Originally Posted by
fraser9764
i always understood that they werent illegal and only the cheap ones failed MOTs due to crap beam patterns?

It all depends on the intensity of the light output, they are all too high intensity for a standard reflector to cope with, hence the light bleeds out all over the place.
Also depends on how leniant your MOT tester is too. In VOSA's or the polices eye though, they are illegal as you are not allowed to modify a halogen headlamp unit for any other type of bulb.