I know what you mean about white lights, more dazzling as our eyes are designed to work in a yellow hued light. I seem to remember the French chose yellow lights initially as this was found to be the best colour for low light.
Mini lights seem to cause me the most issues.
I also don’t think legislation has not kept up with headlight technology so as long as they pass the basic test they are ‘fine’
I used to use night breakers or extreme vision and stock up in the summer when on offer. I would get 6-18 months out of them. They made a difference in reflector units but projectors were still awful.
My apologies to @IHN for the unnecessary derail. I hope the on topic info is shining through.
My wife groaned when she asked what I was posting about. When I explained that motorway driving and feeling trapped in a lane because I can't tell if the dazzly lights are safely far enough behind was my biggest issue with it. She suggested maybe I need to get an eye test and mention this to see if there is anything that can be done. So in the new year i will.
Hope the bulb swap goes well.
Whatever is in my VW’s lights are what you want… cos I seem to be the only **** on the road who doesn’t need full beam on as soon as it gets dark!
I've put Osram in just about everything, nightbreakers are excellent... But that 150 hours mentioned up there would be a dealbreaker, that's **** all use.
It's a bit more effort to direct wire them but definitely can be worth it in underperforming lights.
OSRAM LEDriving. Obviously illegal for road use as they lack the CE mark.
But:
Not stupid bright, comparable to night breakers.
Will pass an MOT* even though they shouldn't.
Gives a very sharp beam cut off, almost too sharp, you can see the individual reflector elements in the pattern, which you couldn't with the halogens.
Will outlive the car.
No need to add a relay kit/uprated wiring, they draw about 1 amp each (Vs 5A for night breakers).
The downside, they're not cheap*. But if the comparison is night breakers then they pay for themselves in a couple of winters, especially on rough roads or speed bumps.
*doubly so if you have separate dip/main bulbs. But then you could put night breakers in the main beam where they'll last longest and get used least.
*on my car you can only see the bulb if you lie on the floor and look up at the lens from underneath, the engine bay / wheel arch side is behind a shroud. So in theory they could see it without dismantling it.
No need to add a relay kit/uprated wiring, they draw about 1 amp each (Vs 5A for night breakers)
Won't that difference cause a warning light on most modern(ish) cars?
Won’t that difference cause a warning light on most modern(ish) cars?
Modern-ish should be fine, IIRC they only look for continuity. Unless it's something more modern than I've tried them in.
I don’t think it is just people putting in after market illegal bulbs though, it’s new cars with bright white lights. I think the white, more of the light spectrum, lights are half the issue.
To be fair, the thread's not about that either. It's simply someone asking about legal, halogen bulbs. I get where you're coming from mind, my pet hate is 4x4s with insanely bright headlights about ten foot off the ground. Ridiculous.
