Despite what it looks like, I think this is best suited to the discussion thread but if not, then by all means move it.
A couple of days ago, I drove into the drive and dad's car was in first. Because it was getting dark, I had the sidelights on but in the reflection, I could only see one. Sure enough, the left sidelight was out.
However, doing the same thing last night, they were both on! Despite this, I have decided to change both sidelight bulbs and the headlight bulbs.
Now. I saw a Mondeo MK2 drive past this morning when it was dark and it had almost Xenon type looking headlights - bright white - the entire road ahead of it looked, almost like daylight. They weren't given the age of the car but after seeing them, I did a search on t'internet. What are your opinions on the bulbs I should use?
I don't want the car looking like a boy racer's mode of transport (i.e. blue l.e.d.'s in the headlights) but having read some things, white (or at least brighter bulbs) seem to be great at night.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Should it matter, the car is a '99 Focus.
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Adam
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You can buy these Xenon bulbs to fit in easy enough but I have heard they don't last as long as norma bulbs. So if you are a high mileage driver they may cost you more.
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Same problem with my car (Xantia) last week. Bewildering choice of bulbs in Halfords, far too many with a blue or gold tint. Quite difficult to find the generic equivalent of the OEM fit, which was all I wanted.
My first thought would be to make sure what you are offered is street legal and will not overload your electrics, plenty on offer met neither of those criteria.
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I tried a pair of those "brighter" bulbs that fit your standard light units when they first came out.
I was hard pushed to tell the difference and they lasted a little more than a year, when they both blew within a week of each other.
As standard bulbs can last a very long time (I have one H4 that is over 21 years old) I now consider it not worth the bother.
Although bright lighting is nice, there are arguments against as cyclists and pedestrians can be harder to spot, if they are not in the area illuminated. You vision of dark areas can be lessened, by have a bright one just in front of you.
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www.powerbulbs.com
Osram and Philips bulbs, OE, 30% brighter, 50% brighter and Blue tinted. Typically cheaper than Halfords.
Depending on lamp design you can get up to a year out of the 50% brighter ones. You pays yer money.....
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An article in Auto Express the other week, stated that fitting xenon bulbs into non xenon units may not be legal, and as such may fail an MOT. I dont know how true that is, maybe someone can help. Also Hella, who would say this, stated that it was dangerous to fit xenon bulbs into halogen units? Could anyone clear this up?
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All the answers to queries about such bulbs and whether they are suitable for your vehicle's headlamp housings, can be found at this website regarding Sylvania's products (well known US company)
www.brightheadlights-hid.com/hid_lights_faq.htm#why
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Hella's explanation of modern car lighting technology at:
tinyurl.com/4fhrt
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Xenon/HID by law need a headlamp wash system and auto aim adjustment depending on car load; I believe.
Plus many Xenon, bulbs aren't the real thing. I use HID for off road cycling and a replacement bulb is a £100 pound experience, if they go wrong. So if you see "Xenon" bulbs for near Halogen prices they are unlikely to be the real thing.
I don't think Xenon is much better in the wet, as blue light seems not to penetrate but reflect more. Where as "yellow" halogen light works better in the wet. But Xenon is very good in the dry.
WipeOut
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>>plenty on offer met neither of those criteria.>>
Not borne out by these Sylvania observations:
"Lower power consumption. A 55 watt halogen system draws a constant 10 Amps current (approximate), while an HID system in steady state draws 6 Amps (about 35-40% less). As an added result, less heat is dissipated by the HID system.
"Longer Service Life. An HID lamp will last, on the average, 3 to 5 times as long as a halogen bulb. For most people, this translates into the life of the vehicle (and probably the life of the next vehicle also)."
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>>plenty on offer met neither of those criteria.>> Not borne out by these Sylvania observations:
The Sylvania guidance is very useful but to re iterate there are plenty of potentially illegal and fuse threatening combinations out there on retail shelves.
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IIRC upgrading H4 bulbs as used on the Focus gives significant benefits.
Upgrading H7 is not so beneficial as they are a newer more accurate design.
There is a current thread on the Mondeo boys site about upgrading light to HIDs. There are kits around to achieve this. I suspect you saw one of these?
