Brighter bulbs

mondeo

I got a pair of Halfords super brilliance bulbs this afternoon 2xbulbs for 19.99. The differance it made to my night driving is great. They are 50% brighter then normal bulbs. They are really worth getting if anyone else is looking for a similar setup. I am not freaked out driving some of those dark carlow bendy roads anymore ...:D

crosstownk

Sounds good. As long as......

A. They aren't so bright that they dazzle oncoming drivers - although they shouldn't if your headlamps are aimed correctly.
B. They don't require more current than your cars wiring can handle.

Berty

Are they 55w or 100w bulbs?

Zorba

Philips Xtreme are better or Osram Nightbreakers

richiepoorman

Zorba wrote: »

Philips Xtreme are better or Osram Nightbreakers

Yeah agree Osram,s are excellent and not much more expensive than Halford's one,s.

mondeo

They are direct replacment bulbs, no mods required.

They are 12v 60/55w H4. The same specifications as my original halogen bulbs
except they use xenon gas instead resulting in fantasic range.

I was waiting to see if other road users would flash me but they did not
so I assume they are fine. It saves me the hassle of fitting an additional
set of lights in front of my car as was the original plan. These done the job
very nicely. 20e for a set was great value...

maidhc

A nightbreaker blew in my Focus after 2 months.

Thus concludes my experiment with these "x%" brighter bulbs. I have tried the Philips ones, the Halfords ones and a few others, but the life expectancy is very bad. It may be my car, but I don't think so as the full beams have never been replaced in 3 years, and I have never had a standard halogen dipped beam blow.

I'm going back to good quality halogens.

FredH3as

mondeo wrote: »

I am not freaked out driving some of those dark carlow bendy roads anymore ...:D

Yeah, I've had a couple of run-ins with Carlow benders before....

fryup

FredH3as wrote: »

Yeah, I've had a couple of run-ins with Carlow benders before....

in the nightclubs or on the roads??

bazz26

maidhc wrote: »

A nightbreaker blew in my Focus after 2 months.

Thus concludes my experiment with these "x%" brighter bulbs. I have tried the Philips ones, the Halfords ones and a few others, but the life expectancy is very bad. It may be my car, but I don't think so as the full beams have never been replaced in 3 years, and I have never had a standard halogen dipped beam blow.

I'm going back to good quality halogens.

Really, I have H7 Nightbreakers in my Focus since last November with no problems. Find the light from them brilliant especially out on country roads.

They come with an 18 month warranty afaik so you should have brought them back to where you bought them.

peasant

Even if a nigthbreaker bulb only lasts one dark winter ...the additional light and safety is well worth it in my opinion.

Zorba

bazz26 wrote: »

Really, I have H7 Nightbreakers in my Focus since last November with no problems. Find the light from them brilliant especially out on country roads.

They come with an 18 month warranty afaik so you should have brought them back to where you bought them.

U sure they come with an 18 month warrenty ? First pair i had on my car, one blew after 7 odd months 4 months later the other side went, even though i still think they well worth the price. Also on the box they come in there's a little time/clock picture which shows normal bulbs on a full clock and the nightbreakers only on half a clock which i took to mean they last half the time a normal cheap bulb does ?

Rowley Birkin QC

http://www.powerbulbs.com/product_detail.asp?prod=81

Excellent product, fast delivery too. Even the free parking bulbs you get seem to make a difference.

Voodoomelon

What colour are the bulbs? I saw them yesterday in Halfords and wondered if they were whiter/bluer than standard bulbs.

Rowley Birkin QC

Brilliant white, no tint or yellow hue in them whatsoever.

Zorba

bigkev49 wrote: »

http://www.powerbulbs.com/product_detail.asp?prod=81

Excellent product, fast delivery too. Even the free parking bulbs you get seem to make a difference.

yep i've them in the wifes car and they're brilliant, better than the nightbreakers, problem is they don't make them in H1's so i have to use the nightbreakers instead. And them free parking bulbs have a nice clean white light to them instead of the horrible yellow.

Also try ebay for these bulbs, might get them cheaper and also try

http://www.autobulbsonline.co.uk

Voodoomelon

bigkev49 wrote: »

Brilliant white, no tint or yellow hue in them whatsoever.

Thanks for that, I just got brilliant white 60 LED angel eyes, so these will match perfectly.

EPM

bigkev49 wrote: »

http://www.powerbulbs.com/product_detail.asp?prod=81

Excellent product, fast delivery too. Even the free parking bulbs you get seem to make a difference.

