Hi all. Stupid question time but what is the difference between xenon's and bi xenon's? I thought bi meant they did high beam too? I have a 2011 elegance and in the 2011 brochure it states it has them yet my car only has one dome light each side and what I presume is a normal halogen bulb for high beam. My Vrs had just xenon's, not bi's but seem the same? Am I missing something??

All you ever wanted to know about xenon and more HERE

Edited 25 July, 201411 yr by Too Tall

The Superb MkII has bi-xenon headlights (dipped and main beam) but also has the traditional halogen flash function.

 

Xenon headlights take a few seconds to warm up and achieve full brightness, hence they are not great for the flash function.

 

This is why Skoda still utilise the halogen main beam to perform this function on cars fitted with bi-xenon headlights.

 

So the projector lens is used for both dipped and main beam. The halogens come on with main beam and during the flash function.

Bi xenon uses the same bulbs for both high and low beam by adjusting the position of the shutter in the case of the Superb which is what your car does (the outer ones on your Superb), plus it also has halogen full beam (inner bulbs nearest the grille) as well as the xenon full beam. So low beam is outer xenon only, full beam is outer xenon on full beam shutter position plus the halogens.

I know it makes sense to have the halogen bulb but I really dislike the mix of crisp white xenon with the yellowy halogen in the headlamps.

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Thanks everyone. Just been out for first night drive and got to admit ace lighting system. Must admit would like all the other bulbs to match xenon's colour, ie) led"s, but not sure I can be bothered with adding extra resistors which I fear will be needed as mine is the reputedly uber sensitive 2011 canbus :(

LED replacements for the daylight running lights are easy and probably the most prominent LED upgrade since they're on all the time.

Fitted these to my elegance estate after seeing them at this link:

http://www.hids-dire...ews#ProductTabs

Look great and no bulb out warnings.

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I'd recommend these warm white ones for internal lighting

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130807390431

And these for side/parking, side mirror and luggage light (combi) - a good match for the xenons, with no blue tint:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130976781942

And these for the DRL if you prefer a CREE bulb: http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/382-p21w-5w-cree-smd-canbus-led-bulbs-white/

Edited 26 July, 201411 yr by JakeBlade

I'd recommend these warm white ones for internal lighting

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130807390431

And these for side/parking, side mirror and luggage light (combi) - a good match for the xenons, with no blue tint:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130976781942

And these for the DRL if you prefer a CREE bulb: http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/382-p21w-5w-cree-smd-canbus-led-bulbs-white/

I'd have had the cree DRLs if I'd seen them first. Very tidy looking when off whereas on mine i can see the yellow diodes when the car's parked up and it looks a bit DIY

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I'd have had the cree DRLs if I'd seen them first. Very tidy looking when off whereas on mine i can see the yellow diodes when the car's parked up and it looks a bit DIY

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It was trial and error at first - I tried some mtec p21w incandescent bulbs, but these had blue glass which just made me look like a pretend under-cover policeman. I'm really pleased with the CREE. I also have the mtec bulbs in the fog lights, as these are a good match for the xenons and so blends in well with the xenons when activated as cornering lights - and the blue tint is much less noticeable.

Edited 26 July, 201411 yr by JakeBlade

I'd recommend these warm white ones for internal lighting

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130807390431

 Looks nice.

 

Are all of those bulbs "safe" to use without messing up the bulb-sensors?

I would like to change bulbs, but I don't want unfounded warnings from the car. :-)

Looks nice.

Are all of those bulbs "safe" to use without messing up the bulb-sensors?

I would like to change bulbs, but I don't want unfounded warnings from the car. :-)

No probs on mine. The warm white ones are just a shade whiter than normal incandescent bulbs, and about twice as bright if that helps. The 5730 bulbs are great for external bulb replacements as they are a good match for the xenons. They don't quite work in the under-door illumination, as they are just too white and bright through the red lens.

It was trial and error at first - I tried some mtec p21w incandescent bulbs, but these had blue glass which just made me look like a pretend under-cover policeman. I'm really pleased with the CREE. I also have the mtec bulbs in the fog lights, as these are a good match for the xenons and so blends in well with the xenons when activated as cornering lights - and the blue tint is much less noticeable.

 

Which mtec bulbs do you have in the foglights Jake? Only ones i can see on HIDS Direct that they do in H8 are the Diamond White ones.... Are these the ones you have?

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Dave.

Which mtec bulbs do you have in the foglights Jake? Only ones i can see on HIDS Direct that they do in H8 are the Diamond White ones.... Are these the ones you have?

Cheers

Dave.

I got the MTEC Super White H8 bulbs Dave:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271133011931

http://www.hids-direct.co.uk/mtec-12v-55w-super-white-hid-class-upgrade-bulbs-h1-h3-h4-h7-h8-h9-h10-h11-h13-9004-9005-9006/

Edited 26 July, 201411 yr by JakeBlade

Cheers Jake think i'll get some to replace the yellowy looking fogs. Any issues with clouding the plastic foglight lenses?

