Halogen, Xenons, Bi-xenons?

[HarleQuinn]

Hi all,

 

recently on groups I have seen a large amount of people changing to LED lights. This got me interested in mine but there is differning advice so...

 

What lights/headlights came with as an option on the MK2 VRS? Halogen / Xenon / Bi Xenon?

 

I have a 2010 facelift VRS which has different lights to some. Mine I think are xenons with the self levelling system. It does a little height and width dance before settling. Other people have halogens and are changing them to LED.

 

I assume as I have Xenons then changing mine is pointless and probably expensive? I do have xenons and not bi-xenons?

 

Cheers for all the advice

Edited 8 April, 2019 by HarleQuinn

[Ju1ian1001]

1 hour ago, HarleQuinn said:

Hi all,

 

recently on groups I have seen a large amount of people changing to LED lights. This got me interested in mine but there is differning advice so...

 

What lights/headlights came with as an option on the MK2 VRS? Halogen / Xenon / Bi Xenon?

 

I have a 2010 facelift VRS which has different lights to some. Mine I think are xenons with the self levelling system. It does a little height and width dance before settling. Other people have halogens and are changing them to LED.

 

I assume as I have Xenons then changing mine is pointless and probably expensive? I do have xenons and not bi-xenons?

 

Cheers for all the advice

You have normal Xenons (they are infact a form of H.I.D bulb) they were an optional extra on the VRS but standard fitment on the L & K.

 

It's pointless and an MOT fail to change to LED dip beam bulbs ( though you can change to led side light bulbs) as well as expensive.

 

I can't remember of the top of my head the exact wording, but the fail is on the fact the light source (being the bulb) is not compatible with the light's reflector. 

 

Get a decant brand set of xenon bulbs or just replace with O.E spec as xenons should be changed every 5-10 years as the light given off decrease's over time (halogen and LED don't)

[HarleQuinn]

2 minutes ago, Ju1ian1001 said:

You have normal Xenons (they are infact a form of H.I.D bulb) they were an optional extra on the VRS but standard fitment on the L & K.

 

It's pointless and an MOT fail to change to LED dip beam bulbs ( though you can change to led side light bulbs) as well as expensive.

 

I can't remember of the top of my head the exact wording, but the fail is on the fact the light source (being the bulb) is not compatible with the light's reflector. 

 

Get a decant brand set of xenon bulbs or just replace with O.E spec as xenons should be changed every 5-10 years as the light given off decrease's over time (halogen and LED don't)

 

Thanks for the response

 

So I now know I have Xenons which is good to know. My car is now 9 years old, I am not sure if the bulbs were changed before my ownership. Would you be able to link to the ones I would need please?

[J.R.]

Halogens do decrease and a surprising amount as well considering those on the MK2 are crap to begin with.

[HarleQuinn]

I am happy to change my xenon bulbs now then but could do with recommendations on which. Also any other bulbs that it is advisable to change to be honest

[ScoutCJB]

Go with a Phillips or similar branded Xenon bulb for you factory fit Xenons.  Ive used aftermarket cheap Xenon bulbs before in factory Xenon headlamps and they weren't very good.

[HarleQuinn]

Cheers, is it D2S 85122 Xenon I need?

[Ju1ian1001]

4 hours ago, J.R. said:

Halogens do decrease and a surprising amount as well considering those on the MK2 are crap to begin with.

yeah my old octy's halogen's were rubbish, fitted Osram night breakers in it which slightly improved them, my current L & K's xenons are vastly better but the bulbs are just starting to loose their sharpness so need changing, at £60 upwards per bulb they can wait a bit longer.

[Ju1ian1001]

1 hour ago, HarleQuinn said:

Cheers, is it D2S 85122 Xenon I need?

i think they are DS1's you need, can't remember to be honest.

 

Edit: the correct bulb type you need is D1S.

Edited 8 April, 2019 by Ju1ian1001

[HarleQuinn]

2 minutes ago, Ju1ian1001 said:

i think they are DS1's you need, can't remember to be honest.

 

This is what this site is telling me although I am not sure how accurate it is...

 

I do appreciate all the advice

 

 

 

 

[Ju1ian1001]

2 minutes ago, HarleQuinn said:

 

This is what this site is telling me although I am not sure how accurate it is...

 

I do appreciate all the advice

 

 

 

 

My owners manual says D1S, so that's what i'd go with.

[HarleQuinn]

3 minutes ago, Ju1ian1001 said:

My owners manual says D1S, so that's what i'd go with.

 

Ah yes, mine says DS1...

 

Are these worth getting? Or should I get OEM 4300k or something?

 

 

[langers2k]

Any decent quality xenon will be fine as they all produce basically the same amount of light. As for colour temperature, around 4300k should give you the most useful light.

 

Stock bulbs tend to be Xenarc such as these: https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/osram-xenarc-d1s-xenon-hid-bulb-single

I use these in mine but they've gone up in price: https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/osram-xenarc-night-breaker-laser-d1s-twin

The CBI bulbs are popular for a whiter/bluer look: https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/osram-xenarc-cool-blue-intense-d1s-twin

 

Personally, I'd stick to 4300k-5000k as above that it's more about styling rather than usable light output.

 

There are plenty of fakes so choose a good supplier!

[HarleQuinn]

Thanks for all the helpful replies here!

 

It does seem like the osram night breakers are widely recommended. Quite steep though but you get what you pay for!

[blackspaven]

Yeeeeah, had the car from new ten years now but I think I'll wait until mine stop working properly before I worry about shelling out best part of a ton for a pair of new ones which may or may not be slightly brighter.

[ryan-re]

The Osram Xenarc are terrible. I bought some a while back and changed them very quickly. I use Philips Xtreme Vision Gen2 and they are very good.

The new nightbreaker Laser's are rated to be even better.

 

Colour temp is the light spectrum. 5k is white. As you go above this you go to blue then eventually purple. As you go above it the amount of useable light reduces. As you go below 5k you get yellower light. Halogen is around 2.5-3k. The blue you see on halogen bulbs is there to remove part of the spectrum to give the illusion of white light, infact its just less light and the white part of the spectrum is visible.

 

Proper xenon bulbs should last 10 years or more. My bulbs were 8 or 9 years old when I changed but if i wanted to there was life left in them.

[HarleQuinn]

Cheers for the good advice. Seems like 4300k is a good place to aim for then. I definitely don't want them to have a blue twinge. Want a bright white.

 

The car is 9 years old no. I'm normally pro active with changing things before they actually break.