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We have a 2014 Seat Alhambra that has candles in jam jars for headlights.
Every year I say I’m going to get some brighter bulbs but never do.
Well this year is different … probably.
It seems that there are a few aftermarket bulb options all claiming a dazzling array of improvements but some appear too good to be true.
Although the headlights aren’t hazed I’ll probably polish them at the same point.
If you’ve swapped your candles for a bulb that actually illuminates the road and have been happy with the colour, improvement, longevity etc I’m all ears!
I've got the Philips Racing Vision GT200, before that had the 160s. Noticeable improvement over boggo bulbs.
Ring do quite a few options online, sign up for email and you should get a discount. Beware of increasing wattage too much or your wiring may melt, however, good results can be achieved with more efficient bulbs which would be (has been) my starting point.
We put some Philips xtreme 130 bulbs into my partner’s VWPolo which made a big difference to the dipped beam eight years ago. Even though they warn that the life is shorter they are still going strong
good timing as the old Yaris the kids drive is pretty awful.
in addition can anyone recommend a DIY lens polishing kit?
OP, if your lenses aren't UV damaged, I'd leave well alone. Polishing seems like a temporary improvement in my experience.
Of course once they are getting towards MOT fail bad, then nothing lost, but not until then.
Beware of increasing wattage too much or your wiring may melt,
Are all bulbs not 55W? Happy to be educated, as I thought this was a type approval limit.
Anyway, I've used Phillips Nightbreakers in the past. They were good but noticably shorter life.
Meguiars headlamp polish kits work well. I’ve used them on cars and our 20 year old motorhome. There is a spray lacquer for finishing off afterwards, I have had good results on many vehicles.
I've been looking for the Superb and in my usual overthinking / over researching way I think I worked out that those Philips GT200s top the magazine reviews at the minute but consumer reviews suggest shorter life. If you spend 15-20 hours driving in low light most weeks over the winter (I do) I reckon they might not last two winters.
I was looking at some Osram 150's for a bit more longevity and only marginally worse test results.
I don't really care if they only last a year on my mileage but I don't want to worry about them blowing on a rainy evening in March if I fit them now.
The Halfords 150 & 200 were not as well reviewed.
And for the sake of others please stay off the illegal retrofit LEDs despite the ridiculous amount of shelf Halfords gives them. 🤬
I'm not a Halfords detractor generally but filling 1/3 of your bulb aisle with not road legal bulbs and sticking a tiny label on a few of the hangers saying they are not legal is a mick take. Don't need them facilitating the idiots who don't care who they dazzle.
Thanks Folks.
I’ll take a look at those listed above.
I understood they don’t last as long so would likely buy two sets to have one set in reserve.
In my 86 944, I fitted Osrams I think. Biggest difference came from using an aftermarket loom with relays so the lamps get 14ish volts from the alternator, rather than 12.5ish volts.
The relay kit is fairly common for cars with H4 headlamps.
I assume that’s a no go in a more modern vehicle?
Have you considered going to specsavers?
Nothing worse than a twunt with stupid headlights because they won't admit their eyesight isn't what it once was.
I've been looking for the Superb and in my usual overthinking / over researching way I think I worked out that those Philips GT200s top the magazine reviews at the minute but consumer reviews suggest shorter life.
I tried a couple of different ‘extra white’ headlight bulbs, and both makes had one bulb blow after less than a year, so I’ve just replaced them with a standard bulb for my car - tbh, they haven’t made a great deal of difference, other than the nearside bulb has lifted the top cutoff of the dip pattern slightly bringing it into line with the offside cutoff, meaning I can see further along nearside verges, without dazzling oncoming traffic, so hopefully a net win if the bulbs last longer.
It’s entirely possible that even a modern basic halogen bulb could be brighter than an OEM from a few years ago.
In my 86 944, I fitted Osrams I think. Biggest difference came from using an aftermarket loom with relays so the lamps get 14ish volts from the alternator, rather than 12.5ish volts.
The relay kit is fairly common for cars with H4 headlamps.
I assume that’s a no go in a more modern vehicle?
I fitted relays on an old Triumph and the difference was night and day (joke intended!)
Plus it stopped headlight switches from burning out.
But yeah, that must be standard on modern cars.
Wouldn't get me buying LED bulbs, so I was recommended Lucas "200% Brighter" by Halfords when my son worked there. They were good.
was there a HID option on your car? can you retrofit? either with new parts or standard HID parts from a breaker? (although technically i think you must have headlight washers to be MOT worthy with HID's)
If changing headlight bulbs on your vehicle is difficult I’d recommend choosing bulbs with less extreme power claim. I tried +100 / +150% H7 bulbs on my Scenic but they lasted only few months whereas GE +NN % bulbs lasted whole year. At least long enough to scars on my wrists to heal - on Scenic II the bulbs were located in a really tight spot.
