Why you shouldn't fit crappy blue lights.

[Charles Morgan]

I can't say whether it was the yellow, the headlamps or road conditions, but I can barely see 6 inches ahead of the car with them in the SM. Haven't tried fog though.

 

[Spinal]

I bought some Osram Nightbreaker Plus on the back of a thread on here ... 90% more light , blah blah blah .....

They arrived , I went to the car , all excited .....

Took the old ones out to find that they were ........ Osram Nightbreaker Plus

Osram's Nightbreakers have had a bit of history; the originals had woefully low life expectancy (I had a pair go in 6 months - both bulbs!). The plus (second generation) was a bit better. The third generation (ultimate) I'm told is even better... but haven't tried them for long enough.

If you're changing bulbs "nowish" - look for the ultimates; they won't make any more light, but they should last longer.

M.

 

[John Jones Jr]

Osram's Nightbreakers have had a bit of history; the originals had woefully low life expectancy (I had a pair go in 6 months - both bulbs!). The plus (second generation) was a bit better. The third generation (ultimate) I'm told is even better... but haven't tried them for long enough.

You can say that again. I've tried them in two cars now and the average lifespan was about three months (lights on day & night). Yes, better light but somewhat defeated by the short lifespan. I gave up and reverted to good quality standard bulbs.

 

[Troon]

always amazes me when you go to buy some and a lot of the packaging states its twice as bright etc etc but they have the exact same figures the standard bulbs do, 55/65w

i bought a pair of 100w for a tenner, only changed the lights that are on dip and what a difference! pretty much doubled what i had, i have done this with every car I've ever owned

Watts are not a measure of light intensity. It is perfectly possible to have two bulbs that both consume 55W but that put out significantly different light levels. It's down to the efficiency of the design and the trade-off of filament temperature and lifetime.

100W bulbs, however, will not be (officially) E-marked and are thus are not road legal: if you were involved in an incident where the brightness of your headlamps was considered to be a factor, you'd be trouble.

 

[W210Virgin]

Watts are not a measure of light intensity. It is perfectly possible to have two bulbs that both consume 55W but that put out significantly different light levels. It's down to the efficiency of the design and the trade-off of filament temperature and lifetime.

100W bulbs, however, will not be (officially) E-marked and are thus are not road legal: if you were involved in an incident where the brightness of your headlamps was considered to be a factor, you'd be trouble.

Correct and right and your electrical system is drawing close to twice as much current. The additional heat at the bulb holder/ terminals can melt bulb holders and various plastic bits. A fuse should pop before additional current affects wiring unless the wiring insulation just melts locally because of radiated heat. Be careful. Car fires are no joke.

 

[dubsR33]

noted thanks i'm also very much aware about the possible extra heat etc
However it has been 15 years so far that i have upgraded my bulbs this way and still havent had any issues yet..

 

[renault12ts]

Correct indeed, in fact HIDs are only 35w.