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Dont forget there ar two types of Xenon headlights
1) Gas discharge Bi-Xenon lights are a common but expensive option on many new cars that give excellent light although you can have issues driving abroad as some cars need a dealer mod to change the beams (How do you drive from England to France in the dark!!). Some retro fit kits are available cheaper than the option price but still expensive and dubious quality, these are the ones that Auto Express had concerns about!
2) Xenon gas replacement bulbs, replacement filament bulbs filled with Xenon gas. These can burn brighter than normal Halogen gas bulbs but may (but not always) have a shorter life.
Auto Express did a test on these last year and stated that most of the blue/gold bulbs were poor and or dangerous. However the higher quality bulbs by Osram/Philips were excellent with higher output (same wattage thought) and no stray light.
After reading this report I decided to replace the H4 bulbs in my Octavia with Osram Silverstar +50% with amazing results.
They are also safer as the light cut off line is sharp so reducing glare for oncoming traffic. Highly recommended!
PS dont be tempted to put in higher wattage as they are illegal
and you generate some expensive electrical problems due to the extra load. (EG. On VW/Audi cars you will burn out the headlight and dip/main switches)
PPS Some headlights such as the 2001+ Passat or 1999-2003 Punto look like Bi-Xenon and have the same projector lens front but just have standard bulbs give very poor light output indeed.
Seems to be the latest fashion.
Sorry for the Essay!!!
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I agree higher wattage ones will more than likely give no increase of light on the road. In short..
1) Due to insufficient electrical system the voltage at the bulb will be lower than with standard wattage negating any benefit.
2) A slightly higher colour temperature will give the impression of a 'brighter' lightt to the uninitiated.
3) The higher wattage filament will have larger windings on the filament, which makes the lighsource outside of the optimum area, and can cause inaccurate beam alignment.
4) Light is emmitted from the hot surface of the filament, with a higher wattage bulb, which is constrained to a fixed size (such as a car bulb) there is aa lower surface area, this negates most of the benefit.
So even a much higher wattage bulb in this situation will only give insignificant gains, and these will often have unwelcome side-effects.
Go for the Osram Silverstars or Philips Vision Plus at powerbulbs.com or ebay.
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WOW! Firstly, thanks for everyone's very detailed replies - who would have thought there waas so many headlight bulbs.
It seems to be the general consensus that Osram or Philips are the one to go for so when I'm not busy next week (namely not eating, sleeping or....ha 'studying') I shall get some of that powerbuibs website.
Many thanks for everyone's replies - they have been most helpful,
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Adam
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Must admit the one "let down" with my new Scenic is the quality of the headlights. The brightness seems dull and the spread of light seems very poor as well.
Finding myself having to use my fogs on country roads!
In the recent Auto Express test, the Scenic only scored 2/5 for its lights and I am afraid I need to agree with them!
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Try
www.cars.u-net.com/bulbs.htm
Cheapest when I bought my Osram Silverstars
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I too have had good results with Osram Silverstar bulbs.
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Adam
I am sure you study very hard at Uni, you just don't want to admit it...
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The other problem which can occur when fitting Xenon bulbs to cars which normally take standard halogen bulbs is that the extra heat can melt and distort the headlight lens. An autoelectrician warned me about this and said that it was a big problem with BMW's. He also reckoned that Xenon bulbs didn't improve the amount you could see very much.
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Well thanks everyone - I'm going to get the standard bulbs I think. I've not had a problem at night so far.
Big Cat, work hard at Uni??? Do you know me at all??? ;-)
Thanks again everyone for your time and input.
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Adam
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Adam
I think you are wise to stick to standard bulbs for now. I've got Xenons on the MG ZT and to be honest I can't really tell much difference compared to previous cars. Perhaps a bit crisper in foggy light but hard to really say. I don't think I would pay extra again for them but the wife thought they sounded good in the brochure so we got them.
All IT students work hard do they can get highly paid jobs, just like I did. Am I right or am I right....? ;-)
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In this case Mr Cat you are wrong; - I'm joining the Police!
I know I know - I'll just go now!
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Adam
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