Does anyone think that the standard lights (non Xenons) could be improved? I must say I miss the Xenons of the old Octy.

Auto Express have just done a test of a variety of bulbs and I've considered replacing mine - if its easy...

Anyone tried it? And are there any downsides? Shouldn't want to get them re-adjusted - that would be a hassle.

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Dill

I've used the 50% ones in a few cars and they are all good

The entire headlight assembly can be removed from the car for lamp changes if desired.

This guide will show you how to do it.

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You won't need to adjust anything and as long as you go for a decent set of bulbs you'll be fine.

I think its worth it - for a modest investment you can get a decent improvement in the amount of light on the road.

I've tried Halford Super-Brilliance (they are on 2 for 1) and recently Osram Nightbreakers, and they both were much better than standard I thought.

It is possible to change the bulbs in situ, but its much easier to take the unit out (there are instructions in the manual), and change them indoors.

There's some more discussion about this @ http://www.briskoda.net/forums/octavia-ii/xenon-poor-main-beam/94242/

I did a guide too which might help - http://www.briskoda.net/forums/technical-guides/new-octavia-headlight-bulb-change/69565/ - especially if you have sausage fingers and can't do it in-situ

Sorry Andy, I would have linked to your guide but I remember looking at Carl's headlamp guide a few days back and it's a sticky

Aren't those sidelights a bugger to change :eek:

I only changed the dipped bulbs because I rarely get the chance to use full beam, but as I found the cable connector very hard to dislodge I just carefully swung the unit through 90 degrees, still attached to the cable, and rested it there. It was still very easy to get at the clips etc for the dipped bulb and I am very happy with the result, especially as I got the "two for one" Halfords mentioned above, so the whole job only cost £19.99

BTW it helps greatly to spray WD40 on the locking "handles" before you start, makes them much easier to operate.

I've just changed mine for some Philips X-Treme and they seem pretty good. I'd question whether they are indeed 80% brighter but better than the standard ones none the less.

As for fitting, it's easy enough to do it with the headlamps in situ.

Thanks to everyone for useful info and links to guides. I should've checked first...

I note, in this elf n safety age, that the handbook urges us to wear gloves and eye protection when changing a bulb in case it explodes. Crikey. Should I wear gardening gauntlets? As for you (lucky?) owners with Xenons, there's a "danger to life"...

Crackers.

the dill (in deepest trepidation)

not

Trust me, if you wore gardening gloves you'd not be able to do it!

Thanks to everyone for useful info and links to guides. I should've checked first...

I note, in this elf n safety age, that the handbook urges us to wear gloves and eye protection when changing a bulb in case it explodes. Crikey. Should I wear gardening gauntlets? As for you (lucky?) owners with Xenons, there's a "danger to life"...

Crackers.

the dill (in deepest trepidation)

not

The Xenon related "danger to life" is thanks to the >15,000volt striking voltage to the xenon lamp. The xenon capsule is also under very high pressure and can do some serious damage if allowed to rupture.

Normal halogens should be OK as long as you are sensible and make sure not to touch the glass with bare hands.

The scare mongering in the user manuals is just one big a$$ covering exercise.

I note, in this elf n safety age, that the handbook urges us to wear gloves and eye protection when changing a bulb in case it explodes. Crikey. Should I wear gardening gauntlets?

They must have started to trust us a bit more.

I'm almost certain my manual states that the car must be taken to a main dealer to have the headlight bulbs replaced!

They must have started to trust us a bit more.

I'm almost certain my manual states that the car must be taken to a main dealer to have the headlight bulbs replaced!

Thats just a blatant tout for chargeable service work. Very nice indeed

Anything like bulbs should be within the scope of Mr. D.I.Y. man if you ask me.

Either that or pop down to your local Halfords.......................

My son tells me that in some US states MacDonalds have put big signs outside each of their cafes stating that some ingredients may cause life threatening cancer. It apparently hasn't made the slightest difference to their trade.

'Elf 'n Safety'? More like Daft 'n Dozy.

