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Need recommendations for new headlight bulbs

souljazk

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Want to put some newer, brighter bulbs in the GF's car due to some of the crappy weather hitting CT of late. What can you guys and girls recommend? She has a ~2004/6 Fiesta, which on a quick Google, takes an H7 bulb. I'v found the following, are they any good?

I want her to have good visibility when driving at night in heavy rain.


"Philips Crystal Vision halogen headlamp w/4300K bright white light. "

"
Bosch Fusion Bright H7 12V 55W
- Xenon Bulbs
- Super White Xenon Gas
- 3300K "


 
I personally have Phillips. I have also had Hella. I would recommend either.
Haven’t tried the Bosch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
From my experience, avoid the Phillips Crystal Vision bulbs. Whilst they are more aesthetically pleasing (whiter light), they are utterly useless in the rain and poor visibility conditions.
I would recommend Osram Nightbreakers, they do produce a noticeably yellow beam but output more usable light especially in the rain. You can also purchase them from most spares shops such as Midas
 
I have also been wanting to put brighter bulbs in my vehicle for awhile now due to driving on roads with 0 street light at night quite often, so very curious to see which ones you end up going with and how much of an improvement they make at the end of the day (y)
 
Osram Nightbreakers. I swear by them. I see they're on your list. You won't go wrong. Slightly whiter light than traditional globes, and quite bright. I still need to do my CR-V (original globes just won't die), but on all my previous cars I got a lot of "flashing" from incoming cars thinking my brights are on. They really are lovely, specially at the price they come in.

Tip: If you install them, don't touch the globe glass with your bare hands. Use gloves, even if just rubber surgical gloves. Apparently fingerprints can cause the glass to heat up unevenly and then crack, or something like that. I never had that issue.
 
Osram Nightbreakers. I swear by them. I see they're on your list. You won't go wrong. Slightly whiter light than traditional globes, and quite bright. I still need to do my CR-V (original globes just won't die), but on all my previous cars I got a lot of "flashing" from incoming cars thinking my brights are on. They really are lovely, specially at the price they come in.

Tip: If you install them, don't touch the globe glass with your bare hands. Use gloves, even if just rubber surgical gloves. Apparently fingerprints can cause the glass to heat up unevenly and then crack, or something like that. I never had that issue.

This man speaks the truth. These bulbs are amazing for the price.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Osram Nightbreakers. I swear by them. I see they're on your list. You won't go wrong. Slightly whiter light than traditional globes, and quite bright. I still need to do my CR-V (original globes just won't die), but on all my previous cars I got a lot of "flashing" from incoming cars thinking my brights are on. They really are lovely, specially at the price they come in.

Tip: If you install them, don't touch the globe glass with your bare hands. Use gloves, even if just rubber surgical gloves. Apparently fingerprints can cause the glass to heat up unevenly and then crack, or something like that. I never had that issue.
Just remember, that to get the cooler light, the tungsten filament has to operate at a higher temperature, meaning these globes have a much shorter life.
 
Just remember, that to get the cooler light, the tungsten filament has to operate at a higher temperature, meaning these globes have a much shorter life.
At their price, I don't mind. Longest I've had a pair was 2 years, sold with the car, never had one blow on me, TBH. I don't disagree (at all), but for that additional brightness I will gladly pay a slightly higher fee every few years.
 
Thanx thus far guys (and girls?). I had either some Osram night-breakers / Phillips equivalent a few years back on my 96 Mazda Etude & was happy with them. I don't want the GF to blind people (hence no HID / LED / what ever conversion) but I want her to have some good, safe viability when driving at night alone.

Thanx @Toxxyc , I am aware of that. She wants to take it to her mechanic to install but I think while she is away next week I'll install them and see if she notices :p

Keep any recommendations coming :)
 
Dude it's so easy to install them yourself... The older the car, the better. Search for a YT vid if you don't know how yet and do it. It's essentially the same process on all cars tho:

1. Open bonnet.
2. Remove the rubber seal on the back of the headlight.
3. Find the springloaded thingamabob that holds the globe.
4. Remove the globe.
5. Replace with new globe.
6. Put everything back the way you found it, and tada!
 
I had the H4 philips xtreme vision halogen bulbs to replace my stock halogens but these bulbs although producing a white beam at first quickly faded to produce a yellow light so don't waste your time on spending the extra cash on "white beam halogens".
It's also NB that you don't buy bulbs rated at a higher power draw than the light socket than your car can handle... For example if you buy a 65W bulb and your stock bulbs and sockets only produced 55W... this may cause some electrical issues.

Agree with the nightbreakers.. Halogen beams are more visible to the driver than LED beams
 
Dude it's so easy to install them yourself... The older the car, the better. Search for a YT vid if you don't know how yet and do it. It's essentially the same process on all cars tho:

1. Open bonnet.
2. Remove the rubber seal on the back of the headlight.
3. Find the springloaded thingamabob that holds the globe.
4. Remove the globe.
5. Replace with new globe.
6. Put everything back the way you found it, and tada!

Agree'd , did my Mazda with relative ease. Can confidently say I'v never had to get my hand in such a tight hole.
 
