The Lotus Grand Tourers

I've just received an HID Bi-xenon conversion kit ... testing on the bench (well, kitchen table), the difference between that and a standard 55/60 H4 bulb was amazing! It uses the same HID bulb for dipped and main beam by moving the bulb within the holder so that the bulb is not covered by the shield on main beam. if you take a look at a standard H4 bulb you'll see what I mean by the placement of the two filaments. Current draw for one HID ballast/bulb was around 2.8 amps, compared to 5 amps for a 55/60 on main and 8.3 amps for a 80/100 on main beam. In theory the HID kit kicks out around 3 times as much light as a 55/60. So more light, less heat and 11amps less load on the alternator ...

I'll write up the installation, take some pictures and compare with standard 55w/60w and the 80w/100w "xenon" filled standard filament bulbs that I currently have fitted.

Price including express delivery was just £73 .. BARGAIN!

Many thanks for that information, you just may have saved me from searching to see if a headlamp upgrade had been talked about before.

Cheers

I've just had one thought .. it may be necessary to bypass the dim-dip module if fitted (and not previously melted by high wattage bulbs like mine), otherwise the voltage at the headlamp connector may not be enough to properly energise the relay that turns on the HID ballasts.

Bypassing the dim-dip module is as simple as removing one connector and joing a couple of wires together (and maybe removing a couple of relays too). This will also allow sidelights to be used on later cars without the pods popping up...

Sounds good! Where did the kit come from?

I was thinking that these kit would be a good upgrade but couldn't work out if the had mains and dips in the one bulb, let us know how you get on and where the kit came from. I was looking on Ebay but the kits were foreign, at least the kits I could see were.

John

Yep, definitely foreign and from ebay .. I'll comment more once it's installed and running!

Early H4 kits used to have HID dip and halogen main beam combined into a hybrid bulb. The later kits use one HID bulb, some retract the bulb, others tilt the bulb, and I believe some others move the beam deflector.

The kit I've bought moves the bulb, so in theory at least, the light source matches the position of the dipped and main beam halogen filaments. The beam pattern looked pretty good at around 18ft along my kitchen using a slightly rusty old Excel headlamp. How it looks in the car remains to be seen!

sounds good, i could really do with something like this on mine, i stuggle to see more than 3 catseyes ahead sometimes! :S

also whats the best cure for the rusted reflectors?
new ones from SJ? or mike taylor?

Oz.

Club Lotus sell new reflectors and there were some in the Lotus parts sale but I think they sold out ... not surprising at £14 each!

If the HID kit goes well, I'll have a set of 80/100w xenon gas filled halogen bulbs up for grabs, they work pretty well with new reflectors and give a very white (almost with a hint of blue) light compared to standard yellowy light.

I'm interested in this too.

A few nights ago I found I was braking far too early (or unnecessarily braking) for bends because I couldn't see far enough up the road to judge the speed for the bend.

And my old git eyes need all the help they can get.

I might need some more advice on the dim-dip wiring options though.


while we're on the topic of lighting....

Why is it that you can use the front fog lights with the dim-dip/sidelight setting but can't switch the rear fogs on unless you're on full dipped headlights?

It seems daft to me 'cos in proper fog you want front fogs and sidelights(+ dim/dip) only to stop the glare-back you get from the mist/fog if you used dips or mains. i.e the fogs are set low to illuminate the road under the fog whereas full dips just send glare back. This is worse for cars like the Excel where the lights are at eye-level especially for short-houses like me.

I believe that there is a regulation that states that rearfog lights should only be allowed to be on when Dipped/Main headlights are on and that manufacturers are/were required to wire these accordingly.
Modern cars will not allow rear fogs on with sidelights only.

It may be more of an issue with the HIDs causing more glare in fog so I'll take a look when I'm wiring them up to see if the fogs can be enabled with sides. If it's easy I'll do the mod and take some notes.

I'm also considering using the fog lights as additional brake lights when they aren't already on - just to give the following car a less subtle hint that I'm braking ... Would probably have to make that mod switchable for MOT time though!

alanmoss wrote:I believe that there is a regulation that states that rearfog lights should only be allowed to be on when Dipped/Main headlights are on and that manufacturers are/were required to wire these accordingly.
Modern cars will not allow rear fogs on with sidelights only.

It would seem that the Law is an Ass yet again. They must think that all cars are tall these days (almost true I know) so the driver's eye line is well above dipped beams....it's a bit like driving on country roads now councils round here have abandoned cutting the verges...drivers of tall cars can see the road ahead whereas low-slung Lotus and Clan drivers (like me) have to look through the cowslips on bends and junctions.

I remember driving one night in the Clan on a country road with low-lying mist/fog. I had no fog lights and the dipped headlights are right in my eye line. Everyone was hooting and passing me as if the fog was nothing ...and I was struggling to make progress in a 3 foot high pea-souper where 20 mph seemed too fast---the glare back from the Clan lights was horrendous...but judging by the speed others were passing me I think there must have been little or no fog 3 or 4 feet above road level!

This business of proper (sensible) use of fog lights front and rear is something that the likes of Top Gear should look into...they like to take the p out of silly regulations.

Sorry

Rant over.

Id be curious to know what the beam patterns like on the Lotus when they have been done. I know two people who have fitted this kit, one has a relatively new Fiesta and doesnt have any problems. the other has a Beetle GT ( Porsche 911 ) and get flashed at regularly cos people think his main beam is on and he has to remove them for the MOT cos the beam pattern causes a fail. Ive resisted fitting them for that reason. So, can you let us know what the beam patterns like in the Lotus it would be useful.

Bash

Yep, will take some pics of the beam pattern too .. it looked good at 18ft along the kitchen!

Steve C wrote:Yep, will take some pics of the beam pattern too .. it looked good at 18ft along the kitchen!

Steve - you are a driving God - lol