Great headlight upgrade :)

[BeerHunter]

Guys,

After driving a few nights, I've been really impressed with the dipped HID headlamps, but equally unimpressed with the full beam.
There is probably not too much wrong with the full beam, but the dipped HIDs are so good, the standard full beam doesn't seem to penetrate the night much further and where it does, it emits a rather yellow light which, again in comparison to the HIDs, lacks contrast and the colour itself is very noticeable above the white light of the HIDs.

So, I bought myself some upgraded OSRAM 'Night Breaker Unlimited' (HB3 size) to replace the standard full beam bulbs. Just fitted them and taken the car for a drive and the improvement is amazing! Pretty much the same light colour as the HIDs and far longer throw than the standard bulbs.
I can thoroughly recommend them

http://www.osram.com/osram_com/news-and-knowledge/automotive-special/automotive-performance-lamps-full-power-of-light-for-your-vehicle/night-breaker-unlimited-product-details/index.jsp

Kev.

 

[Hypermiler]

Great tip, thanks Kev.
Was it like a 2 minute job to fit them, literally whip old ones out and bung them in? Any fitting tips appreciated, might get some of these.
cheers
H

 

[BeerHunter]

Great tip, thanks Kev.
Was it like a 2 minute job to fit them, literally whip old ones out and bung them in? Any fitting tips appreciated, might get some of these.
cheers
H

A 5 min job to fit. Remove plastic cover on the back of the headlight, unclip electrical connection, remove philips screw that prevents the bulb from rotating, rotate bulb 45 degrees and remove. Reverse for fitting.

Kev.

 

[Tiguan]

Thanks for the post Kev.

I had noticed the main beam wasn't as good as the HID's.

Will follow your advice and upgrade.

Cheers

Chris

 

[Bilbo59]

Just upgraded side lights, main beam and DRL's. Very happy with all three upgrades.

Side Lights
OSRAM 501 Long Life Cool White LED Bulbs
http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/OSRAM-501-Long-Life-Cool-White-LED-Bulbs.html

Main Beam
HB3/9005 Ring XENON Ultima +120% Headlamp Bulb 60W
http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/HB3-9005-Ring-XENON-Ultima-120-Headlamp-Bulb-Pair.html

DRL
MITSUBISHI LED FOGLAMP WITH LED DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS - SP290638
http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/outlander/accessories/items.aspx?type=56&group=48

 

[Ozukus]

What was the total cost for all of these please.

 

[Bilbo59]

Just upgraded side lights, main beam and DRL's. Very happy with all three upgrades.

Side Lights
OSRAM 501 Long Life Cool White LED Bulbs - £15.99
http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/OSRAM-501-Long-Life-Cool-White-LED-Bulbs.html

Main Beam - £29.99
HB3/9005 Ring XENON Ultima +120% Headlamp Bulb 60W
http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/HB3-9005-Ring-XENON-Ultima-120-Headlamp-Bulb-Pair.html

DRL - £257.75
MITSUBISHI LED FOGLAMP WITH LED DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS - SP290638
http://www.mitsubishi-cars.co.uk/outlander/accessories/items.aspx?type=56&group=48

These are the prices with VAT included

 

[aitchjaybee]

Just upgraded side lights, main beam and DRL's. Very happy with all three upgrades.
cut short...
Main Beam
HB3/9005 Ring XENON Ultima +120% Headlamp Bulb 60W
http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/HB3-9005-Ring-XENON-Ultima-120-Headlamp-Bulb-Pair.html
]

thanks for this tip, great find. I know the dipped headlights on the 4h and 4hs are HID (Xenon) but the factory fit main beam are halogen. The OP proposed two uprated halogen bulbs but the ones you have fitted here [cut from quote above] seem to be gas discharge Xenons. Is there any issue putting Xenon bulbs in a halogen set up?

 

[Hypermiler]

aithchjaybee

From my chemistry lessons, isn't "halogen" the name of the inert gases which include fluorine, chlorine, neon, xenon? So Xenon would be halogen

H

 

[maby]

aithchjaybee

From my chemistry lessons, isn't "halogen" the name of the inert gases which include fluorine, chlorine, neon, xenon? So Xenon would be halogen

H

Nothing inert about fluorine and chlorine! They are the halogens along with iodine, bromine and one other whose name escapes me. The inert gases are the next column in the periodic table and include things like neon, argon and helium.

 

[aitchjaybee]

Okay, I'm seriously outside my comfort zone here, please treat this reply with caution. I understood regular halogen bulbs use argon etc, but the specifics of using xenon transform the bulb so xenon halogens are referred to as either "xenons" or "HIDs" but yes, I think it's a halogen gas, it's a halogen gas in its own right. Regular halogen bulbs aren't called HID, they are just grouped as 'halogens'. But, I was lead to believe adding xenon bulbs to old school halogen wasn't simple. Hence my question.
The gx4 has xenon bulbs for dipped headlights (HID or high intensity discharge) but the main beam are old halogen, eg argon.
I'll sit back and wait to be corrected by someone with better knowledge....

EDIT, could not type as quickly as maby!

