Brighter bulbs - Do they work?

[SPINESHANK]

I have been reading up on here about upgrading the standard monte carlo h7 bulbs for something like the Osram Nightbreakers. Is it actually worth doing as there seemed to be mixed reviews, with some people saying they arent any different than standard.

 

Also there is a thread with pictures of how to change the bulbs although the pictures are no longer vieweable, could someone please point me in the right direction to a illustrated guide?

[larsberg]

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/259199-changing-front-bulbs/

It's worth it imo, it does improve lighting and it's a pretty cheap fix.

[KenONeill]

They're worth it, but take note that "100% brighter" does not mean "double the range", it means "twice the luminous intensity at a set range", which following the inverse square law means 10% longer range, although everything in that range is better lit.

[MidlifecrisisT]

I've just picked up some night breakers unlimited today. 15 quid from euro car parts. Anything has to be better than standard bulbs! Haha.

Going to attempt to fit over the weekend.

[SPINESHANK]

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

I will try a pair, they are £14 at my local auto parts store and managed to get dealer to fit them for me tomorrow whilst MOT is done.

[xman]

You'll not notice much difference from the standard oe bulb.

[R1chard]

For a Monte, stick some HID's in it and get them aligned properly! Sorted

[jonro2009]

The bulbs are a 'little' better than standard but as above the range isn't increased much. While its in for MOT ask the tester to ensure the beam is set as high as legally allowed and within tolerances,math at will also help.

For what it's worth I'm a +1 for HID

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[rum4mo]

Just one thing to remember to be aware of, but not a good reason not to use "higher/hotter" filament bulbs is, their service life will be shorter than the "lower/colder" versions - I've used quite a few pairs of "Phillips Extreme etc etc" on my wife's previous 9N Polo, they did make quite a difference to the headlights output.

 

Edit:- one other thing, I seem to remember that when these bulbs were tested, the "no-name/strange name" cheaper versions did not perform as well as the Osram Nightbreaker and Philips Extremes - either due to poor seating of the bulb envelope in the base or short life.

Edited 28 May, 2016 by rum4mo

[Nathanio]

I have Osram NBU in the Fabia and it has made it better but still not as good as our mk1. Bulbs have been checked on MOT setter tool and correct.

I have a HIDS4U Stealth kit to go in. They were on offer at 69.99 recently but found another 15% off code on internet on top. Had HIDS4U kit in my mk2 Octavia and it was top notch. No quibbles when a bulb blew and I could pop into their store in Soton

[Lee]

It's a shame Skoda never offered proper gas discharge headlamps on the MK2 Fabia.

Had them on my MK1 vRS and they made a huge difference at night.

[delta925]

I bought my 2011 Elegance at the end of March so only in November realised how poor the dipped beam was. This was the era of separate dipped and main beam bulbs.

 

I fitted two Osram Nightbreaker for the dipped beam and together with raising the beam they made a significant improvement. After I wasn't flashed by oncoming drivers nor had any issues with the MOT.

[vRSgone]

You could put a bloody lighthouse bulb in & wouldn't make a lot of difference. Badly designed optics. Should never have got approval.

 

PS Hids conversion kits do put out more light, but bear in mind the Fabia headlights were designed for a point source of light (h7 bulb), and not the light propagation of a Xenon discharge lamp, which is not a point source but light spread out over a length of a centimetre or so, which calls for totally different reflector design. The problem (IMO), is the shutter, which on dipped beam obscures the top half of the light beam, & obviously reduces its output.

Edited 29 May, 2016 by vrs4now

[WAUOla]

Anyone tested the Osram cool blue intense (stated 4200K) or Osram cool blue hyper (stated 5000k) in the DEs?

I assume night breakers are the better for output, but they tend to be a little yellow-ish.

[Jimdiesel]

Put nightbreakers in my work van and they are a lot better wouldnt swap my hids for them on the monte though was tempted 

 

Wow just realized this post was raised from the dead lol

Edited 28 September, 2016 by jimdiesel

[Outofthi5world]

I got Osrams in mine about a year ago. A lot better than standard but the drivers side one decided it didn't want to work a few days ago so now the old ones are back in.

[delta925]

Last week I noticed first from my lights on a van in front that one dipped beam seemed to be out. On checking I was right so ordered two more nightbreakers, now called unlimited rather than plus, and fitted both last weekend. 5 years life seems reasonable for what are a shorter life bulb. A work colleague who commutes twice as far has put Osram Silverstar in his latest car because of the relatively short life of nightbreakers.

 

The main beam still has the OEM bulbs. I rarely used main beam and when I do find it adequate plus very rarely do not know the road but if I did use it more than a handful of nights a year I would fit nightbreakers. I still have the OEM dipped beam bulbs as spares if ever needed.

Edited 28 September, 2016 by delta925

[MillsyVRS]

Shame changing the damn things on the MK2 Fabia is such an PITA. So fiddly and scratchy

[WAUOla]

Not going to bother with HIDs on the Roomster. So, therefor thinking about quality halogens.

I haven't had issues with night breakers myself. Can it be people touching the filaments and not clean them off?

[delta925]

Not going to bother with HIDs on the Roomster. So, therefor thinking about quality halogens.

I haven't had issues with night breakers myself. Can it be people touching the filaments and not clean them off?

 

Certainly how they are handled during fitting is critical i.e. do not touch the glass - I always use a paper towel but they are a shorter life. Osram give two figures, presumably different conditions, of 150 & 300 hours. For Silverstar they are 250 & 450 hours and original 330 & 550 hours.

[WAUOla]

Does anyone have real time photos of different bulbs for comparison?

Was caught up by a Roomster the other day, was looking crispy white in the DEs...

[Nathanio]

Certainly how they are handled during fitting is critical i.e. do not touch the glass - I always use a paper towel but they are a shorter life. Osram give two figures, presumably different conditions, of 150 & 300 hours. For Silverstar they are 250 & 450 hours and original 330 & 550 hours.

 

Personally this doesn't bother me. I'd rather have good light output and deal with having to replace more often. If you get a years usage out of a set of £15 bulbs then thats a win if the extra light is worth it. Over 10k miles that works out at 0.15p (yes pence!) per mile, or the square root of not a lot

[delta925]

Personally this doesn't bother me. I'd rather have good light output and deal with having to replace more often. If you get a years usage out of a set of £15 bulbs then thats a win if the extra light is worth it. Over 10k miles that works out at 0.15p (yes pence!) per mile, or the square root of not a lot

 

I agree.

However those figures are derived 300 hours over 5 years is 60 hours. At 45 mins a day on the darkest days that is 80 days and I'm sure my lights are on more than that then there are the dull and wet days so those figures seem conservative.

 

Shame changing the damn things on the MK2 Fabia is such an PITA. So fiddly and scratchy

 

Indeed and why I did both rather than waiting until the second failed.

On mine access to the left is no so bad, although it turned out to be the one that to longer to get back into place so the cap/connector would rotate. The right is much tighter so anyone with large chubby hands must find it really difficult.

[KenONeill]

I agree.

However those figures are derived 300 hours over 5 years is 60 hours. At 45 mins a day on the darkest days that is 80 days and I'm sure my lights are on more than that then there are the dull and wet days so those figures seem conservative.

 

Er bulb lives are burn hours, not engine run hours.

[Phil866]

I've recently had my first experience of night driving with the Fabia and like Delta925 I found the dipped beams dire to say the least. Also like Delta925 my first job will be to make sure the headlights are set up properly and then look to fit brighter bulbs. I really hope I can improve them.....