Bulbs Bulbs Bulbs - non-Xenon .. Best performance?

[Saf_789]

All,

I am wanting to change the bulbs in my veccy (56 SriCdti XP) it is the facelift one.
I have had a look at lots and lots and wanted some advice on tried and tested ones, which ones are decent?

Ive heard the OSRAM Nightbreaker bulbs are good and cheap on Amazon at mo £13 a pair, also the philips Extreme ive heard are good but are £20 a pair.

I dont want to go down the route of Xenon kit etc etc, i just want some nice bright normal headlight bulbs so i can where im going at night lol. i dont like the bright blue things, i prefer more of a white light.

I know my low beam are H7 and high bean are H1.
Ive been told to stick with 55w, as 100w burn the holder or something?!? not sure how true that is.

What are peoples experiences and what would you guys recommened?

[Graham]

Sorry not what you want to hear, but your about the 100th person who wants normal bulbs, and spend a fortune trying them all out.

The only cost viable option is hids with 4300k as they are ultra white, no blue tinge to them what so ever. Can get a set for about £60 ish.

[chewy71]

but I can say that I have Osram Nightbreakers in my main beam and they do make a lot of difference.

[Chunklamb]

100w arent good for the wiring looms due to the heat created... so 65w is generally the highest to use for main bulbs.

The best Halogen bulbs I've had were Ring Ultima H7 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120-Ring-X...item27cde2dd52

Seem to be going on well after 6 months use. I think I also had reasonable results with Osram Night Breakers.

But as mentioned above, nothing compares to a set of 4.3 k HIDs... just the problems with fitting and legality, its a little hit and miss if the MOT tester passes the car or not.

[Saf_789]

Well this is the thing u see....the reason i dismissed HID kits up to now was because at my last MOT the tester advised that MOT rules were changing and that cars with these aftermarket HID Kits will fail MOT due to them not having auto-levelling balasts or something or other.

So then it seems all the majority of guys in this forum have gone for the kits..... So lets say i take this option, what should i be looking for when getting them fitted? is there a particular make/model/brand of kit thats better than the rest or are they all the same?
Also, if i do install the kit and 6 months down the line a headlight bulb fuses, how much are the bulbs to replace and are they readilly available?

Another things that worries me is lets say im in another city and 1 bulb does fuse, if i dont find a replacement bulb can i just swap out both bulbs and put my normal bulbs back in for the drive home? (obviously disconnecting the HID kit wiring or whatever)

[chewy71]

HIDS direct kit is on mine, bulbs also have the metal bases. 4.3k is the most factory colour you can get - higher the number the bluer it gets (also lower light output). 35w kit will be more than bright enough too, but you can get 50w kit which is even brighter.

I'm on 4.3k at 35w and work very well. Passed MOT this year as did our other SRI at two different testing stations. If you do get a fail for it then you can simply swap the bulbs for the test. Very simple, easy to fit and maintain. Best £55 I spent on the car.

Yes you can in answer to your last question. HID bulbs last longer than halogen and they are cheaper than these Ring and Osram bulbs.

[Gubmint Agent]

If you decide against HIDs then Ring Xenon Ultima are a good upgrade on the standard crap halogen bulbs.

[Saf_789]

HIDS direct kit is on mine, bulbs also have the metal bases. 4.3k is the most factory colour you can get - higher the number the bluer it gets (also lower light output). 35w kit will be more than bright enough too, but you can get 50w kit which is even brighter.

I'm on 4.3k at 35w and work very well. Passed MOT this year as did our other SRI at two different testing stations. If you do get a fail for it then you can simply swap the bulbs for the test. Very simple, easy to fit and maintain. Best £55 I spent on the car.

Yes you can in answer to your last question. HID bulbs last longer than halogen and they are cheaper than these Ring and Osram bulbs.

Only 35w? Seriously is that even enough? I have 55w in now and they really ****e!
Is that £55 fitted or did u fit it urself? I havnt looked in the How2 section yet but would u say a novice could fit it themselves?



@Gubmint - Ive just been looking at them on Amazon, they about same price as the nightbreakers so defo a good option. Im going to see who does the kits locally to me and if i cant find anybody then ill be going back down the normal bulb route.

[m8internet]

The first thing I do when I buy any car is replace the OE headlamp bulbs (dipped, main beam, and fog) with Philips 50 plus range of bulbs
I swapped the Vision Plus into my current car
As these are now discontinued I have started using the X-treme Vision (which appears to be identical and is simply a rebranding)

[Saf_789]

The first thing I do when I buy any car is replace the OE headlamp bulbs (dipped, main beam, and fog) with Philips 50 plus range of bulbs
I swapped the Vision Plus into my current car
As these are now discontinued I have started using the X-treme Vision (which appears to be identical and is simply a rebranding)

And would you say these compare well to the HID kit mentioned above? (4.3k @ 35w)?