If you’re unsure about your vehicle and whether or not it would be legal for you to have a HID Conversion Kit Fitted, please call us on 0203 815 9441 and we’ll go through it with you and give our honest opinion.

A frequently asked question “Are Xenon HID Conversion Kits Road Legal?” and to be completely honest there is no short & simple answer at this present moment in time because currently, we rely on the information given to us by DFT (Department For Transport) and they give only their opinion:

“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.”
Taken from source – click here for full article.

This is primarily their “view” on the subject and not necessarily a law in itself. We’ve seen debates across 100’s of forums including the UKPOLICEONLINE forum where officers of all ranks were giving mixed opinions on the topic. We’ve put together this article to outline the main reasons why HID conversion kits are considered illegal for road use but also, there are standards which could easily be met to have your HID conversion kit deemed as road legal and we’ve detailed it all for you below.

Why are HID Conversion Kits considered Illegal For Road Use?

Many older vehicles have headlamps which are designed specifically for HALOGEN bulbs only. These headlamps have a patterned glass and work to very precise tolerances. Changing the bulbs to Xenon HID will cause a lot of Glare as the light appears scattered due to the patterned glass reflecting the light wrongly. Glare on the road is dangerous as it will dazzle on coming drivers and could be the cause to serious incidences.

Improper alignment is another reason why HID Conversion Kits are a problem. After fitting a HID kit to your vehicle, you may disturb the alignment of your headlights. We always advise that you get the headlight alignment checked to ensure that they are not too high else they will be dazzling on coming drivers on the roads. You can check this against a wall on a level ground.

What Are the Exceptions & How Can I Make My HID Kit Road Legal?

To the best of our knowledge, if you’ve got headlamps with clear lenses i.e. no pattern on the front glass/plastic, then this will help to greatly reduce glare. Now there are two types of headlamps, reflector and projector. The reflector headlamp has a foil-type mirror finish on the inside which the conventional Halogen bulb uses to excel the light outwards. The Xenon HID light will bounce around inside the headlight on this mirror finish and up to 30% of the light will end up being excelled out of the headlamp in the wrong direction (possibly towards oncoming drivers causing glare/dazzling them). The other type is the Projector lens which will help focus the light to where you want it to go, this will eliminate any glare and is the appropriate setup for HID kits.

If you’ve got a reflector type headlamp, then we strongly recommend ugprading any HID conversion kit to the Anti-Glare bulbs. This will ensure that there is minimal glare and not only look better on the car, but will also help to avoid dazzling other drivers on the road.

If you’ve got the projector type headlamp, then either the anti-glare or standard HID conversion kit will do the job fine as the projector lens will focus the light forward to where you want it to go.

Now that’s the main points out of the way, there are just two other things that are a requirement to deem any HID kit road legal:

• Auto-Levelling Headlights / Auto-Levelling Suspension
  Most cars after 2000 came with either auto-levelling headlights or auto-levelling suspension. You only need one or the other to be applicable.
• Headlight Washer Jets
  Headlight washer jets are fitted to many cars in the bumper, if you haven’t got them already you can have them fitted at a reasonable price.

If you meet those two above requirements, have clear headlamps (not patterned) and have the appropriate bulb types i.e. anti-glare for reflector headlamps or normal HID bulbs for projector lamps then we believe you have met the requirements to have your HID Conversion Kit deemed applicable for road use i.e. ROAD LEGAL!

However, you must ensure that the HID conversion kit you purchase is also made to the highest quality standard. Ensure it is fully E-Marked & ISO-9001:2000 Approved. All SINSPEED HID Conversion Kits meet & exceed the required standards.

Why Does Sinspeed Sell HID Kits As “For Off Road Purposes Only?”

Well as you can see above, there is much confusion for many people as to what is road legal and what isn’t. By law we can’t sell a HID Kit as road legal (and all those other companies out there stating their kits are road legal, it’s a lie & they’re breaking the law). Therefore, we have to mark all HID Conversion Kits as “Sold For Off-Road & Show Purposes Only” because people buying these HID Kits to fit into their cars with patterned glass headlamps will not be meeting the DFT requirements.

If you’re unsure about your vehicle and whether or not it would be legal for you to have a HID Conversion Kit Fitted, please call us on 0203 815 9441 and we’ll go through it with you and give our honest opinion.

Ajaz

Ajaz is a seasoned automotive electronics engineer with deep expertise in remanufacturing vehicle electronics. He has developed skills in all areas of the automotive field, from rebuilding hydraulic steering components, and mechanical gearboxes and reworking intricate vehicle electronics. Ajaz also acquired Bodyteq, a London-based vehicle bodyshop where he has developed extensive knowledge in automotive refinishing.

Alongside his automotive career, Ajaz has built a career in the IT industry, gaining accredited certification as an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, Cloud Architect, and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) specialist.