OMG HEADLIGHTS CR@PPY

[Fatbloke]

Looking from above the light you can see a plastic 6mm allen adjuster:

[apmaman]

This is how our Finish Briskodians fix the problem, care of user blenheim

How have you wired those up?

I'm waiting for a Rally Cluster to come on ebay... Yummeh!

Edited 31 October, 2011 by apmaman

[fabia55]

I'm waiting for a Rally Cluster to come on ebay... Yummeh!

seller? item number please?

[nockmeister]

How have you wired those up?

I'm waiting for a Rally Cluster to come on ebay... Yummeh!

GREAT body...er the cars not bad either! er PM blenheim, he posted the piccy last week. He uses his Fabia in a marshalling role for rallying.

[Rsrob]

I`ve got the curve projector headlights in my vRS and there not to bad with the OEM bulbs in :yes: but there not the best so i fitted some halford laser blue bulbs in the lights and it`s a lot better they give a nice blue/white light but i do mist the xenons i had on my octy vRS the best lights i`ve had on a car :yes:

[seboni121]

I`ve got the curve projector headlights in my vRS and there not to bad with the OEM bulbs in :yes: but there not the best so i fitted some halford laser blue bulbs in the lights and it`s a lot better they give a nice blue/white light but i do mist the xenons i had on my octy vRS the best lights i`ve had on a car :yes:

I've the curve projectors on mine, the oem's were crap and the ultra h7 are awful great high beam, so replace with philips extreme however will not matter soon both fabias are going, part ex'ing for a Jaguar XF 2.2 diesel next year, wifey heeds me to loose 4 stone first though or I don't get

[Eggets]

Hi,New at this game but very old driver. Tell me please How the hell i get the bulbs out of my 1.6 Eleganse estate in order to replace them ,they just will not budge and i do not want to break anything .The book is no help at all,just says "tun to the left" crap!!! Nothing moves. Would be very grate full for any advice,Eric

[FabiaMan01]

I agree with this and the "ultra H7s" off eBay are a load of crap. They look blue and nice but the range is dangerously bad.

Philips X-treme I had in my first Furby VRS and they are great... going to get some for the Furby II.

Exacty what i did! Must say the Philips are 100% better and light is 'pure' white over the ebay Ultra H7's. Got mine from Amazon £28 and free delivery

[delta925]

Hi,New at this game but very old driver. Tell me please How the hell i get the bulbs out of my 1.6 Eleganse estate in order to replace them ,they just will not budge and i do not want to break anything .The book is no help at all,just says "tun to the left" crap!!! Nothing moves. Would be very grate full for any advice,Eric

Yes as the manual says just turn to the left to remove the bulb holder from the light unit i.e. turn to the car's near side / anticlockwise looking from the rear of the car. The bulb then pulls out the holder.

The left side has reasonable access but the right side is more restricted. I just got the bulb out by hand but had to use waterpump pliers on the connector to get leverage to refit.

Remember not to touch the glass of the bulb, use a clean cloth or wear gloves.

[VRS-Powered]

I don't have any problems with my Ultras :no:

I would love to fit a set of HIDs to be honest but I don't want a telling off from the plod even though I think a H7R kit aligned properly would be fine. I reckon you'd get flashed more for having the DRLs on!

[Eggets]

Yes as the manual says just turn to the left to remove the bulb holder from the light unit i.e. turn to the car's near side / anticlockwise looking from the rear of the car. The bulb then pulls out the holder.

The left side has reasonable access but the right side is more restricted. I just got the bulb out by hand but had to use waterpump pliers on the connector to get leverage to refit.

Remember not to touch the glass of the bulb, use a clean cloth or wear gloves.

Thanks i'll have yet another try,Eric

[newbie69]

Thanks i'll have yet another try,Eric

Indeed, you just have to twist quite hard in order for it to turn. I had tried a few times and always gave up in fear of breaking something. Then I just got angry and said YOU WILL COME OUT! and twisted some more and there it went...

I managed however to mis-fit the bulb on the left. Seems I squeezed it hard into place while not perfectly aligned so it was fitted in so hard it couldn't come out and as it wasn't fitted correctly the entire bulb holder could not go back in place.

I drove to the dealer's with the bulb holder out of place :wonder: , it was funny to see 3 different technicians coming to the car while trying to get the bulb out... Took them almost half an hour to take it out and re-fit it...

All in all I am not the most experienced person for such works but it is a poor design, you end up with cuts all over your palms, If you manage to get your palm in in the first place, unbelievably tight!!

[Bullyboy]

I have the philips in mine but never experienced the original lights as got the dealer to put them in for me before i collected the car. I have however come from last 3 cars that had factory fitted Xenons and the lights are poor compared to those. However on the vRS i find the DRL's help a little as they are always on (even if dimmed when the main lights are on).

I would have gladly have spent the money on FF Xenons if available.

[raisbeck]

After a deer rearranged the front of my Fabia the repairers put in standard H7's, (two new headlights).

The lights one again returned to 'pathetic' status.

Since previously having the Phillips xtreme I noticed Osram Night Breakers are now with 'plus' status. Call me a victim of marketing but I bought a pair for £17 and in they went. Very definite improvement and comparable to the Phillips Xtreme.

Despite my earlier post these Night breakers now rank the same as Phillips IMHO......better if you consider price although longevity is unknown.