 

[Bilbo59]

The description of the bulbs can be found at:

http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/HB...a-120-Headlamp-Bulb-Pair.html?bulb_search=car

They are quoted as being street legal and a direct replacement for OEM bulbs. They require no changes to wiring. I don't think it matters what gas is in them provided they comply with the law and the wiring specifications.

I had similar bulbs in my shogun for years.

 

[aitchjaybee]

The description of the bulbs can be found at:

http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/HB...a-120-Headlamp-Bulb-Pair.html?bulb_search=car

They are quoted as being street legal and a direct replacement for OEM bulbs. They require no changes to wiring. I don't think it matters what gas is in them provided they comply with the law and the wiring specifications.

I had similar bulbs in my shogun for years.

thanks Bilbo59. will order in time to fit next weekend

 

[maby]

Okay, I'm seriously outside my comfort zone here, please treat this reply with caution. I understood regular halogen bulbs use argon etc, but the specifics of using xenon transform the bulb so xenon halogens are referred to as either "xenons" or "HIDs" but yes, I think it's a halogen gas, it's a halogen gas in its own right. Regular halogen bulbs aren't called HID, they are just grouped as 'halogens'. But, I was lead to believe adding xenon bulbs to old school halogen wasn't simple. Hence my question.
The gx4 has xenon bulbs for dipped headlights (HID or high intensity discharge) but the main beam are old halogen, eg argon.
I'll sit back and wait to be corrected by someone with better knowledge....

EDIT, could not type as quickly as maby!

"The halogens or halogen elements (/ˈhælɵdʒɨn/) are a group in the periodic table consisting of five chemically related elements: fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and astatine (At). The artificially created element 117 (ununseptium) may also be a halogen. In the modern IUPAC nomenclature, this group is known as group 17." - Wikipedia

and:

"Halogen lamps are lighted by tungsten filaments in bulbs that are filled with small amounts of iodine and bromine gas. This enables the production of lamps that are much smaller than incandescent lightbulbs at the same wattage. The gas reduces the thinning of the filament and blackening of the inside of the bulb resulting in a bulb that has a much greater life. Halogen lamps burn at a higher temperature (2800 to 3400 Kelvin) with a whiter color than incandescent bulbs. However, this requires bulbs to be manufactured from fused quartz rather than silica glass to reduce breakage.[22]" - also Wikipedia

In other words, halogen bulbs are hot wire bulbs pretty much the same as old fashioned domestic light bulbs but with a small quantity of a halogen inserted into the envelope to allow it to run hotter without the filament failing early. HID bulbs are completely different - they have no hot wire - they run at high voltages and are more akin to an arc light than a domestic light bulb.

 

[maby]

P.S. Xenon is used in automotive HID lamps but it is actually the thing that emits the light as a result of a high voltage discharge generated in it - unlike the halogen gas in a halogen bulb which is just there to protect the hot wire filament which is creating the light.

 

[Hypermiler]

aithchjaybee

From my chemistry lessons, isn't "halogen" the name of the inert gases which include fluorine, chlorine, neon, xenon? So Xenon would be halogen

H

Nothing inert about fluorine and chlorine! They are the halogens along with iodine, bromine and one other whose name escapes me. The inert gases are the next column in the periodic table and include things like neon, argon and helium.

Ok, so it was a long time ago... !
H

 

[gwatpe]

I will be looking for an HID replacement for the STD high beam bulbs fitted to my PHEV Aspire. These are really yellow and long distance vision is not of a standard suitable for a vehicle that does not have a nudge bar/Roo bar option.

The HID tested so far do not fire properly, so will need to look at a relay controlled solution. Half the wattage of HID over the STD Halogen is a plus for night driving with the small standard 12V battery.

Re the role of the Halogen gas in Quartz halogen bulbs. This is my spin on it. The higher temperature of the bulb causes the tungsten filament to vapourize. This reacts with the halogen to form a compound that is a vapour at the operating temperature of the lamp and forms a higher pressure gas that reduces the vapourization of the filament further. This combined vapour prevents the tungsten from condensing on the quartz envelope. When the lamp is turned OFF, the tungsten halide preferentially redeposits back on to the filament, rather than onto the quartz. Unfortunately the bulb will eventually still wear out as the redepositing is random and the filament still gets thinner in some places and thicker in others. It takes longer.

 

[maby]

That makes sense - I knew the purpose of the halogen in the bulb, but never really understood the mechanism.

 

[Regulo]

I'm seriously unhappy with the main beams, anyone had any experience with this sort of kit?

http://www.hids4u.co.uk/HB3-9005-55w-Ultimate-Xenon-HID-Conversion-Kit-HB3ULT1.html

 

[RazMan]

Most of these conversion kits have a very prolonged warm up time (several seconds in most cases) making them totally unsuited to main beam applications - by the time you've flicked them on and waited for them to reach full brightness, you are already on top of the hazard you thought you saw in the distance! However they are pretty good in fog and dipped beam applications, but only the projector style has any chance of working without dazzle, as the reflector type is simply not designed for HID bulbs - the light source is in the wrong position and produces lots of beam scatter.

I always fit Osram Nightbreakers in my mains - nearly as white as HIDs and certainly a worthwhile upgrade over OEM halogens.