fitted HID to a new Audi A4

[CA Automotive UK]

although we deal mainly in BMW , the lighting upgrade side of business has me working on all sorts of vehicles at times , from vespa to Hummer

I have always quiety admired the later Audis , especially styling , and the build quality on this 2005 A4 was very VERY good.

For some reason customer never speced HID Xenon from factory , so we obliged by carrying out the gas discharge conversion and interior xenon colour bulb set , £460 fitted .

We also fitted a laser jammer ..errr sorry garage door opener , £400

[Stock323iSaloon]

Roy, how do u get around 'glare' issue with your HID conversion - for cars with normal halogen housing with no projector?

[CA Automotive UK]

hi stock

there are no glare issues with a properly configured HID kit ;) here are some clarifications on HID that I hope are of interest ( forgive my anorak moment , lighting is a pet subject of mine :o )

- early HID equipped cars did not have projector lenses ;as long as the aftremarket HID bulb is built with the correct focal point relative to the centre axis of the reflector then there is no glare ( less in fact, relatively , than halogen ..but thats a whole other geeks- worth of discussion :D ) , all you get is a sharply defined and cutoff beam pattern on the road , very white and very bright .
- early bodgy and cheap ebay HID kits used DS2 or similar type philips bulbs that were specifically designed for factory HID headlamps only . they would then cut off the bases( as they would not engage into halogen bulb receptacles such as H1 , H7 H4 etc ) and glued on makeshift bases to suit bulb type or worse still incuded crude shaped spacer rings. Problem was they did not pay attention to aforementioned focal points of the bulb , so although the actual light output was greatly increased , the focus and beam pattern were way out , and often there was actuallly LESS light on falling on to the area of ther road where you needed it most .
- many non- HID headlamps are fitted with projector lenses too, they were not specifically designed initially for HID , but most HID headlamps now employ them , if not all .
- Kelvin is a measure standard of colour temperature and NOT brightness
- 3800 - 4800 kelvin is generally regarded as the best colour range for human vision , so forget 7000 k bulbs and the like , they look stupid blue / purple IMHO , and perceptible light output is LESS at these higher ranges
- a halogen bulb draws 55 / 60 watts , HID only draws 35 watts , except for our 50 watt racing system , which is awesome ..HID is 300 % brighter than halogen and our racing kit is 30 % brighter than that !!
- headlamp power wash and rear axle self levelling is a legal requirement ONLY on new cars equipped at the factory and does NOT apply to aftermarket kits .
- a HID kit operates at 18 000 to 22 000 volts and gives off a large electromagnatic flash that I have seen interfere with on board electronics in all sorts of ways , eg car cuts out dead , wipers come on , alarm goes off , computer displays german , anti lock brake ecu disengages etc . THAT is why a cheap HID kit is a bad idea ...magnetic shielding etc is relatively expensive to build in

hope I havent sent you to sleep , let me know if anything else

roy

[lee330sport]

headlamp power wash and rear axle self levelling is a legal requirement ONLY on new cars equipped at the factory and does NOT apply to aftermarket kits .
They printed that in the last EVO magazine too, looks like most people have finally got it...... just before anyone comes on again saying they are illegal again.:rolleyes:

[Stock323iSaloon]

They printed that in the last EVO magazine too, looks like most people have finally got it...... just before anyone comes on again saying they are illegal again.:rolleyes:

I recall that thread was heated!!!

BTW Roy, when you say 'properly configured', how can one tell if the bulbs are 'configured' correctly? I mean if the bulb seating is standardised (say H7), and bulb focal point/length identical to oem bulbs etc... i've looked at about 6 different H7 kits before I bought mine, and to me, they all look identical. when bulbs are ignited, they throw light in all direction, so all that's directing light outwards is the mirror housing. is that so? if u can shed light on the 'proper' configuration, that'll be great help.

Roy, we crown u the undisputed HID geek ;)

[CA Automotive UK]

:D i wear my geek crown with pride then [jam

Yes , the reflector housing is what directs the light outward , but as well as doing thi sthe reflectors function is also to focus the light into a confined and coherent beam pattern . Think of the effect of spinning the focus head on a big Maglite type torch .....

to be honest all modern HID kits I have seen lately all seem to have properly made bulbs .

The trick is in getting the point light source the correct distance from centre of the reflector so a correct and focused beam pattren is produced . This consequently dependant on the distance of the bulb's light point source to the bulb base.

On say A H7 bulb most of the light is produced at he filament approx 2/3 rds up the length of the bulb glass , but if you look at a HID bulb the little capsule of gas that ignites to produce the light point source is usually in the centre to the glass tube length .

early / cheap kits did not take this factor into account so the light would be emmited either too close or too far from the reflector centre .

The first company to really address all these issues was Japans Beloff some years ago , but their circuitry was unnecessarily complex and kits very expensive ......back then when we first got into HID market and were their UK agents it was almost £1000 per kit !!! So we got together with Target Automotive in Holland and copied their basics but improved and simplified thge kits , added even more shielding , and hey presto one of the best , if not THE best HID kits on the market was born .

Sorry to show off , but i dont know any other HID company that REGULARLY sells HID to :

- official porsche and Aston dealers
- civy run branches of the military
- private coach companies
- rally teams ( 2 now )

and so on ........

what HID kit brand do you have out of interest ?

[kam32oi Cab]

hi roy, looks like a good fit :cool:

xenons are on my list, im ok with wiring, u rekon it shud be hassle free on my fitting a kit on my car? or will my old wires burn out LOL (only kidding) wats the charge from u guys to fit a kit i supply?

thanks pal

[CA Automotive UK]

hi mate

depends which kit you have bought , let me know . Be VERY careful with cheap ( ie under £250 ) HID kits ...they can be dangerous .

I charge £80 for dipped beam install on most cars

regards
r