unable to change the underlying nature of the E30 trailing arm rear suspension, does give a more predictable rear setup than other versions with less weight on the rear wheels. This characteristic, coupled with the 325i spec suspension, makes 4 cylinder tourings ideal candidates for engine swaps to heavier engines which are sometimes criticised for causing understeer in E30 saloons.

Overall the Touring provides a more practical proposition as a small family car while losing none of the E30's sporting feel.

Touring

2009-07-23T12:10:14Z

Morat: First go at the touring page, please keep it going!

{{stub}}

[[Image:Touring_drift.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Touring]]

The five door 'estate' variant of the E30.

The E30 Touring reached the UK in 1988 with the facelift models of the E30. It featured a new rear body with an estate style rear door and split folding rear seats, and was available in 316, 318, 320 and 325 versions. The touring is approximately 80kg heavier than the standard saloon mainly due to the reinforcement that runs vertically around the car level with the rear suspension turrets. This reinforcement compensates for the removal of the metalwork behind the saloon seats to allow the folding rear seats. This extra weight towards the rear means that all tourings came with the battery mounted under the bonnet, and shorter (lower geared) final drive ratios than the equivalent saloon.

To cope with load carrying, all tourings are equipped with the 325i spec suspension of 51mm struts, disc brakes front and rear, and rollbars front and rear. Nearly all tourings are equipped with ABS, but there are some early four cylinder cars without ABS.

The E30 Touring, along with the cabriolet versions, outlasted the two and four door saloons as BMW swapped production over to the E36. The youngest tourings on the road today are generally 1993 K although some 1994 L vehicles do exist it is unclear whether they are late registered 1993 built cars or whether they were actually built in 1994.

Overall the E30 Touring benefits from the same strengths and suffers from the same weaknesses as the E30 saloons. Tourings have developed a reputation for possibly rusting less than other versions, but ironically their distinctive tailgate is a noted rust spot, usually starting with the rubber seal beneath the rear window shrinking with age and trapping water in the channel it is designed to protect. These seals should be replaced before rust starts. The load capacity of the touring, while useful, is not generous. The floor plan is identical to the saloon and the rear hatch opening is restricted (possibly BMW were conservative in their attempts to retain rigidity) so although a touring does have the useful ability to take long loads with the seats folded, it is hard to take advantage of the whole load area with a single item.

On the move, E30 Tourings have more weight over the rear wheels and have near 50:50 weight distribution which, while unable to change the underlying nature of the E30 trailing arm rear suspension, does give a more predictable rear setup than other versions with less weight on the rear wheels. This characteristic, coupled with the 325i spec suspension, makes 4 cylinder tourings ideal candidates for engine swaps to heavier engines which are sometimes criticised for causing understeer in E30 saloons.

Online Vehicle Checks

2009-03-11T18:38:58Z

Morat:

== Three very useful sites for checking the legal status of your car. ==

Check the Motor Insurance Database for current insurance: 
http://www.askmid.com 

The DVLA lookup to check that your road tax/SORN is still in date: 
http://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/ (click vehicle enquiry on left hand side)

MOT Checks online: 
http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/internet/servlet/ECSIDDispatcher 

Thanks to mr_dink and Sanchez

Online Vehicle Checks

2009-03-11T18:38:24Z

Morat:

Three very useful sites for checking out information:

Check the Motor Insurance Database for current insurance: 
http://www.askmid.com 

The DVLA lookup to check that your road tax/SORN is still in date: 
http://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/ (click vehicle enquiry on left hand side)

MOT Checks online: 
http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/internet/servlet/ECSIDDispatcher 

Thanks to mr_dink and Sanchez

Online Vehicle Checks

2009-03-11T18:38:06Z

Morat:

Three very useful sites for checking out information:

Check the Motor Insurance Database for current insurance:
http://www.askmid.com 

The DVLA lookup to check that your road tax/SORN is still in date: 
http://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/ (click vehicle enquiry on left hand side)

MOT Checks online: 
http://www.motinfo.gov.uk/internet/servlet/ECSIDDispatcher 

Thanks to mr_dink and Sanchez

Online Vehicle Checks

2009-03-11T18:34:01Z

Morat: dvla askmid sorn insurance road tax expiry check

Two very useful sites for checking out information:

http://www.askmid.com - you can use this site to check that your car is showing on the insurance database.

The DVLA lookup to check that your road tax/SORN is still in date. 
http://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/ (click vehicle enquiry on left hand side)

Touring Rear Headrests

2009-01-24T12:01:39Z

Morat: /* Introduction */

== Introduction ==

Similar procedure for all E30s with head rests not fitted as standard.

I don’t know about you, but I reckon the E30 Touring looks a lot better with a pair of rear head-rests, but sadly few had them fitted from new. However, for less than £20 and no more than an hour’s graft, you too can sport a set of rear head rests in your Touring.

The following procedure may apply to other E30’s, i.e. 2-door and 4-door, but I haven’t proven this, so proceed at your own risk if you wish to do this on your car.

