Cheapest HIDs ever!!

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Morat
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 3:13 pm

After some MOT Monkeys destroyed my 55W HIDs (due to my laziness in leaving the dim dip resistors connected) I was in the market for some replacements. I didn't think that 55W was really worth having since there's only so much light you can use in the dip beam pattern so I thought I'd see how cheap I could get a set of 35W HIDs.

The answer was - pretty cheap.
Ebay Link

Yes - that's £16.69 delivered. From Hong Kong!!!

So, I decided to buy some and test them for the zone. Yes, I'm doing this for you - not because I'm a tight Yorkshire git.

I clicked buy it now and waited till after Christmas.
Here is what arrived:

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The reason the postage was so cheap is that these things are TINY, and they're packed in a polystyrene box so small that once you've unpacked it, only those clever Chinese can possibly put it back together again.


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Here's a shot with the OEM spec tea light for scale. The HIDs don't come with the usual metal brackets for fixing, just some double sided adhesive pads. I thought this was going to be a pain, then realised that I still have both internal headlight covers and a 4w capless bulb began to glimmer dimly above my head.

Yes folks, you can fix these ballasts to the internal headlight cover thingys.
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Once you've opened up the back of the headlight caps enough to feed the burner through (as detailed in the wiki) it's a piece of cake.
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Even the ABS pump/air intake side is really easy, since the ballast sticks onto the cover just above the air intake without any problems. You'll need to be careful feeding the burner into the headlight on this side but there is enough room to do it without moving anything but the internal headlight cover thingy.

They work!!
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How long for? I don't know! I'll let you know if/when one dies. But in the meantime - for less than £17 - I don't see how you can go wrong :)
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kangman
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 4:00 pm




:mad:
shedrool83
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 4:23 pm

kangman wrote:


:mad:
I have order these hope they are as good as the Hong Kong ones.
As i never has any issues with them at all on any of my previous cars.
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bigwinn
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 4:26 pm

Can you get different lux strengths? I need a set of 4600k?

I was going to buy the super bright halfords ones, @ £29.99 for a pair

Dont think I'll bother for £17 delivered!!!!

Good spot chap
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 4:27 pm

shedrool83 wrote:
kangman wrote:


:mad:
I have order these hope they are as good as the Hong Kong ones.
As i never has any issues with them at all on any of my previous cars.
Im tempted but it seems too good to be true. let me know the outcome :D
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Brianmoooore
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:12 pm

bigwinn wrote:Can you get different lux strengths? I need a set of 4600k?

I was going to buy the super bright halfords ones, @ £29.99 for a pair

Dont think I'll bother for £17 delivered!!!!

Good spot chap
You can get different colour ones, which also affects the brightness. 4300K is the whitest and brightest, with them getting more blue and dimmer as the colour temp. number increases.
Anything above 8000K is likely to get you pulled over for having blue lights.
All are "adequate" in terms of brightness, and in a completely different league to the Halfords bulbs you refer to.
shedrool83
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:32 pm

kangman wrote:
shedrool83 wrote:
kangman wrote:


:mad:
I have order these hope they are as good as the Hong Kong ones.
As i never has any issues with them at all on any of my previous cars.
Im tempted but it seems too good to be true. let me know the outcome :D
Was thinking the same tbh.
I'll let you know once they arrive.
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Grrrmachine
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 6:22 pm

Was the brand of these lights "STORM" by any chance? I picked up mine before christmas for a similar price.
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 6:31 pm

looks like i know what i'll be ordering at the end of the month winkeye

anybody know what the 55w 4300K's are like? any good??

a good spot there fella.
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jon-m42
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 7:22 pm

Good buy i guess.

I did mine recently and the plastic cover that holds the bulbs looks exactly the same as mine, I paid £20 to the door.

great little upgrade and well lets just hope it goes for as long as it can hey :P
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harry_p
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Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 7:44 pm

I had no problem fitting the old fasioned metal ballasts behind the standard headlight covers, just sat them flat in the metal panel under the dip beam unit.

