I have a octavia vrs wrc with xenon headlights was thinkin about changin the bulbs for bluer/brighter ones . No idea about xenons so dont know what to go for or prices etc. Any help would be good

Found these but a bit expensive though,when you can get standard ones for £45.Think you still get discount if you are a member here

http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/product_detail.asp?prod=149

wow nearly £200 for 2 thats really expencive tho

If you think that dear,what about these

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PIAA-HID-Bulbs-D2S-fitment-HH107_W0QQitemZ270467340067QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item3ef91c1723

thats some pile of cash just for bulbs

i have the xenon headlights on mine and i have the bluish ones that are the 6000k temp ones try the german ebay www.ebay.de and type in d2s 6000k loads come up mate or 5000k are more whiteer

Best advice would be "don't bother"; The standard ones are 4800K units, which give you the best illumination down the road, and minimise your chances of:-

1) Being mistaken for a ch@v by other road users.

2) Being stopped and given a free MOT while you wait by a gentleman in a white shirt and a navy blue suit.

if you type "d2s 6000k " at ebay.co.uk u get a load up for £20-£50 . Any good ones of ebay or not worth touchin

I wouldn't be bothered to spend money on reducing your light output. All a higher 'k' value will do is introduce a stronger filter, so more colour is brought into the output and less actual light output.

Stick with standard 4800k bulbs.

Steve

On the subject, a friend told me today that older HID bulbs (over 2 years or so) start to deteriorate in brightness apparently? Is there any truth in this? My 02 plate car has factory xenons and I'm fairly sure they're the originals too . . .

thats a good question mine are likely origionals as well from a 2002 wrc .

I would imagine they'll start to deteriorate eventually yes. But that should be noticed by a gradually declining light output.

When they first started appearing on cars there was the marketing angle that they'd last the 'lifetime of the car'. That's now generally regarded to be 5-10 years, obviously depending on how much they've been used

Steve

If 4800k gives the best light output, how come all Landrovers/Aston Martins/Jaguars etc (Most expensive marques for that matter) that are fitted with xenons have a far more blue light? Is it the bulb or something else?

If 4800k gives the best light output, how come all Landrovers/Aston Martins/Jaguars etc (Most expensive marques for that matter) that are fitted with xenons have a far more blue light? Is it the bulb or something else?

I have actually noticed that the last few years, Landrovers / BMWs / Mercs etc. have been fitted with much whiter HIDs . . . perhaps indicative of a realisation over light output, or perhaps to try and avoid appearing too much like a ch*v?

Perhaps it's that they seem to flicker more then? Meaning you see more purpley blue flashes. You can always tell when a Jag/LRover group vehicle is about to over take on the motorway at night because of this.

Perhaps it's that they seem to flicker more then? Meaning you see more purpley blue flashes. You can always tell when a Jag/LRover group vehicle is about to over take on the motorway at night because of this.

I think that's the prism effect of the limit of the light pattern caused by the projector lens bulb. If you have any car with projector lenses (HID or halogen) shining against a wall, you'll see this effect at the top of the beam cut-off.

I see what you mean, I have it to an extent on my L&K Octy, it just seems more apparent on the said vehicles. I've always just assumed it was down to a different manufacture HID system.

6000K is waay too blue to be useful as a headlight, stick with <5000K (unless how blue they are is more important to you than seeing where you're going )

Edited 23 February, 201016 yr by richm

*edit* double post..

Edited 23 February, 201016 yr by richm

Update for those interested; decided to change my xenons today ('02 plate car with 110k on the clock). Went for OEM Philips replacements (4300k) from powerbulbs.co.uk so not as cheap as the eBay ones, but they're good quality. The changing procedure was a bit fiddly (the hardest part was actually seperating the plugs on the back of the headlamp units) but after one bulb change, I compared them. Pretty astonishing! The first thing I noticed was how blue the older bulb was, closely followed by how dim it was!

Both new ones are now in and there is a massive improvement in light output. They seem very yellowy at the moment but I think I've read somewhere that they settle down after so many hours of use. I also popped some nightbreakers into the main beam.

So, if you've got an older car with factory xenons, I'd suggest thinking about changing them! You might be surprised at the difference . . .

Mine are still nice and bright at 90,000km and 6 years.

But the car has probably been driven mostly in daylight.

Went for OEM Philips replacements (4300k) from powerbulbs.co.uk

D1S or D2S ?