Has anyone out there tried any of the wide variety of "new" "brighter" headlightbulbs that have now become available?
Halfords have 3 types on offer for my 1998 Passat-the dip beam of which is pathetic!
I need to be convinced before I part with the £40 asked to "upgrade" the dip beam alone.Another £20 for the main beam too.
Am I going to be wasting my money?
Regards
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You will be if the new bulbs burn hotter than the old ones. The plastic reflector and headlamp lens could melt. So make sure the new bright bulbs burn cool at no greater wattage than your existing bulbs.
HJ
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I've been using a set of the '30% brighter Xenon' H4 twin filament lamps from Halfords for the last year or so and they are fine - they certainly give a brighter, whiter light than standard bulbs. They are the standard wattage, so as HJ says, they don't overload anything. A noticeable improvement, but they aren't going to transform your lights for £10 a side. As you have a 4 headlamp system you may not need them in the main beams as well.
If your lamps seem poor, I'm sure the better bulbs would help, but also check the headlamp alignment. I drive a number of new cars on hire and it's clear headlamp alignment is a lost art at the factory and the PDI. Also, suspension settlement with time will affect headlamp aim. Getting the light in the right place makes a big difference.
That said there are cars which do appear to simply have poor headlights (the latest Mitsubishi Carisma springs to mind - in the brand new one I drove it was difficult to believe the lamps even had halogen bulbs), and it's possible your car falls into that category. There could be other makes of lamp for your car, which may have better performance. Many carmakers have more that one headlamp supplier. Check with your dealer, but use Autotrader before you buy! I'm also assuming there are no electrical faults or degraded lenses which are causing the problem.
Regards
John Slaughter
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Digressing somewhat, are there any rules about the brightness of headlamps? I feel that there is a gradual leapfrog effect where brighter bulbs are introduced so that drivers can see through the dazzle caused by the new bright bulbs coming the other way - this can be almost impenetrable approaching a gentle brow, especially if alignment is a bit wrong. Any comments?
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Some of these bulbs are actually illegal for road use. Bulbs should carry an "e" mark. High-wattage bulbs will not carry the "e" mark and you may find a warning that they are for off-road use only, so in theory you could get fined for using them.
When I went to change one bulb on my car, I found that the old bulb had marked on it "not for use in Europe" - though this obviously didn't deter the previous owner ....
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Good points. The bulbs I used, coming from Halfords, are "e" marked. Why some of the higher wattage bulbs glare is thet the filaments are physically bigger, so are outside the focus point of the lights. That's why glare becomes an issue and why, I think, many are illegal for road use. However, I've never had bulbs removed for compliance checks at MOT - have you?. The glare issue highlights my point about correct alignment - only in correct alignment gives the correct illumination
Regards
John
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I have taken advice of HJ & others & purchased Bosch Xenon bulbs of the same wattage.My alignment was checked at the cars first MOT and found "OK".
They are definitely brighter and whiter & offer a good value improvement.
Notes on price-these bulbs were £22 each in Halfords but I found them at The German Car Co for £6 a go (identical bulbs). Thats what I mean by value-worth £12 for the upgrade but not £44!
simon robins
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