Fitting aftermarket HIDs

[Adrian E]

not sure the '8 system is as advanced - mine just flashes a bulb at you, but doesn't tell you which one is out! It was only because it kicked in on braking that it gave the game away of where to start looking lol

Not tried pulling the foglight bulb out and the car's tucked away in the garage so not accessible easily to try it before the weekend

[ainarssems]

They do not give warning light on 1997 PF S8 coded beam. I don't think they would on foglights either.

CAN bus friendly kits are not about warning light but about making less electrical noise in power supply to avoid communication errors between different ECU's.

I had a battery failing on mine, would go flat in 3-4 days time and at that time when I switched HID lights on instrument panel would freeze up and CD changer stopped working. After getting new battery everything is fine.

I assume CAN kits have extra smoothing capacitors and maybe filter coils in them to reduce electrical ripple noise in power supply. CAN bus work with faster and weaker signals then older KKL and therefor is more susceptible to noise. On the other hand there is plenty of other things that make noise in the car - alternator, ignition coils, electric motors and even injectors and ECU's are build to cope with it.

I think that if the battery is good and you have good battery connection, ground connections and well generally all electrical connections then non CAN kits should not give any problems either.

[daviesbike]

can i ask a question may be silly but i use my dipped beam with my day running lights every time im in the car and have done for the last 18 months or more and lately i dont know if its the self leveling or what but the dipped beam seams like its not bright at all any more im finding it hard to see where im going when other cars come towards me, do the hid bulbs wear out after a while ? as in do they progresivly get more dim as they get older, i dare say that the bulbs have been in the car from new at the factory i have never changed a single bulb on my car only to upgrade to led side lights. what do you think ?

[daviesbike]

also would these be my replacments http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-S8-HI...#ht_2316wt_753

[Architex_mA8tey]

I think bulbs can lose some brightness over time but the only way you will compare is to get some replacement bulbs and suck it and see. Unless there is an issue with the Ballast on the HIDs not working properly or the reflectors fading then this is the only other option.

Another thing to bear in mind is that if you are driving another vehicle regularly with even newer/brighter lights then your A8/S8 then it will sometimes feel like your lights have deteriorated when you get out of the newer car into the older one - mine feels like this when I get out of the A7 now and into the A8.

[Nollywood]

Yes, HID capsules, as they age give out less lumens. I replaced the ones on my S8, as they seemed dim compared to one of my previous cars, an S4. My '98 S8 was also noticeably brighter.

Cost me £19-ish of eBay, and the difference in lumen output is like night and day.

[daviesbike]

thanks for the help i will buy some of them then they are 6000k not sure about lumins but hopefully will be brighter maybe get some uprated halogens to go with them as the main beam more than likely needs doing as well

[Nollywood]

Originally Posted by daviesbike

thanks for the help i will buy some of them then they are 6000k not sure about lumins but hopefully will be brighter maybe get some uprated halogens to go with them as the main beam more than likely needs doing as well

If I may ask, why would you want to fit 6000k HID capsules? When 4300k ones give out the greater lumen output? There's a reason OEM HID set-up in production cars is 4300k - because it's the best, output-wise.

Unless you just want your lights more blue-ish?

[Adrian E]

OK, now properly confused by my car! Before ordering anything I decided to take a look at what bulbs are currently fitted, and for both the main beam/flash bulb in my bi-xenons and the front fogs I have an H7 fitting

Not a problem, as not ordered any, but wondered if they vary by year of manufacture/light units fitted?

All those following this thread considering ordering - don't buy one of the H11 kits I linked to as they MAY not be what you want!!

[daviesbike]

ah i see in that case the 4300k will be ordered, im not fussed about how blue the lights are just about how bright they are so i can see where im going better