MTec HID Kit - Recommended for all Audi Drivers

fesss_84

fesss_84

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Jus letting u guys know, i have retro-fitted HID kit from MTEC. They are absolutely amazing, very big difference from the standard halogen lights.
They work on all audis straight out of the box.

I purchased them from: http://www.hids-direct.co.uk

they cost around £140 - GENUINE MTec Product, serial number all intact.

They dont cause any engine faults or electrical faults and they can easily be fitted by novice like myself.

In my opinion its a very good price for a very high quality kit. So if anyone interested in upgrading lights to xenon, then this is what you need. I'v been the guinea pig and fortunately it couldnt have turned out any better.

MTEC HID 6K (H7) was my kit spec, so it matches the new BMW lights.
 
ill post some pics up shortly, xenon housing???????? please clarify

i dont want to take pics yet because the side lights are still the dirty yellowish colour. is there a bulb for my sidelights which is white like xenons but not xenons if you know what i mean.

thanks
 
if anyone wants one cheap - i have a set of mtec h7 35w 6000k hid

i bought it about a week ago from the same company after 2 other kits failed to work in the a3 - paid £140

i installed it and it works great as described but no box cos i threw all the packing away.

now surplus to requirements - £100 including delivery including the original receipt
pm me or duncan_hancox@yahoo.co.uk
 
bad luck mate, there are lots of fakes about. i only beleived them when i seen the factory seal on the screw (on the ballast) and serial Num.
 
the first 2 kits werent mtec - i just tried some of the very cheap kits from ebay but they didnt work with the a3 due to the lower bulb voltage on this car

the mtec kit i have for sale is genuine and works fine

the other 2 kits work fine in other non-audi cars though, and i'll keep one of them for my high beams.
 
Perhaps we should send the people selling these units a copy of the DfT document which says...
"In the Department's view it is NOT LEGAL TO SELL or use after market HID lighting kits, for converting conventional Halogen headlamps to HID Xenon. "​

 
h5djr said:
Perhaps we should send the people selling these units a copy of the DfT document which says...
"In the Department's view it is NOT LEGAL TO SELL or use after market HID lighting kits, for converting conventional Halogen headlamps to HID Xenon. "​
Click to expand...

ooOOOH! Handbags at five paces lads! ha ha ha
 
Eeef said:
Have to agree, the genuine Xenons are $hit and should be banned so the knock offs can only be worse.
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Who said OEM HID's were Sheet? No offence Eeef but I find that remark difficult to understand considering they are sold as a high premium option to most luxury cars. I'm certain they wouldn't be an option if they weren't any good?!

Or is it one of those controversial remarks to provoke debate :think: Hmmm :)
 
After owning a car with xenon headlights, I would love to retrofit the Hid kit to my car. However I was under the impression that you had to have a means of automatic headlamp aim on them and also headlamp washers to make them legal. Is this true?
 
After owning a car with xenon headlights, I would love to retrofit the Hid kit to my car. However I was under the impression that you had to have a means of automatic headlamp aim on them and also headlamp washers to make them legal. I this true?
Click to expand...

Yes, anything less and you car would be illegal to drive in the UK and most of Europe, although that doesn't seem to bother some people.

This is a link, provided in another thread to the DfT statement on the use of aftermarket Xenon headlights.....

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps
 
Von Maximo said:
Who said OEM HID's were Sheet? No offence Eeef but I find that remark difficult to understand considering they are sold as a high premium option to most luxury cars. I'm certain they wouldn't be an option if they weren't any good?!

Or is it one of those controversial remarks to provoke debate :think: Hmmm :)
Click to expand...

They're 'sheet' because I've not seen a manufacturer yet that has managed to allign them properly. I don't doubt that they provide much better vision than standard lights (and god only knows the Audi ones are terrible) but lets face it, fitting and brace of 1000w halogens to the front would achieve the same effect.

