Been on this website for 2 1/2 hours reading all past postings on headlights but not really clear on what direction I should take. I took my car out last night and I could not believe how poor the visibility was using the headlights. Truly scary on non lit rural roads. I'm used to driving newer cars and the performance of headlights certainly has improved. My car is going in to repaint the front fascia so this night incident came at a perfect time. From what i gathered in reading I think what I need is LED, 6000K (more and the color changes, something I'm not looking for) headlight conversion kit essentially plug and play. I've noticed some have fans due to the LED heat given off and some say no fan (no unnecessary fan noise). The noise wouldn't bother me as while driving I wouldn't hear it I'm sure anyway. Is there anything I'm overlooking and is there a brand that stands out? Thank you for those that responds and hopes this thread sheds light to others with my same problem.

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...?highlight=Led

LED far easier to install than HID. I too have a 1998, check out this thread (above). World of difference improvement.

John

 

frisk3,

On the 98 XK8, you should start with you Low Beams and sorta follow what Jaguar did over the years...you should start with a really good HID Kit. There are several out there but make sure you have enough power.... Osram and Philips probably have the best bulbs with their Night Breaker and such...and the Ballast that I use is the same that Jaguar uses....Go to HID Concepts or HID Nation or any of the Web Stores as they are all about the same. Start with the Low Beams as you will use them probably 85 to 90 percent of the time....Later on worry about the High Beams.....For now, you need something to drive with...The problem with using HID is that you need the "Valeo" Ballast, which cost a Bit! but they are what Jaguar uses in all of their HID Set-ups. I just changed mine out as they were 15 years old...but they still worked! The Kits they sell are OK but the Bulbs are not as bright as the Philips or Osram Night Breakers and up....Get a good Bulb to start with but they cost more....They are worth the additional money..
I don't remember if the 1998 has Projector Lens are not...But you really need Project Lens for HID to work properly....If they are Reflectors, then the LED set-up is really the way to go, if you match-up the Light source of the Bulb with that of the Stock Bulb...

Billy Clyde in Houston

 

Billy, good point. I can confirm 1998 XK8 will work with HID. FWIW, OP might appreciate this:

I upgraded both low beams and fog to HID. waste of time & money for the fogs. Incredible improvement for low beams.

I managed to lose the headlight wheel well access cover on the left side. Looks like it allowed water to get to the ballast, started to see intermittent operation of that side's low beam.

Read Skillimi 's post about plug and play LED replacement. Bought a pair.

Installed led on left side, left HID in place on right.

Installation: LEDs are much easier than HID. IMO you must pull the wheel liner out to manage proper placement and to properly secure factory clips to hold LED in place.

Performance: since they are side by side, makes it easy to evaluate.

LED is instant on. HID takes several seconds to come to full illumination.

HID is a little bit brighter / better illumination than LED. It's hardly noticable, you'd have to study it carefully to conclude this.

Bottom line - LED is more than good enough on its own, makes up for being less bright with ease of installation.

John