During one of my youtube scans i came across someone repairing a damaged VRS . Following a new gearbox and some other engine parts they moved onto the broken headlight which wasn't working properly. They decided to buy a replacement unit and they discovered the xenon bulbs to be different brightness, which i didn't know was a thing and thought xenons were xenons 😂

 

So my 1st question is does anyone know what rating the standard xenon bulbs are on a 2016 model (mine is a SE Sport)? 4200k or 4800k?

2nd question has anyone upgraded the xenon bulbs at all to a 5800k or 6000k, and if so which ones?

 

The numbers you quote are the temperature rather than brightness. It defines how yellow or blue the bulb is I think. Some Googling will throw up more detail

From memory, standard HID are 35W, 5,500 lumens and a colour temperature of 4,300k.

 

Use the follow website for so rough images of the different colour temperatures and how they appear.

 

The lumens of most 35W HID are around the same value, though some might have better throw on the road due to design.

 

https://www.xenonpro.com/hid-xenon-temperatures-color-chart-ultimate-headlight-guide

10 hours ago, varooom said:

From memory, standard HID are 35W, 5,500 lumens and a colour temperature of 4,300k.

 

Use the follow website for so rough images of the different colour temperatures and how they appear.

 

The lumens of most 35W HID are around the same value, though some might have better throw on the road due to design.

 

https://www.xenonpro.com/hid-xenon-temperatures-color-chart-ultimate-headlight-guide

Thanks for this. Looking at the link I think I want some closer to 6000k but not sure I can justify over £150 for a set of bulbs 😂

14 minutes ago, thompson4984 said:

Thanks for this. Looking at the link I think I want some closer to 6000k but not sure I can justify over £150 for a set of bulbs 😂

I wouldn't recommend that site either, if that's where you looked.

 

It was to show you colour chart and how they appear.

 

I would recommend you stick to 4,300k or 5,000k as beyond these colour temperatures the light that your eyes "see" appears to be less, 6,000k is more a show colour to look cool blue.  Your decision mind you.

Edited 1 November, 20223 yr by varooom
spellink

8 minutes ago, varooom said:

6,000k is more a show colour to look cool blue.

also @thompson4984 There's more to that, and not in a good way. Not only is the light temperature straying into the near ultraviolet that you can't see, but most makers are also fitting a blue filter on the bulbs, which actually reduces red, and even green, range output.

You'll probably find that anything more than 5k will start producing poorer light than 4.3k-5k range too. 

 

People swear blind that £20 bulbs from eBay are fine but there's a reason that decent bulbs cost. Both for a lasting perspective, brightness and beam pattern and ignitor quality. 

 

OEM are Philips, I'm looking to get Osram Night Breaker Xenarc bulbs however. These can be picked up around £135 a pair online.

I think the OEM ones are like 4300k temperature because I tried to match my fog lights with the low/high beams. I would stick to the OEM bulbs due to their longevity but if you're looking for better light, you may want to Osram Night Breaker as @Dooge suggested but again look at the 35W bulbs, not more.

 

I also agreed that over 5k temperature, you decrease the visibility of the lights, especially in the foggy weather - been there and returned back to OEM ones because of this.

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention - I started to be very satisfied from the OEM lights once they were properly adjusted. Most of the O3s I've seen had their lights a bit lower as a factory adjustment. 

You don't need to blind others, of course. Just half turn of the adjustment bolts is enough for most of them. Dealers usually do adjust them for free if you ask(they know about this issue)  

Edited 9 November, 20223 yr by fr1nklyn