Every time someone follows who has Xenons I find it very distracting due to the amount of dazzle/glare that they produce.
 
h5djr said:
Yes, anything less and you car would be illegal to drive in the UK and most of Europe, although that doesn't seem to bother some people.

This is a link, provided in another thread to the DfT statement on the use of aftermarket Xenon headlights.....

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps
Click to expand...
Cheers for that, it's what I thought!
 
truthfully, i dont give two hoots if its illegal. as long as its not inforced by officers (as it isnt) im happy. and they make driving for me and my passengers safer. and the top of my list is the safety of myself and family & friends.

and if you think they are SH!t what do you think of halogens lol....

and if people want to get nitty grittty about law, they are many laws passed during the 17/18/19th century which still havent been officially abondoned lol but they arent inforced by officers, so lets not have an argument....

if youve driven above 70 on a motorway its illegal, when im on the motorway i try to spot a car doing 70 or less lol and its hard

need i say more

do yourself a favour guys and buy HID's
 
fess-84 - When are you going to learn to write English?
 
Another point in connection with the legality of using after-market Xenon kits in headlights designed for halogen bulbs is insurance. All insurance policies require you to keep you car in a 'roadworthy' condition. This in turn means that they must comply with all the legal requirements and be safe to be used on the road in the UK.

Given a scenario where there is an accident and a 3rd part claims they were blinded by your Xenon headlights they police would have to check you headlights. If they found found them to be illegal or badly adjusted and with no automatic levelling you could be prosecuted and you may find your insurance company using that to get out of paying any claims by both you and the 3rd party, which would make you personally responsible for paying the 3rd party claim from your own pocket. If the 3rd party was injured that could be a fair sum of money.

Personally it's not something I would wish to contemplate.
 
h5djr said:
Another point in connection with the legality of using after-market Xenon kits in headlights designed for halogen bulbs is insurance. All insurance policies require you to keep you car in a 'roadworthy' condition. This in turn means that they must comply with all the legal requirements and be safe to be used on the road in the UK.

Given a scenario where there is an accident and a 3rd part claims they were blinded by your Xenon headlights they police would have to check you headlights. If they found found them to be illegal or badly adjusted and with no automatic levelling you could be prosecuted and you may find your insurance company using that to get out of paying any claims by both you and the 3rd party, which would make you personally responsible for paying the 3rd party claim from your own pocket. If the 3rd party was injured that could be a fair sum of money.

Personally it's not something I would wish to contemplate.
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Think your scrapping the barrel now Dave lol

Can I just ask, Do you have OEM Xenon lighting installed on your Audi?
 
Think your scrapping the barrel now Dave lol

Can I just ask, Do you have OEM Xenon lighting installed on your Audi?
Click to expand...

Maybe but you may not think so when you are handed a bill for several thousands of pounds.

Yes I do have OEM Xenons on my current A3, but with all my others I've used uprated halogen bulbs and the Xenons are not that much better in my opinion. The main reason I went for the Xenons on this A3 was to get the DRLs. I drive to the continent several times a year and DRLs are required by law or recommended in a lot of the countries and it's better than having to drive with dipped headlights all the time.

Xenons of all types had a pretty bad reputation with other drivers. A lot of this is due to them being set too high and 'dazzelling' other drivers. This should not happen with OEM units because they have to have auto-levelling for that very reason. If someone wants to fit Xenons then fine, but they should do the whole job and not just add the lights without the auto-levelling.
 
h5djr said:
Maybe but you may not think so when you are handed a bill for several thousands of pounds.
Click to expand...

Yeah, get your point. If I ever have an accident that was my fault I'll just claim the sun blinded me. Do you think I can claim against the sun's insurance? :think:

h5djr said:
Yes I do have OEM Xenons on my current A3, but with all my others I've used uprated halogen bulbs and the Xenons are not that much better in my opinion. The main reason I went for the Xenons on this A3 was to get the DRLs. I drive to the continent several times a year and DRLs are required by law or recommended in a lot of the countries and it's better than having to drive with dipped headlights all the time.
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I suspected you already had OEM Xenons, Could this be why your so passionately against these kits? (Snobbery?)
 
