My only worry was if they are the same wattage i.e. 60/55 watts then how do Osram get more useful available light out of them?

As they are mass produced and can be bought by the thousands then why does Skoda not fit them on the production line knowing there is a problem when dipped is used? ?

Tollerances, quality control, better materials... all adds up to something that produces better light. Also remember that the stated wattage and output can be bigged up by the lower quality guys. Who is to know? Why does Bentley spend 1000 man hours creating an interior and VW only 3 when both just transport humans? Same with the bulbs. You pay more and you normally (should) get more even though the basic specs are the same, it can carry five adults or it has a light output of 60watts.

I find the trick with full beam is to put your front fogs on at the same time. You must then, of course, turn them off at the same time as the full beam when an oncoming car comes along. The fogs give you coverage of the area in front of you which the full beam ignore. Full beam on their own seem too high to me.

I also find the standard dipped very poor. I was tempted to change bulbs but heard some horror stories about changing the dipped bulbs and so ducked out. I seem to remember words like, contortionist and arms like a 6yr old required.

Never, ever, take advice on vehicle lighting from someone who thinks that a bright pool of light in their near field improves their ability to see things in their far field. There's more than enough discussion of this on the net already.

Why was I criticised by the so called experts when I suggested that fog lights give a better overall coverage. IT IS ILLEGAL - so I was told and ANYONE using foglights should be strapped to the bonnet and flogged. What a load of ***********

Because it just plain doesn't. The bright near field dazzles you and reduces the distance you can see in the far field.

Never, ever, take advice on vehicle lighting from someone who thinks that a bright pool of light in their near field improves their ability to see things in their far field. There's more than enough discussion of this on the net already.

Because it just plain doesn't. The bright near field dazzles you and reduces the distance you can see in the far field.

I never stated that a bright pool of light in the near field improves vision in the far field, that would be stupid which is why I did not say it. When you are driving on predominantly country lanes however, with many pot holes at regular intervals, the ability to see 10-15 metres in front of you is important in order to save both tyres and suspension. I don't need to see 1m in front of me but 10-15m IS important.

I never stated that a bright pool of light in the near field improves vision in the far field, that would be stupid which is why I did not say it. When you are driving on predominantly country lanes however, with many pot holes at regular intervals, the ability to see 10-15 metres in front of you is important in order to save both tyres and suspension. I don't need to see 1m in front of me but 10-15m IS important.

I definitely agree with this post - being able to illuminate at long distance as well as near distance is essential when driving round the narrow back lanes of Cumbria which have potholes that you could easily explore with a 6 man caving team!!! (Slightly exaggerated but you get the idea )

I just paid for Halfords to fit the H4 bulbs, saves the hassle of breaking a clip. Which I would proabaly do!

Anyway let us all know if the new bulbs are an improvement over standard?