S1 bulb replacemen: options?

GregR · Post by **GregR** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:24 pm

I hear HIDs are the ones to have, but what are they and where are they from? Rally bulbs too are good, but what fitting (or part #) do I need for an S1 fit? I hear they're illegal too, Ed told me so

Also, the fitting... I have aftermarket headlight covers that will make a change difficult if they come out frontwards. Am I right in thinking they come out from behind, via the area behind the wheelarch protector? Big job?

Post by ed » Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:27 pm

Full on rally jobs are 100W + IIRC, turns out i have the intermediates which are 80W and the normal ones are circa 55W. I think shug runs rallies with no problems, technically they are illegal but i dont think many MOT stations etc notice!

jj · Post by jj » Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:29 pm

HID kits are available from the Bay of E and other elise bit vendors.

The plug into the existing looms and place a ballast in line which fires the bulb - my bro has fitted aftermarket HID kits to both his last cars and they are top notch, and he has just stuck a set on the vee. You also get the rather cool xenon-flash when you turn them on

.

I think the elise-shop ones are about £160 on a group buy at the moment. You can get similar kits from about £100 but they may or may not work as well.

mac · Post by **mac** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:29 pm

It's a job even you can do - in the wheel arch there's a rubber bung - pull it out and it'll expose the mulitplug and the weather seal - pull off the seal (arff arff) queeze the wee retaining bracket and the pull should fall out in your hand.

Mac

tut · Post by **tut** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 2:31 pm

You just pull out the rubber plug in the wheel arch to change the bulbs.

HID's need their own wiring etc as far as I know, and are very expensive, but you can get white Phillips that are 33% brighter. However I fitted Rally bulbs, which are much more powerful, and though there were warnings that there might be too much drawer on the wiring, they are still going strong.

However I do not have H/L covers on, so I can not comment on the extra heat generated which could possibly buld up inside.

tut

Sanjøy · Post by **Sanjøy** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 3:57 pm

Had Rally for a couple of years now and have them on all the time I drive. Looked at HID for night mway stuff on the London to GLA runs but could no justify. £160 you say ?

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 4:38 pm

Halfrauds, "OMG don't use on the road" rally bulbs here too. No problem except if it's raining your headlights steam.... (And all the road dirt then fries onto the lens, but hey)

100/80W H4 IIRC. Only about £10 a pair.

HIDs are great but there are 2 types, the cheaper ones have a mechanical dip (AKA Telscopic/telescoping) this is supposedly fine but I don't like the idea of anything that might stick in the wrong position. The more expensive ones have 2 bulbs and therefore don't have this issue.

Beware though if buying off e-bay there is a third type which is an HID bulb for main with a normal bulb strapped to it giving dipped beam. Looked like a right old lash up.

HTH
Rich

GregR · Post by **GregR** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 5:19 pm

looked at Yvo's site, and the HID don't seem to be an option unless you've got the driving lights for full beam - they only seem to have one setting

Rich, is 100/80W H4 all I need to know for to buy of them?

jj · Post by jj » Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:00 pm

Greg -

You cant get different types of HID for the differing lights - you get a dipped beam option (what I would go for), a dipped and main option (hi/lo), and then the option to add driving lights also.

The dipped beam would mean you had HIDs on for the majority of the time but not when the driving lights are on. Obv for this you need driving lights in the first place (cant remember if you have them).

Worth the bucks but only if you are a night owl or plan to keep the car for another winter.

GregR · Post by **GregR** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:06 pm

nope, no driving lights on the wee beastie. Really would like some better visibility though

jj · Post by jj » Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:18 pm

Oooft, I had the driving lights on my S1 and cant imagine the lights are great without - maybe a better plan to see what it cost Rich to whack the driving lights in?

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:53 pm

2 pints of blood and 2 days of my life, oh and the driving light kit, as you ask! Santa brought the kit but it was from geary.

It is a clam off job, trust me on this.

The main problem is the front grill is bolted to the crash structure above and below the opening. I cut the mesh and used a hacksaw blade to cut the (Thankfully) nylon bolts out, then wiggled and bent it until it came out, cutting myself many times on the sharp mesh through my gloves.

Problem then was the front undertray bolts all sheared off, special cheesium bolts again. So the clam had to come off anyway. The wiring was neatly tied back in the crash structure and worked, which was nice. I was also missing the riv-nuts in the clam for the brackets to mount to so I used rawl nuts (I know they are crap but I had some handy!)

With the clam off it should take no more than a couple of hours, but removing the clam was interesting in a garage only wide enough to open one door properly....

Get the halfrauds rally bulbs, it's alot less hassle....

They are sold as Rally Bulbs in a red box IIRC, there are several different ratings so get some that match mine are 100/85W H4 is the bulb type.

HTH
Rich