Poor headlights

[G6SAP]

I have HID's and to be honest they dont make that much of a difference at all, im still complaining I cant see anything and looking for other options

how clear are your lenses ? , as I upgraded from 60w bulbss to the halfords 120% ones and they are very good where as HID should be way better

My lenses are super clean and clear all taken off and cleaned professionally. The HDI's are slightly better, but still not amazing, I spend most of my time flashing between my main beam and headlights trying to get more visability.

 

[CherryVimto]

I fitted HIDs to mine, and they were amazing! It was a massive difference actually being able to see where I was going.
I got 6000K as it's a more natural colour.

 

[warrenpenalver]

you are pissing in to the wind if you dont strip down the lights and clean them thoroughly when fitting decent bulbs. Youd be surprised how much crap builds up in them.

My car had new headlights when it was rebuilt and with only 18k on, a clean inside and decent bulbs, they are actually perfectly acceptable on dipped beam.

 

[1-pd]

thats what I was thinking warren as mine had a film of grime which when cleaned with new bulbs etc are pretty good

 

[CovertRecon]

I've been buying 65W HB3 Xenons for mine and their lifespan is winding me up. Had one die on me tonight after just 2.5 months.

I've been getting them from Ebay car parts sellers for about £5, which might be my mistake.

Are those Halford's Ultra Brilliance going to have a better longevity? Should be more like 10K activations than more like 60!

 

[Sparx]

I replaced my perfect working order Extreme Brilliance with Ultra Brilliance, keeping the Extreme Brilliance as spares. After changing the driver's side, I fired them up to compare. In my opinion the Ultra Brilliance are brighter.

Seconded

 

[Sweep]

you are pissing in to the wind if you dont strip down the lights and clean them thoroughly when fitting decent bulbs. Youd be surprised how much crap builds up in them.

My car had new headlights when it was rebuilt and with only 18k on, a clean inside and decent bulbs, they are actually perfectly acceptable on dipped beam.

Hadn't thought of that at all, I'm off friday so will have a go at this!
Cheers.

 

[JiiHu]

I also installed good quality HID kit (6000k) to my Puma and it is superb. Since Puma has projector lights, oncoming traffic wont be blinded because, unlike with reflector lights. I can recommend HID kit for everyone who is not afraid of a little light bulb change job for every MOT

 

[oilburner]

You do realise that that's a licence endorsable offence don't you?

 

[JiiHu]

You do realise that that's a licence endorsable offence don't you?

In Finland apparently only thing you can get from illegal HID kit is ticket and/or police can say that you need to take car to MOT. But on most cases police doesn't care if the lights wont blind anyone.

 

[oilburner]

Oh sorry didn't realise you were abroad its points on your licence here in the UK

 

[JiiHu]

Oh sorry didn't realise you were abroad its points on your licence here in the UK

No problem. Well that's just shitty situation over there. Are the cops really strict about illegal HID kits? Even if you have projector headlights, not reflector?

 

[rubinxwolf]

Why do you need to buy four bulbs? X

 

[evilrob]

Why do you need to buy four bulbs? X

You don't *need* to buy four, but you have two dipped and two full beam headlights - all four bulbs are the same type HB3 / 9005 (despite what Halfords will try and tell you).

 

[rubinxwolf]

Ha yes had problems with halfords telling me I was wrong before. My passenger dipped bulb has just gone. Do I need to replace in pairs?

And how do I do it.... (Tremona did my last set)

X

 

[evilrob]

You don't need to replace in pairs, but Halfords often do buy one get one free, so you might as well and keep the old working one as a spare; if you replaced them both at the same time last time, now one's gone, the working one probably isn't far behind.

Here's how to change the bulb, you need a 10mm socket to remove the front grille IIRC:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arRJkRpC9bo[/youtube]

 

[rubinxwolf]

Thanks rob! I see people recommend the ultra brilliance bulbs now as opposed to extreme brightness that I used before? Is there much improvement?

Also.. Any ideas on oil leaks ? X

 

[evilrob]

I recently replaced my perfect working order Extreme Brilliance "90% brighter" with Ultra Brilliance "120% brighter" to see if they were any good - unsurprisingly they're a bit brighter. Not worth changing unless you need to, but seeing as you need to replace one anyway, it won't hurt to get the slightly brighter ones.

I replied to your oil leak thread.

 

[evilrob]

Just checked Halfords' website - just your luck they're not running a buy one get one free when you need to buy bulbs!

I've got a used Extreme Brilliance bulb knocking about you can have to tide you over until they're running a BOGOF again (as per earlier post - I didn't need to replace/upgrade my bulbs, I just did cos the Ultra bulbs were on offer and wanted to try them out) - in the meantime you can just swap one of your full beam bulbs in so you don't get stopped by the rozzers on the way home.

PM me a postal address and I can get that off to you tomorrow, or later this afternoon.

edit: Quick note - try not to touch the glass bit of the bulb when changing; handle by the plastic base only, or wear gloves - oil from your fingers can reduce the lifespan of the bulb.

 

[rubinxwolf]

Thanks rob, I just got myself a pair of bulbs. I'll be rubbish at fitting them so I'll probably ask Luke to do it for me thanks x