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Dave.

Cheers Jake think i'll get some to replace the yellowy looking fogs. Any issues with clouding the plastic foglight lenses?

Cheers

Dave.

None whatsoever mate. They're about same colour temp as osram's night breaker plus, at 4,350K. I know the cornering fogs are a marmite issue on this forum, but where I live I really value them - and the MTECs fill in that low-down dark spot seamlessly with the clever swivel xenon lighting.

Will get them ordered via the ebay store seeing as it saves a quid or two on postage.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Dave.

All you ever wanted to know about xenon and more HERE

Very clever with the Google stuff. I'm impressed!! 

Just to say great posts. Think I'm now gonna have to get some of those Cree bulbs, look ace Thanks for input

This is what the fog/DRL cluster looks like on mine with no lights on.

Headlight experts, I am happy to have stumbled onto this thread which provides some insights into bi-xenon headlights. I have a 2015 diesel skoda superb elegance mk2 170 estate and I was struggling to get to grips with what types of bulbs I have. My low beams were appearing to not project enough lights and I wanted to replace them. After entering my registration number on a parts website, it recommended H7 halogen bulbs and I bought two good quality long lasting osram bulbs and during the annual car service, I gave the garage the bulbs to replace what I thought were my low beam bulbs and they replaced them and gave me back the old bulbs which were also H7 halogen (they did not specify which bulb - low or high - that they replaced). I asked them how they replaced it given there was no rubber cap for access to the bulb (see picture below) but they just said it was a bit fiddly...I did not think any better and went home as all lights were working fine. However, I did not feel the low beam lights were any different from before, so I started searching and came to understand (helped by other skoda drivers on this forum) that I might have xenon or bi-xenon lights. Unfortunately, I was not sure which. To put my mind at ease, I went to a skoda dealer parts branch yesterday and I believe I spoke to someone who might not necessarily have been a technician. I initially gave them my registration number and after checking, they told me that I have halogen bulbs. I then asked him but why are there what seems like ballasts behind these lamps (please see pics attached). I asked him to come take a look under my the hood but he did not seem to want to. He went back to his office and came back saying I have halogen H7 for my high beam and xenon for my low beam. I thought I had single beam xenon bulbs but on trying to find out what type of xenon bulbs to look for, I ended up more confused as to whether I have xenon or bi-xenon bulbs. On reading the above thread, I now understand that it is likely that I have bi-xenon bulbs (i.e. when I put on my high beams, the high beam component of the bi-xenon bulb activate and the halogen bulb also lights  up - please correct me if wrong?). I would have liked to check whether I have xenon or bi-xenon bulbs by removing the bulb and checking its product number and find out on the web but unfortunately, I am not sure how I would access the bulb compartment because of the metal plate fitting (I believe these are 35w ballasts - I used the product number on the metal plate to check this) at the back of the lamp as in the attached picture. I do not have a workshop manual so was not sure how I would access the bulb compartment - if anyone has any idea how to do this, please advise. Do I remove the screws on the ballast fitting or do I remove the screws on the black plastic casing that you can see on the picture to access the bulb compartment. I will do this with the engine switched off of course, but is there any risk of voltage shock from doing this myself or should I go to a garage? The skoda shop person was quoting £50 just to check what type of bulb I have and diagnose the dim light problem and mentioned something like £240 for two single xenon bulb + labour costs on top. This sounds exhorbitant for a bulb change (if the dim light problem is only down to bulb replacement). The car is almost 10 years old which is about the life span of xenon bulbs so I felt new bulbs are in order. I will change the tail lights and indicator bulbs as well myself. Any advice here will be much appreciated. I have also posted a pic of what my headlamps look like. Thank you in advance.

 

 

A facelift elegance like this will have D3S xenon and yes, new ones make a big difference as they fade with age, mine on 63 plate car were changed at 8 years and difference was literally like night and day.  Unfortunately it's a bumper off job to get access to take headlamp out to get to all the screws you need to undo.  Old pre facelift cars used D1S xenon and could be changed in situ via little access hatch

Thank you @DrCorbyLee, this is very helpful indeed. It has been (and still is) a struggle to find out that information, so I am very glad to hear from someone who owns/owned a similar vehicle and went through that process. If you do have a link to where I can find very detailed specs about this facelift model, would be very grateful if you could share this. With the bulbs being that old, it is no wonder they are losing their brightness and it makes sense to get new D3S bulbs and see if I can replace them myself. If not a trip to a garage is warranted. 

 

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge on this - much appreciated.

 

@DrCorbyLee - When I search for suitable headlight bulbs by putting in my registration number on car parts websites, they are only coming up with Halogen and D1S bulbs (no D3S bulbs). I am wondering now if my skoda superb model was the pre-facelift, although my registration number was after yours which you mention is the facelift version. Somewhat still confused I have to admit...

Looking at the picture of your headlights it's definitely the facelift car.