Hi to All

Have just upgraded the bulbs in the Fabia vRS with Osram Silverstars (H7) for the dipped beam and Halfords 100w rally bulbs (H3) for the main beam. Below are some photographs for before and after comparison.

Edit: The Halfords rally bulbs were £6.99 each and are UV filtered for use with platic headlight lenses. The Silverstars came form Crazy-Skins on Ebay. Good communications, packaging and quick despatch for £19.50 all in.

For the dipped beam, the increase in brightness, closer to white colour and improved reach are clearly visible in the photographs. For the main beam, again, improvements in brightness and reach.

What the photographs dont show is the improved pattern of the Silverstars, where the beam is less dispersed and is focussed where you need it. Net result is less dazzle for drivers I am following and oncoming motorists, but better visibility down country lanes. Most noticable is the improvement in visibility in the face of oncoming traffic down unlit country lanes. The photos also fail to convey the gain in spread for the main beam which is significantly brighter off axis giving a much larger "field of view"

The photos where taken on a stretch of quiet local road in darkness. The car was parked in the same place as near as I could judge it, with the same fuel load. Two sets of tests. One set on a right hand curve withbuildings ahead and one on a straight where the car points ever so slightly into a gentle dip.

So that the brightness comparisons are valid, all photos were taken at 28mm 1/15 @f2.8 ISO 1600 with a 5500K white balance (hence, the images do not show the light colour off too well). No post processing trickery, just out of the camera and resize for posting. If anyone wants to see a WB corrected image to give a better idea of the Silverstars light colour, let me know and I will do one and post.

Image is aroud 660kb.

http://www.cbuckle.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/Headlight%20comparison.jpg

Edit: Colour of the bulbs is slightly whiter than originals. Taking a grey card colour temperature of the Osrams puts them at around 3500 Kelvin. The image below shows images from both original and Osram Silverstars corrected to 3500 Kelvin and these give a pretty good rendition of the true colours of the lamps as seen by eye.

http://www.cbuckle.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/Headlight%20colour.jpg

Chris

Good work Chris. This reminds me I must get some new bulbs! I'm missing out by the looks of things.

Original post updated with colour temperature corrected photos for comparison. Could not leave the job half done. The Osrams are money well spent:)

Chris

Hi chris,

Is there any reason why these bulbs would performe the same on my Octy. i.e same fittings etc?

Hi chris' date='

Is there any reason why these bulbs would performe the same on my Octy. i.e same fittings etc?[/quote']

Hi Jonathan

I dont know for sure which fitting the Octavia is, (it MAY be H4 for both dipped and main). The Osrams are available in H1 H4 and H7, so you should be able to get set up.

I think part of the advantage of the uprated wattage bulbs in the H3 on the Fabia is the larger / longer filament which helps throw a wider pattern.

As for the effectiveness of the Silverstars, I read somewhere that they use a smaller filament to give a better defined pattern. Well the pattern is certainly better defined, and the difference is not subtle, but the filament looked the same size as the standard bulbs ones. Maybe it is down to filament positioning in the envelope. Whatever, it certainly works.

I would give them a go on dipped beams at less than

Knew you wouldn't regret it, Chris

Chris

I have xenons, but still want to uprate the H7 bulbs to Silverstars.

I just feel a little put off with all the talk of them being a bitch to change, and I sure as hell am not paying a dealer to change bulbs that aren't broken!

Might just buy a pair and be done with it.

EDIT: Just ordered a pair of H7 Silverstars, 2 pairs of silver vision bulbs, and a pair of side light bulbs. Just under £60 from Powerbulbs posted. Shame the free sidelight bulbs offer has finished.

Not wanting to cover old ground but....... have you upgraded the wiring for the 100W bulbs ?

Great photos by the way!

Haven't got detailed photos / measurements etc. but having swapped to the 50%+osrams in the Fabia and then the Octy when i changed cars, there is greater noticable difference in the Fabia than the Octy. Still well worth doing for the Octavia though.

Point to note, if you are also planning to swap to the "all weather" bulbs in the fog lights, go ahead if you have a Fabia, don't bother if you have an Octavia. As the bulbs are next to each other in the latter, the extra brightness from the headlamps seems to overwhelm the "yellowness" of the fogs. They were much more effective in the lower mounted Fabia fogs.

hth

ttfn Karl

Anyone know if uprating the H7 makes a noticeable improvement for xenon equipped cars?

Bloody hope they do!

If you are looking to upgrade the bulbs in the Octy DO NOT UPGRADE THE PROJECTOR LAMP ( driving light ) bulbs to 100W as there is a black rubber seal to the housing and this Melts when the uprated bulbs are used.....I had this happen on my Octy and the complete headlight unit had to be replaced..... an expensive mistake to make!!!!!!

