As it won't be long before the clocks change and I'm driving home from work in the dark I think it's time to upgrade the bulbs in my Bravo.

The standard lights are better than the ones in the Octavia were so with some better bulbs they should do the job nicely.

I'm not going to go for HIDs , just brighter conventional bulbs , so what's the best buy at the moment? I'd like something brighter and would prefer a more white light , possibly with a touch of blue but don't want to go for anything over the top & illegal.

Personally, I would go for Philips Extreme +80's

I had 2 sets of Osram Nightbreakers and both turned black and blistered the bulb opposite the internal reflector of the bulb itself.

The Philips where faultless and got transfered into my wifes car when I put the HID kit into the vRoomster and are still giving good service.

Osram may well have fixed the quality issues with the nightbreaker series of bulbs, but I think I would still take the Phillips.

I've got Osram nightbreakers, they've been in over 12 months with no problems whatsoever and better than the originals.

I've got Osram nightbreakers, they've been in over 12 months with no problems whatsoever and better than the originals.

Not a dig or anything mate, but it may be worth popping them out and just checking to see they have not blackened / greyed. There was a pretty big problem with this on earlier bulbs and a few other forum members suffered from it.

I think I had some Philips +50% bulbs in the Octy so I'd be happy to go for their current best offering if they seem trouble free.

Already done so, part of my winter check, nowt wrong with them. Shame I can't say the same for the tyres.......bloody speed bumps.

i'll be switching to Philips from Nightbreakers next time around.

I bought Nightbreaker dips & mains, and am impressed with the performance but the first dip blew after 3 months (Dec to Feb) :thumbdwn:

I complained to Osram who were good enough to replace my single blown bulb with a new pair.

However i have just had another one blow :( and in my mind 8 months or a max of 10 months isn't a long enough lifespan; even for high perfmance bulb quoted as having a short life.

I have complained again and hope Osram feel the same.

The +50% ones lasted for two and a half years so I might stick with something at that level rather than pay more for something that lasts a fraction.

What are the Halfords ones like?

They have a BOGOF one their own brand 50% ones atm.

I am considering these for the Hearse, as the dipped beam is useless.

Have experience with both O NB and P Xtreme. Had one of my H1 NBs explode after a couple of minutes use. Left quite some marks in the reflector, incl pieces of glas that are still in the headlight unit (partially molten in the plastic).

The P Xtreme I fitted as mains on the roomster and they still light bright and strong (fitted them in Jan this year).

The difference of the 2 arent that big and as the NBs are really suffering lifetime (you can read about its lack of durability in many forums) I would go for the Philips. (buy a spare set, just in case).

Another vote for the Philips X-treme Power 80% bulbs, had them on my Fabia 2 weeks short of a year and had no problems. Just crisp white light

What are the Halfords ones like?

They have a BOGOF one their own brand 50% ones atm.

I am considering these for the Hearse, as the dipped beam is useless.

They have +50% bulbs for £23 and +90% for £25 but that's still more than you'd pay for Philips equivalents ordered online - plenty on Ebay.

I've just had a nose and there seem to be four philips options , with the first and third having a blue tint.

Bluevision +30%

VisionPlus +50%

Power 2 Night +50%

X-Treme Power +80%

I'm leaning towards the third I think - now to check what fittings I need.

I recently got the Halfords Extreme Brilliance +90% H4 bulbs (€19-00 BOGOF), after having had Philips Vision Plus in for the last 2+ years. I must say I am impressed with the dip beams, but think the full beam is slightly weak in comparison.

Philips VisionPlus are still a good bulb I've ran these in the wifes car since we bought it (54plate)

And i ran them in my Mazda from their introduction.