However, £17 delivered, worth buying a set just to keep as spares, and really does make a mockery of halfords and the like charging £20 per bulb!
cheers,

harry
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Post Mon Jan 07, 2013 2:55 pm

Presumably, the bulbs are the same as any of the other kits (assuming same wattage)? If so, it seems worthwhile buying a set just for the bulbs. My HIDs have been running for just over 4 years now without problems, but inevitably the bulbs are going to go at some stage. At this price it makes sense to have another kit as stand-by.
Dave in Torquay

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Quaser
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Post Mon Jan 07, 2013 4:58 pm

so how much difference is there between the 35w and 55w ones?
BMW E30 2.0 Convertible (M52B28)
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Post Mon Jan 07, 2013 5:16 pm

Not sure about the difference, but I have 55w 5000k kit on my car and it is really bright.

Only had one driver flash at me since putting them on since Christmas, but I think this maybe due to the right hand lens needing to be adjusted downwards a bit.

I'm thinking of putting a light tint on the lens hence going for 55w
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Post Tue Jan 08, 2013 9:30 pm

Quaser wrote:so how much difference is there between the 35w and 55w ones?
The 55w kits are noticeably brighter but you cant actually see any further if your dip beam pattern is legal. I went back to 35w for my latest set and prefer them because I can objects in the full beam pattern more easily. This is important to me because i live in the sticks and use full beam a lot more than most.
E30 Touring 0.35 cD - more slippery than prison soap :)

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Post Tue Jan 08, 2013 11:05 pm

ive got a set of these, need to get them fitted
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Post Wed Jan 09, 2013 1:35 pm

you know if they fucked them during the mot test they have to repair/pay to repair what ever has fail whilist perfoming test eg. if a brake pipe pops on test they have to fix it foc most of time garages get away with it is customers are glad it has happened there and not on the road and are happy to pay themselves as they are neieve to this rule writen in by vosa :twisted:
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Post Thu Jan 10, 2013 11:50 am

littlearmy87 wrote:you know if they ****** them during the mot test they have to repair/pay to repair what ever has fail whilist perfoming test eg. if a brake pipe pops on test they have to fix it foc most of time garages get away with it is customers are glad it has happened there and not on the road and are happy to pay themselves as they are neieve to this rule writen in by vosa :twisted:
That I didn't know...
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Post Fri Jan 11, 2013 6:35 pm

Were you looking for sexy lady clothes when you found them winkeye

I'd like to get some slim ballast ones for when the touring goes back on the road. Might go 55w if there's no risk of anything burning out?
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Brianmoooore
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Post Fri Jan 11, 2013 6:43 pm

Brighter isn't necessarily better! If you get the area immediately in front of the car too bright, it can be like standing in the sun trying to see into a shaded room. 35W is more than adequate.
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Post Fri Jan 11, 2013 7:57 pm

littlearmy87 wrote:you know if they ****** them during the mot test they have to repair/pay to repair what ever has fail whilist perfoming test eg. if a brake pipe pops on test they have to fix it foc most of time garages get away with it is customers are glad it has happened there and not on the road and are happy to pay themselves as they are neieve to this rule writen in by vosa :twisted:
Wish I'd known that when I took my bronze E30 for its terminal MOT - could have all the holes created by the MOT testers "corrosion assessment tool" welded up FOC :chuckle:
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e30topless said : Proper BMW's have 4 headlights, last of the run was the E30 and E34/E32 anything after that is just complete shite
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Post Sun Jan 13, 2013 9:45 pm

:D Erm yes and no if you paid for an appeal and had it retested by vosa inspector and it was agreed that excesive force was used then yes, but if it was because it was just rotten then its just tuff lol. (mot manual says not more than thumb pressure)
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parkin10
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Post Sun Jan 13, 2013 9:56 pm

but whats the amazon HID kit like :?:
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Post Sun Jan 13, 2013 10:52 pm

No idea :) I'd like to know. At £17 I paid over the odds! Lol.
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bigwinn
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Post Sat Jan 19, 2013 3:11 pm

Fitted mine today

All good in the hood!