I suspected you already had OEM Xenons, Could this be why your so passionately against these kits? (Snobbery?)
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It's got nothing at all to do with 'Snobbery' as you put it. My main concern it that it appears so many people fit aftermarket Xenon kits without doing the job properly. They are happy to fit the headlamps units because it benefits them, but don't worry about the bit that benefits everyone else on the road - the auto-levelling. If I am a snob then those who only do half the job when they fit the aftermarket kits are Selfish - I'm alright Jack, sod everyone else. If any wants to fit an aftermarket kit and does the job properly and fit the self-levelling as well then I would be quite happy.

My views on this were just the same when I drove an A3 with halogen headlights so they have nothing at all to do with OEM Snobbery.
 
I'm debating whether to get some or not. The standard lights look a horrible yellow, thats the main reason I want them and I dont think I'll be able to find any normal bulbs that are white without being a silly wattage that will melt my headlights.

If I had been buying a car ordered to my spec then I would of had them as standard.
 
You could try some of the 'whiter' halogen bulbs that are available. These produce a much whiter light than a normal halogen bulb as well as 50% more actual light. They can be very easily fitted and are relatively cheap when compared with even aftermarket Xenon units and your car will remain perfectly legal. Those pose no problems for the existing wiring or headlights. I've fitted them to 4 8L A3s and my previous 8P A3 with no problems at all.

Some sites to have a look at are:

http://hid.uk.com/acatalog/Xtreme_White.html

http://www.powerbulbs.com/
 
h5djr, i dont want a confrontation but yu obiously get the message i typed, if you arent able to ead my writing dont bother reading and and more importantly dont reply to me :D

personally i just think your p*ssed because u payed £1k+ for your xenons and i we (aftermarket) payed around 250 or LESS, in my case 145, now the money saved there means i can FLY to the continent nevermind drive as u enjoy doing now i see why, or being as modest as i am ill probably buy shares in the next big thing.

lol i tried the halogen that were backed in top gear manufactured by phillips, MORE than 50% the light nd they dont make ANY differance whatsoever.

anyway no hard feeling, i hope you can read this thread
 
anyway no hard feeling, i hope you can read this thread
Click to expand...

Only just - you typing is getting worse!

For your information I did not pay £1k for my OEM Xenons. I paid £610 (£675 less 9.5% discount on the whole car deal). At least for my money I got the real thing and not some cheap imitation. Xenon units mounted in headlamps with reflectors and lenses designed for xenons, auto-levelling and headlamp washers. All you got were xenon light units mounted in the wrong type of headlamp designed for halogen rather than xenon, no auto-levelling and no headlamp washers. Personally I think I got the better deal. £610 was only 2.5% of the total cost of my car which I think is good value for money.

now the money saved there means i can FLY to the continent nevermind drive as u enjoy doing
Click to expand...

Why FLY economy class when I can go first class in an Audi and enjoy driving on the superb French autoroutes, driving with no speed limits on the German autobahns and going to places that would be difficult to get to if I was flying.

Anyway, as you say, no hard feelings, just heathy debate.
 
Just to throw more fuel in the fire its only a matter of time before VOSA start doing spot checks of xenon lights to check retrofits as they become (retrofitting) more common.

They did the same thing for window tints and I got caught out on my last S3.

You might get away with it for ages but like me one unlucky day when the road check is on your route or the police are out spotting people with them you will be ordered to take them off within 10 days or the car is slapped a prohibition for the road!
 
I assume there is also the possiblility of a check being included in the annual MOT which could make life more difficult when a car becomes 3 years old. If that is the case it may also make selling the car on more difficult if you know it will not pass an MOT.
 
Never thought if the headlights are not levelled properly obviously it will fail.

Can you manually adjust the retrofit HIDS?
 
I assume you could level them using the normal headlight adjusters for the halogen bulb setup. The manual height adjustment control on the normal headlights would also still work as normal I assume.
 