Are all bulbs not 55W? Happy to be educated, as I thought this was a type approval limit.
Yes, 55/60w for halogens. I'd just go for the uprated Philips ones. Chances are that any new standard spec H4s will be better than the tired bulbs you have but the +whatever% Philips have always been good ime. If you're pondering a relay, measure the voltage across the battery terminals then at the headlight itself. If there's a significant drop, using a relay-switched uprated loom to take power direct from battery to lights would make a difference. Depends on the car, older VWs - Mk2 Golfs etc - were notorious for voltage drop.
The Philips H4 LED replacement bulbs were fantastic when I tried a set in my Mk2 GTi with standard round headlight, great cut-off, even beam pattern on the road, very bright, but not legal in the UK. They are apparently approved in Germany and Philips know what they're doing with bulb design.
Reading with interest as I probably have the same candle-light set up on my Octavia - and driving on the unlit M74 in rain was pretty hairy last weekend, could barely see the lanes ahead.
And I'd just fitted a new standard dip beam bulb the day before.
Found some short reviews here: The best H7 headlight bulbs to buy right now
Are all bulbs not 55W? Happy to be educated, as I thought this was a type approval limit.
Yes though 100W are available they are not road legal in the UK. They used to be a "standard upgrade" back in the 70s when I was rallying along with similar in the spots (along with an upgraded alternator!).
Have you considered going to specsavers?
Nothing worse than a twunt with stupid headlights because they won't admit their eyesight isn't what it once was.
Some cars do have remarkably shit headlights.
Some cars do have remarkably shit headlights
Quite. There's a reason uprated wiring harnesses are pretty much a standard aftermarket fitment on Mk2 Golfs and similar and it's not that all Mk2 GTi drivers are as blind as a bat: the standard wiring cunningly uses special high resistance, super thin wiring and routes via the headlight switch for maximum voltage drop at the lights. And then there's the H4 entry level headlight on the T5 which which is basically an optical disaster in terms of light distribution. You can put any light source you want in those and they'll still be fundamentally awful.
Mostly the people dazzling the hell out of everyone on the road are driving perfectly legal vehicles with HID or LED headlights that are massively - and legitimately - brighter than pretty much any halogen bulb, because the law is still mired in the halogen dark ages and wattage ratings are irrelevant with LEDs and HIDs.
I have 200% something or others and it's only a bit of an improvement from rubbish to poor. I think I will have to update the wiring loom. The main issue is if a modern LED car is behind me, I am driving into a shadow. It's fine the rest of the time, but on an unlit A-road or dual carriageway with other cars behind me, it's rubbish. Or are there legal LED upgrades? Or is it a whole new light cluster? Dunno.
Fitted LED to the transit, absolutely brilliant. Same beam pattern, sharp cutoff never get flashed. Used Halfords or osram uprated before, they were good but not this good.
The main issue is if a modern LED car is behind me, I am driving into a shadow.
same here with a 2010 Passat, basically it feels unsafe driving in the dark on unlit roads, plus the being blinded by oncoming vehicles with LEDs :-/ and it's a long dark winter for us...
I had this issue on my old c-max. Osram and Phillips fancy bulbs were noticeably better but they would blow remarkably quickly.
Some cars do have remarkably shit headlights
You've met my T5.1 then... It's like having a small tea light in a jamjar no matter what bulbs you fit.
On the other way, I drove my son's Suzuki swift back from Yorkshire in the dark last night. My word the LED headlights were amazing.... Really sharp and sensible shape of cut off, but within that so well illuminated.
I’ve ran various upgraded bulbs over the last 20yrs. Best in terms of performance and lifespan have been ring xenonmax in my experience. The brighter ones won’t last as long.
Similar to @slowoldman above. A mate of mine converted a 1.6 Escort for road rallying 30+ years ago, and as he had to remove the Cibie spots during an event, he upgraded the bogstandard lights with a pair of 100/80 bulbs from Halfords. I imagine he had to uprate the electrics to run them too. We knew they weren't street legal for day to day use, but boody effective though.
You've met my T5.1 then... It's like having a small tea light in a jamjar no matter what bulbs you fit.
They are bloody awful headlights, we drove home from North Wales in a storm once and it was terrifying, like being in a Cairngorm white-out, absolutely hateful things. The usual solution is, apparently, to fit the Caravelle twin reflector lights and rewire accordingly. I don't think it's voltage drop, just that the design of the headlight reflector is terrible - I popped a set of the Philips LED aftermarket LED H4 replacements in briefly as an experiment at our private, off-road test facility, and despite those bulbs putting out huge amounts of light, the beam pattern was awful and they were nowhere near as effective as the same bulbs in a Mk2 GTi with standard issue round headlights.
the LED headlights were amazing.
