HID Kits for BX

[Way2go]

These seem to be a very easy install.

The legality I believe is for HID to fitted you have to have self levelling headlights.

Is the BX as a self levelling car able to get away with it?

[jonathan_dyane]

I believe that regulations also dictate having headlamp washers, and that fitment to headlamps not designed for HID may still contravene regulations.

Why don't you save the money and just drive round with main beam on if you wish to dazzle people

[Aerodynamica]

Agreed! HIDs dazzle. They also seem to flash as the car goes over bumps looking like they're flashing at you! there seems to be a very sharp cut off between the lit area and the edge.

[DavidRutherford]

AFAIK after market HID kits for normal headlamps are not legal, you have to have a complete headlamp assembly that is designed around HID lamps. Simply fitting HID units into headlamps designed for Tungsten / Halogen lamps means you get light in all sorts of places it shouldn't be.

That said, I have heard some good things about them from people who have fitted HID kits to things like XM's and CX's, although I've also heard bad things from people who have been on the road near them!

For the BX I'd say your best bet is a brand new pair of headlamps, and a pair of decent lamps. Something like Philips silver stars or some such other reputable unit.

[MULLEY]

Got to agree with everyone one here, save the expense & get some decent 50+ or 80+ bulbs. If your headlamps are old & the silver inside is looking a bit drab, some brand new headlights make a huge difference. I'll try & dig out my magazine which did a review of bulbs.

[MULLEY]

Info supplied courtesy of Autoexpress asof Nov 2008:

Plus 30:
Best Buy - Ring Xenon Plus £15.99 BEAM = 76metres
Recommended - Philips Premium £14.50 BEAM = 75metres

Plus 50:
Best Buy - Philips X-treme Power £22.99 BEAM = 100metres
Recommended - Osram Night Breaker £21.24 BEAM = 94metres

Blue Bulbs:
Best Buy - Halfords Super Brilliance Blue £35.98 BEAM = 77metres
Recommended - Philips Blue Vision Xenon effect £35.98 BEAM = 77metres

These results were using H4 bulbs.

To give you an idea of how much better all the above bulbs are regarding how far they shine, the bulbs below are just standard one's:

Best Buy - Halfords Value Twin Pack £9.49 BEAM = 56metres
Recommended - Hella HB2 £6.88 BEAM = 56metres

OVER 20 metres difference

An eco alternative is also offered by Philips, they're called the EcoVision Energy Saver £19.95 BEAM = 69metres. Apparently they use upto 20% less energy & should last for 31000miles, which is twice as long as standard bulbs, & over that distance you would have saved 14.3litres of fuel. This wasnt actually tested or verified by the magazine, only the beam output was tested. Potentially a good idea if independent tests can prove these claims.

Any questions?

[maxgreenwood]

They also seem to flash as the car goes over bumps looking like they're flashing at you

i agree, quite annoying!

[Way2go]

A lot of information there Mulley but these are all tungsten filament lamps arn't they and the distance figures are pretty meaningless without knowing what is recognisable or detectable at that range. Some of those bulbs are more expensive than replacement HID bulbs.

HID has the advantage over tungsten because as a discharge lamp it operates over a much narrower spectral range increasing the efficiency of illumination because its power is concentrated at the peak response of the human eye and not wasteful radiation in the blue and infra-red too. So, basically your Watts go primarily into seeing and it contributes less to global warming.

Just to mention that I am not proposing to fit HID to mine as my lights are OK at present and I am aware of the other considerations too. I just thought the kit was interesting in it's small size and simplicity of fit as an aftermarket product. The question of self levelling though is debatable whether it can be provided by the car or must be provided within the headlamp to conform to rules and regs.

For the MOT, you can refit the standard bulbs as the wiring is still there if it's believed to be an issue.
On construction & use regs as a daily issue I don't know if Plod is likely to be looking out for this and fining you but judging by the amount of Chavs riding around with their supposedly 'bling' blue dashboard lights and under-car fluorescent lights, there doesn't seem to be any campaign against that.

[docchevron]

hhmm, if I still ran the XM I would almost certainly install HiD as the light output was shite.
Although it did improve after they were modded a bit...

As for the BX, exactley what is wrong with the standard lights?

If the headlamps themselves are in good condition and you're getting full voltage at the bulb then they're perfectly good at lighting stuff up.

What kills most of them for light output on standard legal bulbs is a lack of voltage at the bulbs, easily fixed with some relays...

[MULLEY]

I thought that the cheapest hid bulbs were about £100 each? The prices i quoted were for a pair of bulbs.

I guess you have a point about the distance thing way2go, what i can say is that the test description was:

Two samples of each bulb were taken into a light tunnel at the Philips plant in Germany, the light output was measured at 50 & 75 metres, then the dip readings were done at those same distances which when combined gave the beam rating, as an average of both samples as they do vary from bulb to bulb.

Quite what the above means in the real world is anyone's guess, i suspect what it actually means is that the lights shine at a visible level at those beam rating distances, which would make them quite a bit brighter than standard bulbs.

I've personally had some higher output bulbs fitted for a while now, & the difference is huge, even on dipped they are noticeably brighter, & then on full beam they are superb.

[DavidRutherford]

The question of self levelling though is debatable whether it can be provided by the car or must be provided within the headlamp to conform to rules and regs.

I would suggest that the self-leveling suspension would allow that aspect of the law to be conformed with, as I don't believe either the C5 or C6 has self leveling lamps.

[demag]

I had to smile while reading this. When looking for an Xm I read the bumf on t'net about how Citroen designed these lights specifically to give good dip cut off with no fear of stray light dazzling oncoming vehicles. They weren't kidding! The cut off is that spectacular as to render dip beam pretty well useless! I have had Hid's fitted for some months now and have to say the increase in light output (and therefore safety) has to be seen to be believed. The strange thing is that the dip beam appears to be quite low in front of the car, but the light is an intense pure white. A number of other people have also mentioned how low the beam appears on their Xm's and looking at the car from the front the beams are very bright but do not dazzle.

When I bought the Bx I was surprised at just how good the standard dip beams are compared to the Xm. Strange How Citroen could have slipped up so badly on their top model and then failed to rectify the fault later.

Oh yes, those Hid's in the link are very expensive. Mine were about 35 quid although to be honest I haven't looked at prices lately.

[DavidRutherford]

The cut off is that spectacular as to render dip beam pretty well useless!

Isn't that the truth. XM headlamps are the only ones so bad that I missed the turning for my own road!

[docchevron]

The main issue with the XM headlamp was that Citroën couldn't be arsed to make a RHD version of the unit, so they installed those fucking awful reflectors in front of the bulb to bend the light and alter the pattern.
Result was shit light output and indeed the above mentioned unbelievably sharp cut off.

[citro-geoff]

Why waste money on these dangerous HID lamps that are fitted to virtually all the German crap and Chelsea tractors on the road these days.When they follow you,the mirror has to be dipped,and when they approach you,they blind you. Why not start a campaign to BAN them as being dangerous to other road users. You can buy good 80/120w H4 bulbs these days,and I have fitted them to my BX.(best to go through a relay though) I have also fitted H1 100w to the wife's Xantia,and they make a great improvement:lol: I keep thinking about putting a large reflective screen that I can pull up with a cord whenever one of these idiots with HID lights gets behind me to give him a taste of what he is giving out.