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[ILKU]

The xenon headlights on a 98 model elite are exactly the same as normal projector headlights as the pattern is the same

They are not the same. I've striped them both down.
Well, it's up to you...
Good luck.
P.S If you get 55W-bulb headlamp and put 110W bulb inside it, they would be still e-marked headlamps. Is it OK for you??

The headlights are the same the only difference is the ballast pack that is fitted to the headlight directly, on omegas from 98 onwards, and thats the high spec cars. If you have stripped both lights down you will see that its the only difference between them.

Thats bullshiet.

Inside xenon headlamp, there is D2S socket lens, just like this:

And this is projektor headlamp lens, with H1 socket in it:


The H1 headlamp is designed only for H1 bulb and only 55W. Nothing more, nothing less. it's be cause of different shape and different focal llength of each lens.

[ILKU]

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. If a customer wants to convert his vehicle to Xenon HID he must purchase completely new Xenon HID headlamps. The reason for this is that the existing lens and reflector are designed around a Halogen filament bulb, working to very precise tolerances. If one places a HID "burner" (bulb) in the headlamp, the beam pattern will not be correct, there will be glare in some places and not enough light in other places within the beam pattern.

The following is the legal rationale:

The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK.
Under these Regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.

However new vehicles have HID headlamps. This is because they comply to European type approval Regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle with a European type approval. These are to ECE Regulation 98 (for the HID headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (Lighting Installation on the vehicle).

For the after market, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "HID is banned in the after market" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require HID in the after market to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.

Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the after market should:

1. be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.

2. when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place).

3. Comply with RVLR as far as "use" is concerned.

In practice this means:

1. The headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be "e-marked" to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory.

2. Once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have "self-levelling suspension" and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam.

3. The headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly like any other headlamp.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

In summary it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.

If you require any further information regarding the regulations covered by this fact sheet, please contact the DfT at the address below:

Transport Technology and Standards 6
Department for Transport
Zone 2/04
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DR

So, the headlamp must be e-marked with "xenon D2S" sign, not H1.
If you put HID instead of H1 to your headlamp you are against the law.

[Jay w]

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. If a customer wants to convert his vehicle to Xenon HID he must purchase completely new Xenon HID headlamps. The reason for this is that the existing lens and reflector are designed around a Halogen filament bulb, working to very precise tolerances. If one places a HID "burner" (bulb) in the headlamp, the beam pattern will not be correct, there will be glare in some places and not enough light in other places within the beam pattern.

The following is the legal rationale:

The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK.
Under these Regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.

However new vehicles have HID headlamps. This is because they comply to European type approval Regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle with a European type approval. These are to ECE Regulation 98 (for the HID headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (Lighting Installation on the vehicle).

For the after market, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "HID is banned in the after market" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require HID in the after market to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.

Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the after market should:

1. be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.

2. when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place).

3. Comply with RVLR as far as "use" is concerned.

In practice this means:

1. The headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be "e-marked" to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory.

2. Once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have "self-levelling suspension" and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam.

3. The headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly like any other headlamp.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

In summary it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.

If you require any further information regarding the regulations covered by this fact sheet, please contact the DfT at the address below:

Transport Technology and Standards 6
Department for Transport
Zone 2/04
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DR

So, the headlamp must be e-marked with "xenon D2S" sign, not H1.
If you put HID instead of H1 to your headlamp you are against the law.

yes you are correct, however (and this is really splitting hairs here) the chances of getting stopped by the police is very slim unless the headlights were so badly adjusted that blinded the police.
Because many Omegas were fitted with HIDs as standard most police would give the car a second look.

[Kevin Wood]

Whilst the above is technically true, once a vehicle is registered for use on the road in the UK the type approval status of its' components is unlikely to ever be checked.

At a yearly MOT inspection the requirements for the headlamps are that they are of substantially the same brightness and colour, in serviceable condition and that they have the correct beam pattern. There are defined "reasons for failure" and having aftermarket HIDs is not one of them, so if aligned correctly I think you'll have no problems.