Very happy

:cool:
Bronzit gone- she lives on
'89 325i auto touring: Malachite Green

Now, I'm no gynecologist, but I know a tw4t when I see one...
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Post Sat Jan 19, 2013 5:43 pm

Morat wrote:No idea :) I'd like to know. At £17 I paid over the odds! Lol.
Do you have an ebay link for them?

cheers :D
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Post Sat Jan 19, 2013 6:07 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:
bigwinn wrote:Can you get different lux strengths? I need a set of 4600k?

I was going to buy the super bright halfords ones, @ £29.99 for a pair

Dont think I'll bother for £17 delivered!!!!

Good spot chap
You can get different colour ones, which also affects the brightness. 4300K is the whitest and brightest, with them getting more blue and dimmer as the colour temp. number increases.
Anything above 8000K is likely to get you pulled over for having blue lights.
All are "adequate" in terms of brightness, and in a completely different league to the Halfords bulbs you refer to.
I am convinced that 6000K is the whitest light you can get and anything below that is going to the yelow'ish tint side and above goes to the blue'ish tint, even in my monitor settings says that 6500K is the white of white stuff.
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Post Sat Jan 19, 2013 6:14 pm

kangman wrote:
Morat wrote:No idea :) I'd like to know. At £17 I paid over the odds! Lol.
Do you have an ebay link for them?

cheers :D
Might be this one:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Xenon-HID ... 3f1ed7c368

Its for H7 type socket but he says u can choose different sockets and colours :wink:
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pianist
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Post Sat Jan 19, 2013 6:24 pm

This one is UK seller for £16.99:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/D2S-D2R-XENON ... 27b78c6e6d

To add to my previous post aparently 6500K is pure white for RGB Monitor so I might be wrong about the colour of the Xenon :mad:
but I do own a 6000K Xenons and they look quite white to me lol

Check this out for more colours:
http://www.3drender.com/glossary/colortemp.htm
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Post Sun Jan 20, 2013 12:38 pm

pianist wrote:This one is UK seller for £16.99:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/D2S-D2R-XENON ... 27b78c6e6d
That's bulbs only though, not a conversion kit.

Ben
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Post Sun Jan 20, 2013 7:07 pm

my bad :o:
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Post Sun Jan 20, 2013 9:13 pm

shedrool83 wrote:
kangman wrote:


:mad:
I have order these hope they are as good as the Hong Kong ones.
As i never has any issues with them at all on any of my previous cars.
I fitted these the other day and they seem fine .Early days and the cars in the garage for the winter but they deffo seem worth the money.
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Post Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:06 pm

kangman wrote:
Morat wrote:No idea :) I'd like to know. At £17 I paid over the odds! Lol.
Do you have an ebay link for them?

cheers :D
Yep, as in the first post of the thread ;)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261101019948? ... 1439.l2649
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Morat
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Post Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:08 pm

pianist wrote:This one is UK seller for £16.99:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/D2S-D2R-XENON ... 27b78c6e6d

To add to my previous post aparently 6500K is pure white for RGB Monitor so I might be wrong about the colour of the Xenon :mad:
but I do own a 6000K Xenons and they look quite white to me lol

Check this out for more colours:
http://www.3drender.com/glossary/colortemp.htm
If you see 4300k and 6000k HIDs side by side you'll notice that 6000k has a slight but noticeable blue tint. There's a photo of this on the wiki from years back when Stonesie and I parked up next to each other, but it's hard thing to photograph properly.
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kangman
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Post Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:31 pm

shedrool83 wrote:
shedrool83 wrote:
kangman wrote:


:mad:
I have order these hope they are as good as the Hong Kong ones.
As i never has any issues with them at all on any of my previous cars.
I fitted these the other day and they seem fine .Early days and the cars in the garage for the winter but they deffo seem worth the money.
Were the ballast big? did u manage to squeeze everything behind the headlight cover?