Headlight bulbs

teejay

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Headlight bulbs

Any other motor homers on here that venture on the roads during the hours of darkness? Has anyone upgraded their headlight bulbs? I find the OEM versions on most vehicles are pretty rubbish. Poor quality and brightness of light, poor colours of beam and especially useless in wet weather particularly, falling rain and wet tarmac combination reducing the lights penetration and strength.

Been looking at Phillips versions which although look quite effective, have a somewhat reduced service life. Not looking for boy racer tinted carp but, quality and that which lasts.

Anyone have any-what are they and how good are they?
 
I fitted Osran Night Breakers in my previous van (AS Symphony 1997) as the original ones were very yellowy and strained my eyes trying to see ahead. The night breakers were much whiter and brighter.
 
Mine are old h4 ,so i fitted rainbow pure white 90/100w from ebay £6 for two,fantastic.
 
Night breakers or Halfords own upgrades would be my choice, but would not increase Wattage as the 55/65 standard is bright enough ( and legal ) with the better bulbs. Have used both in the past with noticeable improvements over standard.

K :Wink_Emoji:
 
One of the first things I do is chuck away OEM bulbs and fit upgraded bulbs. Either Philips, Osram or Halfords. Like everything else, there are new versions of bulbs every 18 months or so. I guess I've used the Osram Night Breaker the most and the current Unlimited one is probably like the mk3 version of the Night Breaker range. I think the latest Philips Xtreme and top Halford bulbs are meant to be a bit brighter though.
For a good few years now, I change my headlight bulbs once a year, so don't know how long they last. I'd rather waste the few quid, and have the luxury of changing bulbs at home, then faff around on a lay by or service station at 2 AM in the wind and rain, and thats when bulbs always seem to go ;)

I'm sure you won't be disappointed with either Philips, Osram or Halfords upgrade bulbs.

Although, if you want to really improve lighting, fit a pair of LED auxiliary headlights.
 
All the bulbs mentioned in this thread barring 1 are all road legal as far as I can see.
 
Of course they are, but application is different, I'd check first.
 
Pudsey Bear;n16041 said:
There are laws about what you can and cannot fit, I am heartily fed up of being blinded by oncoming traffic, LED lights in particular are way too bright, especially on wet country roads, not to mention the arseholes who have to also have their front fogs on too.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/aftermarket-hid-headlamps/aftermarket-hid-headlamps
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Lights are not bright enuff unless there burning the paintwork on the car in front,do agree about twats running fog lamps when not required.
 
Thanks for all your input so far. Still doing some internet research too. A lot of things affect night vision when driving as you probably know, Main one is your age and eyesight standard. If that's not up to scratch you're going to have problems and perhaps avoid driving at night like most older people do. Some drivers carry on regardless and eventually get caught out. A major issue apart from that is keeping all the glass and mirrors in and out the vehicle very clean and as dry as possible at all times to avoid glare from oncoming vehicles as well as following vehicles and indeed, road lighting. Lots of proprietary methods here already for that as well as keeping wipers in good condition and replaced regularly.As well as having the maximum allowable headlight bulbs, there are different light types available and some suit people differently. I'm looking for the whitest light I can get and am still looking. Have seen cheapo options around £20-30 and some up to £130 and still checking them out. Would still like more input and comments from the members here as I am sure there are good and bad to be heard.
 
It is not always the output of the bulb, some vehicle headlamps have been manufactured with inferior grades of clear plastic lenses which yellow markedly and reduce light output considerably, so unless you have glass lenses your plastic headlamp lens might need a repolish
 
Yes I have a Audio A6, the lenses are crap, why did they never do a recall on them though.
 
emjaiuk;n16161 said:
Autoexpress have done some good tests on headlight bulbs. I think this is the latest.


http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/76760/best-car-headlight-bulbs-group-test

They rate Philips RacingVision best on that test.


Malcolm
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Yes thanks for that. Looking at them to buy now. They are the H7's for dipped beam. The H1 for full beams are same brand but are the X-treme bulbs. H7's have a good rating apart from reduced bulb life they say but with only around 5000 miles a year and only around 200 at night at most, which roughly would equate to 6 hours use, they'll see me out! Wouldn't bother with silly priced LED or HID with 1000's of hours- no-one will live that long unless they drive all night and sleep all day LOL!:Thumbs_Up_Hand_Sign
 
Be carefull when upgrading bulbs I,ve known plastic lens to melt if vehicle left stationary with head lights on for any length of time
 
Reduced bulb life is something to watch, first set of Nightbreakers I fitted I found myself having to buy an expensive bulb from a French motorway station, admittedly a year or so later, and a substantial part of my driving was at night.

Malcolm
 
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