Upgrading headlight bulbs

Have decided I need to upgrade my headlight bulbs as when driving to work this week at 5am the bulbs are so dim compared to other cars when driving through villages the cars behind me with regular lamps throw more light in front of my car than my own head lights So I have the standard projector style headlights without xenon or washers what are my options to upgrade? I would prefer something off the shelf from halfords as I get a good discount with my trade card but I don't want something that will melt the projector lense which I have heard other people complain about What have you guys done or are you still driving round with twin candle power like me? Cheers Winny

just get a HID upgrade kit. loads on ebay as well as search for HIDS for you.

No washers - no self leveling - so every MOT would be a reversal and reinstall. That's pretty drastic. Halogen bulbs deteriorate over time so just a new set of H7's will likely see you a huge improvement if you've not changed them for a while.

Just get a friendly mot place. That is what I done on my old c2 3.4 Job done. The lights are shite on them so you need the extra oomph from the gas discharge.

Get a HID kit. You will be fine for MoT tests. The washers and self levelling have to work IF FITTED. Never had a problem. In 996.2 projector lamps the beam pattern with HIDs is fine for an MOT pass.

I had a HIDS4U HID kit fitted to my last 4S. Big improvement, never had a problem with the MOT. Oddly though, I used to get a bulb failure light if I turned the lights on just after starting the car. If I turned them on first, or later on, there was no problem. These days, simple bulb upgrades off the shelf from Halfords will give a significant improvement.

If you don't want a HID kit, then Which did a test of H7 bulbs vs the OE Xenons on a vauxhall astra. They took light readings at various distances: http://www.which.co.uk/cars/driving...headlight-bulbs/best-buy-car-headlight-bulbs/ If you assume your ageing old bulbs are down the bottom of the table then new set of "Bosch pure light" will be a massive improvement without having to fit any illegal over powered bulbs that will discolour your lenses. Tenner delivered for a pair: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371342007915 ---- Philips also do a +100 and +130 H7 bulb which autoexpress liked, but the lifespan of these bulbs is shorter: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/76743/philips-x-tremevision ----- Also this test disproves the 300% more light bandied about by HID companies, with halogen bulbs you won't get the annoying beam cut off that HID has, and obviously its far easier and quicker to fit and not so dubious legally.

Very helpful. Thanks wasz!

I use nightbreakers. Still not great but useful improvement over standard tired old bulbs

I'll try some nightbreakers or Purelights for my old X5. I wonder if they run any hotter and will discolour the plastic lenses? Having spent hours polishing the headlights I'm keen to keep them tip top.

Shouldn't run any hotter so long as you stick to 55W bulbs. The brighter bulbs should run cooler in theory... as they are converting more of the that 55W power into light rather than heat....

Good points... also Bosch claim that the Purelight filters out harmful UV.

I wrote this post the other week:

And only have to be fitted and working if the car came from the factory with HID's

Thanks for the info guys think I will stick to the simple bulb upgrade either osram or Bosch Just before I click buy it now can someone confirm they are h7 for the regular dip beam? Cheers Winny