I have these too in my car, again replacing Nightbreakers. Really good white light from them. Wish I know about the warranty on the nightbreakers. Mine blew one after 3 months so I swapped to the Philips. 8 Months on and still not blown with them. They are worth every penny for the extra safety on back roads

BoardsRanger

bigkev49 wrote: »

http://www.powerbulbs.com/product_detail.asp?prod=81

Excellent product, fast delivery too. Even the free parking bulbs you get seem to make a difference.

Just have some silly questions about these bulbs....
Do i need to add a relay or anything for these to work? Are any modifications needed at all? Also, what is the difference between H7 and H4.. etc. Finally, will i be blinding other motorists, as there is nothing that pisses me off more than people who have excessively bright lights and people who leave their full beams on! Cheers

jvc

EPM wrote: »

I have these too in my car, again replacing Nightbreakers. Really good white light from them. Wish I know about the warranty on the nightbreakers. Mine blew one after 3 months so I swapped to the Philips. 8 Months on and still not blown with them. They are worth every penny for the extra safety on back roads

Which did you find better? I am going to get one of these just wondering if I should get the nightbreakers or the philips ones.

Voodoomelon

BoardsRanger wrote: »

Just have some silly questions about these bulbs....
Do i need to add a relay or anything for these to work? Are any modifications needed at all? Also, what is the difference between H7 and H4.. etc. Finally, will i be blinding other motorists, as there is nothing that pisses me off more than people who have excessively bright lights and people who leave their full beams on! Cheers

You don't need anything else to run these bulbs, just swap out your current ones for these ones. The H numbers simply refer to the type of connection on the bulb, and as a result determine the type of car it will fit. Just have a look at the stamped number on your current bulbs and match them up.

BoardsRanger

Voodoomelon wrote: »

You don't need anything else to run these bulbs, just swap out your current ones for these ones. The H numbers simply refer to the type of connection on the bulb, and as a result determine the type of car it will fit. Just have a look at the stamped number on your current bulbs and match them up.

Cheers for that- will have a look and start ebaying!

Rowley Birkin QC

BoardsRanger wrote: »

Finally, will i be blinding other motorists, as there is nothing that pisses me off more than people who have excessively bright lights and people who leave their full beams on!

No, as long as you have your lights adjusted properly. They really are a great bulb, it's on backroads that you fully appreciate the difference.

Voodoomelon

Don't suppose Halfords sell the Philips ones or are they only pushing their own brand?

Rowley Birkin QC

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Don't suppose Halfords sell the Philips ones or are they only pushing their own brand?

Don't think so. The powerbulbs site offers free brilliant white sidelights with the Philips product, also make a difference.

Voodoomelon

I just bought a set, can't wait.

Zorba

I emailed Powerbulbs to see about this warrenty on Osrams and got the following reply:


OSRAM do not offer a general warranty on automotive bulbs, so I am
unsure as to where you obtained this information. If you are having
issues regarding longevity with an OSRAM product then we usually
recommend you call us so we can investigate.

Thought it was too good to be true

Drummerboy08

Right, Im off to Halfords tommorow at lunchtime.

Someone* recommend me a set of good bulbs to stick into the headlights.



*I will hold Boards people responsible if they are sh*te:D

BoardsRanger

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Right, Im off to Halfords tommorow at lunchtime.

Someone* recommend me a set of good bulbs to stick into the headlights.



*I will hold Boards people responsible if they are sh*te:D

Think Halfords only stock their own brands. I called earlier today to inquire about the philips and nightbreakers and they didnt stock them. Just bought a set from ebay though.

Drummerboy08

Ah, ok. I'll go to the Auto factors around the corner so. Osrams or the Philips?

The Real B-man

HIDS HIDS HIDS! Halogens & Xenons are nothing in comparision!

Rowley Birkin QC

The Real B-man wrote: »

HIDS HIDS HIDS! Halogens & Xenons are nothing in comparision!

In terms of price aswell.

Zorba

The Real B-man wrote: »

HIDS HIDS HIDS! Halogens & Xenons are nothing in comparision!

Thing that puts me off hids in the hassle of putting them in, with my car i'd have to remove the bumper and lights to get them on, then there's some bit in the light itself that i have to remove to stop the glare.

Drummerboy08

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Ah, ok. I'll go to the Auto factors around the corner so. Osrams or the Philips?

I got four Osrams 3 months ago. All but one of them have blown on me already. Total waste of money.

Voodoomelon

BoardsRanger wrote: »

Think Halfords only stock their own brands. I called earlier today to inquire about the philips and nightbreakers and they didnt stock them. Just bought a set from ebay though.

