Got the standard headlights on my vRS but was wondering if there are any decent brighter/whiter bulbs available (I don't want to get a HID kit or whatever). Read about Osrams - any good?

Cheers

Dave

Got night breaker plus in just now. Half price on amazon before Christmas. Have tried Philips xtreme and blue vision. Xtreme ok but don't last very long, blue vision last slightly longer but not very blue or bright. Bosch pure light supposed to be good. Got a set of them too but not tried them yet.

Ring 120%+, philips xtreme vision. Used both and both are very good.

They wont last aslong as your £1.99 bulbs from helfrauds but they will out perform them by a mile

I have osram night breaker plus in mine, cheap ebay special, seem decent so far.

Just bought 2 Osram night breaker plus to put in my Fabia. I've just installed one so far so I can compare a standard bulb to the night breaker.

To be honest I cant see any difference at all between the two bulbs. Granted, I have put the night breaker in the nearside light, which has a bigger beam spread than the offside light, but even so I'd expect to notice some difference.

I would say they are a big con, but when you order them on online they are not much more expensive than standard bulbs.

Cool - I'll look at getting some sorted. Mine are rubbish so a mouse holding a candle would be an improvement!

Just bought 2 Osram night breaker plus to put in my Fabia. I've just installed one so far so I can compare a standard bulb to the night breaker.

To be honest I cant see any difference at all between the two bulbs. Granted, I have put the night breaker in the nearside light, which has a bigger beam spread than the offside light, but even so I'd expect to notice some difference.

I would say they are a big con, but when you order them on online they are not much more expensive than standard bulbs.

depends which ones you ended up with.

I know when the new and much improved nightbreaker bulbs came out a lot of places were selling off old stock but not saying they were an old model.

The old nightbreaker bulbs were awful and not any better than your cheapo "normal" bulbs. The new nightbreaker plus is a definite improvement on the old bulb but imo still not a patch on the Ring 120%+ or the Philips Xtreme vision

Edited 31 January, 201313 yr by ryan-re

Another vote for Ring 120% here. Great bulbs with a nice white light

ive got the osram nightbreaker plus and im very impressed with them, im going to put a set in the main beam next!

Just been out driving tonight, and I pulled up in front of a wall and carefully looked at the night breaker plus and the standard bulbs brightness.

I can now notice a very slight difference between the two, the night breaker plus being slightly brighter. Maybe these bulbs need a few hours use to get to max output as they looked the same brightness last night. (I only fitted the night breaker yesterday)

So I take back my earlier comments to a degree.....still not sure they are really worth it....i'd be interested to see what the Philips xtreme and Ring +120% are like.

One thing I have found out......high performance halogen bulbs do not even come close (not even slightly) to being anywhere near as good as the factory Xenons on my Octavia.

Gone for night breakers in both dipped and main, they are better from what I can tell. Better spread and slightly brighter. They don't last long though so expect to be swapping them every year or so.

Mains have made the most differnce since what was in there before seemed like torch bulbs lol

I had Osram Nightbreakers in my old Vectra (the original main beam was great, the dipped was atrocious) and I was quite impressed with them. Obviously they are not going to turn night into day so don't expect miracles, but I found a noticeable and useful increase in light. They were fitted for a couple of years and they never gave me any trouble. In fact, I was that happy that I put the original bulbs back in when I swapped it. Just need to put them in the Octy now.

Anyone tried PIAA bulbs? There on the pricey side, best part of £60 for a set of H7's.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PIAA-XTREME-WHITE-H7-BULBS-AUDI-A4-TDi-AVANT-/310506084404?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item484b9ad834&_uhb=1

IMHO:

For life that's as long as standard buls then go 30% brighter as they have almost no effect on bulb life.

For a good bulb life (>1 year) and a good amount brigher then go +50%. I like the osram silverlight and also the bosch purelight bulbs.

For more light, but lower life then the +80% are fine. I found these didn't last a whole year, so if you do drive a lot don't bother IMHO.

They do give loads of light, but there is that trade off.

I have not tried the 120%, btu I'd guess it's a similar story.

Anyone tried PIAA bulbs? There on the pricey side, best part of £60 for a set of H7's.

http://www.ebay.co.u...4b9ad834&_uhb=1

Looking at those bulbs there is a lot of blue. This means white but a reduction in light output

Looking at those bulbs there is a lot of blue. This means white but a reduction in light output

Do you think so? They are rated at 4000k so pretty much oem xenon colour, 4300k, which is the closest to daylight you can get from bulbs. That saying that their claim of 4000k is true of course.

4000k is impossible from a halogen bulb.

To get the white they colour the bulb blue, this is how all halogen bulbs get a "white" tint to them.

If you colour the bulb it blocks part of the light spectrum meaning you loose light output.

Philips make a bulb called "diamond white", they are very pricey and said to be "off road use only". The reason is they simply dont work as headlights because there is so much blue on the bulb

Thanks for all the info. Knew it wasn't straightforward! Will have a look a prices...