Yeah they will be manually adjustable as normal. I wouldnt be at all surprised to see retro-fitted HID's become an MOT fail in the future.
 
I remember my mate having some a year or 2 ago and his were plug and play, no wiring needed so they could come out easily if needed e.g. if they wouldn't pass an MOT.
 
h5djr, well they made you think u got a deal for oem xenons, 1 - nil, to the salesman.

lool, nice come back you think an audi first class, sit in a bentley, no disrespect to audi ofcourse but your comparing it to the likes of a ford, vauxhalll etc etc in that league its first, step up a league then you feel beauty especially for those crazy drives you enjoy going on.

btw why do you assume i use economy or first for that matter, when im flying to the continent. for all you know i could have my own jet.

now getting back to topic, the manual levellers do work for the new hid xenons as its still sits in the same holder. im currently investigating this headlight washers business, recently it was discussed on another post. apparently they can be retro fitted aswell.
 
as far as levelling go, they only fail if he beam patten isnt consistant with standards, any MOT centre ca sort that out. when my car reaches its 3rd birthday, MOT not something to worry about.
to be sure, make some friends that work in garage mot centre at the local lol..
aftermarket xenons will never get outlawed its the future of lights. MOT tests will ensure they are utilized correctly.
does anyone know why headlight washers are compulsory with xenons?????? maybe the dirt on lights refract light in different directions ???
 
as far as levelling go, they only fail if he beam patten isnt consistant with standards, any MOT centre ca sort that out.
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The main reason why aftermarket xenons would fail an MOT test is down to headlight design. The design of the reflector has to be different for a xenon light source than a halogen bulb. Research, published in Auto Express a few months ago for example has shown that, with a xenon light source mounted in a headlight designed for a halogen bulb, the light can get badly scattered which causes dazzle to oncoming drivers. This is the reason why the whole xenon headlamp unit has to be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.
 
h5djr, well they made you think u got a deal for oem xenons, 1 - nil, to the salesman.
Click to expand...

If it's a choice between have an Audi supplied xenon headlight that complies with all current requirements and provides me DRLs for £610 and a second rate illegal conversion for less, I would choose the Audi product every time. Money alone is not that important.

My salesman never tries to persuade me to have any of the options I add to my basic model. I do my research as to what is available when I order my new car and decide if I would like it and am I prepared to pay the extra amount required. That's one of the reasons I like to buy new. It allows me to have exactly the specification I want.

Obviously if you are buying a second-hand car you do not have quite such a choice.
 
h5djr said:
The main reason why aftermarket xenons would fail an MOT test is down to headlight design. The design of the reflector has to be different for a xenon light source than a halogen bulb. Research, published in Auto Express a few months ago for example has shown that, with a xenon light source mounted in a headlight designed for a halogen bulb, the light can get badly scattered which causes dazzle to oncoming drivers. This is the reason why the whole xenon headlamp unit has to be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.
Click to expand...

2 MOT's via Audi dealership and I've never had a problem with my HID's. The MOT inspector knew I had them fitted but as there was no problem with the beam pattern a certificate was issued on both times.

And if there was a problem it'd take literally 5 minutes to restore back to original halogen
 
2 MOT's via Audi dealership and I've never had a problem with my HID's. The MOT inspector knew I had them fitted but as there was no problem with the beam pattern a certificate was issued on both times.
Click to expand...

As far as I'm aware checking that the whole headlight unit complies with the relevant regulations is not YET part of the MOT so at the moment there would be no reason to fail a car.

If you still think I'm a 'snob' then I'm a very happy one! Perhaps I'm also a 'snob' because mine is a new rather than used A3. Perhaps I'm a 'snob' because I drive an Audi and not a Ford. Perhaps I'm a 'snob' because I no longer have to work for a living. Perhaps I'm a 'snob' because I prefer to go on holiday in my Audi rather than fly with a plane load of other people - come to think about I think I enjoy be a 'snob'.
 
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