== Parts Required ==

* Cover (x 4) BMW part no. B52.10.8.191.245 £0.73 each
* Washer (x4) BMW part no. B52.10.8.838.969 £0.19 each
* Guide (x4) BMW part no. B52.20.8.132.020 £0.77 each
 (My local dealer had to order these parts from Germany, which took about a week.)
* One pair of matching rear headrests (I got mine from the local scrappy for £10)

== Tools Required ==

* Sharp knife
* Scissors
* Flat blade screw-driver
* Pen

== Procedure ==

So, you start off with your rear seat looking like this – dull and boring:

[[Image:tourhead_001.jpg]]

First step is to unclip those seat-belt buckles from the elastic retainer cord. This is done by sliding up the little black plastic “plug” that is attached to the elastic retainer cord, so it comes free of the buckle. See below.

[[Image:tourhead_002.jpg]]

Now you have to remove the seat cover from it’s frame. First, lift the seat base up out of the way.

[[Image:tourhead_003.jpg]]

This is a good time to get the hoover out if your car is anything like mine!!

Now get your fingers under that bottom edge of the seat back cover, feel where it joins the seat frame and pull it forward at one corner first – it’s just held on with a number of clips. Prize it off along the bottom edge and up both sides about half way up. There are 6 white plastic clips in all – 2 along the bottom and 2 up either side, as shown below in the photo below. You can then pull the seat back cover towards you slightly and lift it up off the top of the frame to remove it totally, leaving you with something looking like this.

[[Image:tourhead_004.jpg]]

Now identify the two tubes that are already mounted at the top of the frame, looking like this:

[[Image:tourhead_005.jpg]]

Slide one of the black plastic guides into each of these tubes, noting that there is a key in the guide that has to line up with the slot in the tube as shown below.

[[Image:tourhead_006.jpg]]

Push the guide down fully home so that it clips in at the bottom. Do this in both tubes.

[[Image:tourhead_007.jpg]]

Now put the seat back cover back on, noting that there are channels in the foam that the above tubes sit in, as shown below. Don’t bother trying to get the clips in at this stage as it will be coming off again in a moment.

[[Image:tourhead_008.jpg]]

With the seat back cover sitting fully home again, feel where the top of the black plastic guides are and mark with a pen where the centre is of both.

[[Image:tourhead_009.jpg]]

Now you have to remove the seat back cover again and carefully cut open a circle in the cloth and foam underneath to take the black plastic trim (cover). The part of this cover that goes through the hole is only about 15mm in diameter, so don’t make the hole too big. I found the best way to do this is to cut along the lines of the cross you made, always cutting from the outside in towards the centre of the cross, otherwise you may end up slipping with the knife and cutting more than you planned. Now you can lift up the bits you’ve cut and cut round with scissors to remove some of the material. It doesn’t need to be perfect either as long as the cover can push through. Mine looked like this before I put in the cover.

[[Image:tourhead_010.jpg]]

This is the cover and washer that you need to fit in the hole you’ve just cut.

[[Image:tourhead_011.jpg]]

The idea is that the white washer pushes down over the ridges on the barrel of the cover and locks in place as shown below (I didn’t push it right down as it’s not designed to come off again!) So, the black plastic cover goes through the hole you’ve just cut from the outside and the white washer goes on the inside to keep it in place. This is probably the most tricky part of the whole job!

[[Image:tourhead_012.jpg]]

The difficulty is pushing the washer down in the limited space of the channel down the back of the seat back cover. I found it best to push down on one side of the washer with a finger and the other side with a flat blade screw driver. You need to ensure the white washer grips all round the barrel of the cover. The photo below shows it all in place.

[[Image:tourhead_013.jpg]]

Turn the seat back cover over and you should see this!! Nice and neat!

[[Image:tourhead_014.jpg]]

Now you can fit the seat back cover back on the frame, ensuring all six clips hold it in place. Put the seat base back down and clip the seat-belt buckle retainers back in place. Now the exciting bit – fitting the head-rest! If you’ve got it all right, it should slot in easy enough.

[[Image:tourhead_015.jpg]]

Now stand back and admire your handywork!

[[Image:tourhead_016.jpg]]

Now stand back and admire your handywork!

[[Image:tourhead_017.jpg]]

This article is copyright to E30zone and must not be replicated without prior permission. Written and photographed by Pete

HID Headlight Conversion

2008-09-27T10:13:20Z

Morat:

''(Originally Submitted on the E30 Zone by'' [[Morat]])

Fitting is very simple. The kit only touches the existing wiring where you connect up the red/black terminals on the back of the HID bulb to the yellow/black wires inside the headlight.
First of all I used a Dremel to make a hole in the back of each headlight rear cover. The holes in the picture aren't finished. They ended up about the size of a 50p (and about as round!) so that the new bulb and wires could be threaded through.

[[Image:Hidmorat1CAPS.JPG]]

To hook up the bulbs, first you thread the new bulb into the place where the old one was. It fits, but only just. You need to be careful to approach the headlight straight or you could damage your new bulb. I shifted the water bottles out of the way to get a bit more space on the right hand side, and moved the coolant hose/cables to get some space on the left side (which is even tighter because of the ABS pump).