Your never going to make these headlights as good as standard reflectors without flouting the law and putting in HID. But these Night Breakers or Phillips Xtreme do improve them to adequate status. or at least not down right dangerous

Edited 7 November, 2011 by raisbeck

[Chadruharazzeb]

Do the Philips Xtreme things emit a white light or are they just a brighter shade of murk that the normal bulbs are?

[seboni121]

Do the Philips Xtreme things emit a white light or are they just a brighter shade of murk that the normal bulbs are?

They will be a little whiter but a lot better than the crap they come with

[Lee]

I've just fitted Osram Nightbreaker Plus and they are a lot better than the standard bulbs. Only £14 from Amazon.

I might try a set of Philips Extreme Vision for comparison though.

[delta925]

...... Your never going to make these headlights as good as standard reflectors .......

So what is the point of projectors?

Is it just VAG group projectors that are inferior to their reflectors?

As the base models have reflectors I assume they are cheaper to make even though they have range adjustment.

[raisbeck]

So what is the point of projectors?

Is it just VAG group projectors that are inferior to their reflectors?

As the base models have reflectors I assume they are cheaper to make even though they have range adjustment.

It does seem odd. Maybe there are projectors that work really well as independent lights for main or dip on other models with standard bulbs. It seems daft as surely its cheaper to make a reflector unit with two bulbs rather than a projector with one bulb and a daft solenoid actuated light gate for dip beam.

The projector assembly does look better aesthetically than a bog standard reflector light. Just a shame its crap when you have to use it.

If you have the osram or phillips bulbs with the lights set as high as mot allows then they are ok. I can certainly live with mine now.

[VRS-Powered]

Can someone who has the Phillips xtreme bulbs do me a favour and post up pics of them on and comparison with the OEM?

[MiNiMaL_FuSS]

Looking from above the light you can see a plastic 6mm allen adjuster:

Which way is up and which way is down? Do they require a lot of turning or just a slight adjustment?....found mine in daylight today, but cant compare until it gets dark and I find a brick wall!

[cheezemonkhai]

One comment for all of those looking at +70 or +80% bulbs are that they don't last very long.

I'd take a long hard look at osram silverstars or phillips vision plus, which are both +50%, but last a lot longer than the higher brightness bulbs.

Typically I'd say a normal bulb will last me 2 years and a +30% one only a little less (it's hard to tell). The 50% bulbs lasted between 12 and 18 months and the 70% bulbs I had one set go in 6 months, the other last only 9.

I freely admit I did a lot of miles in those years, but for me the 50% bulbs were a good compromise of price, vs performance vs life.

[logiclee]

Well last Fabia had original Osram Nightbreakers in and they were OK. Both our current Fabia's are on standard bulbs.

Coming home today in Passat got a bulb warning and found off side headlight blown. Passat had Philips Blue Vision bulbs fitted, these have done 16 months and 18k miles. Passat headlights are on all the time, they are on at 88% brightness during the day as DRL's.

So point of the post is I've now ordered 3 pairs of Osram Nightbreaker+

All 3 cars are fitted with crap VAG projectors and with standard bulbs the order is.

Worst - Passat

Better - Pre Facelift Fabia

Best - Facelift Fabia.

I'll fit them as they arrive and report back. (And if you think the Fabia's are hard to change try a Passat, you need a dislocated wrist and double jointed elbow)

Cheers

Lee

[unforgetable]

Which way is up and which way is down? Do they require a lot of turning or just a slight adjustment?....found mine in daylight today, but cant compare until it gets dark and I find a brick wall!

With the Projector headlights (ie the one with the 2 rubber caps on the back of the headlight unit)it is the top adjuster as you look into the engine compartment from above that you need to adjust NOT the one lower down. Turn to the left to move the beam DOWN, turn to the right to move the beam UP (I think so, but don't worry if you get it wrong as the allen nut moves very easily and you can actuelly see it move up and down clearly anyway). I found it only requires small adjustment to improve the beam throw, but you can fine adjust afterwards from inside the car using the load adjuster. Don't worry it is very simple on both lights and makes a HUGE difference, well worth doing. If it needs adjusting back down, you'll soon find out from the amount of flashing you receive from other disgruntled souls, but don't leave it too long! I found that the top line of the beam just above the bumper and rear window of the car in front (about half car distance away) is about the right setting, otherwise you end up with tree uplighters instead of headlamps! Good luck!

[unforgetable]

With the Projector headlights (ie the one with the 2 rubber caps on the back of the headlight unit)it is the top adjuster as you look into the engine compartment from above that you need to adjust NOT the one lower down. Turn to the left to move the beam DOWN, turn to the right to move the beam UP (I think so, but don't worry if you get it wrong as the allen nut moves very easily and you can actuelly see it move up and down clearly anyway). I found it only requires small adjustment to improve the beam throw, but you can fine adjust afterwards from inside the car using the load adjuster. Don't worry it is very simple on both lights and makes a HUGE difference, well worth doing. If it needs adjusting back down, you'll soon find out from the amount of flashing you receive from other disgruntled souls, but don't leave it too long! I found that the top line of the beam just above the bumper and rear window of the car in front (about half car distance away) is about the right setting, otherwise you end up with tree uplighters instead of headlamps! Good luck!

Apologies I meant to say "just above the bumper and JUST BELOW the rear window of the car in front" (ie in between the bumber and the rear window)Ooops!