Hi,

 

My Scouts HIDs are now getting on for 12 years old (factory fitted) and I was thinking they cannot last much longer, though now I don't do much night driving.

 

Without paying silly money, which are the best value/effective HIDs available ? When one fails, I will replace both, easy to get headlight units out and swap over. Would the projector lenses need a clean ? Advice would be appreciated.

 

Cheers, Lloyd

When you say "HIDs" do you mean the factory fitted xenon headlights?

 

The Osram Nightbreaker Laser D1S are supposed to be pretty good but fairly pricey at around £60 per bulb. In comparison I think the OEM bulbs are double that!

An original set of factory fitted xenon bulbs can easily outlive the car, especially if you don't do much night driving.

 

If they're still white / blue i.e. not yellow / purple, then there is no need to replace them.

 

£120+ is a lot to spend on a 12 year old car for a very small improvement in light output.

Hi,

 

Thanks for the reply - the light is still white/blue, possibly not quite as bright but that may be my eyesight !  Nice to know that that the (High Intensity Discharge, the 35W high voltage lamps, or xenon) bulbs last so long. Yes, I don't do much night driving now, my night vision is nowhere as good as it was. 

I can now consider how long the OEM exhaust will last - I believe a replacement is (again) silly money, but will go stainless when it fails. There is at least one local firm which "makes to measure". Have also some noises, which maybe the DMF on its way out (only 85k miles). I am well old enough to remember when cars were much simpler and I could fix most problems (except gear boxes !) myself.

 

Cheers,

Lloyd

My Scout is coming up to 12 years (08 plate) and 185k miles and still on original HID bulbs. Also all original indicators, fogs, breaks etc.  Only ever changed 501's and a reverse bulb.

Also original exhaust, DMF, clutch, turbo, camshaft etc. These cars are bullet proof when looked after.

It's also possible the reflectors inside the headlight projectors are beginning to age. If they are discoloured or flaking, it'll have a big difference on the light output.

 

Not sure if it's possible to check their condition easily though 🙄

Actually xenon bulbs can and do degrade their light output quite noticeably over time. You would be surprised how much of a difference new bulbs will make.

The combination of old bulbs, tarnished reflectors and also yellowed and micro scratched lenses can make a huge difference to light output.

 

Being on a shoestring when i moved to France I modified the headlights in my MK1 Octavia by rotating the bulbs, it was a compromise and worked well for a decade, these days I have night vision problems and need every little assistance, having a compromised kick up to the kerb side was not ideal so I changed to a new set of LHD headlights.

 

The beam patter was slightly better but the illumination was like night and day compared to the old lights so much so that I did a back to back test, Google claims that new halogen bulbs give out more light, new bulbs in old headlights made no discernible difference, the reflectors were visibly much brighter on the new lights but you would never have known by looking that the old ones were lacking, it was the lenses that made the biggest difference yet the old ones did not look scratched nor yellowed, just the same as any other newish car, the new ones were however crystal clear.

 

Collectively the reduction in light output was significant.

I've just cleaned the inside of the lenses on mine, (the 'eye' piece from inside the headlight assembly), after reading someone else's mention of there being a build up of dust (or muck) on theirs.

Mine is 14 years old....... there was a considerable amount of muck on the lens....... I have taken a photo.......... with a little of the muck removed and then a torch shone through it. I will post if i get chance, but definitely worth taking headlights out and cleaning inside the lenses IMO.