Hello!

I've had my Fabia just under three months now, and as I do many miles at night on unlit roads (Snake Pass A57, M1, M60) I've discovered that the standard dipped beam headlights are (for want of a better way of putting it) rubbish. Main beam is fine, but the dipped headlights seem to struggle to even illuminate road markings and cats eyes satisfactorily, so I end up resorting to putting my front fogs on.

Is there anything to be gained from so-called uprated headlight bulbs? I've seen a few mentioned searching the forum (Osram Nightbreaker etc)? If so, what bulbs would you recommend for the dipped (H7) bulbs?

I'm not really into modding my car, other than making thing safer/more comfortable/smoother running/more reliable, so I think sticking to changing bulbs is the way to go for me, rather than the whole headlamp assembly.

Any help/suggestions you can give will be much appreciated!

All the best

Gary

Philips X-Treme or Osram Nightbreakers both give much better light output than standard bulbs

Also, sounds daft, but how clean are your headlights?

Philips X-Treme or Osram Nightbreakers both give much better light output than standard bulbs

Also, sounds daft, but how clean are your headlights?

OK, Thanks. The Osram ones are priced better, so I'll probably invest in some of those, unless there's a big difference between te two to justify the price difference?

I've gotten into the habit of giving the headlights a wipe with screenwash and a microfibre cloth every couple of days now to see if it helps, but it doesn't.

My main issue is when I have to switch from main beam to dipped due to oncoming traffic. So many cars seem to have dipped headlights as bright as arc lamps (and blue in colour, which seem so be the trend), which means the weedy dipped beam headlights on my car are completely overpowered and I just have to slow to a crawl to be able to see enough of the road (much to the annoyance of folks behind me on roads like the Snake.)

Is the plastic of the headlights actually 100% clear?

Over time they get small scratches, and start to yellow, reducing light output.

There's the odd scratch, but no more than I have on any of my camera lenses they don't appear to have yellowed either.

I just nipped out to have another look, and the lenses on my lights actually look nearly new, so I doubt it's that.

I've reserved some Nightbreakers at eurocarparts, so I'll get them fitted and see if they're any better next time I tackle an unlit road.

Thanks for your help softscoop! :sun:

If you buy Nightbreakers make sure they are the newer Nighbreaker Plus and not the old Nightbreakers, as they had a habit of doing exactly that (breaking at night)! In saying that I had the old ones for 3 of 4 year for main beam (H3) and are still going strong. I have Philips dipped beams.

I have Osram and I can't fault them.

Massive difference to the ones I took out.

I've always gone for nightbreakers and been impressed. The nightbreaker + are even better and seemed to last. I do a lot of driving at night and definitely recommend them

Thanks all.

The one's I've reserved are Nightbreaker Plus. Seems the ones for the main beam are harder to get old of (ECP don't seem to stock them in H3) as I thought I may as well change those while I'm in there. To be fair though, the stock main beam bulbs are fine, and if the dipped ones are brighter, I should have less trouble with my eyes adjusting to different brightness levels with oncoming traffic (at least that's how it may work in my head!).

I have used Philips X-treme Vision Plus before, light output is great, longevity isn't, I'd be inclined to go with night breakers now as even if the lifespan is lower they're a lot cheaper.

Incidentally with age your eyes reaction to changes in light is slower, you may find wearing yellow glasses to drive helps the situation, personally I'm still on the factory bulbs from 13 years ago and have no complaints on unlit rural roads but I'm used to riding on a bike with a less than wonderful headlight so anything is an improvement!

I think much of my problem is with badly modded cars blasting over the snake at night (there seem to be a lot of them driving in convoy around the times I tend to head over myself) as with googling, the headlights I'm seeing look to be a lot like HiDs... (which would explain why I thought they were arc lights, as HiDs are a type of arc light it seems) The pic below looks very similar in appearance in terms of beam spread and colour (and the glare from them).

I've had to use the anti-dazzle in my rear-view mirror a few times on the M1 at night, which I thought was down to folks not using dipped beams, again I think fancy headlight conversions may be the culprit.

At least if my lights are brighter, I stand a better chance of being able to see stuff myself. I'd heard about yellow glasses helping, so I may see about getting a pair next time I'm headed to the opticians. I thought the anti-reflective coatings on my glasses would help with this, but it seems not.

It's funny that I should be having this issue, as my work involves working in dark rooms often facing into bright lights