My Octy has xenon dips. The mains are cr@p in comparison, so I want to change the bulbs. So:

1. What bulb recommended?

2. What fitting are they?

3. How difficult to DIY fit without getting a 20kv blast from the xenons next door?

Philips blue vision H1 are about the same colour as the xenons,so dont look yellow when main beam on. If you get them from Powerbulbs (you get 15% discount if you are a member here),you also get blue vision side light bulbs free and they are the same (nice white light not yellow).Easy fit if you remove headlight unit,which is only 5 screws if I remember,and 5 or 6 screws to remove the rear cover.Just remember to put masking tape on top of bumper and washers to avoid scapes on the paint whe removing headlight.As for shocks,if car hasnt been started,or lights used for a while before you touch any thing it will be fine.

Could Anyone tell me if the Phillips Blue Vision H4 bulbs are any good as i don't have the xenon lamps i only have the standard lamps but im looking for some brighter light as i do a bit of country road driving at night. if these are not that great can anyone suggest a better bulb to use.

Hope some one can answer this question for me.

Thanks.

Get the bulbs I've got, I do alot of lonely late night cross country driving in the winter and the standard bulbs were shocking. Someone on here recommended the Phillips, and they are the mutts nuts! Standard legal wattage, but somehow magically loads brighter!

Amazing difference, I even get people flashing me sometimes as if I'm on full beam! Can't remember what they're called now, but it says in my sig. below, xtreme or something.

Excellent bulbs and wiper blades have made driving in poor conditions so much easier, best thing I've done to the car so far.

Philips Extreme 80% are available to suit the octy for less than £20 a pair on ebay.

As others, Phillips from Powerbulbs, and the "Blue vision" sidelights are not a gimmick; they really work.

I've just bought some Osram Night Breaker H4 bulbs as they seemed to be the weapon of choice from reading some other posts on here. Check out the Freedom Members Benefits as the discount from Powerbulbs is still active

Another one to throw into the mix are Halfords own brand +90% bulbs if you have their trade card. It would appear that they are cheaper than a pair of the Philips 80%. Seeing as I'm heading up north next week and really can't be bothered with doing mailorder when there's a Halfords 2 minutes away. I'll perhaps pop down tomorrow and get some. Will let you know what price they are and how well they light things up.

Ok, bit of an update, scrub the idea of the halfords bulbs as even with trade discount they are still £32 a pair!

quick question as im buying some bulbs online now...

are the front fog light bulbs H3? would phillips blue vision H3 be ok?

cheers

quick question as im buying some bulbs online now...

are the front fog light bulbs H3? would phillips blue vision H3 be ok?

cheers

If you goto the Powerbulbs website and follow the "find bulbs for my car" it will tell you what bulb is required for which light. Car Headlight Bulbs - Power Bulbs - Philips and Osram xenon bulbs, headlight, upgrade - European original equipment quality with free worldwide delivery.

Nightbreakers - make the right choice

I've done exactly the same thing and put them in as full-beam bulbs alongside Xenons. The coverage and quality of light is much improved.

Goto Powerbulbs, get your Brisky discount and get some BlueVisions thrown in free for the sides, so you can get rid of the 'candle' effect there too. Job's a good 'un

Steve

I did get the Nightbreakers and they are Awesome compared to ultra bright halfords bulbs

just ordered blue vision H3 front fogs, silvervision rear indi bulbs and got the free bluevision front sides from powerbulbs..... woop

Hi!

Has anyone tried fitting kits with relays and larger gauge wire?

In Norway the magazine Motor measured H4-bulbs some years ago.

Fitting relays and larger gauge wire (getting +14V direct from the alternator) improved the light from std bulbs by 50-60%. Life-time of the bulbs were 1000 hours.

Fitting Osram Silverstar and Philips "something" improved the light 30% more. Life-time of the bulbs were 250 hours.

Osram claim that their Nightbreakers have half the life of a std bulb.

Philips claim the Nightvision has the same life as a std bulb.

Olit

I see where the idea is coming from, but it's not uncommon for UK market cars to have headlight relays as standard. I'd like to hope that the wiring is not under-guage for the theoretical draw of 5A (60W/12V) per main beam element.

I've not actively measured it directly, but I think 50% brighter H4s have a lifetime better than 250 hours these days (2 years and counting with an estimated 200 hours per year headlights on).

Excellent going to get me some new lights from powerbulbs

Quick question are "Philips Blue Vision H4" Road legal? It doesnt mention them being road legal on the website, so I'm assuming not? If not i'll go for the "Philips X-Treme Power H4".

Cheers

BlueVisions are fine for road use

Steve

Thanks man! i'll be ordering these tonight

Edit: Ordered cant wait

Edited 3 September, 200817 yr by dzign

All fitted now, along with a new headlight adjustment motor.

My lights are officially pimped!

The blue vision sides and fogs look the bizz, and they kick out a much cleaner and brighter light. It's not that blue really, just looks zenon-like with the white/blue light.

Also got silvervision indi bulbs all round now, so have completely removed the fried egg look!

Looking at the rear lights, can you have 2 rear fog lights if you put a double coil bulb on the left side aswell as the one already in the right side? I hate single rear fog lamps, makes your car look like a bike in heavy fog on A-roads, which is never a good surprise when you go to overtake!

I also noticed that the brake light bulbs were slightly blacked, and look like they have been running hot. The brake lights have always been mega bright, and it looks like the bulbs don't like it either. Strange....

As I see it, the "Blue Vision" sides give a much whiter light than the usual tungsten units (even before considering that the bulbs that came out had black glasses!). Still, the old ones will be good enough for replacement number plate lights!

I'm less sure about whiter fogs; that's the one place where I think a yellow light actually makes sense, because the frequency is further from where fog is most reflective.

I've a notion there's a guide to enabling the LH rear fog lurking somewhere. I agree with your reasoning though; The counter argument that it "masks your brake lights" went out when 3rd brake lights became commonplace in about 1996!

Edited 5 September, 200817 yr by KenONeill

Hi Ken!

If you have a multimeter, try measuring the voltage at the H4-socket. I assume you will find just a little bit over 12V.

Installing a relay-kit (relay + thicker gauge wire) will get you in the region of +14V (dependent of the quality of the regulator in the alternator). It will be a very useful upgrade. An I think it does not cost very much either.

Honest!

Olit

I'm sure over-volting bulbs by ~17% will make them burn brighter; it will also shorten their lifespan by more than it increases their output, never mind their range, which will be about square root (% increase in output).

Hi again Ken!

Well - those 17% will get you approx 50% more light according to the norwegian magazine Motor which represents NAF - sisterorg of ADAC. And you still get 1000 hrs from a std H4 bulb. Or 250 hrs from a Osram Silverstar etc - probably a lot more with the newest batch.

I have not done this conversion myself yet, but I talked to my carpartsdealer today, and he recommended it highly. He said all VAG-cars benefitted from such conversion because of poor std wires. It would cost me between £25-£50, dependent on how high grade relays I would choose.

Olit

can a facelifted mk1 octy (without zenons) take 'off-road' bulbs (100W main beam), without melting things like headlamp units and wires?

i put 80/100W bulbs in my suzuki samurai (because it does alot of offroad work), and that melted the fusebox after a few months of getting very hot!! had to replace the fusebox and go back to standard candle-light after that!

i wouldn't fit non road legal bulbs to this car, but im just wondering if you can, since we're talking about fitting higher gauge wire.

would Olit's suggestion cause problems with the brighter bulbs melting the plastic lamp units??