Quote from logitekg25 :

now the leveler's work....how?

they just position it so its level? hills must be a blast with your lense pointing at your bumper

If you load the boot up with stuff, the boot sits much lower, but the front hardly moves. This points the light up in the air - which would dazzle other drivers (as dipped beams have a cut-off to prevent this).

To adjust this, you have a dial you can turn to adjust the level of the headlights... however nobody ever seems to.

Because HID's / Xenon's can blind more easily, equipment in the car is installed to adjust them automatically. In the case of my car, there are sensors on the suspension that monitor the pitch of the car, and adjust the lights accordingly.

If you watch a big Range Rover go over a large bump, you'll probably notice how it blinds you (high up lights do that...), then suddenly the beam goes down and then it returns to normal as the car settles back.

Quote from Crashgate3 :

How come just changing the bulb means you need power-washers?

Because HID's / Xenons produce a lot more light, which also has slightly different properties (easier to reflect / refract I *think*).

Dirt on the lens could lead to lights pattern alternating, causing you to blind / glare other road users. Power-wash is designed to stop that.

However, I don't really think it's needed. It certainly doesn't clean too much, and I've yet to experience any sort of issues with crap on the lens.

Quote from BlueFlame :

Rovers don't make good sounds, so I guess you wouldn't know but cars that sound good

I'm sorry... WTF?! This coming from a man whos pimpin' ride is an 80's Jetta?

Obviously, I would have no idea what driving a Westfeild is like, after all I own a "Rover"... wait a second...



Sound helps, but when your sitting so low it still feels faster. Plus a "simpler" car links you to the car much more directly, so again you are more involved in the speed of the car.

But your right... "Rovers" don't sound good. Ever.

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

99.9999% of drivers on the road now either have Xenons or HID's anyway, as 75% of new cars come with them standard and most people have upgraded now anyway. So yeah, **** them.

No, they don't - very few cars have Xenons as standard (although many have projectors), and most cars on the road anyway.

I'd say even on new car sales it's probably about 40%...

Quote from Nathan_French_14 :

I wonder if that same could apply to cars and H.I.D's etc.

VOSA could prohibition the car for breaking contruction and use if they wanted to... but it's a LOT of effort. I've never heard of it being done, though. Same for decats...


Anyway, like I said I have OEM projector Xenons in my car, so I know the alignment is fine... but thanks to the new MOT changes it seems I may now need to spend ~£100 (more than the lights cost in the first place!) getting the power-wash (pointless) and leveling (pointless - my cars load never changes) in... awesome.

Quote from Nathan_French_14 :

If you fit H.I.D's, your car will not pass an M.O.T with them fitted due to the fact they are not at full brightness until a few seconds after being turned on. The M.O.T tester will fail your car straight away

I thought that applied only to the main beams, as a pose to dipped headlights?

Quote from Nathan_French_14 :

If you were to fit a projector lens or Xenons, your car would also FAIL it's next M.O.T unless you fit some sort of cleaning setup (i.e blades, jets etc.) and Automatic level adjustment control, which is a lot of work to do.

Errr, what? You can have Xenons in Reflectors (legally), and you can have halogens in Projectors (legally).

Running Xenons / HID's without powerwash / self-levelling is illegal in the fact it breaks construction & use regs, but you wouldn't fail your MOT for it.

Quote from BlueFlame :

True, and the fact it sounds alot more powerful than it is will add to this effect.

I doubt the noise is going to have a big affect - the driving position (i.e. low down) makes it feel much faster than it actually is, though.

Quote from Migz :

Seriously? So all cars must be 100% performance? Hah. Id rather not have a shit bucket which does 200mph. Rather a nice looking car which does 120.
Grow up, learn that other people have different tastes. The world does not revolve around you.

Did ANYONE mention it was bad because you weren't doing it for performance?

Have you even seen my car?

I have absolutley no problem with people upgrading their cars... be it for looks, performance, ICE, general usefulness.

However, I can't quite understand why someone would deliberately fit lights which will provide LESS usable light... so they look cool. Especially when they look rubbish, and blind other road users.

Quote from Migz :

i want my low beam to be for looks

Quote from Migz :

As i said, i've had a HID kit before. So i don't need to be told everything i already know, like i need different headlights, or that they are illegal. I know both of these things, they aren't illegal here, only if you buy the cheaper kits with no high beam (like i did). And my headlights are getting changed anyway so they will be fine.

Some of you asked why i wanted two different colours. Well i want my low beam to be a full blue colour, and then the high beam to be a bright output. That way when im driving around everyone can see the blue headlights, but when im in the country i still have the BRIGHT AS **** high beam to use.

Quote from danowat :

Newer cars with CANBUS systems have circuitry built in that stops you fitting retro-fit HID's.

Not always - pretty much all the lights in my car use CANBUS (which triggers a warning when a light is out), but you can get round this with resistors. Having said that, HID's draw enough curent not to set it off in the first place.

Quote from Migz :

Would this mean i would have to buy two HID kit's?

ja

Quote from Migz :

Or does anyone know of any kits which come with 4 bulbs to two ballasts?

Each bulb needs it's own ballast - it's why each bulb already has it's own unique ballast.

Quote from Migz :

It would suck if i had to buy two HID kit's as the warm up period for swapping between high beam and low beam would be a pain in the ass.

