I posted this in another thread but thought I would post it as a seperate item to gain the thoughts of others

Weve had our Scout for a few weeks with Xenons & Sat night around Midnight I did my first drive down country lanes in the dark & the lights are absolute pants !!!!!!!! The cut off to the right on the Xenons is to severe & on R.Hand corners your driving into a dark hole which means you need to drive slower than the road will allow. Main beam isnt brilliant, When on main the Xenon is so strong close to the car you get the feeling of a bright white area close in front with a yellowish area beyond, the white is so much brighter you are drawn to that area every time it picks something up. Compared with the Mk1 Octy with Xenons we just sold they are terrible.

Im hoping they are out of adjustment but I cant see how it can effect the dip cut off, I think its a trip to the dealer to check the adjustment & also seeing if the main beams can take bigger bulbs. I didnt try putting the fogs on as that may have illuminated the black hole on the right so will try that next time, illegal but better than hitting a brick or pothole at speed

Anyone else any thoughts

I've had a pre-FL Octavia with xenons and have been reasonably happy once the standard bulbs were replaced with Osram Nightbreakers and the main beams were adjusted down because they were set way too high as delivered hence a big gap between the main N

and dip. I am also wondering if you have AFS. If this goes wrong the dip beam will default to a low setting.

Interesting stuff!

Immediately after you turn your xenons on, do they dip then both beams move outwards then inwards then reset to normal height? Reason i ask is it sounds like the cornering function of your xenons isn't working? I'd get the codes read anyway even just as a matter of course since there is a question raised over their effectiveness.

At the same time, it might be worth asking your dealer to enable cornering fogs (which are only active below ~25mph (and the cornering xenons function is only active above ~15mph)) they might be a help for you in those circumstances.

I'd expect them to assess beam pattern / height as a matter of course if you took that car in for anything to do with the headlights, but possibly worth prompting some dealers!

To change the difference in colour of the halogens vs. xenons you'll need to buy aftermarket bulbs which burn with a higher colour temperature, i'm not sure what temp the xenons are but at a guess they look to be around the 5000 degrees kelvin mark to me.

Projector headlights have a more pronounced beam cut off, and xenon projectors are even more pronounced due to the colour temperature. Folks will occassionally mistake you going over a bump for you flashing them :-( just one to watch out for when folks are indicating to turn across your path

Interesting stuff!

Immediately after you turn your xenons on, do they dip then both beams move outwards then inwards then reset to normal height? Reason i ask is it sounds like the cornering function of your xenons isn't working? I'd get the codes read anyway even just as a matter of course since there is a question raised over their effectiveness.

At the same time, it might be worth asking your dealer to enable cornering fogs (which are only active below ~25mph (and the cornering xenons function is only active above ~15mph)) they might be a help for you in those circumstances.

I'd expect them to assess beam pattern / height as a matter of course if you took that car in for anything to do with the headlights, but possibly worth prompting some dealers!

To change the difference in colour of the halogens vs. xenons you'll need to buy aftermarket bulbs which burn with a higher colour temperature, i'm not sure what temp the xenons are but at a guess they look to be around the 5000 degrees kelvin mark to me.

Projector headlights have a more pronounced beam cut off, and xenon projectors are even more pronounced due to the colour temperature. Folks will occassionally mistake you going over a bump for you flashing them :-( just one to watch out for when folks are indicating to turn across your path

Thanks for taking time to give a detailed response.

Yes the lights do move in & out when switched on.

Cornering fogs, A kind brisky member is going to do that for me.

Aftermarket bulbs for the mains I think is a must & will get it done

The car has an intermittent little rattle & Im waiting for it to get worse before dropping it to the dealer & will get the lights checked at the same time. It sounds as though something might need looking at

I've had a pre-FL Octavia with xenons and have been reasonably happy once the standard bulbs were replaced with Osram Nightbreakers and the main beams were adjusted down because they were set way too high as delivered hence a big gap between the main N

and dip. I am also wondering if you have AFS. If this goes wrong the dip beam will default to a low setting.

Thanks

excuse numptie head but whats AFS

I've noticed the samething on my Vrs Xenon's. I had the alignment checked (height wise) and the dealer said they were at the maximum height allowed, not sure about left/right adjustment though.

My car has the factory fit xenons - they are excellent, although I have to say they aint as good as the ones on my S2000 :(

I have tried uprated bulbs in previous cars, I had PIAA Extreme white plus bulbs and IMO they are the only ones worth spending any money on, otherwise HID conversion is the only way to go

All facelift Octavias with xenons have Adaptive Front lighting System (aka AFS II) which varies the beam

Height and direction depending on the steering angle, speed and input from the rain sensor. Not driven a car with it but I hope it's better than static xenons.

All facelift Octavias with xenons have Adaptive Front lighting System (aka AFS II) which varies the beam

Height and direction depending on the steering angle, speed and input from the rain sensor. Not driven a car with it but I hope it's better than static xenons.

Thanks, the dealer will think I kmnow what Im on abou t now