HID for 5

[mx5racing]

About 80% of the NC's we have imported for racing have the HID headlights std. They come with these fancy little sensors on the front and rear suspension that set the headlight levels automatically. Interestingly the non HID ones fitted to the other NC's from Japan have a manual scroll to adjust the headlights. The wire gauge for the OEM ones are considerably thicker than the std ones (same as sold in Aus) so be careful about the draw on you kit or you may end up creating more problems. Interesting the housing for the headlights is the same for HID and non HID with the fitting points already there for the OEM ones.

[Mr Morlock]

MX5 refers to "manual scrolling" - not sure what that means - perhaps just adjusting screws ( vert/horiz) which all headlamps have. One of the requirements for HID for OE was as I always understood was automatic levelling and at one stage you also needed a cleaning system. I did not realise that Mazda offered HID in Japan as OE but in any case our ADR's are not the same. I would say that any aftermarket HID for headlamps is not legal here. I wonder if say a dealer would fit such a unit knowing it technically renders the car not roadworthy? Ultimately it is probably minor stuff and people will do these things themselves.

[bensale]

By manual scrolling I'm pretty sure he means there is a little scroll in the cabin that you can turn to electronically adjusts the angle of the headlights. A lot of euro cars have had them for a while, the 206 gti has one and I think its a great feature.

[mx5racing]

Yes there is a scrolling knob on the R/H side of the dash so you can manually adjust the headlights. This is only only the non HID models. The HID models are all auto adjustment but have no washers. As to why Mazda Aust decided not to offer them here we can only assume cost came into it.

[@ndrew]

By manual scrolling I'm pretty sure he means there is a little scroll in the cabin that you can turn to electronically adjusts the angle of the headlights. A lot of euro cars have had them for a while, the 206 gti has one and I think its a great feature.

I owned a Peugeot 206 GTi and never once bothered using the manual scroll adjuster, you tend to forget it even exists.

HID's have now been installed & adjusted by a reputable Auto Electrician. All I can report is WOW! Definitely a great improvement over stock, even has the same sharp cut off as stock halogens.

[Garry]

The cuttoff on the NC lights is really good, maybe having something to do with using the JDM HID housings as pointed out by mx5racing. I'm surprised you noticed much of a difference @ndrew, I dont find anything wrong with the stock NC lights.

Mazda AUS scratched the HID's from the spec list to cut costs accordng to the blurb at the NC release. It would have pushed the car over their targeted price point, though I'm surprised they didn't spec them for the upgrade model.

[@ndrew]

At first i thought that the NC lights were decent, however after using HID's you'll defenitly notice the difference.

[TieNN89]

I would be surprised if you can readily buy an H7 gas discharge from local sources. I also will bet you can find no published data on rated wattage lm, colour temp or lamp life.

be surprised

Autobarn sells them....
Musecret sells them with 35W colour temp.....

[connico]

I know, tell me about it. Fords are bad for it. I only use mine for show or if its really foggy.

...sorry but you do understand that during heavy fog, a low intensity light is much better for yourself and others. A bright white light in fog will blind you as the driver and on coming traffic?

That is why most traditional fog lights are amber in colour?

Non self leveling HID are illegal and unsafe being caught with them will earn you a defect notice from any police officer in any state. Most will not care if you have them properly pointed the beams to minimise glare, otherwise your going to be out of a pocket and without a car till you move to resolve the issues. Red defect notice means you cant drive the car till what they deem unsafe has been resolved.

Good luck