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_120.htm
http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_160.htm

Kevin

[ILKU]

My point is:
If you would like to have xenon headlamps - buy a second hand set of oryginal D2S lamps (hella), not dodgy HID set for projektor lamps...

[Kevin Wood]

My point is:
If you would like to have xenon headlamps - buy a second hand set of oryginal D2S lamps (hella), not dodgy HID set for projektor lamps...

Agreed. That would be the best route but then you need to fit the whole self-levelling setup otherwise you have no mechanism to adjust them at all. (and you would really need a means of dipping them a little with a full load, otherwise you'd be upsetting people).

Kevin

[VXL V6]

My point is:
If you would like to have xenon headlamps - buy a second hand set of oryginal D2S lamps (hella), not dodgy HID set for projektor lamps...

Which is still not correct, the Omega's fitted with HID's as standard will have front and rear sensors driving a headlamp ECU controlling the leveling motors. So just fitting original HID headlamp units isn't the full story.

EDIT: You beat me to it Kevin!

[amba]

And just to add further "mud to the water"..is it illegal to fit led 501 type bulbs to the side light fitting..would this be a police issue or would it be a mot issue..or both ?

[Kevin Wood]

And just to add further "mud to the water"..is it illegal to fit led 501 type bulbs to the side light fitting..would this be a police issue or would it be a mot issue..or both ?

Again, it's a grey area. UK regs don't cover them but it doesn't stop Audi et al selling cars with a strip of "gay"(IMHO) white LEDs above the headlights as sidelights.

I suspect an MOT tester would take a pragmatic approach that if it's working and has comparable light output that is actually white and not blue (which is a no-no) it would be OK.

I'm tempted to get some of those myself, not for any other reason than that I seem to be constantly replacing sidelight bulbs at the moment. Mrs. KWs MX-5 is eating them. Perhaps I should check the charging voltage isn't too high.  :-?

Kevin

[amba]

From the earlier pictures they seem to give a whiter light and are a much better contrast with the standard omega HID xenons,and I also see no reason why they should create an issue at mot time(but could always swap with the yellowish std 501,s.
Think will get a set from Halfords who sell them as 4 led "not for road use" to cover themselves..about £7=00 a pair if I remember from my last look.

[mike213735]

On a separate note and trying to calm things down a bit, what headlight bulbs would I have in my 1998 2.5 CD Estate (projectors).

Thanks
Mike

[markey mark]

On a separate note and trying to calm things down a bit, what headlight bulbs would I have in my 1998 2.5 CD Estate (projectors).

Thanks
Mike

h1 dipped beam h7 main beam 501 sidelights  

[VX1]

Thanks marky mark, kevin and VXL6 for the form of back up to the hid saga. As I know that just fitting a reasonable pair of secondhand HID headlights is not just plug and play and they tend to be very expensive for the whole kit and kabudle so spending the £60 delivered against maybe £200 for everything is the best and cheapest option for me. Unlike some people may be in high paid jobs and able to afford upgrades like that but in reality thats just not the case for me so therefore I chose the cheaper option.

All I done was post in the gallery section to other forum members to see what a difference there is between the two types of light. Some people think its a great upgrade but then there are some people who are dead against it and tell you that you are committing an offence for fitting them. This I do not appreciate and being told that I am breaking the law and its 100% illegal to have them on the car. If people don't like it then they should keep there opinions to themselves. Also surely modifying a complete headlight that is not designed for the car i.e takening out the original parts and replacing them with other parts from a different car altogether is illegal too or am I way out of my league here and just going to cause a frackard?

Plus just to add I do have level control inside the car and have the means to clean the headlights with headlight washer jets in front, plus the hid bulbs are H1, so I am inline with the current regs.

[amba]

I personaly think they look fine and anything that improves your visibility and contributes to your ability to drive a car safely,gets my thumbs up.
The law should concentrate on those motoring offences that are a danger,and fitting better headlights is not one,in my book.

[VXL V6]

At the end of the day you have clear lensed lamps and the ability to alter the level through the manual control on the light switch.