posted by
someone claiming to be bcmacgregor
on
Fri Dec 3 11:59 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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Does anyone know if the S60R HID xenon headlamps will work in a non-xenon car? The HID lamps look to be the same size and shape as the halogens, but I'm wondering about the wire connectors?
I'm thinking of upgrading my 01 V70 to the HID lamps...
Thanks!
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BC--to bring you up to speed: The HID kits got the ax some time ago, but you can still probably find one around on a bulletin board or some web site. Go for Philips, which makes the best. Osram is the next best. Luxury cars are coming out with HID lamps on them as OEM, but they usually have some self-leveling system that keeps a lot of weight in the back from shooting the light up into on-coming cars. Which is why the kits got banned. That by the side. It isn't a matter of just replacing the bulbs. There's a transformer and a lot of do-able wiring that has to be done to convert. Price-wise you're looking at $500++ for an HID kit. I looked long and hard at an HID kit several years ago for my 97 850 GLT wagon, and finally gave up and sprang for Euro lenses and Sylvania's Silver Star xenon bulbs. I'm close enough to an HID system with that set up at a third of the cost to be satisfied. The major consideration is not the HID system however, but the Euro lenses, which are ground differently and throw the light out in a flat plane about waist high. The American SAE ground lenses throw a lot of it up to illuminate the overhead freeway signs. Since the freeway signs are always illuminated, this is a waste of light. For your bucks, Euro and Sylvania are the easiest and best way to go. If you have money to spend, go for the Euro lenses and the Philips HID kit system if you can find one. Dick
P.S. Don't buy off-market Taiwan Euro lenses in the $60 range. Buy Volvo OEM which will cost you around $120 each if you can find a supplier.
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BC--sorry to be so presumptuous on my long post. It's night here in Norway and I was tired and didn't read your post close enough. I didn't realize you were thinking of buying Volvo's OEM HID kit, rather than going out on the net for one. If your car has some sort of self-leveling suspension so you don't blind on-coming, go for it. If you blind someone and cause a wreck because you've got four hundred pounds of apples in the back, the injured party could sic some contingency lawyer on you. I'm all for HID and wish I could have afforded it on my 97 850. My 97 850 and the later models do have the plumb bubble on the headlamps you can adjust when you put a lot of weight in the back to keep from blinding on-coming drivers, and I've had to adjust on several occasions when I was heavily weighted in the back. On-coming kept flashing their headlights at me until I pulled over, grabbed my 8mm Allen, and screwed them down. I will repeat and say that Euro lenses with a good xenon bulb are your best and safest option. Dick
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posted by
someone claiming to be bcmacgregor
on
Tue Dec 7 10:04 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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Hey rtparr,
No problem on the presumptions, as there probalby aren't many folks out there that are crazed enough to use the Volvo R lamps on a regular model. The stock V70 headlamps are good, by modern standards, but they nowhere near as good as a real HID lamp. I have a 1987 245 wagon with the E-code headlamps (I bought them new from a dealer in Sweden and carted them back on the plane) and recently installed a 2nd generation Hella HID dual beam H4 system. Even with the excellent optics of the E code lamps, I still had to aim them down a couple of degrees. I don't get flashed anymore, unless I'm cresting a hill. Those lamps are big to start with, but with HID they produce so much light, its just amazing. After driving with those for a year, there's now way I can go back to Halogens. Of course the 240 E code lamps wern't really designed with HID in mind, but with the OEM R lamps, I'm hoping to minimize offense to oncoming traffic. I believe that the R lamps are self-leveling as well. I just bought a new set off Ebay, so I'll let you know how it goes. Funny you mention 400 pounds of apples... I just had the old 245 loaded with too many apples AND a vintage cider press. Who needs a lumbering SUV? But thats another topic.
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BC--thanks for the reply. Am looking to buy a white 97 850R wagon in the near to immediate future when I get back to the US next week, and will check with Volvo Houston (1-800-468-0041) where I buy all my OEM parts and see what they want for that HID system. The 70 lenses won't work on the 850 series, but there shouldn't be a problem with the electrics. You just have to get a diagram from someplace on how to hook it up to a non HID wired light system or go to Volvospeed.com to Bay 13. Somebody put a detailed post there on how to install an HID kit. I always thought the euro lenses and xenon came close to HID, but you're the first to state otherwise. Will revise my opinion.
Yes, I hauled a lot more than 200 kilos of apples in my wife's 97 850 wagon. The mother-in-law has quite a few apple trees, and it was a bumper harvest all over Norway this year. I must have hauled close to a ton in three separate trips from Sande down to Grimstad, about 140 miles. Had to screw down the lights each time I loaded up. Dick
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There's more to the HID system than the bulb. Central to the system are two transformers that provide the necessary 24,000 volts or so needed to light both of the lamps. If you look at aftermarket HID lamp kits online, you will see the parts that are needed add up to more than you may think. Be careful.
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posted by
someone claiming to be bcmacgregor
on
Tue Dec 7 09:47 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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Hey myou, thanks for the info, but I'm not after some look-a-like bulb. if you read my original post closely, you'll see that I'm thinking of using OEM Volvo HID lamps from an S60R/V70R. The Volvo lamps come with the ballast, high/low beam transition motor, specialized reflector and lens all built in to a unit the size of a standard lamp. I'm hoping some one out there knows if I can simply plug in the entire HID Volvo unit in to a stock harness and go... Just bought a set from Volvo, they should be here shorlty.
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Just a thought here, and I don't mean to be offensive, but as the guy swerving into your lane head-on, blinded by your HID lighting system, I just think this particular technology can be lethal. Thats not to say you're doing anything illegeal....just inconsiderate to others. It reminds me of the 'dude that blasts through my neighborhood at 3 a.m. every morning on his Kawasaki 750 with open baffles, and qualifies it by putting a sticker on his helmet that proudly proclaims LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES. I dunno, just another perspective, and best of luck!
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posted by
someone claiming to be bcmacgregor
on
Sat Dec 11 18:52 CST 2004 [ RELATED]
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I appriciate your point of view. I too have been blinded by improperly installed HID headlamps. The HID system I'll be installing on the V70 is a factory Volvo system from the R model. The lamps are self-leveling, just like the standard headlamps on some European modles. There are two main problems with owner-installed HIS systems: Many headlamps are not designed well enough to contain and effectively focus the light.. not only that, but the street-racer crowd has been known to remove the bulb shields from their car's lamps... they think they'll get moe light, but all they do is blind folks. Same deal with you neighbor with the motorbike.. the idea is sound, but the execution must be responsible....
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