I had the H4 philips xtreme vision halogen bulbs to replace my stock halogens but these bulbs although producing a white beam at first quickly faded to produce a yellow light so don't waste your time on spending the extra cash on "white beam halogens".
It's also NB that you don't buy bulbs rated at a higher power draw than the light socket than your car can handle... For example if you buy a 65W bulb and your stock bulbs and sockets only produced 55W... this may cause some electrical issues.

Agree with the nightbreakers.. Halogen beams are more visible to the driver than LED beams
THanx, will def tripple check the wattage before buying replacements. My thought were that "all" H7's / H4's etc had a set wattage draw ?
 
THanx, will def tripple check the wattage before buying replacements. My thought were that "all" H7's / H4's etc had a set wattage draw ?

Nope, the fancier/brighter ones have a greater wattage draw just check the specs of your car model and try to stick to that wattage or below that and you should be fine
 
My old Fiesta ST150 used to eat an Osram night breaker bulb every month or so.
I definitely didn't have the same experience as mentioned above.

The Philips Crystal Vision we brighter and lasted forever in my experience.

Are you sure the Fiesta is an H7 globe?
The ST had the same headlights and was an H4 globe.

My 10 second google confirms my memory is not broken yet:
 
Osram Nightbreakers.

Bear in mind that brighter means shorter lifetime, so are the current units really all that bad?

I would only replace when they die.

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@Razor thanx, I'll triple check.

@SauRoN , yeah in my mind they're bad. Also there is a discolouration on the drivers side lamp, which I'll attend to when she is away.

@Edelweiss Thanx will check :)
 
@Razor thanx, I'll triple check.

@SauRoN , yeah in my mind they're bad. Also there is a discolouration on the drivers side lamp, which I'll attend to when she is away.

@Edelweiss Thanx will check :)

Plastic covers that are fogging?

Probably the bigger problem right there.

Meguiars sells a headlight renewal kit for that which works well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Plastic covers that are fogging?

Probably the bigger problem right there.

Meguiars sells a headlight renewal kit for that which works well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I think its glass & the film goes "off" from UV over a few years. Had it on my last car too.
 
I think its glass & the film goes "off" from UV over a few years. Had it on my last car too.

In my experience it's always pretend glass and that's half the kak.

But yes you could probably have a coating of sorts on glass, but I've never seen this happen to a car that had glass lights.
 
In my experience it's always pretend glass and that's half the kak.

But yes you could probably have a coating of sorts on glass, but I've never seen this happen to a car that had glass lights.
Some of the plastic headlights do not tarnish in the sun (like BMW). And others have a thin UV-resistant coating that comes off as soon as you restore them the first time - then they go downhill quickly (Like Porsche).
 
Hella also make the H7 Night Vision+ Globes, cost less than R200 a set from Midas. They have a slight yellow glow and will be very good in the rain or misty conditions. I went from Standard Globes to these on a Polo and the difference is very noticeable. The yellow tint is something to get used to, but the improved visibility is worth it.


PS: You can also adjust the lights higher as the yellow glow is not harsh on the eyes of oncoming traffic. I cover a lot more distance now on dimmed lights than before without it affecting oncoming traffic.
 
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Some of the plastic headlights do not tarnish in the sun (like BMW). And others have a thin UV-resistant coating that comes off as soon as you restore them the first time - then they go downhill quickly (Like Porsche).

I think given enough time they all do eventually.

It's just a case of some doing it much faster than others.

Didn't even realise Porsche do the same bullshit plastic trick, but I guess it makes sense for the few idiots who opted for the cheap ass halogen options instead of Xenon or LED.
 
So someone explained to me that bulbs that produce very white light are like a filter for specific light frequencies.

Your bulb produces white and yellow light. The bulb then has a filter on the inside to stop the yellow coming out.

This has two major problems:
1) you lose lumens as the bulb is now outputting a frequency of light that’s only white but at the expense of overall light

2) you therefor waste energy and effective dark penetration

If you want white light with good dark penetrating characteristics, use LEDs (R2500 last time I looked).

Stick to a good make of regular bulbs and stop trying to making your headlights ultra white, boy racers love white/blue bulbs.
 
So someone explained to me that bulbs that produce very white light are like a filter for specific light frequencies.

Your bulb produces white and yellow light. The bulb then has a filter on the inside to stop the yellow coming out.

This has two major problems:
1) you lose lumens as the bulb is now outputting a frequency of light that’s only white but at the expense of overall light

2) you therefor waste energy and effective dark penetration

If you want white light with good dark penetrating characteristics, use LEDs (R2500 last time I looked).

Stick to a good make of regular bulbs and stop trying to making your headlights ultra white, boy racers love white/blue bulbs.

+1 to all that.

Also, don't go for the cheap LEDs. R2500 for a pair is about right.
The cheap ones might claim huge lumens etc but if the position of the light source is not in exactly the right place you'll end up with a light spread that's all over the place, which just blinds oncoming traffic and makes for a useless headlight.
 
So I did a quick google and found that a pair of Philips X-Treme Vision H4 55/60w Headlight Bulbs has a lumens rating of about 1500, compared to a well made LED bulb that has a lumens rating of 4000.


Not sure if you want to spend the extra cash on LED bulbs for the extra lumens. The colours of the LEDs are more yellow and there's a reason for that: it's easier to produce a higher amount of lumens with mixed colours.
 

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