Not only would it suck, but it's also illegal as well - HID's take a while to warm up, and would fail the MOT because they don't come on quick enough (although I have no idea what the situation is on the CI).

Some companies have cheats to get around this (i.e. overvolt for the first second), but to be honest the only way around it (currently) is a much, MUCH more expensive HID kit.

Quote from Migz :

If its H4 then does anyone know of a company somewhere who sell a kit with two different temperatures in each bulb? So lets say 10000k low beam, and then a 4000k high beam?

Why would you want that?

10000k = useless for a start - even 6000k is too blue. The optimum is 5000k.

Quote from dynofiend :

HID bulbs should not be used in housings designed for normal incandescent bulbs.

This. Or at least, if you DO use reflectors, at least get the HxR bulbs which are designed for reflector headlights.

I've tried HID's in the past - but for a start 6000k was too blue, with not enough light output, and secondly the glare (I was a wanker with HID's in reflectors...) was atrocious. I found it much easier to buy the optional-extra Xenon projector headlights on eBay from a breaker (was only ~£80). No more dazzling, better light output, and a better lens as well.

However, if you can't find projectors for your car, here's (1, 2 & 3) what i'd do (to do it PROPERLY)... in short, you can buy HID's built into a projector lens, and then manually fit the projector lens into your headlights.

Quote from baSh0r :

in this turn from as club: if you lack grip, you are too fast.

This.

The key is to cut the first apex, and always remember slow in, fast out.

From memory LFS' tarmac grip is constant anyway.

Quote from Foilpact :

...and a console or electronic stuff is supposed to last at least 5 years.

No, it's not. You have up to 6 years to claim, where reasonable. I would not say that 5 years is "reasonable" on a sub-£200 console, especially when it's specifically sold as pre-owned.

After the first 6 months you'd have to prove it was an inherent fault... but on the 360 that wouldn't be too hard.

Another vote for NetBeans, it's what a lot of Uni's use to help students get used to the language... although it can be a little clunky at times.

I find it ironic how people with thousands of post on a forum about a racing game can take the piss out of people who use Facebook a lot...

Quote from BlueFlame :

Shotglass hates anything that ain't a stock Mx5

Except he owns an MR2...

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

Would take me either a month to earn that much and I would have to use a nice big chunk of my overdraft or two months without spending any money on petrol, and I earn quite a bit more than minimum.

Everyone says "oh it only costs xx weeks pay" but then forget that out of each of the £100 we earn, £22.50 or there abouts goes to the tax man, and then about £65 would go on bills, fuel, morgages, etc..leaving only about £11-£12 to spend on things that aren't "essential"..

Except (to my knowledge) Rappa Z lives with his parents (he's 16). I doubt he has any large overheads.

Quote from matijapkc :

+1... If I had that much summer money... :/

An unbranded 42" TV is what, £380? (Work did 42" LG's for £379 recently).

Thats less than 2 weeks work on the minimum wage...

It's a grey area, this thread may well be binned soon.

"Hackintosh" would be a good word to Google, though.

You can run OSX on many different platforms, however driver supports for GPU's etc.

I've tried before, but failed...

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

If I took it to court, I wouldn't expect alot, just a repair or a replacement for an equivalent (i don't even really want the new xbox) machine..so another 20GB premium would be fine for me!

Well had you not of opened it you would of got a repair anyway... and you certainly wouldn't of got a replacement (or at least, you might of got a pro-rata refund on a pre-owned, old, last model Xbox, which would be very very low).

If you were to take it to court for poor workmanship, all thy would be expected to do is put things right (either fulfill their obligation, or put you back to the position you were in before...)

I can't help thinking buying a warranty and then voiding it trying to fix it is a little like getting a dog and barking yourself.

Shotglass is right... the GTS250 is an 8800. Theres nothing wrong with the 8800, and i'm sure if you got one one on eBay or something it'd be a brilliant budget card... but asking nearly £100 for a 3-generation-old card is ridiculous

While they may say opening it voided the warranty (it's debatable), thats not the problem in question - while the warranty may be void, that means they are not obligated to repair it. That does not mean you can open it up.

However, you will have to prove that they are at fault... which could be quite hard. Especially as you've now removed the seal.

However, for a £100 Xbox I really *really* wouldn't bother. If you really are an "IT Engineer" it would take you less time to fix the bodge than answer the email.

Oh yes, and I'd be surprised if you got an reply, it's slightly too ranty / derogatory. Plus, you've given then no compelling reason to reply.

Also, don't threaten court unless you intend to do it and actually understand it... it makes you look like a bell-end.

For example, what do YOU think would happen once you took it to court? What would be the net result?

iPhone 4 16GB = £39.83

1200 mins, unlimited texts, 750 MB data, O2, 18 months = £51.07pm, minus 30% discount = £35.75.

awthum!

Quote from DeadWolfBones :

In response to the question "have you used top-end Android hardware" you say that you've used the first ever Android phone (basically dinosaur tech now) for the last 18 months?

I was explaining i've used Android a lot (but admitedly on older hardware) but that i've ALSO used the latest phones as well.

Quote from Seb66 :

You have to put all your details every time you download an app? All I have to do is enter a password to my apple ID

I had to the first time... I wouldn't of minded but it was a FREE app.