Buy some extra brillinace bulbs - the +80% ones. Reports say they are very good ------
Fitted some of these already - frankly, I can't tell the difference between them and the standard fit jobs. Which specific bulbs are you referring to? I think I got mine from Halfords
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Try Osram Silverstars (SS). These were found to be best in a popular weekly magazine comparison a couple years ago.
I use them and I can see a difference unlike the Halfords "brighter" bulbs I tried before that. I agree they are still not wonderful or as good as SWMBO Getz.
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Fitted some of these already - frankly I can't tell the difference between them and the standard fit jobs. Which specific bulbs are you referring to? I think I got mine from Halfords
See:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=56915
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You could also have a look here.
www.vwcruise.com/index.html
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"VW cannot do this because, so they said at the time, the bodywork would need modifying (presumably under the bonnet) because of the extra heat generated by xenons."
Absolute cobblers!
You can fit the W8 Passat type Xenons easily, a few people have on the VW forums. Xenons are lower wattage and use less current than halogens! The dealer are being turds as usual.
Supposed legalities aside, lots of people have fitted retrofit lamp kits which plug into the existing wiring. I have too, and they're great and don't dazzle anyone, as they have the same beam pattern and height as before. Nobody has flashed, and I have asked people I have followed.
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I wouldn't bother. What are you trying to acheive rather than just wasting your money?
I have a car with xenons. OK they look cool, but they have very focussed bright light that your eyes will soon adjust to. When that happens, anything out of the intense beam pattern just seams to dissapear into the shadows, leading you to detect less hazards. By the time it comes into your beam pattern then its too late. So unless you are doing it for good looks, then I wouldnt bother. They are so bright on dipped beam that high beam makes almost no noticeable difference because the high beam uses normal halogens and your eyes have closed their irises because of the bright xenon light!
if you want the look of xenons, then try halogen bulbs with coatings or sticky out prisms on the mounts that refract light and give a rainbow effect depending on the angle that they are viewed from.
Edited by moulder on 22/11/2007 at 20:37
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If VW were to modify the car then it would have to be legal afterwards. This means:
- Autolevelling
- Headlamp washers
And on the Passat don't the headlamp washers come out of the bumper and therefore a bodywork modification. To do it legally it will not be cheap and I'm not sure the cost would be justified.
I do have xenon's on the Mazda6 and they are good but the overall increase in cost was marginal. The sport pack came with nicer seats, the mica paint, autolights, auto wipers and the xenons. The monthly cost was almost zero when paint taken into account - it's a company car.
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Despite the 'opinions' of others and government departments, there is no specific Act which deals with the issues.
I therefore aver that they are legal as long as E-approved. You see, the law applies at a specific time and set of circumstances which are not applicable in the case of aftermarket fitment.
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Except aftermarket units cannot and are not E-approved therefore illegal. In fact Xenon HIDs not approved in the UK as such but when fitted at time of manufacture with E-approved units (and self levelling and washers) they are okay.
Not sure where you're going when a government department says they are illegal and that department regulates these things. Illegal is illegal. You'll be saying next robbery is only illegal due to a government department's opinion ;-)
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Not doing it for show at all - my days of Emerson Fittipaldi wide wheels are long gone. I used my wife's car recently to go to work and realised how much more of the road and kerbside etc.. I could see with her C4 Grand Picasso xenons. Reverted back to my own car the following day - I couldn't believe what a difference the xenons had made. I had felt much safer (it was a filthy night when I drove home). I don't know whey they're not fitted as standard to all cars now.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 23/11/2007 at 22:57
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I don't know whey they're not fitted as standard to all cars now.
....Because they are anything up to £1000 every time a stone goes through the light.
....They fire up at 10,000 volts with all the problems of insulation and contact burning that brings.
....They are three times the brightness of the legal 55w bulbs and while that's fine for the driver, it's lethal to pedestrians and cyclists hit by oncoming drivers completely blinded by over-bright headlights on undulating roads or distracted by bright blue flashes. [I thought it was illegal to show blue light? Time for VOSA to act?]
....They can't be turned on and off easily; so ruin long-distance lighting and actually reduce high-speed safety.
If it's OK to fit Xenons [and they seem to be getting ever brighter with each new introduction] then it must also be OK to fit Hella's 165 watt halogen bulbs in your dipped beam?
No? Then that's why there is a legal limit on headlamp power. It has to be a compromise between vision and glare - particularly in rain. In modern conditions, HIDs spend most of their time pointlessly lighting up the back of the next car in the queue while still blinding everyone else.
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Before opting for the Mazda6 Sport over the TS2 on my 48hr test drive I wanted to try out the Xenons. Left it until very late at night and intended going over some of the snake pass but it was closed for some reason (repairs in July?) so used the Woodhead Pass. Ended up going all the way to the M1 and back via M62 because I enjoyed the drive :-)
Verdict: Xenons were way better than the standard lights on the Mondeo, and the Passat before that. No criticism of either but the Xenons lit the road a lot better. Cannot comment on how the glare affected any cars approaching or in front though.
Car before the Passat 1.8T Sport I had for nearly 4 years was a temp car from the fleet. A Passat 1.8T Sport with Xenons but never drove it on roads to realise how good they were.
Edited by rtj70 on 24/11/2007 at 00:46
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I agree with screwloose on this re Xenon headlights .My father has stopped driving a night because of these lights and I am now starting to have similar problems with glare and partial blindness from these lights, and before you say my eye sight needs attention I have had them checked and are ok.
--
rustbucket (the original)
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