Exploring HID Xenon Kits for Legality within the UK
HID Xenon headlights were first created in the 1990’s. They were considered a sophisticated option which could change the appearance of a vehicle at night as well as the experience. Xenon is credited with 300 percent more light than the original halogen lights, and lasting 10 times longer. They are also cooler looking with the blue white tint. Thus the HID xenon lights became fashionable.
Cars that have regular halogen bulbs are boring when you view the HID xenon lights. This is why there are retro fit HID xenon kits that help you convert your headlights. Unfortunately the question arises as to whether they are really street legal for public roads.
The easiest answer would be to say that the HID kits are not legal, but there is always a degree of legal. So the answer is not as simple as all that. To really understand the answer to whether they are legal requires you to look at the legal requirements of the kits.
To paraphrase the current Department of Transport legal position on HID kits, it states that for xenon HID lights to be legal it must fitted to a vehicle with self levelling suspension (or self levelling headlights), fitted to headlights that have a self cleaning function and fitted to a headlight unit, that has the European standards “E” mark. The term headlight unit is used to describe the bulb, outer lens and reflector.
Retailers will advertise that their kits are E marked, and that they have self cleaning and self levelling suspension that fits within the law. The truth is less than what is advertised. In fact it is mostly untrue. The Department of Transport stated in their statement that HID kits are not permitted when converting from halogen units to HID bulbs and it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not considered legal.
So what do you do if you really want HID xenon lights, but only have halogen headlight bulbs and want to keep your car road legal. The straightforward answer is that there is no easy or simple option. If your vehicle is offered by the manufacturer with factory fitted xenon lights, then you can contact them and see if they are able to replace your existing headlights with the full factory fitted xenon HID system. This would satisfy Department of Transport rules because the entire headlight unit and associated accessories would be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs.
Unfortunately a manufacturer factory fitted HID xenon upgrade is not cheap and will probably cost you around 3000. The only other option available, and considerably cheaper, is to upgrade your halogen headlight bulbs to xenon bulbs. These upgrade xenon bulbs are not like the HID xenon bulbs, which come with an HID kit, instead they are identical to your existing halogen headlight bulbs but instead of being filled with halogen they use xenon gas instead.
There are two top upgrades you can purchase called the Osram Night Braker and the Philips Extreme Power bulbs. These two options emit up to 90 percent more light and up to 35 metres more distance than halogen. They are also 10 percent whiter than halogen. The best part to this option is that they are street legal because no modification is necessary. You can install them without invalidating your insurance or getting stopped by the constabulary.
The xenon upgrade option is not going to be as brilliant as the HID kits, but they are within the law. They are also far better than halogen bulbs and cost about 20. If you want to stay legal then your option is to have xenon bulb upgrades or you can save for the factory fitted HID xenon light kits provided by the manufacturer of your car.
If you don’t want the hassle of installation and legality issues of fitting an HID kit, you should consider fitting xenon Headlight Bulbs instead. The very latest high performance Xenon Bulbs emit up to 90% more light than standard halogen, are completely road legal and simple to fit.
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