New A2 Owner as of a few weeks ago

I read quite a few reviews and forum posts from different forums about the Philips bulbs who all said that they are a decent improvement for not much cost and without sticking in illegal higher wattage bulbs. My main fear with putting 100w bulbs in is that they overheat the reflectors in the headlamp unit (mine are already a bit 'pitted') or worse overheat some part of the wiring loom.

I'll be taking them home tonight so will be able to give you subjective opinion on them but for £19 it's not a bad trial (can't be any worse LOL)

I would consider a xenon projector conversion but want to stay away from anything that ultimately makes insuring the car any more of a pain but if I decide to go for other mods (remap etc) I'll consider it as an option for the future. My last few cars have all had xenons and they have been great, though I do get a lot more hassle from oncoming traffic. The Leaf has LED projectors fitted as standard and they do give a nice light but the beam seems to suffer more than halogen / xenon in bad weather / poor visibility conditions. I'm not sure whether this is a Leaf specific issue or one more widely associated with LED's, I'm more inclined to think it's the latter though. I've also read that it's why LED's are best not used in fog lamps as the halogen / yellow colour refracts less in foggy conditions and actually gives better illumination in such weather. I'll try and find the link somewhere
 
Philip said:
It is conceptually flawed though - that's why you will never find a true Xenon-into-Halogen reflector swap kit from any of the OEMs. Perceived "brightness" and beam cut-off are very misleading when it comes to what you are actually able to see.

Also remember that the wattage of the bulb is just its power consumption rating, not its light output.
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Yes i agree about the wattage. But a 55watt filament bulb will give out more or less the same light as any other filament bulb of the same wattage. There is just the basic science involved. With a xenon you can get more light for the same wattage. The same as with LED bulbs, you get similar output from a 5watt led (SMD) as you would get ftom a higher wattage filament bulb. But comparing filament to filament the wattage can surely only give a similar output. Same voltage and same wattage and same design after all. Different metals in the filament and different glass on the bulb helps but i cant see how you get any significant improvement? Happy to be told otherwise, i like to know the science behind the claims.

We agree about the xenons in standard reflectors. The light from a HID bulb is a different shape to that of a filament bulb. That is also the reason why my LED headlights were not suitable. A big blob of an SMD gives a totally different beam when compared to a filament shape.

Steve B
 
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Birchall said:
Different metals in the filament and different glass on the bulb helps but i cant see how you get any significant improvement?
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Think that's all it's down to - more precise manufacture of the filament and glass, better materials quality, glass coating, higher-pressure gas filling etc. They certainly don't change an old reflector headlamp into something to rival a new LED one, but in my experience on a few different cars they're a very worthwhile cheap upgrade. Trade-off is a shorter life (although I haven't had one go so far).

Your lights - neat installation. Food for thought.
 
Philip said:
Think that's all it's down to - more precise manufacture of the filament and glass, better materials quality, glass coating, higher-pressure gas filling etc. They certainly don't change an old reflector headlamp into something to rival a new LED one, but in my experience on a few different cars they're a very worthwhile cheap upgrade. Trade-off is a shorter life (although I haven't had one go so far).

Your lights - neat installation. Food for thought.
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Thanks,

This is a shot I took tonight showing a genuine crisp line for the cut off ensuring no dazzling.

It doesn't show clearly but you can see on the rear of the van in front that it is a clean line.

The left headlamp needs a small adjustment to bring it up slightly but they are just as I wanted them.

Steve B

HID.jpg

Steve B
 
Fitted the new Philips X-Treme Vision bulbs yesterday, not too difficult once you get the hang of it, biggest issue was that the connectors were stuck on the bulbs so had to take the wire clips completely out and gently prise the bulb and connector apart.

They are a small improvement, nothing as dramatic as the advertised 130% improvement (yes that's a 130% improvement not a 30% improvement) they light up the immediate road a little better and give a nicer white colour temperature but don't make any difference in throwing the beam further which is the main problem with the dipped lights on the A2.

Will look into the HID upgrade a bit closer!
 
Hi
yes, i have always thought those claims to be grossly exaggerated.

But no bulbs HID or otherwise will improve the "throw" of the bram (how far forward they illuminate)

have you adjusyed them to raise the beam slightly higher?
is the beam height knurled knob near the headlamp switch in the fully up position?

Steve B
 
Something which is always overlooked in headlight brightness comparisons - how clean is your headlight lens?

If you've got 10 > 15 years worth of stone chips and glazing all over it then it'll still be refracting your light everywhere rather than on the road surface. A wet sand and polish up works far better than sticking different bulbs in in my experience.

For instance - this:
IMG_20140604_160733_zpskd2jgxky.jpg


During:
IMG_20140604_151022_zpsr9pnmxif.jpg


to this:
IMG_20140604_160727_zpsskblyaw9.jpg


The projected light increased significantly without a bulb change.
 
There are a lot of fake Philips bulbs on the market so the only safe way to buy is from an approved Philips seller.
I use the +130 bulbs and find them to be significant improvement over standard bulbs

Auto Express often do bulb comparison tests in a light tunnel and there are marked differences between good and poor quality bulbs. Philips and Osram are usually the winners.

Cheers Spike
 
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Philip said:
It's on my list to give them a polish, they're not as clear as they should be - as above, my previous experience of the bulbs was a lot more positive.

This is the last Auto Express halogen bulb test (assume another is due): http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/76760/car-bulbs-2014-halogen-headlight-bulb-reviews
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Interesting. Auto Express' tests found that the upgrade bulbs were brighter but not to the full extent to the figures quoted by the manufacturers. Similar to my own A2 headlight tests:

http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?26787-Headlight-dipped-beam-upgrade-bulb-comparison

regards

Andrew
 
I'll have a look at adjusting the lights, they do seem to be the correct height (just below faces etc to oncoming traffic) but not sure on the nest means to test this other than take it to the garage. The adjuster knob is in the fully up position too. What's the easiest way to adjust / check the height on them?

Cheers,

Rupert
 
Pop around to your local friendly MOT station and say that you are not sure if you are dazzling people with your headlamps or not. They will probably be glad to hear you are safety conscious and check them for free (i normally give them a tip when they do this for me)

steve B
 
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