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S2 HID Conversion

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 1:08 pm
by Bada Bing!
Anyone done this before? The headlamps are rotten, and I fancy doing this myself once I get all the existing issues sorted out with the bodyshop.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... 9&f=15&h=0

Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2006 1:22 pm
by ed
considered this but went for rally bulbs instead! they are considerably better than the standard ones, cheers ed :)

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 3:39 pm
by Bada Bing!
Cool, think I'll try that first. Which ones did you go for, Ed?

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 3:44 pm
by Gareth
Im scared the Halfrauds "rally bulbs" will melt my wiring loom...

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 3:48 pm
by Sanjøy
Gareth wrote:Im scared the Halfrauds "rally bulbs" will melt my wiring loom...
Done a 7 hour drive with them on without issue. Chances are my lomos are crispy already mind.

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 3:55 pm
by ed
not sure neil, pinched it from selcoc!

Ive got the rally bulbs from halfrauds!
they aint cheap at £13 each but are a marked improvement.

Robin checked over my handbook and they def wont melt the wires, the fuses will go first anyways. :)

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:50 pm
by robin
ed wrote:not sure neil, pinched it from selcoc!

Ive got the rally bulbs from halfrauds!
they aint cheap at £13 each but are a marked improvement.

Robin checked over my handbook and they def wont melt the wires, the fuses will go first anyways. :)
No, I asked you what the fuse ratings for the headlights were, and you told me. You could have made a mistake :-)

To work out whether or not it will work:

Take the combined wattage of the new bulbs (say two new bulbs, 75W each = 150W). Divide the wattage by 14 (because when the engine is running you are running at 14-ish volts from the alternator). The result is the current needed to feed them. There should be a comfortable margin between that and the fuse rating (I would guess the fuse should not take more than 75% of its rated current most of the time). In this case that's 10.7A.

Don't forget that sometimes the side lamps might be on the same circuit, so be sure to add it all up. For example if we had 4x 10W side lights on the same circuit we would be looking at a total of 190W or 13.5A. That's OK for a 20A fuse, but not a 15A fuse.

Simple!

Cheers,
Robin

P.S. In case it's not obvious, the reason the fuse matters is because it must be set to blow at a current significantly less than the loom's rated current to prevent loom fires.

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:10 pm
by ed
^^^ What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ :wink:

Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 5:21 am
by peck555
I've done the HID's from Yvo Tuk,and all I can say is that now I can see the road in front of me at night ,well worth it in my opinion. :cheers