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Nearing the 50,000 mile mark, what should i watch out for or check, i need a cambelt change how much should i be expecting for that?

also a friend of mine just bought XENON HID LAMPS CONVERSION KIT of ebay for around £40 and put them in his car they look mint but are there any problems with these, also for MOT you need washers if im right so can i just swap these with my original for MOT and put them back no problem?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HID-XENON-CONVERS ... dZViewItem

many thanks
Anis

I was looking at cheap HIDs before,

Considering the price I wouldn't expect them to last a great deal of time. Howeve i'd love to find out how your friend gets on with them, for i've never had the guts to buy em lol

Headlight washers are not compulsory - they are only a requirement if the car comes with HIDS from the factory, therefore retrofits get past fine.

Cambelt through VW tops £300 - parts are about £100 ish, but its a pig of a job. Also, waterpump is recommended to be changed aswell, otherwise the cambelt has to be taken off and put back on to change it at a later date....which is double the labour in effect.

oh ok so need to get that changed soonish how many years or/ milage should you undergo before you change because i don't think mine has been changed since the car was made,

The XENON HID LAMPS CONVERSION KIT are really good for that price and i'l probably buy a set when i get paid but honestly they are so bright and come with everything really surprised for that price as i've seen some people talking about hundreds

bouzel wrote:oh ok so need to get that changed soonish how many years or/ milage should you undergo before you change because i don't think mine has been changed since the car was made,

The XENON HID LAMPS CONVERSION KIT are really good for that price and i'l probably buy a set when i get paid but honestly they are so bright and come with everything really surprised for that price as i've seen some people talking about hundreds

I don't know what VW recommend, but I'd imagine every 5 years / 60000 miles. My car is due a service at 53000, and is 6 years old, so I'm getting it done then. For me deferring the job for a year / 10000 miles isn't worth it

Do those HID bulbs come with shrouds to control the light, I wonder? A small thing, but good to have. I think the Hids4u ones have them

i don't think they do but then again im not 100% positive what exactly does the shroud do as i can ask my friend if you want i could possibly get a picture as post it but that won't be tell next week?
Many thanks
Anis

VW Cambelt rules are every 40-60k/every 3 years now. Its dropped alot on what it used to be.

Reflector protection (shrouds) are very important in the HID bulbs. Without this, you will get a very uncontrollable beam on a headlight designed for halogen bulbs as its double the amount of light it needs to control, instead of concentrated light on one part.

Let us know how you get on with the HID kit, I'm quite tempted to get myself a set at the price

If your using the on Main Beams (as the GTI already has dipped beam HIDS) then it doesnt matter - as the light patter for a main beam bulb isnt controlled anyhow. Its just component quality and safety you need to be vigilant of.

not quite with you there Alex?

basically the main beam bulbs just shove out light in all directions - they dont have to be below a certain level like dipped beams are. Cheaper HID sets dont have the feature that prevents light from going all over the place, where as expensive ones do. Im saying that you could use a cheap HID set for main beam bulbs as the light pattern doesnt need to be controlled.

Ahh i see, well if i was to go ahead with the cheap HIDs, i probably get a set for my fogs first, if its feasible

What du rekon they'd be like for them?

Rubbish - the reflectors would probably melt to be totally honest with you - HIDs get very very very hot...theyd just ruin fogs!

would they not burn out the sidelights then if used as full beams?

No - theres good heat dispersal in the headlights. You ideally should have metal cased sidelights if they are LEDs anyhow to work with HIDs effectively.