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MG MGF Technical - HID Conversion

Has anyone done an HID conversion on the F's headlights? there are various bulb replacement kits available, they're quite expensive but might be worth it to see a bit further in the dark.

http://www.h-i-d.co.uk/
Kingsley

Kingsley,

I would be interested - depending on price in this conversion - if we both book in together will they do a discount for 2?

Paul
P9 VLS
Paul

@ £490 for dipped beam + £490 for main beam, even with a discount, I may choose to drive in daylight and use the bike at night.
John Ponting

John

I think they do just a bulb conversion kit for about £50 but how effective they are is another question..

But for £500 quid i agree... bit on the strong side unless you live in the wilds and need the extra light...

Be interesting to see the result of a kit fitted to a F/TF though

Have a good w/e all

Stu
Stu

>> bit on the strong side unless you live in the wilds and need the extra light... <<

I do and i do.

So, i'm working on something else, i'd tell you more but it's TOP SECRET! ;-)

SF
Scarlet Fever

<<i'm working on something else>>

I hope not during work time Andy !

What on earth are you doing at work at this time of day - I thought only we IT nutters did things like that.
John Ponting

I changed the four bulbs on my F for Halfords blue white lights made by Philips.
They are better than the standard bulbs and at £36 for four, cheaper although not in the same league.
Tony
Tony Harrison


How does a simple bulb conversion work?
Does it include the ballast?!?
Curious.

P.
Paul Nothard

Best check the condition of the reflectors first: if they've oxidised (and they all do with age) then it really doesn't matter how good the new bulbs are...
Rob Bell

Autolamps ( http://www.autolamps-online.com/index.htm) do a conversion kit including ballasts necessary wiring etc. They use Philips burners mounted into a custom made base to position the arc in the right place to replicate the H1 bulb. When I was shopping around they were the least expensive source by quite a margin.


I acquired the set for some tests at work and haven't got around to trying them out in the F yet! Given that they do get rather warm (!) I might try running them in a spare headlight unit first, and see if it melts.

Al
Alan Brooke

Al, you may find that the silvering on the plastic reflector bulbs oxidise and fail rather quickly. Might be worth getting these properly chromed with a protective coat that Valeo, in their infinite wisdom, felt they could leave off...
Rob Bell

A number of guys using the BMW K1200LT bike have fitted them - the ballast conversion kit - to their bikes and as long as you stay with just a dip beam upgrade they say the 'tupper ware' does not actually melt BUT it does get bloody hot around the lamp edges also they reckon it is important to stay with a middle of the range K set about 4100 to 5600 otherwise the beam gets too blue. BUT I think this because most of them are Yanks and these conversions are illegal in the USA and the Federal Authorities are actually confiscating converted machines!

Ted
Ted Newman

Just spotted this...

>> What on earth are you doing at work at this time of day - I thought only we IT nutters did things like that. <<

LOL :-)

Well, it's a bit of a stretch, but you could say i was an IT nutter, in so far as i use a PC all day - however i use it to draw design layouts for shops and put together the associated paperwork (AutoCAD and Word mainly with a bit of Excel, WordPerfect (don't ask!) ACDSee and Corel Photopaint mixed in).

And the reason for the late night? A rush job in and no one else mad enough to agree to do it! Small comany syndrome in otherwords. :-)

Worked Saturday too.

SF
Scarlet Fever

I e-mailed Autolamps/HID Online about the MGF and they have replied:-

Hello Ted
The manufacturers data shows the MGF as having H1 dip and H1 main beam
halogens, then you also have W5W and PY21W which means that if you
wanted to convert the H1 dip beam to HID you can use the H1 conversion
in the link below, you would then get a free pair of H1 Blue Vision and
W5W BlueVision and if you wanted to upgrade the indicator to the
SilverVision these would complete the job.
It is always recommended you check the handbook as the data is never
100% accurate so we always ask customers to confirm with their owners
manual.
Here are the links (for selecting currency to Sterling simply select
this option from the shopping basket in the top right)

If you have any questions please ask.

http://www.hid-online.com/applications/carkits.asp

http://www.hid-online.com/products/kit.asp?id=1

http://www.hid-online.com/products/kit.asp?id=4


http://www.autolamps-online.com/halogen/svpage.htm


Thank you for choosing to visit HID-Online.com
Ted Newman

Should be fairly straightforward then. I assume that the prices are per pair of HID bulbs?