Take cigarette packets for instance, they have those big warnings about lots of death and such like but it doesn't stop people smoking the things does it? No.

Same with most things that are bad for you, most of us know the dangers but choose to ignore them.

Thats just a blatant tout for chargeable service work. Very nice indeed

Anything like bulbs should be within the scope of Mr. D.I.Y. man if you ask me.

Either that or pop down to your local Halfords.......................

After my "local Halfords" had looked under the bonnet of my Octy, the so called fitter said "I can change one, Sir, but there is no room to change the near side. Shall I change just the one?" Can anyone guess my reply?

After my "local Halfords" had looked under the bonnet of my Octy, the so called fitter said "I can change one, Sir, but there is no room to change the near side. Shall I change just the one?" Can anyone guess my reply?

Something along the lines of:

F.O.

But seriously though, if I were designing a car I'd give some thought to easy replacement of the kind of parts a reasonably handy person would do for themselves.

You shouldn't really have to take the front apart to simply replace a blown bulb. And I don't think it is just done to give garages more work! Anyone who is going to change their own bulbs is probably going to be okay taking out the lamp unit, but they shouldn't have to.

I've fitted the Philips X-Treme Power to the low beam on my vRS and though it's impossible to do a direct comparison on my own, I'd say they provide a reasonable improvement over the standard bulbs and are worth the £25 to £30 investment.

Also, you don't need to remove the headlights to change the bulbs, unless you've got shovels for hands!

But seriously though, if I were designing a car I'd give some thought to easy replacement of the kind of parts a reasonably handy person would do for themselves.

You shouldn't really have to take the front apart to simply replace a blown bulb. And I don't think it is just done to give garages more work! Anyone who is going to change their own bulbs is probably going to be okay taking out the lamp unit, but they shouldn't have to.

Be thankful that the lights are designed the way they are, some cars need to have the front bumper removed if the light fitting needs to come out, personally I think the Skoda design is excellent, the sweeping wings obstruct the access to the rear oft he lights. The Mk1 didn't have this trouble as the wings ran parallel with the lines of the car.

A case of form over function

so the philips are the new must haves and not the osram?

Personally I'm a bit dubious about the Auto Express test - those articles border on American style 'advertorials'.

It must be coincidental that they used the Philips test facility and Osram hardly got a look in! Osram Silverstars seemed to win all the type tests for a while, with Philips being a close second. Don't think there's much between them. I read in a separate article that Narva (a Philips subsidary) also supply the Halfords super-brilliance bulbs.

I also wonder if Osram using a partial blue filter on the Nightbreakers has slightly reduced their light levels...

Anyhow I think any of the zenon super bulbs will be an improvement over the OEM ones - certainly they look very different (much small capsules).

And if you have a MK I, like i think the OP does then it's a single uprated H4 which is always good

On the MK I octy it's nice and easy to do and you get a very good improvement over the stock bulbs with the Osram Silverstars and Phillips Vision Plus. A definite first hand thumbs up for these.

I'm sure the extreme and night breaker bulbs are even brighter, but I've no idea how the beam pattern will be with the brightest bulbs.

Be thankful that the lights are designed the way they are, some cars need to have the front bumper removed if the light fitting needs to come out, personally I think the Skoda design is excellent, the sweeping wings obstruct the access to the rear oft he lights. The Mk1 didn't have this trouble as the wings ran parallel with the lines of the car.

A case of form over function

Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, I found that the light unit, when swung forward and turned 90 degrees with its connector still on, perched okay with the outboard edge of the light unit still sort of lodged in the opening. At the very worst, if you have someone to help they could support the unit when right out of the car.

Is there any trick to getting that wiring apart or is it just a straight pull?

Is there any trick to getting that wiring apart or is it just a straight pull?

If you look at the pics in Steps 7 and 8 of my guide (link in post # 5 above) you can see a little tab that needs to be pressed in / squeezed / wiggled so that the connector piece clears the wedge shaped protrusion on the body of the mating piece.