If you are looking to upgrade the bulbs in the Octy DO NOT UPGRADE THE PROJECTOR LAMP ( driving light ) bulbs to 100W as there is a black rubber seal to the housing and this Melts when the uprated bulbs are used.....I had this happen on my Octy and the complete headlight unit had to be replaced..... an expensive mistake to make!!!!!!

Try using the Philips vision plus much better than OSRAM, I have them in the motorbike and went from a dim candle light to acceptable, in the car these will really make a difference plus if you order them from http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/ you get a free set of bluevision sidelights. the powerbulbs own are not brilliant but you do get buy one get one free.

Not wanting to cover old ground but....... have you upgraded the wiring for the 100W bulbs ?

Great photos by the way!

I seem to remember from previous discussions and from my own experience - that the wiring loom is more than capable with this kind of load. I have been using the Phillips 100w for the last 10k of driving - absolutely no problems in my Furby.

The only issue I am aware of is 100w are illegal! I personally think they are a great driving aid and the offset is well worth the illegality if you don't go blinding people!!

P.S I use Phillips GT150s - they are a great bulb (slightly cooler colour temp) - the best Phillips do and a match for Silverstars.

I have xenons, but still want to uprate the H7 bulbs to Silverstars.

I just feel a little put off with all the talk of them being a bitch to change, and I sure as hell am not paying a dealer to change bulbs that aren't broken!

Might just buy a pair and be done with it.

EDIT: Just ordered a pair of H7 Silverstars, 2 pairs of silver vision bulbs, and a pair of side light bulbs. Just under

Try using the Philips vision plus much better than OSRAM

AutoExpress seem to rate them equally in their reviews

Chris

Thanks for the excellent writeup, Chris

Not wanting to cover old ground but....... have you upgraded the wiring for the 100W bulbs ?

Great photos by the way!

Hi

Several people on here are running 100w bulbs without problems, so I thought, on balance, that it would be OK. I will need to get to the relays and stick a small capacitor across them at some time (reduces the voltage difference on contact break, and thus reduces any arcing, the main cause of relay failure) if I can find them.

The other consideration is that I do a fair bit of dark country lane driving and know from experience just how much of an upgrade the 100w bulbs are. The spread of light is greater as well as the brightness. The difference is far greater than the Osrams have made to the mains.

So on balance, it would appear the 100w is safe enough to use and the incentive is the improved output.

Chris

whilst were on the subject has ne1 used the osram's cool blue on either a fabia or a octy???or are they a defo no go?? looking at replacing the dipped lso i believe on a h7 plug

whilst were on the subject has ne1 used the osram's cool blue on either a fabia or a octy???or are they a defo no go?? looking at replacing the dipped lso i believe on a h7 plug

Hi

I have seen plenty of cars with blue filtered lights about on the road (this is Essex where mods that make a car less good are the norm). Without exception, the ones which are obviously shining through a blue glass envelope look nice, but they are not much use for seeing where you are going. As you pass them / or they go past, the area in front of the car is dingy blue and beam reach is in single figures of meters. Reducing the spectrum of light to just those near the blue end reduces visible contrast. Also, the bulb envelope being coloured, must filter some light out, reducing efficiency. The ultimate expression of this is the 9000K HID units that are available. Look seriously blue, but b*gger all use down a country lane at night.

Some of the stuff I see on cars round here ought to be illegal, it compromises visibility so much.

Chris

Try using the Philips vision plus much better than OSRAM.

:confused: I don't agree. I used Philips Vision Plus in my previous car and went for the Osram Silverstars this time for the Fabia. They're as good as each other other - both improve the range and coverage vs standard bulbs.

Back to the original topic - Chris, thanks for the excellent information in this thread. You've got me looking at upgrading the H3's now

Um, I may be being pretty dumb, but how do I know what the lamps curently in my Octy are?

They say Philips, but don't say which type of Philips bulb they are... What am I looking for?

Um' date=' I may be being pretty dumb, but how do I know what the lamps curently in my Octy are?

They say Philips, but don't say which type of Philips bulb they are... What am I looking for?[/quote']

Have a look at http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/. There's a car selector which lists the bulb types.

On the question of 'is it worth uprating the high beam on Fab with Xenons' the answer is a definite YES as the light output is VASTLY improved. I didnt go for illegal bulbs, just used the Osram H7s and they're excellent.

Have a look at http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/[/url']. There's a car selector which lists the bulb types.

Sorry, I know they are H4s, what I meant was how can I tell what sort of Philips H4 lamps they are by looking at them? i.e. Philips Vision Plus, Philips Premium blah.

Or by just saying Philips H4 60/55W are they just "standard" Philips lamps?

On the subject, people talk about the worries of 100w main beams overloading the wiring - would 80w ones still carry that risk? Maybe a halfway house?