Definitely advisable to get the lamp bowls re-chromed first though.
Rob Bell

Rob

That is a kit price - look at bike kits and they slightly over half price of car kits!

Ted
Ted Newman

Ah ha - okay, thanks. :o)

Are you thinking of going for this kit Ted? Quite a lot of dosh: is it worth the expenditure I wonder?
Rob Bell

Rob

As I only ever need light when going through the Black Forest - not a lot of point:-)

Seriously though - a lot of guys with the same bike as me have fitted them for long distance night riding and they reckon they are the 'bees knees', even in the States where they are strictly speaking illegal (they might even be illegal here as a retro fit) and most of them just replace the 'dip' H1.

Ted
Ted Newman

I don't think I could justify 308 quid either given that a lot of my nocturnal driving is in town with plenty of street lamp lighting. In fact, this is one reason why I hadn't noticed the silvering on my headlamps had deteriorated quite as badly as they have...

Having said that, 308 quid doesn't sound quite as crippling a conversion as I thought it would be.
Rob Bell

£308 is a lot of money to fit new lights in already dim reflectors. I would rather fit new headlights at half the price and then repeat the operation in about three years time.

Also been think of fitting some small extractor fans to the back of the headlamps in place of the covers (or on the covers) to help cool the unit and extract any fumes from the bulbs. Computer processor fans should do the trick.

cheers

Bruce
Bruce Caldwell

>>£308 is a lot of money to fit new lights in already dim reflectors. I would rather fit new headlights at half the price and then repeat the operation in about three years time. <<

LOL Bruce - I made exactly that point further up the thread ;o)

>>Also been think of fitting some small extractor fans to the back of the headlamps in place of the covers (or on the covers) to help cool the unit and extract any fumes from the bulbs. <<

Might just work: need to work out the circulation though - air inlet through the cap on the main beam?
Rob Bell

I was thinking of putting a fan on dip and main and have the air inlet through the little cap at the bottom of the assembly. Possibly attach a tube to the point where the lttle cap is and run it to a splash free zone.

Bruce
Bruce Caldwell

There's a few things here that confuse me ...
If these bulbs are rated at only 35W then why is there so much concern about heat ? - I understand that the bulb itself runs very hot, but heat dissipation from the headlamp should not be a problem.
Does headlight flash still work with these bulbs ?
What's this nonsense about 'pure' white light ? white light is a broad spectrum of light - not a single frequency.
While I don't think the lights on the F are good, they aren't bad enough to warrant this sort of cost.
Steve

LOL. Hi Rob..

Rob's information is very important. the reflective surface (behind the glass that goes yellow after a while) is usually stuffed up after a while. Unless you replate or re-painted properly, new HID conversion won't make much difference.

Bad design, the bulb is too confined... and turns the glass yellow as well.

If you just want some nice white/blue lights, you can always get PIAA, if you want brightness you have to get HID.

HID conversion kits are cheaper through eBay. Actually a lot cheaper than 500 pounds. Just get the low beams. Since they are 35watts, I am assuming that it might produce less heat?
Hanah Kim

Actually the HID-online kit costs are:- the 1400 is £308.24 plus vat plus shipping = £384.14. This is for the 'dip' beam only.

I have not seen how they work with the *F* but I have seen the results with the BMW K1200LT bike and it is a huge benefit.

Ted
Ted Newman

This thread was discussed between 11/09/2003 and 19/09/2003

MG MGF Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGF Technical BBS is active now.