Good headlight bulbs..

AdrianHi

I've used Phillips X-Tremes on my car and Osram Nightbreakers on my wifes car for 2.5 years.
6000K colour temperature which is white and best for the compromise between light output and the cool blue look.
I wouldn't be without them now unless I had proper HID/xenon lights on a car of course. They are not as good as full HID headlights.
Only complaint about both the Phillips and Osrams is they last about 15-18 months on cars doing 10K-15K miles a year driven daily in the winter in the dark. So bulb life is probably about half as long as a regular bulb.

They are 55w power bulbs which is standard so I'm confused about this talk of higher power rating :think:

rev_henry

AdrianHi wrote: »

They are 55w power bulbs which is standard so I'm confused about this talk of higher power rating :think:

You can buy 100W bulbs on ebay etc, which aren't strictly speaking legal but the police don't seem to really care.

AdrianHi

rev_henry wrote: »

You can buy 100W bulbs on ebay etc, which aren't strictly speaking legal but the police don't seem to really care.

Yep seen those. Aside from the legal question and with my engineers hat on, I'd not want to put 100w worth of heat and light energy in a headlight designed for 55w. It might be damaging in the longer term, it's certainly not what the design engineers prepared for.
No need anyway since you get close to double the light output with the X-tremes and Nightbreakers keeping to specifications.... and it's legal.

goldspanners

AdrianHi wrote: »

Yep seen those. Aside from the legal question and with my engineers hat on, I'd not want to put 100w worth of heat and light energy in a headlight designed for 55w. It might be damaging in the longer term, it's certainly not what the design engineers prepared for.

your right, i once had a van that kept melting the multi plug on the back of the bulbs, it turned out someone had put 100w bulbs in instead of the normall 55w. it had glass lenses so it didn't affect the lens but on a plastic lens i think it might have been different.

Rallydriver

I've not seen a HIDs into halogen lamp conversion yet that hasn't been either illegal or blinding to oncoming drivers.

No, I need to edit that. BOTH illegal and blinding.

AdrianHi

Rallydriver wrote: »

I've not seen a HIDs into halogen lamp conversion yet that hasn't been either illegal or blinding to oncoming drivers.

No, I need to edit that. BOTH illegal and blinding.

For new car builds xenon lights means you also have to have either self leveling lights or self level suspension on the car and (I don't get this one) a headlamp washer system. This is so you don't blind on coming drivers.
Now my interpretation would be that if you fit HID (full Xenon lights, not just these replacement bulbs) after market you need to comply with the same rules. On other forums some learned people dissagree with me on this point. Either way it's at least a bit of a grey area.

maninthestreet

Here's the Dft stance on after-market HID Xenon lights:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

rev_henry

I understood that HIDs aren't mentioned in the Road Traffic Act and are therefore illegal, BUT as cars with factory fitted HIDs are EU approved they must be allowed. So factory fit HIDs are fine but aftermarket ones aren't.

AdrianHi

rev_henry wrote: »

I understood that HIDs aren't mentioned in the Road Traffic Act and are therefore illegal, BUT as cars with factory fitted HIDs are EU approved they must be allowed. So factory fit HIDs are fine but aftermarket ones aren't.

Yes but the dft article goes on to say:
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.
Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the after market should:.... etc. etc.

shuaibf

go and get xenon headlights bulb instore at halfords for £25 and they 90% brighter but not just that they havea buy one get one free at my one