I bought a pair of the Halfords 50 per cent brighter bulbs for my VW Bora some three or four years ago when they were on a BOGOF offer (£12.99).
They have proved markedly superior to the original bulbs, which are kept as spares in the glove box.
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I've got Osram Nightbreakers (+90%) in my Xantia and they are excellent - first pair only lasted 20k / 1 year, but at £20 a pair (at powerbulbs.com) not really worth worrying about. I used the Halfords +80% ones after the original nightbreakers went, but I didn't rate them - and they were expensive if not on BOGOF offer.
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Philips extreme's....put a set in the old MB 124 i would say the lights are now as as good as any.
So impressed i slipped a set in the pick up too, again much better.
Got mine after searching that site...prices do vary.
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Auto Express happen to have just done a new test - about 2 weeks ago.
Philips came out best, in every category.
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Thanks. Just ordered a couple of pairs of H7 and H1 Phillips bulbs on that recommendation.
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This is very interesting and I could be tempted to swap my bulbs. On that powerbulbs site it shows my Passat as needing separate main and dip beam bulbs. Is that correct? Also I've noticed in the last few weeks that some on-coming cars have very bright/dazzling lights and I don't think they're on beam, so could these have the uprated bulbs? If so, I would be a bit concerned about dazzling other drivers.
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The Osram Nightbreakers I fitted only lasted 8 months before popping within a week of one another. The main beams are still ok though - touch wood. Now fitted a HID kit for the dip beams.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 27/10/2009 at 19:06
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Passat and the Octavia both have single filament bulbs. Passat B5.5 was very awkward to get the main beam bulbs out of. Good luck if you try it.I've still got a scar on the back of my hand.
Hoping the Skoda with the easily (?) removable headlights is an easier project.
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Hoping the Skoda with the easily (?) removable headlights is an easier project.
Octavia 2 is very easy.
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>>Now fitted a HID kit for the dip beams
A proper legal kit with automatic load compensation and informed your insurance company I hope ?
You know what we're like on here. ;>)
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A proper legal kit with automatic load compensation and informed your insurance company I hope?
Insurance company were informed, yes. A note was made on my policy, but no additional premium to pay as its not classed as a performance modification that either makes the car go faster or attracts the attention of a would be thief had I fitted something like expensive alloys or go faster pin stripes for example.
Beam heights have been checked and are set correctly, and I responsibly use the manual headlight adjust to compensate for loads that may affect the headlight heights. Have had them fitted for over a month now and not one person has flashed their headlights at me in protest that I am dazzling them. I have projector style headlights so the beams are focused correctly and they will go through an MOT test.
Actually I was reluctant to fit a HID kit, but as the dipped headlights on my Vectra-C are pretty carp, and I wasn't about to spend another load of money on Nightbreakers for them to fail again in 8 months, it was the only logical choice for me.
ps, it makes me sound like a hypocrite, as I detest aftermarket HID kits that have been either fitted incorrectly (ie the owner hasn't bothered having the settings checked) or they've fitted the wrong kit for the style of headlights they've got. That's one of the main reasons why I did everything I possibly could (short of fitting automatic load compensation) to ensure that I have minimized the risk of dazzling other motorists.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 28/10/2009 at 00:57
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>> it makes me sound like a hypocrite as I detest aftermarket HID kits that have been either fitted incorrectly (ie the owner hasn't bothered having the settings checked) or they've fitted the wrong kit for the style of headlights they've got. That's one of the main reasons why I did everything I possibly could (short of fitting automatic load compensation) to ensure that I have minimized the risk of dazzling other motorists.
So why did you stop short of doing the right thing by having auto-adjust. Your lights are no more legal than any other botched atermarket job.
But do you have headlamp washers too? (Another legal requirement)
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So why did you stop short of doing the right thing by having auto-adjust.
Cost mainly.
Your lights are no more legal than any other botched atermarket job.
True, but my car is now much safer to drive as I can actually see where I'm going. I don't however consider my installation botched.
But do you have headlamp washers too? (Another legal requirement)
No, I don't have headlight washers either, but my car will still pass an MOT which is also a legal requirement to enable me to drive it. Lets face it, the law is an ass where aftermarket HID headlights are concerned as it's not enforced.
