Vauxhall Astra K Forum banner

HIDS

36K views 93 replies 20 participants last post by  Rywilson97 
#1 ·
Can anyone recommend a HIDS kit/supplier for the K? I know the Phillips kit has been mentioned but this seems a silly price to be honest
Thanks
 
#2 ·
Have you tried 'HIDS Direct'? http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/

They correctly identified my car and appear to stock LED bulbs for it, for example, so type in your reg and see what they come up with. I've bought stuff from them for my 'J' and always found them helpful and efficient.
 
#3 ·
Well ordered an hids4u 35w 5000k hid kit and got round to fitting it today.

Worked a treat to start with but when out driving tonight and went into a tunnel the auto lights kicked in and although the lights worked perfectly I still got a bulb out warning.
The bulb out warning isn't too bad as it just shows for 5 seconds or so then goes out.. I have email hids4u to see if they have any solution so will see what happens.
In general a good piece of kit and the light output with the projectors is fantastic.
The 5000k bulbs give a pure white light which matches the led DRL's perfectly
 
#6 ·
regarding th ebulb out warning this only happens when the auto lights kick in.

No errors when starting the car or when turning the lights on manually...just when the auto lights start up...but at least no boing boing boing sound so its easy to live with as the message only stays on the display for a few seconds unless you decide to clear it manually.

Hope to get a response from the supplier on Monday as maybe there is a solution to the error message
 
#8 ·
How easy was it to fit the kit yourself? any issues? Was it a direct fit or did you need to make some alterations?
 
#9 ·
Proph said:
How easy was it to fit the kit yourself? any issues? Was it a direct fit or did you need to make some alterations?
Basically plug and play and only took around half hour to fit..more time spent trying to find a place to fit the ballast than anything else as their isn't much spare room under the bonnet.

Only mod to carry out is to drill a 25mm hole into the back of the plastic dust cap and then fit the grommet which is supplied.

Also the bulbs are metal based and not plastic like the ones on eBay
 
#16 ·
Not really but as they are in projectors the light is directed in the right direction... As you can see in the photo you can see the ticks...this means the light is not scattering like it would if the were fitted in lights with reflectors.
I have had them before on other cars and they always pass an mot but I never go above 5000k...go to 6000k and you are asking for attention as they look too blue in my opinion
 
#18 ·
JJ-Yorks said:
Just a quick update as someone asked and I cannot remember who it was who asked..the light from the Hids even in wet conditions and at night still give a good spread of light
It was me and thanks. ;)

I now know though that I can't fit HIDS to mine as I'm getting it under the Motability scheme and they're counted as a 'structural alteration' and that's a no no. Because they're supposed to be fitted to the bodywork I imagine.

After reading reports on here about the quality of the Ks' headlights I've looked instead at bulbs. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of this type? They seem to have good reviews online from Mags/Blogs and users. I still like the idea of the 'white' bulbs as I imagine they'd suit the running lights.
http://www.powerbulbs.com/product/philips-whitevision-h4-twin?gclid=CJ_-mZDbsc4CFdQ_GwodsWAFpA
 
#19 ·
Slartibartfast said:
JJ-Yorks said:
Just a quick update as someone asked and I cannot remember who it was who asked..the light from the Hids even in wet conditions and at night still give a good spread of light
It was me and thanks. ;)

I now know though that I can't fit HIDS to mine as I'm getting it under the Motability scheme and they're counted as a 'structural alteration' and that's a no no. Because they're supposed to be fitted to the bodywork I imagine.

