newheart8 here. have installed the 35 watt set with 5000 bulb temp and they are the whitest
white light. no problem with car sensing 35 watt. The 6000 bulbs start to look blueish which
is a give away. Good Looking

 

Hi XKracer

I have fitted an HID kit to my 99 XK8, I thought they were only legal in the uk with auto height adjustment and washers anyway. So whats changing in 2012?

regards

 

Thats correct, for them to be legal you need auto levelling and washers, it is a bit of a grey area but at this moment in time it is OK to fit them by an individual but not by a company (so I am told) however they will be an MOT failure as of next year if you do not have all the necessary requirements.

The main reason is because a lot of boy racers in there Saxos and Corsas are fitting them to standard light units and not the projector type as fitted to most modern vehicles including XKs.

 

35W kit is what you want, the 55W is for offroad use, no-way need that much light/power for main headlamps, the standard manufacture's use is 35W.

 

Re. MOT's in the Uk and retro-fit HID's.
They will NOT be an automatic fail after April 2012, what you will get is an advisory stating that "the vehicle has HID headlights but there does not appear to be an automatic headlamp levelling system installed". Vehicles built from 2012 onwards will fail if a fitted headlamp wash system isn't operating, also if factory fitted TPMS isn't working correctly. Airbag lights are also included at the same time, as is the visual inspection for presence of a catalytic converter if it left the factory with one.
The intended regulation changes would have outlawed aftermarket-installed HID's on vehicles with no headlamp wash and no height control, but as usual the legislation was watered down!

 

I was followed last night by a Merc with HIDs
So f * bright they dazelled me for miles.

Burnt him off as soon as I could.They are a real pain unless adjusted properly.

Al

 

I'm looking into buying one of these sets too. What I'd like to know is do I need to get the canbus version (like this: ebay) or can I just buy any H1 kit with the slim ballasts?

I'd like to get the color as close to the OEM HIDs as possible. Is the original 5000k or 6000k?

 

No you do not need the canbus as X100s dont have a front headlight out warning.... The standard is 3500K I believe but I would not go higher than 6000 as it goes too blue

 

Great, thanks for your quick reply. I found that the originals seem to be actually 4300K so that's what I'll get.

Non-canbus H1 with slim ballasts and 4300K, and they should fit with minimal hassle?

 

The hardest job is removing your headlights, but fit them insides the light unit it looks more professional than having them rattling around outside. You will find you have to remove the dip beam reflector to get the wires through, easy enough to do like I said with the headlamp removed!!

 

Old post but quick question,

Can I purchase the later HID headlight unit(the one with black painted) to be fitted to the older xk8(all reflective)?
eg: Swap between these two



I know some of us has removed the glass and painted it.

 

I just installed 35 Watt HID lights in my 2004 XK8 last week. I put them in the low beam and the fog lights. The fog lights was a jury rig not, really made for them, and I actually don't see any improvement with them, would not do it again. The Low Beams however are a vast improvement and were a direct fit. Highly recommend that upgrade.

 

I know it's a easy fit to purchase aftermarket HID kits to be fitted on to any xk8.
Sorry if my question wasnt clear,
I'd like to know if I can make the direct swap with OEM 97 headlight unit with...let's say 06 HID headlight unit.
(I just want to get the black headlight...)

Best

 

If all you want is the black front section then you can swap just that, can be bought from Jaguar for about $300 each but to change the entire lamp is more complicated as they have a different plug