Hi I've got a 2005 1.2 Fabia and I hate the yellow headlights look on the cars so I bought what I thought were clear lights or blue but they're not, I bought the Osram night breakers and they're just as yellow maybe slightly brighter, so I realized I bought the wrong ones, I want to buy more but for an extra £20 and I thought well hat if its the headlight casing itself, has anyone had any success with fitting new bulbs that give the lights a slightly more blue look? I found the Osram Cool Blue Intense bulbs but I'm not sure if they will actually make it more blue, thanks.

I found that replacing my headlight units helped stave off some of the yellow-ness as I was in the same boat as you after replacing mine for Philips +130% bulbs.

 

The range was better but still as yellow. If your existing units are needing polished then you can get kits online for them instead of replacements.

 

Also, turn the brightness of your dash down to help you see outside without it glaring back on you. Particularly if you wear glasses like me.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Edited 16 January, 20224 yr by AnnoyingPentium

Okay thanks yea I did think it could possibly have been the light units themselves, thanks.

 

These are the units you'll need if they're non-xenon units.

 

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/aftermarket-headlamp-471780091

 

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/aftermarket-headlamp-471780101

Blue light actually reduces the effectiveness of your night vision and means that the lights then need to be brighter than they would be if they were yellow, it's why they used yellow headlights in Europe for so many years.

21 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

Blue light actually reduces the effectiveness of your night vision and means that the lights then need to be brighter than they would be if they were yellow, it's why they used yellow headlights in Europe for so many years.

 

I remember reading a thread about said topic that if memory serves, you posted in as well. I'll see if I can find the thread as it's relevant to this, I reckon.

 

It's also the reason I took my Alpine stereo out because the blue light was affecting my vision - so opted for an orange back-lit stereo for now.

Just now, AnnoyingPentium said:

 

I remember reading a thread about said topic that if memory serves, you posted in as well. I'll see if I can find the thread as it's relevant to this, I reckon.

 

It's also the reason I took my Alpine stereo out because the blue light was affecting my vision - so opted for an orange back-lit stereo for now.

 

It's not rocket science, it's the reason your smartphone screen changes colour at night so it reduces the daylight stimulation of your vision system and helps you get to sleep easier.

8 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

 

It's not rocket science, it's the reason your smartphone screen changes colour at night so it reduces the daylight stimulation of your vision system and helps you get to sleep easier.

 

Indeed. I have my laptop set for that too. Can't beat a book before falling asleep though.

2 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

These are the units you'll need if they're non-xenon units.

 

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/aftermarket-headlamp-471780091

 

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/aftermarket-headlamp-471780101

Okay thanks yea, I think I will have to settle with my yellow headlights for the moment before spending that much lol

Just now, Kett said:

Okay thanks yea, I think I will have to settle with my yellow headlights for the moment before spending that much lol

 

Definitely, you also need to ask yourself how long you plan on keeping the car as well. I had received mine as a birthday present and they were purchased during a sale with massive reductions at the time.

Yea I actaully plan to sell it in may when I finish uni and get a mk4 golf gti, I looked at VRS Fabia but theyre still quite expensive, though the engines in them are bulletproof I suppose

 

34 minutes ago, Kett said:

Yea I actaully plan to sell it in may when I finish uni and get a mk4 golf gti

 

I've still got another 3 1/2 years of my English Literature course yet. So, as long as my Fabia limps along for that time then I'll be pleased. I may choose to swap it at some point before then for another Fabia (since I quite like them) depending on how things go for me and the current car, of course.

 

36 minutes ago, Kett said:

I looked at VRS Fabia but theyre still quite expensive, though the engines in them are bulletproof I suppose

 

The vRS is overvalued by most sellers IMO. For less money and more gadgets, a Fabia Elegance is a good choice IMO, especially with the PD100. Whatever you buy, make sure it's been looked after right, correct oil spec etc. Others may disagree with my opinion on the vRS vs Elegance debate, however.

