[greenhorn]

these two pictures got me thinking




And some food for thought
Bosch HID Kit Allegation Clear-Up Thread - NewTiburon.com Forums
Beware of "Bosch" HID kits - Chrysler 300C Forum: 300C & SRT8 Forums
Race Factory HID's
Warning about fake HID Kits - ClubWRX Forum - Subaru Impreza WRX and STi Community and Forums
Fake Bosch HID conversions - CandlePowerForums
HIDReview.com - Home of HID/Xenon Reviews and Info! - Home

can anyone with the kits clarify?

[Cyrus43]

I believe i have HELLA HIDs in my 64 Fiat 1100. They are genuine...Or atleast they appear to be. The packing and layout was amazing. The Whole setup was like a plug and play thing. The way all the wires and connectors were setup were simple Perfect.

[white_vdi]

looks like a real eye opener thread greenhorn.

[abk]

I am incredibly shocked that despite the extensive breath and depth of knowledge shared here on TBHP the awareness around the genuine HID kits is abysmally low

Yes, most of the HID kits available in the market are Chinese and south east Asian make. Some of them masquerade as Bosch, Philips etc. In fact, I have seen a complete range of automotive halogen bulbs "made" by Bosch China. Upon investigation I stumbled upon the fact that there is no Halogen bulb making unit of Bosch in China. At least until about 2 years ago.

Most of the genuine HID kits that I am aware of come as auxiliary (fog) lamp sets. Not just the bulb, ballast, wires, etc DIY kit. However, again am talking of the scenario about 2 years back. In order to be absolutely certain that you want your car's HIDs to be genuine, within the limited choices of reputed lamp makers one can buy one of the auxiliary HID lamp sets from the range offered by Hella.

The future, anyway is, LED optics. By the end of this year most of the automobile industry is expected to embrace LEDs as replacements for most of the bulbs except headlamp bulbs. Some of the luxury segment cars will probably adorn all LED bulbs.

[ImmortalZ]

To be brutally honest? No.

From what I've gathered from the web and from forums where retrofitting HIDs are the main topic, you cannot buy Philips HID equipment over the counter first hand from anywhere. Even the bulbs with assorted equipment that even the most reputed retrofitters and installers give are second hand taken from cars where they are OEM. Third party kits of good quality are available though. A brand called DIGITAL seems be widely accepted in lieu of Philips.

[Fountainheader]

Originally Posted by ImmortalZ

From what I've gathered from the web and from forums where retrofitting HIDs are the main topic, you cannot buy Philips HID equipment over the counter first hand from anywhere. Even the bulbs with assorted equipment that even the most reputed retrofitters and installers give are second hand taken from cars where they are OEM. Third party kits of good quality are available though. A brand called DIGITAL seems be widely accepted in lieu of Philips.

You can buy Original Philips HID kits from the "genuine" dealers in India.

The reason why we see lots of other brands sprouting up is because the "genuine/original" HIDs cost a bomb if you want to buy them. One of my friend tried to source Bosch kits from Germany and I guess he was quoted some 350 Euros for a set of 2 bulbs.

This is where the Chinese HIDs come into picture! And they are slowly starting to rule the roost. When I started my search for HIDs on eBay, I dint find any reputed brands out there. But rather than going for a Bosch or Philips and get fooled, I went for some JD Lightings brand. Not sure how it will work, but atleast they are not Chinese!!

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Fountainheader

You can buy Original Philips HID kits from the "genuine" dealers in India.

The reason why we see lots of other brands sprouting up is because the "genuine/original" HIDs cost a bomb if you want to buy them. One of my friend tried to source Bosch kits from Germany and I guess he was quoted some 350 Euros for a set of 2 bulbs.

This is where the Chinese HIDs come into picture! And they are slowly starting to rule the roost. When I started my search for HIDs on eBay, I dint find any reputed brands out there. But rather than going for a Bosch or Philips and get fooled, I went for some JD Lightings brand. Not sure how it will work, but atleast they are not Chinese!!