Crap, didn't even think to look, did you get a better deal than £29.99, considering Powerbulbs are giving away free parking bulbs too?

BoardsRanger

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Crap, didn't even think to look, did you get a better deal than £29.99, considering Powerbulbs are giving away free parking bulbs too?

not really to be honest when you take into account the free parking bulbs. It was around €26-€27. Got em here http://cgi.ebay.ie/PHILIPS-X-TREME-POWER-H7-EXTREME-XTREME-XENON-BULBS_W0QQitemZ260364972221QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item260364972221&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1301|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Voodoomelon

Okay, my Philips Xtreme Powers arrived this afternoon, i'm just after sticking them in and taking before and after pictures. Not too impressed!

First off, here are the bulbs themselves:
One of my standard H7s is in the middle there.


The Philips Xtremes have a silver tip, compared to standard H7s.


Same power rating as standard H7s, 55w, 12v.


The difference:

Two pics of before, one bright and one dark:



Heres the car with just the left side with Philips Xtremes installed:


And here's the car with both sides done:


They look identical! Of course pictures can't be 100% true to life, but i'll tell you standing infront of them they look exactly the same as the old H7s.

So much for them being pure white?! They're still yellow. I actually thought "hold on, did I even put them in?".

I'll give them a go in a few hours when its fully dark, but so far i'm not overly confident there'll be any difference...

BoardsRanger

Still waiting on mine. I am going to take a before and after pic on a dark country road and let you guys see the difference (if any!).
Voodoomelon: Would you not be better off waiting till it gets dark- heading out to a unlite road and seeing if there is any difference with respect to the illumination then.

Voodoomelon

What's annoying me most is that they aren't white like I was told.

mondeo

Sorry to see you did not notice much of a differance..They do look similar in either side. I went from a standard halogen to an xenon Halfords bulb so the differance for me was really good. Soon as I switched mine on the differance was immense..

Zorba

Voodoomelon

Try going out for a spin in the dark and u should see how much better they are.

Rowley Birkin QC

Voodoomelon wrote: »

What's annoying me most is that they aren't white like I was told.

Go for a spin on a dark road with zero other lighting (streetlamps etc.), you will definitely see the difference then.

Voodoomelon

Well i'm away out on the rip now, driving into town before hand. Will report back in the morning. No wait, make that late afternoon...

Voodoomelon

Right, well I went for a spin last night on dark roads with no lighting and........ not impressed in the slightest. The beam is whiter for sure, but i'd say theres only about a 10% improvement in brightness at the most. Perhaps it all depends on your headlights, mine are very good as they are so maybe changing the bulbs makes little difference?

Anyways, €34 down the drain in my eyes.

maidhc

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Right, well I went for a spin last night on dark roads with no lighting and........ not impressed in the slightest. The beam is whiter for sure, but i'd say theres only about a 10% improvement in brightness at the most. Perhaps it all depends on your headlights, mine are very good as they are so maybe changing the bulbs makes little difference?

Anyways, €34 down the drain in my eyes.

I think if you are coming from good quality halogens then the difference is small enough.

Rowley Birkin QC

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Anyways, €34 down the drain in my eyes.

SOrry to hear that Voodoo, I can honestly say I noticed a huge difference in them but maybe the bulbs I replaced were not the best to start with. They do last a good while though so it's not all bad.

Voodoomelon

I see.
The weird thing is, I had standard Halfords H7s installed, €6 or something like that. I would have expected better results from the Philips. Ah well.

BoardsRanger

Ok folks, got my set of Philips extremes today and put them in. They are brighter. 80% brighter?- not a chance. I would say they might be 15-20% brighter. Overall, i am happy because any extra vision at night time is certainly safer. I took before and after pics of the same stretch of road to let ye see ...

Before

After

Voodoomelon

Nice pics, they look to be a marked improvement on your older bulbs. After a few nights of driving, I have to say there is virtually no improvement in brightness at all over my older bulbs.

BoardsRanger

Those halford's bulbs you had in must have been a good buy so. Saying that though, when i was driving i didnt think there was that much of a difference but when i looked at the pics later on, i could easily see the difference.

Clare_Guy

Hi Lads,

I've been wanting to improve the lighting situation on my 04 Audi A4 for some time. The full beam is grand but the dipped lights are pretty crap but i'd like to change ALL the bulbs (including front spots) so that they'll all be "better" and have the nicer white light.

Can someone please tell me what types of bulb i'll need and what brand should i go for? Thanks...