I'm seriously looking into ditching the old Passat and buying something newer with LEDs, 'a small tealight in a jamjar' about sums up the Passat's headlamps!
Are all bulbs not 55W? Happy to be educated, as I thought this was a type approval limit.
Wattage isn't built in to vehicle lighting regs.
There are maximums for total main-beam light output in candela (total headlamps with auxiliaries) and in lumen for requiring headlamp washers, but that's about it, along with yellow-white colour. A blue tinge is acceptable.
The things that we can look for are the E-mark (ECE regs) on the bulb and an MOT pass. LED headlamp bulbs are mostly illegal in cars as a substitution, however they might not fail an MOT.
Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/4-lamps-reflectors-and-electrical-equipment
(Full LED headlamps/matched LED bulbs and lamps are a different matter to just bulbs).
It might be that ECE regs limit wattage, I dunno, but a quick look suggests that you'll struggle to find an E-marked bulb over 60W
The way I read that, if you change the whole headlamp for a correctly E marked LED unit you’re good, if such a thing is available for your car.
7” round H4 E marked replacement lamps are available from kit car part suppliers, good for Golf’s, MX5s etc.
Also if my car was registered 2 months earlier I could sling in a suitable H4 LED bulb and be fine.
I’m vaguely irritated my 2024 work van has every extra except LED lights.
Working late Wednesday, driving out of Central London, the worn road markings were incredibly difficult to read in the pissing rain with LED car lamps everywhere. Hope I didn’t pick up a ticket.
Yes I’ve been to Specsavers and paid extra for anti glare glasses.
Thanks again to all but one of you 😉
As far as I’m aware there isn’t another model/version with a better headlight available for either our Alhambra or VW Sharon.
A new car with LED would be nice but maybe hard to argue.
Even with cars with decent headlights, I've found the 'brighter' bulbs make a noticeable difference. The Halfords bulbs, if you look closely, you'll find they are Ring or Osram in many cases. If you go for the bulbs with a partial blue tinted section, they are significantly 'whiter' than standard clear. Don't go for the heavily tinted bulbs.
The Vivaro I have comes with Xenon HID Projectors which have a very sharp cut off, but a really good light spread. Fortunately, the replacement bulbs don't seem too ruinous.
The down side with LED is that if a 'chip' fails you are looking at a very expensive new unit.
The standard bulbs in my Ducato were crap.
Replaced with Osram LED Smart Nightbreakers in both headlight and full beam.
Massive improvement. Was thinking about adding a light bar for when we go to Scandinavia, but after fitting the Osram LEDs i don't see any need.
There was a time that they weren't authorised in the UK, but that's not the case on the continent.
The standard bulbs in my Ducato were crap.
Replaced with Osram LED Smart Nightbreakers in both headlight and full beam.
Massive improvement. Was thinking about adding a light bar for when we go to Scandinavia, but after fitting the Osram LEDs i don't see any need.
There was a time that they weren't authorised in the UK, but that's not the case on the continent.
Careful, someone will be along to tell you you're an inconsiderate driver with your fancy bright lights.
Bright lights are not inconsiderate. Inconsiderate use of lights is inconsiderate.
I use Philips White Vision Ultras in my Octavia.
At 4200K they're slightly on the yellow side and are a big improvement, especially on a rainy night.
5000K plus lights are on the blue side and are shit in the rain.
he way I read that, if you change the whole headlamp for a correctly E marked LED unit you’re good, if such a thing is available for your car.
I'm not certain, but I expect I may know the answer to this.
The lamp unit is a parabolic reflector designed to work with the supplied bulbs, the halo filament being the focal point of the parabola. If the light source on a replacement bulb is in a different spot it'll throw the whole beam out. (Plus you've got the whole 'self-levelling' thing on modern lights, who knows what it'll do to them.)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn971jlpvvro
is suppose the problem with this review is if its of 'vehicle design' then people dicking about with aftermarket bits and bobs are out of the scope unless it becomes an MOT requirement that what is basically vital safety equipment hasn't been tampered with.
Yes I have just been reading that. Looks like it's not just a case of a trip to Specsavers after all.
I see quite a few cars with poorly adjusted after market kits fitted, the beam alignment is awful.
The MOT tests need to be a lot stricter IMO.
Also getting the re-mapped dirty diesels off the roads would be welcome.
I used to own a 2005 Vauxhall Vectra C, bulbs were so poor and even the fancy bulbs mentioned above did nothing, on a wet night, could barely see anything.
Picked up a HID kit and it was pardon the pun, night and day difference, kit was easy to fit with replacing the bulbs and I just cable tied the other bits to the car to secure. If I went back to a car with poor headlights, I would not hesitate to pull the trigger on a HID kit again.