After reading reports on here about the quality of the Ks' headlights I've looked instead at bulbs. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of this type? They seem to have good reviews online from Mags/Blogs and users. I still like the idea of the 'white' bulbs as I imagine they'd suit the running lights.
http://www.powerbulbs.com/product/philips-whitevision-h4-twin?gclid=CJ_-mZDbsc4CFdQ_GwodsWAFpA
It's not a permanent modification doing a hid conversion.. If you bought a couple of plastic caps that are fitted at the back of the headlight then you can replace the ones you have drilled the hole in when you hand the car back.
The kits are plug and play and I have mounted the ballasts with industrial strength Velcro on the support beams between the front of the car and the wings. You could easily remove the full kit in 20 mins which would include fitting the original bulbs.
Regarding the H7 White bulbs yes they will match the leds but you will not see a thing in the wet at night and with winter approaching I personally would stay well clear. If you do go down this route people say the PIAA's are the best but at £50 a pair they are expensive and nearly the same price as a Hid kit
 
#20 ·
JJ-Yorks said:
Slartibartfast said:
JJ-Yorks said:
Just a quick update as someone asked and I cannot remember who it was who asked..the light from the Hids even in wet conditions and at night still give a good spread of light
It was me and thanks. ;)

I now know though that I can't fit HIDS to mine as I'm getting it under the Motability scheme and they're counted as a 'structural alteration' and that's a no no. Because they're supposed to be fitted to the bodywork I imagine.

After reading reports on here about the quality of the Ks' headlights I've looked instead at bulbs. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of this type? They seem to have good reviews online from Mags/Blogs and users. I still like the idea of the 'white' bulbs as I imagine they'd suit the running lights.
http://www.powerbulbs.com/product/philips-whitevision-h4-twin?gclid=CJ_-mZDbsc4CFdQ_GwodsWAFpA
It's not a permanent modification doing a hid conversion.. If you bought a couple of plastic caps that are fitted at the back of the headlight then you can replace the ones you have drilled the hole in when you hand the car back.
The kits are plug and play and I have mounted the ballasts with industrial strength Velcro on the support beams between the front of the car and the wings. You could easily remove the full kit in 20 mins which would include fitting the original bulbs.
Regarding the H7 White bulbs yes they will match the leds but you will not see a thing in the wet at night and with winter approaching I personally would stay well clear. If you do go down this route people say the PIAA's are the best but at £50 a pair they are expensive and nearly the same price as a Hid kit
Sadly my days of any technical or mechanical job taking me 20mins are looooong gone. :D
With the apparent (going by this forum) potential for Astra Ks' to visit the dealers regularly I'll probably give the hassle a miss. HIDS would be my preferred option but sadly not viable for me.
I took your advice and had another good search for bulbs and avoided the 'white light ones' and there do seem a good selection of brighter bulbs that may have a slight yellowing but would still be an improvement over the standard.
http://www.powerbulbs.com/product/night-breaker-unlimited-h7 http://www.osram.com/osram_com/news-and-knowledge/automotive-special/automotive-performance-lamps-full-power-of-light-for-your-vehicle/night-breaker-unlimited-product-details/index.jsp seem to be the favourites at the moment. Pretty white but still effective during the cursed winter months.
Thanks for your help. :cool:
 
#23 ·
Didnt experienced this....but try swapping the bulbs over to the other side...take the near side bulb and put in the off side and visa versa..could be a bad bulb...if that doesn't work then try swapping the ballasts over in the same way...otherwise ask the supplier...mine worked first time with no issues
 
#24 ·
JJ-Yorks said:
Didnt experienced this....but try swapping the bulbs over to the other side...take the near side bulb and put in the off side and visa versa..could be a bad bulb...if that doesn't work then try swapping the ballasts over in the same way...otherwise ask the supplier...mine worked first time with no issues
I will give this a try! And for the bulb warning message what did you do to fix this?
 
#25 ·
So I've swapped the ballasts and bulbs around but still same check bulb lights. I've realised the bulbs go out because of the warning lights so must be to do with the can bus system. I may have faulty decoders but again I will see what hids4u say. End of day the light is brilliant and hope I can get this fixed
 
#26 ·
i didn't do anything to correct the bulb out warning...car just stopped showing it after a couple of days of use...but every once in a blue moon it does come up showing only one side out and never both...but can't remember last time it did this but it certainly doesn't shut the bulbs down. Sounds like either a bad ballast or a damaged bulb...did you catch the black rod that is on the outer edge of the bulb when you fitted into the headlight unit??
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top