Then you just use the red/black spade connectors in the picture below to connect to the brown/yellow ones in the existing wiring (you can see them in the picture above). Its obvious which goes where, due to the different sizes. I spent some time cleaning up the old connectors which were pretty filthy and corroded - probably the reason that the original headlights were so dim in the first place. The connector in the black wire fits inside the circular connector on the yellow wire which normally connects to the headlight reflector. It looks a bit dodgy but works fine. I taped up the bare copper so that they won't short out inside the headlight and laid them round the inside of the rear cap so that they wouldn't get in the way of the new bulb.

[[Image:Hidmorat2BULB.JPG]]

After that you can just pop the grommet into place to make a seal. I'll probably put some silicon sealant on it to make it really waterproof but it looks OK as it is. Here's the right hand light fitted, easier than the left hand side to see what’s going on...

[[Image:Hidmorat3RHS.JPG]]

Fitting the ballasts should be easy but it found it more tricky since I couldn't actually get under the car. In the end I just zip tied them in place for a temporary measure (which may well end up permanent depending on how well it works). Connecting the ballasts to the lights is simple. 3 connectors which can't go on the wrong way round - the kind of wiring I like!

Here's where I put the left hand one. If anyone comes up with a better place - please tell me. I'm not really happy with it there.

[[Image:Hidmorat4LEFT.JPG]]

The good news is that they work! Awesome light and no radio interference or noise that you can hear in the cabin. If you turn the lights on with the bonnet open you can hear a whine from the ballasts but it doesn't matter in use.

[[Image:43HID6K.jpg]]

This is a shot taken at Squires Cafe just after dusk. The car on the left has 4300k HIDs fitted and the car on the right has 6000k burners. Its a very hard thing to capture on camera but the light from the car on the right is slightly but noticeably bluer on the 6000k HIDS. It is impossible to see here but the car on the left has standard sidelight bulbs which look very yellow in comparison to the HIDs. The best LED replacements look much better, but you'll probably have to see it "in the flesh" unless a pro photographer can capture it.
Photo by Stonesie.

HID Headlight Conversion

2008-09-27T10:12:21Z

Morat:

''(Originally Submitted on the E30 Zone by'' [[Morat]])

Fitting is very simple. The kit only touches the existing wiring where you connect up the red/black terminals on the back of the HID bulb to the yellow/black wires inside the headlight.
First of all I used a Dremel to make a hole in the back of each headlight rear cover. The holes in the picture aren't finished. They ended up about the size of a 50p (and about as round!) so that the new bulb and wires could be threaded through.

[[Image:Hidmorat1CAPS.JPG]]

To hook up the bulbs, first you thread the new bulb into the place where the old one was. It fits, but only just. You need to be careful to approach the headlight straight or you could damage your new bulb. I shifted the water bottles out of the way to get a bit more space on the right hand side, and moved the coolant hose/cables to get some space on the left side (which is even tighter because of the ABS pump).

Then you just use the red/black spade connectors in the picture below to connect to the brown/yellow ones in the existing wiring (you can see them in the picture above). Its obvious which goes where, due to the different sizes. I spent some time cleaning up the old connectors which were pretty filthy and corroded - probably the reason that the original headlights were so dim in the first place. The connector in the black wire fits inside the circular connector on the yellow wire which normally connects to the headlight reflector. It looks a bit dodgy but works fine. I taped up the bare copper so that they won't short out inside the headlight and laid them round the inside of the rear cap so that they wouldn't get in the way of the new bulb.

[[Image:Hidmorat2BULB.JPG]]

After that you can just pop the grommet into place to make a seal. I'll probably put some silicon sealant on it to make it really waterproof but it looks OK as it is. Here's the right hand light fitted, easier than the left hand side to see what’s going on...

[[Image:Hidmorat3RHS.JPG]]

Fitting the ballasts should be easy but it found it more tricky since I couldn't actually get under the car. In the end I just zip tied them in place for a temporary measure (which may well end up permanent depending on how well it works). Connecting the ballasts to the lights is simple. 3 connectors which can't go on the wrong way round - the kind of wiring I like!

Here's where I put the left hand one. If anyone comes up with a better place - please tell me. I'm not really happy with it there.

[[Image:Hidmorat4LEFT.JPG]]

The good news is that they work! Awesome light and no radio interference or noise that you can hear in the cabin. If you turn the lights on with the bonnet open you can hear a whine from the ballasts but it doesn't matter in use.

[[Image:43HID6K.jpg]]

This is a shot taken at Squires Cafe just after dusk. The car on the left has 4300k HIDs fitted and the car on the right has 6000k burners. Its a very hard thing to capture on camera but the light from the car on the right is slightly but noticeably bluer on the 6000k HIDS. It is impossible to see here but the car on the left has standard sidelight bulbs which look very yellow in comparison to the HIDs. The best LED replacements look much better, but you'll probably have to see it "in the flesh" unless a pro photographer can capture it.

File:43HID6K.jpg

2008-09-27T10:05:19Z

Morat: Morat's 4300k HID (Left) and Stonesie's 6000k HID (Right). Photo by Stonesie.

Morat's 4300k HID (Left) and Stonesie's 6000k HID (Right). Photo by Stonesie.