Hi guys. I was thinking of upgrading the headlamp bulbs on my vRS to something a bit brighter (I have standard lights not xenons) any ideas as to which ones are best for me to get?

Philips X-treme Power for dipped

Philips VisionPlus for main.

Both road legal.

I agree

ill third

Philips X-treme Power for dipped

Philips VisionPlus for main.

Both road legal.

Do these tend to have a shorter life than standard bulbs, or are they pretty much the same?

Great, thanks guys. I knew you would come up trumps. I wonder if euro car parts stock them.

bought mine from powerbulbs.com, free delivery and free philips blue vision sidelights too. think if you look around the web there are some voucher codes hanging around too.

I think if you are a freedom member there is a discount code you can quote with Powerbulbs

Do these tend to have a shorter life than standard bulbs, or are they pretty much the same?

Not so I have noticed. My Fabia still has them 2 yeas on and no issues. Your mileage my vary though.

Ordered them from power bulbs.com and got the free side light bulbs as well. Cant wait to fit them!

Philips X-treme or Osram Nightbrakers. They are supposed to give 80 and 90% more light. However there are some people on here have found they don't last long, 3 months or so. I've had Nightbrakers on mine for over a year with no problems.

Don't bother with those Retro-fit HID ones because there are legal issues surrounding them.

OSRAM Nightbreakers definitely do have a shorter life, but they really are a bit brighter. I myself at the moment got myself two sets of H7s and two sets of H1s of those Tesla bulbs off LIDL. At a rate of 4,99 Euros they are a steal and their beam is quite good as well. They come as extra bright and extra blue, my favourite is the bright version....

Ordered them from power bulbs.com and got the free side light bulbs as well. Cant wait to fit them!

Good call

I bought some Philips X-treme off an Ebay business seller about a year ago. They were under £19/pair delivered.

Excellent performance. My car has daytime lights activated and they are on all the time - still not blown.

My bulbs have turned up and I had them fitted in about 20 minutes. They are fantastic! Big thanks to DARRENW and SWORRALL for your help. When I bought my vRS I realy wanted xenons but there was not one available in the country or in the Czech republic other than one in yellow ( I dont think so). I didnt want to wait 16 weeks for a factory order so got one with the same spec but without xenons that was 2 days old sitting outside the factory.

Dont get me wrong, I love my car but I still wished I had xenons and was even looking to see if I could afford a new one so I could have brighter lights as I work shifts and drive in the dark quite allot. But for £46, and a bit of help from Briskoda I am a happy bunny and Im going to keep the car. Its even going to get the clay bar treatment on the weekend!

no probs wizzmed, glad they worked out ok

I like Daffs my self, but I think you need to plant them in spring, not sure what this as to do with cars. hth

My bulbs have turned up and I had them fitted in about 20 minutes. They are fantastic! Big thanks to DARRENW and SWORRALL for your help.

Oh gosh

You're very welcome.

I know it's too late for the OP (who is happy anyway), but I'll support the recommendation for Philips X-treme 55W H1 bulbs for Hi beam, but I'll suggest Osram Rallye 65W H7 for Lo Beam (the latter are slightly higher wattage than standard globes but don't seem to cause trouble with wiring and fuses etc, and are MUCH brighter than stock globes, and last just as long as std globes - but might not be strictly legal for road use in some places).

Most of the +50, +80 and +90 globes have a significantly shorter life span than std globes, and I've read a number of complaints about Osram Nightbreakers not lasting. The Philips X-treme seem to have a better reputation for lasting a bit longer than the equivalent Osram.

My experience with Osram Nightbreakers certainly argues that they don't last that long. My first set (used in the dip beam lamps of a BMW) lasted about 4 months before they both failed. The replacements (provided under warranty) lasted about another 8 months before they both failed. I have just had a new set provided by Osram under goodwill but cannot, in fairness, recommend them since they seem to fail so frequently.

My experience with Philips high-output bulbs has been much better.

The Osrams were also not noticeably brighter than standard bulbs, which surprised me somewhat.

regards

P.

My experience with Osram Nightbreakers certainly argues that they don't last that long. My first set (used in the dip beam lamps of a BMW) lasted about 4 months before they both failed. The replacements (provided under warranty) lasted about another 8 months before they both failed. I have just had a new set provided by Osram under goodwill but cannot, in fairness, recommend them since they seem to fail so frequently.

My experience with Philips high-output bulbs has been much better.

The Osrams were also not noticeably brighter than standard bulbs, which surprised me somewhat.

regards

P.

This is my experience of them as well. I have had similar experience with Halfords Super Brilliance bulbs as well. Least they are 5 minutes down the road for a replacement!

For those of us using DRLs, I noticed on Powerbulbs.com that Phillips do a long-life bulb for about the same price as the Xtreme Power. Should be a touch brighter too, but guaranteed for long life/constant use.

For those of us using DRLs, I noticed on Powerbulbs.com that Phillips do a long-life bulb for about the same price as the Xtreme Power. Should be a touch brighter too, but guaranteed for long life/constant use.

As I commented earlier, I've been running Philips X-treme on DRL for about a year and still going strong. That's good enough for me. Before you buy mail order check out local independent factors - there is one near me selling X-tremes for about £19/pair.

What's the general consensus on the Halfords Super Brilliance or Extreme Brilliance bulbs? I'm looking at changing the dipped beam only (H7) and wonder if these ones are much different from the Philips X-treme?

Cheers,

Balham

For those of us using DRLs, I noticed on Powerbulbs.com that Phillips do a long-life bulb for about the same price as the Xtreme Power. Should be a touch brighter too, but guaranteed for long life/constant use.

Long-life bulbs are brighter than X-treme bulbs, or brighter than std bulbs ?

I very much doubt the former, and would like to see any specs or tests supporting the latter. The reason I say that is because I was under the impression long-life bulbs last longer because they have a thicker filament, which doesn't get quite so hot, so said filament doesn't glow quite as brightly, which is why it lasts longer (and the converse applies to all the "+xx%" high output globes).

I have no idea about the performance of Halford globes, they aren't sold in Australia. I'm guessing they are "rebadged" bulbs made by another manufacturer.