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>>Cost mainly.
Playing devil's advocate, DD - how about you're involved in a head-on, not your fault obviously, but the third party claims he was dazzled by your very bright headlights. Insurance assessor finds you have after-market HIDs that don't comply. No pay-out?
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Insurance assessor finds you have after-market HIDs that don't comply. No pay-out?
To quote from my earlier post - "Insurance company were informed, yes. A note was made on my policy"
In short, they're aware that I've fitted an aftermarket HID kit and have no issues with it.
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Devil's advocate again - does the note on your policy state "illegal HID kit fitted" or is there an underlying assumption that your kit is road legal?
Out of interest, what's the difference in cost between a self-levelling kit and one that isn't? Presumably quite a lot, since HIDs are typically a £500 option on a new car.
This started as a brighter bulb thread, and I Googled Phillips brighter bulbs for my Focus. The first two on offer on a certain website - Phillips Diamond Vision and Phillips Rally - carry the warning "NOT road legal in the EU". It wouldn't be the crime of the century and doubtless never enforced, but I guess most of us would steer clear of these?
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Devil's advocate again - does the note on your policy state "illegal HID kit fitted" or is there an underlying assumption that your kit is road legal?
I've no idea what it states. I've notified them, they've made a note, that's good enough for me. I bet there are loads of people who haven't bothered telling their insurance company nor had their beam heights checked after having a HID kit fitted going by some of the misaligned headlights on the road.
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Based upon previous backroom recommendations, I've just bought some Philips Xtreme >> Power +80% xenon bulbs. They haven't arrived yet - I'll let you know what I think. Cheers, Gord
Wish you luck fitting them ! ! ! You have to take some of the car apart to do the RHS one.
Edited by Webmaster on 28/10/2009 at 08:39
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Oh joy.
Oh well, the nearside bulb is okay to get to, should give me 40% more power anyway :-)
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When changing headlight bulbs do you always have to get them re-adjusted or is the simple swap enough to keep alignment as it was before?
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I don't think they need to be realigned in practice. At least on our Fords (Ka, Focus and Mondeo), as long as I have located them properly in the bulb holder, they have always been fine.
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>>Oh well, the nearside bulb is okay to get to, should give me 40% more power anyway
Isn't perception of lighting similar to the perception of sound, such that you need at least a 50% (3Db) difference to notice any change?
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Not again.... HID kits are not illegal.
Fitting a HID kit is not necessarily illegal as there is no legislation relating to aftermarket parts in the UK, only legal opinion and supposition.
A well fitted HID kit does not dazzle, and many dazzle less than some factory installations on certain larger 4x4s.
If a headlamp does dazzle, then there is legislation to deal with this, regardless of whether it's a Polish LHD banger, a halogen headlamp thats had a bump and is out of alignment, a badly fitted HID kit.
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Not again.... HID kits are not illegal.
They are if you don't have auto headlight height adjustment and washers. According to the view of the DfT at least. But it is vague.
see:
www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps
And to quote:
The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK.
Under these Regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.
However new vehicles have HID headlamps. This is because they comply to European type approval Regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle with a European type approval. These are to ECE Regulation 98 (for the HID headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (Lighting Installation on the vehicle).
For the after market, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "HID is banned in the after market" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require HID in the after market to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.
So technically, HID's are not approved full stop but the EU type approval means the UK accepts these.
Can we discuss brighter non-HID lights or not at all.
Edited by rtj70 on 28/10/2009 at 22:44
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New bulbs turned up this morning. Unfortunately, despite using an online vehicle type selector tool, they are the wrong size. For reference, an 05 Accord does not take H7 bulbs. I'm arranging to send them back.
I see what you mean about the o/s bulb though - the gap between items on that side does not even appear to be large enough to remove the bulb cover. I think I may forget this at this point..
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Fitted all four bulbs (H1 and H7) to my facelift Octavia in about 1/2hr this lunchtime. Fiddly job but quickly removable headlights made for much easier access.
One on line bulb checker gives the wrong bulbs for mine as well.
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