Evening all.

Now I am fully aware of the legalities of retrofitting HID lights to cars so let's keep the conversation at a sensible level please :0)

Driving home today, my passenger headlight dipped beam blew - although my headlights are perfectly aligned, they are not the best and do not give the best light output. So, having done some searching on here and on Google, I'm tempted to buy some HID headlights. I do unfortunately have reflector headlights and not projectors but I'm very interested in the difference between H7 and H7R HIDs in reflector headlights.

So, down to the request - does anyone have reflector HIDs (H7R) on their Fabia? In previous HID topics, although people have posted pics if their H7 HIDs against a wall, no one has yet managed to post a picture of their H7R car beam pattern and it would be very handy to help me and others decide if HID lights are actually worth it or not. I don't want to blind people coming the other way but I'm not willing to discount them as its easy enough to be blinded by people with badly aligned halogen headlights as much as HIDs.

Cheers in advance.

Chris

Difference with H7R is that they have a shield in base and top of the light so it has less chance of blinding oncoming traffic. beam pattern should be similar if not same I would've thought, as beam pattern is determined mainly by the reflectors.

That did cross my mind but due to effectively reducing upward light output into the reflector, surely there will be "slightly" less wayward beam scatter and therefor - a better beam pattern?

I personally noticed a difference with the H7R, and they are what I have fitted now and cannot recall ever being flash in over 2 months

Edited 16 October, 201213 yr by DanHam

Bump back up again. Can anyone please get a picture of HIDs with H7R bulbs agains at wall please?

Cheers

Chris

Buuuuuump

Here's one of mine (not the best quality)

Had them on the car for over two years and never been flashed for them.

Cheers Armstrong. That was just what I was looking for. I bought a set from HIDs direct this morning (H7R) and I plan to do a bulb comparison in the same spot against normal H7, my H7R and (when I can short term borrow some) H7 hid bulbs.

Should be interesting...for me at least :0)

Thanks again.

Chris

I bought an ebay HID kit with H7s, but, after advice on this forum, never fitted the H7s but bought H7Rs and fitted those. I'm very happy, they cut off nicely and don't dazzle (I checked). However, one thing I found which might have a bearing on your bulb comparison tests. Like all HIDs they flash, dim and then go up to brightness. For the first few days the flash was very bright, the dim part very dim and the final brightness was not impressive. They have slowly changed as they have been used and a month later things have settled down. The flash is less extreme, the dim period very much shorter and the final effect nice to drive with. It could be that this 'running in' period might make it difficult to compare new lamps. HTH

Cheers viewer. Didn't know that. They apparently colour shift 500ish K in the first 10-20 hours of use. Is this what could be happening?

Ok, well I will try the H7R vs current setup then. Hopefully it will be as close to, if not exactly the same beam wise. Might have to try and get a pic at the same time late at night - say 11pm, so that after a months use, it will be as dark as it is now.

Cheers for the heads up though.

Chris

That shift would fit with my unscientific observations. I was disappointed with the light output and colour the first time I used them , but am very happy now. They seem a lot brighter and whiter now, but not blue (they're 5000K on the box). I was going to get the beam checked at the garage, but they point at the road and the bumpers of cars in front just a tiny bit lower than the original halogens and good cut off so have not done it. Best of luck

They shift over time too. One in my Polo has just blown (an expensive Philips thing - 4.3k I think) and that looked like 5-6k towards the end (and seemed to go brown just before failing completely).

Will be very interested to see the H7 vs HID H7/R results though.

Here's one of mine (not the best quality)

Had them on the car for over two years and never been flashed for them.

I fitted some Phlips X-treme Vision H7's from Power Bulbs and I get flashed all the time; well until I hit hi beam

I fitted some Phlips X-treme Vision H7's from Power Bulbs and I get flashed all the time; well until I hit hi beam

Check your beam alignment

In response to your PM Chr15py, here are the pictures you requested:

Please bear in mind that my headlights are dirty, and that the headlight levelling switch is on position three.

If I remember right these lamps are 4300K, which I found a better all weather conditions light than my previous 5000K lamps. (5000K lamps are not fun in fog!)

I know from first hand experience that the H7R lamps are better than there non-reflector counterparts, with regards to scattered light in a standard reflector lens. As you can see from the "over the roof" view there is a bit of beam scatter on the fence. This light spill is also most noticeable on motorway driving, with signs at height on the roadside lighting up.

I do get flashed every now and then on the level three position, even though the beams were aligned only a month ago for the MOT. Mainly this is a result of going uphill or having weight in the back of the combi.

Bottom line...

H7R are a bit of a step in the right direction considering costs if setup correctly.

They will however never be true bi-xenon's, (which indeed are the best for seeing where your going when setup correctly) or have the cost associated with them.

P.S.

Another tip for you, google Osram offroad H7 lamps. They run fine in plastic lenses but aren't strictly "The Law"...