A lot of automotive stuff even from reputed guys is made in china. Infact even in computers/mp3players etc., most of the stuff is made in china.
So chinese does not mean low quality.
However that said, there is quite a bit of chinese stuff in the market which is actually pretty low quality

[Fountainheader]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

A lot of automotive stuff even from reputed guys is made in china. Infact even in computers/mp3players etc., most of the stuff is made in china.
So chinese does not mean low quality.
However that said, there is quite a bit of chinese stuff in the market which is actually pretty low quality

No one here is saying that Chinese stuff is bad quality or so. Its just that the Chinese have mastered the art of rip off that its very tough to figure out if the product is original or not.

Case in point, the pics posted by greenhorn. I agree that the buyer should be alert enough, but if the influx is so huge, then obviously it gets tougher.

ezone retails some Chinese MP3 players which are an exact copy of the iPod shuffle. I am not sure about the quality, but a similar looking one can be passed off to a layman as a Shuffle

[greenhorn]

what i have deduced from the above threads is

1. Bosch, Philips etc make the HID bulbs as OE for some cars
2. Hella does have some conversion kits , but they seem to be for fogs
3. Chinese manufacturers add the ballasts and come up with the conversion kit
4. Some kits are unbranded, some have their own brand, some are sold as Philips/Bosch
5. The quality of the chinese kit varies, with some being very high quality, and some being crap.
6. The so called Bosch/Philips Kits are sold at a very high premium over the generic stuff, some of which may be identical otherwise
7. I read elsewhere that bosch was pulling up their dealers in india for selling these Kits as "genuine ones"
8. Bosch/Philips official response is that they neither make nor sell these kits ( which is in fact illegal in a lot of countries)

So my questions are
1. Are/were there any genuine Philips/Bosch HID conversion kits in the first place ?
2. Are they worth the additional premium over an other high quality Chinese HID kit

[sanjz]

The HID Kits that Philips India is marketing are also manufactured in China. Thus the mere fact that a product is manufactured in China, is not necessarily a pointer to the quality of the product,though it can more true and applicable in case of grey imports with funny sounding names!or fakes being passed of as originals. Having said that i would also like to point out that many SE Asian HID kits are doing good service and are VFM being equally good in build quality as well. The HIDS that I am using in the stock fog lamps of my Getz are doing great. Infact at times i feel that they are brighter than my philips HIDs in the head lamp.

[Fountainheader]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

8. Bosch/Philips official response is that they neither make nor sell these kits ( which is in fact illegal in a lot of countries)

So my questions are
1. Are/were there any genuine Philips/Bosch HID conversion kits in the first place ?
2. Are they worth the additional premium over an other high quality Chinese HID kit

I doubt the validity of the 8th point. I've seen Philips ads in some of the Auto mags and I did contact the South area manager for enquiring about the same. Philips HID kits were available for 9500 incl 6000K bulbs.

Not sure about India, but abroad Bosch sells genuine HID kits. Its just that the Chinese have mastered the art of faking out even the genuine of the genuine stuff.

I guess the Philips kit comes with B/w. So of course that charges a premium. Its another case that the JD Lighting stuff that I have also carries a 1 year warranty. (Not sure how I can claim it from India)

[vinaydas]

my question is whether the china made stuf or your own DYI kit reliable?
imagine your headlamps failing at 120 kmph on an isolated stretch or a hill curve W/O lighting..
OEM manufactured stuff generally has been tried and tested for even worst case scenarios.
Maybe get them if you only move around in the city with proper lighting and want to show off your lights etc.
Highways and Long distance travels i think we are taking a risk here.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by vinaydas

my question is whether the china made stuf or your own DYI kit reliable?
imagine your headlamps failing at 120 kmph on an isolated stretch or a hill curve W/O lighting..
OEM manufactured stuff generally has been tried and tested for even worst case scenarios.
Maybe get them if you only move around in the city with proper lighting and want to show off your lights etc.
Highways and Long distance travels i think we are taking a risk here.

there are no DIY HID kits. the design of the electronic ballast is fairly complicated ( like an SMPS).

A lot of the chinese manufacturers who make these kits also make the OEM stuff, and might even have used the same design and components.

about the lights failing , that can happen with anything , even the OEM stuff and regular bulbs. what if a relay or a fuse blows?

And even then you have your Halogens for your high beam and fogs right ( if you dont you should !)

[nikhilv12]

Original Philips HID is available in the market and you can get them for 7500 Rs, a set, if you know the right person.

[tsk1979]

Original Philips is not 7500 a set by a long shot. This price is lower than the cost price after duty etc.,