crespo
TAF Member
First of all the MOT law.
It has always been a failure to install a HID kit on a car that does not have headlight washers, self levelling headlights and projector lense headlights.
To be honest i am yet to hear of anyone actually failing an MOT with a HID kit installed but that is not to say it does or has not happened. If it concerns you you can always revert back to halogen for the MOT. I have also never heard of anyone getting stopped by the police over a HID kit.
Headlight with a projector lense.
You accord will need H1 Bulbs for a conversion and then you have the fun part.
Choosing what colour temp and wattage of the ballast.
The colour temp for the bulbs range from 3000k (yellow) all the way to 12000 (purple)
Now what colour you go for is completely up to you but bare in mind that 4300k is the output that will give you the most usable light. Most manufacturers fit this colour temp as standard.
Now you have chosen your colour you are left with the choice of either a 35watt kit or a 55watt kit. A common miss conception is that just because the 55watt kit is brighter it will dazzle on coming drivers. This is simply not the case, If your beam is adjusted correctly the cut off on the projector lense will do its job and stop the light rising high enough to blind on coming cars.
I can testify to this as i have had a 55watt kit on my car for over 12 months and i have never once been flashed in that time.
This picture shows the difference. 35watt kit is top and 55watt kit is bottom.
Now you are nearly there, your final choice is the ballast. Slim medium or large.
There are no real benefits for the large ballast and they will all do what thy are supposed to but the slim/medium ballast will be easier to stow away due to it being approximately half the width of a standard ballast. although the slim/medium ballasts are sometimes a little more than the larger ballasts.
Here is a comparison of all 3 ballasts next to each other.
That pretty much sums up everything you need to know.
Now enjoy your HID kit and ask yourself why it took you so long to get one installed.
Finally some known issues.
Flickering, Either a badly installed bulb or a faulty ballast.
Light turning bluer over time. This is perfectly normal and all xenon bulbs will go bluer as they age.
Bad radio reception. Some of the cheap Chinese kits will cause interference with your radio signal due to bad insulation. The only solution is to ditch the ballasts and buy better quality ballasts. This is fairly rare but does happen.
If you install your kit and find one side not working remember to test the ballast on the working side to rule out a faulty bulb or ballast.
Finally some videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKiI5c3Jp74
It has always been a failure to install a HID kit on a car that does not have headlight washers, self levelling headlights and projector lense headlights.
To be honest i am yet to hear of anyone actually failing an MOT with a HID kit installed but that is not to say it does or has not happened. If it concerns you you can always revert back to halogen for the MOT. I have also never heard of anyone getting stopped by the police over a HID kit.
Headlight with a projector lense.
You accord will need H1 Bulbs for a conversion and then you have the fun part.
Choosing what colour temp and wattage of the ballast.
The colour temp for the bulbs range from 3000k (yellow) all the way to 12000 (purple)
Now what colour you go for is completely up to you but bare in mind that 4300k is the output that will give you the most usable light. Most manufacturers fit this colour temp as standard.
Now you have chosen your colour you are left with the choice of either a 35watt kit or a 55watt kit. A common miss conception is that just because the 55watt kit is brighter it will dazzle on coming drivers. This is simply not the case, If your beam is adjusted correctly the cut off on the projector lense will do its job and stop the light rising high enough to blind on coming cars.
I can testify to this as i have had a 55watt kit on my car for over 12 months and i have never once been flashed in that time.
This picture shows the difference. 35watt kit is top and 55watt kit is bottom.
Now you are nearly there, your final choice is the ballast. Slim medium or large.
There are no real benefits for the large ballast and they will all do what thy are supposed to but the slim/medium ballast will be easier to stow away due to it being approximately half the width of a standard ballast. although the slim/medium ballasts are sometimes a little more than the larger ballasts.
Here is a comparison of all 3 ballasts next to each other.
That pretty much sums up everything you need to know.
Now enjoy your HID kit and ask yourself why it took you so long to get one installed.
Finally some known issues.
Flickering, Either a badly installed bulb or a faulty ballast.
Light turning bluer over time. This is perfectly normal and all xenon bulbs will go bluer as they age.
Bad radio reception. Some of the cheap Chinese kits will cause interference with your radio signal due to bad insulation. The only solution is to ditch the ballasts and buy better quality ballasts. This is fairly rare but does happen.
If you install your kit and find one side not working remember to test the ballast on the working side to rule out a faulty bulb or ballast.
Finally some videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKiI5c3Jp74
