Halogen headlamp bulbs

[gamichea]

Being as I am going to upgrade the bulbs I've had a poke around the headlamp units to see what type of bulbs are fitted, the handbook being totally unforthcoming on the subject.

For those of you with similar intentions or the need for a spare bulb the answer is both the dips and the mains are H7s. I did not check the static cornering light bulbs.

The screw off covers for the dips would not budge by hand. It is very difficult to exert much force in the restricted space available even with my small hands. In the end I appled a few smart taps to one of the lugs with a hammer via a length of wood to prevail. Care is needed not to drop the the covers into the cavity behind the wheel arch liners as I did with the offside one :o. Note they unscrew anticlockwise looking from the driver's seat as does the bulbholder. Its easy to be led astray by the arrow in the bulbholder picture which shows the direction for refitting the bulbholder. I refitted the covers just hand tight and they feel as though they will stay put.

[gamichea]

OK, I've upgraded to Bosch Pure Lights for the dips and Osram Nightbreakers for the mains and I'm well chuffed.

I made those choices after reading test results in Which? recently. Their main beam performance figures were very much in line with the well known AutoExpress test results giving the Which? results extra credibilty. Which? found the Bosch Pure Lights (not tested by AutoExpress) gave much better dipped performance than both the Nightbreakers and the Phillips Extreme Power which I had fitted to my B6 saloon.

Subjectively, I can support the Which? findings. The dipped beams are noticeably more penetrating than with standard bulbs without distressing oncoming drivers and the mains show a worthwhile improvement. All for a tad under £42 :D.

[leowfc]

I went to Halfords they have 4 different types of Bosch Pure Lights

std
blue
xenon
winter

Whcih ones did you go for, the std £11 a piece or the others around £22 a piece.

Thanks


Leo

[gamichea]

They must be the standards because I don't remember a choice of H7 types and I only paid about about £22 the pair because doing dips and mains cost just under £42 and I got the Osram Nightbreakers for the mains off the internet on special offer at just under £20 the pair.

[steveaskew]

sounds good, i'm very tempted to do the same too, any chance of a photo to see the difference? but i have heard quite a bit about Osram Nightbreakers, as I hear they don't last very long at all. Like 1 month in some cases! But I guess they are trying to fix that. But i guess you've had them in for 4 months now, but with the summer here, you haven't used them much, yes? I've only had my CC 14 days now, so haven't been out at night yet but would like to know how good they are, but i'm racking up the miles, it's on 1,100 now so all is good so far, but most probably would like to swap out the bulbs ready for dark nights

[gamichea]

sounds good, i'm very tempted to do the same too, any chance of a photo to see the difference?

No photos, I'm afraid. I do not really think photos can give a proper impression unless comparing before and after in the same location. And more importantly there's nothing like experiencing the real thing. My dubious photography skills could easily and unjustifiably lead you to the wrong conclusion.

The cost of a set of bulbs is not that much more than you'll have to pay for decent replacements in due course. If you don't want to go the whole hog in one I'd say change the dips first. Even if you are disappointed, which I doubt, you won't be disadvantaged.