Interesting article here about the French & yellow headlights

 

https://www.connexionfrance.com/Mag/French-Facts/Military-thinking-behind-yellow-headlights

6 minutes ago, delroy said:

Interesting article here about the French & yellow headlights

 

https://www.connexionfrance.com/Mag/French-Facts/Military-thinking-behind-yellow-headlights

 

It is interesting, however, the longer the wavelength the less the effect on night vision, red lighting has almost no effect at all.

10 minutes ago, delroy said:

Interesting article here about the French & yellow headlights

 

https://www.connexionfrance.com/Mag/French-Facts/Military-thinking-behind-yellow-headlights

tl;dr - They don't know the reason, but it doesn't work with quartz-iodine, plasma discharge or LED lights anyway.

Sodium street lighting was common not so long ago. Being monochromatic, it can be shown to have many visual benefits for motorists. Diffraction in rain, mist or fog is not a problem in monochromatic light. Also monochromatic illumination increases perceived contrast apparently.

 

The yellow part of the spectrum is also where the eye is the most sensitive.

 

Yes, yellow sharpens contrast which is why marksmen use yellow lenses in their glasses.

But the OP isn't saying he's bothered about being able to see where he's going; he needs the car to look cool and modern to others, or himself if he walks around it with the lights on.

Total mystery to me, but it seems to be a very common affliction.

 

To answer Ketts question.

 

I'd have a look on powerbulbs.com website.

 

They list loads of bulbs often with the colour temperature listed.

 

You can filter by bulb fitting & best performance or styling. The styling bulbs are generally the more blue or less yellow but can sacrifice overall performance.

 

Worth having a browse

 

This is a quote from the website:

Maximum Performance

Halogen upgrade products such as OSRAM Night Breaker Unlimited and Philips X-Treme Vision +130 will offer you light increases of up to 130% along with a much greater projection on the road. You'll be able to spot potential hazards on the road ahead more quickly and easily.

Shop Maximum Performance bulbs here.
 

Styling

Road legal styling bulbs OSRAM Cool Blue Intense will offer you higher colour temperatures to give a whiter light on the road. If you're after a very close colour match to factory-fitted Xenon HID bulbs, Philips Diamond Vision is the perfect choice for you. Please note that due to the colour temperature of 5000K, Philips Diamond Vision is not road legal.

 

Could be @Ketts headlamp glass is the problem why they look yellow.

 

 

I thought I'd add my tenpenneth as I have just fitted and immediately removed a set of xenon bulbs to my Yeti.

 

Sick of being blinded on my way to work in the mornings I fancied a set of super white bulbs so I could 'give some back' on full beam 

 

This was last week when the roads by me were really icy and not treated as I'm quite rural, the roads are quite safe as the icy bits can easily be seen.

 

Once the xenon bulbs were fitted I was quite surprised to see there was no ice on the road next morning despite having scraped the windscreen, so speeds went up a bit. That's when I noticed my first issue in that that the xenon bulbs caused a lot of reflection from leaves, grass verges and the road surface itself that all looked very similar.  Approaching familiar bends at speed I realised that if I didn't actually KNOW the road I would have ended up in the hedge as there was no definition.

 

Then I got a glimpse of the road surface from someone else's yellow headlamps and realised the road actually were VERY icy and I couldn't see it due to the white light from the xenons! ( Thank you Cross Climates)

 

I took the bulbs out, and have gone back to my old 'yellow' bulbs, perhaps the KIngs Clothes are not so great after all? 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 19 January, 20224 yr by b1ackb1rd
duplicated post

23 minutes ago, xman said:

Could be @Ketts headlamp glass is the problem why they look yellow.

 

I had the same issue. I replaced my units for genuine OEM-spec replacements from some EuroCarParts subsidiary of some sort.

Edited 19 January, 20224 yr by AnnoyingPentium

The other thing you can do to improve the light output is to fit relays' with a decent sized wire on the supply & ground as the wiring is marginal to supply the required current so you  end up with less than optimum voltage at the bulbs

On 16/01/2022 at 17:11, AnnoyingPentium said:

It's also the reason I took my Alpine stereo out because the blue light was affecting my vision - so opted for an orange back-lit stereo for now.

I've driven a few caddys and golfs that had the blue gauge lights VW used to use. Headache inducing.

Green or orange are the best for gauges/ stuff in the car.