[simowizard]

Hi everyone :-)
Once again, it has been yet another loooooong time since I have posted. Rest assured, I am still here and still lovin' my 2x i30's :-)
First of all, I' like to with all the dad's out there in i30 land a VERY HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!
Now for my question. My i30 SLX CRDI is now 3 years old and still drives like I just took if off the showroom floor. I still think it is the best car I have owned and it still gives be over 1,000K's per tank of diesel around town and more on the long trips.
That aside, I am growing tired of my halogen (standard) lights when newer cars have these really bright HID lights that seen to be so much better.
I have recently purchased an aftermarket upgrade kit with slim ballasts. What I would like to know is, would it be ok to install and upgrade without causing any damage to my electricals? I made sure to purchase the 12V, 55W kit so it should draw no more current than the standard halogen lights.
The next question is, where would be a good place to mount the ballasts so that I can still have access to the headlight housings to change other bulbs when required?
Thank you everyone so much in advance and I am so proud to be a member of such a wonderful club :-)
Cheers with regards from Simowizard.
 

[Phil №❶]

My understanding is that HID's are illegal if NOT fitted as OEM when the car is built. Having said that, there are a few Aussies who do run the HID's accepting the risk of the car being defected by the road police. This would be your decision to make.

Hid's are essentially an arc lamp which is 4 times brighter than a standard bulb. Cars fitted with HID's have leveling devices to ensure that the full beam never points at approaching cars causing night blindness. Remember that car is approaching you, so you could be increasing risk of an accident to yourself or family.

There have been reports that some ballasts draw too much current at start up and cause the radio / usb to starve of energy and reset each time the lights are turned on.

Personally, I don't like the idea of these lights. I would have waited 12 months for the new LED lighting systems to be available, no ballasts, low voltage and much less current draw.

[Just Rick]

Simowizard,like Phil said fitting HID to a non OEM hid car is highly illegal,as are any accessory lights that are higher than 55watt,but you still see hundreds of vehicles out there with high powered accessory lights,Phil also makes a good point that HID fitted vehicles,do have self levellers fitted,to hopefully alleviate light glare for on coming drivers(something you will not have) but I have to admit the lighting on the I30's are lacking big time,I have driven in a friends I30 with HID fitted,believe me,I honestly don't think their much better to drive behind over the halogen lights,all in how your lights are set up,I do 90% of my driving on dark country roads,I have set my two up with spots and light bars,now is like daylight for the first 400mtrs and good quality light for the next 1.5 kilometres

[simowizard]

I would have waited 12 months for the new LED lighting systems to be available, no ballasts, low voltage and much less current draw.

Hey Phil. Are these LED lights available now and where can I get them please? Also, do they provide more light than the standard Halogen and lastly are they plug 'n' play?

[Phil №❶]

There are some on eBay but they're AU$100, still AND they seem to sell only 6000 to 6500 K temperature. This is a measure of how "white" they are. I've never seen any in operation so can't vouch for them. The lumen (intensity of light), values vary a lot so the higher the better. At this stage, they are sold according to type of bulb, but not car or model specific, so you would need to ensure they fit the housing and surrounding area. They are longer, because the have a cooling fan and a heatsink at the rear.

I think the price will drop as they become more popular.