After getting this display on the dash this dinner, i have bought some Philip's Blue Vision H7 bulbs for the dipped beam in my MK5.

Are they any good? I had the power bulbs bright white bulbs, they were OK and the light was white-ish, I'm hoping these should be a fair bit brighter and have a slightly blue tint?

Also got a free set of cool blue side light bulbs from power bulbs - don't be fooled by the cool blue name as they aren't cool blue at all.

 I had these in my Megane. They are ok.

They do give a nicer ice white-ish colour ouput (not so yellow but no way near xenon obviously). I found that my vision plus's or xtreme's were brighter.

My mate has these on his MK4 and his main dislike is that the blue tinted bulbs would make the chrome in the headlights look blue and stood out like a saw thumb. Plus they arent that bright as the blue tint sacrifices brightness for a nicer colour output because of that Hes looking to change to xtremes like me  

Out of the extremes, plus's & the blue visions which i have bought which would you say had the most blueish tint?

Blue visions are defo bluer out of the three.

The other two arent designed to give off a blueish tint as they are all about brightness. The Xtremes were bright and noticeably less yellow than the visions

Because im not a fan of the blue tint bulb and the result in a blue headlight look, i would personally opt for the Osram night breakers. Ive had them too. They are slightly tinted and gave a good output.

just to confirm ive had them all: Philips: Xtreme, blue vision & visions, Osram night breakers & Powerbulbs blue set.

OK mate thanks a lot for your help!

 just get an hid kit off fleebay for like £40 the vision on them is amazing

jackt360:

 just get an hid kit off fleebay for like £40 the vision on them is amazing

true....... but you end up blinding everyone else with the glare caused by not having the correct headlight type!! LOL

lim_walk:

jackt360:

 just get an hid kit off fleebay for like £40 the vision on them is amazing

 

true....... but you end up blinding everyone else with the glare caused by not having the correct headlight type!! LOL

I don't want to do that because as said, it will blind every person coming towards me. I was going towards a Cavalier GSI last night and that had an HID kit fitted into it's standard frosted headlights and the amount of glare was ridiculous. I couldn't see when i went past it but not only that they looked crap because of the glare and also because the beam pattern was pretty much non existent.

Eventually i would like to get HID's but i would need to get the kit and the headlights and even then they WOULD still be illegal because i wouldn't have the self levelling mechanism and headlight washers!

This is a topic which always comes up too.

I think the auto levelling and headlight washers issue is only for new cars on the production line. Anything as a aftermarket, i believe, doesnt have such restrictions. Just jst need to be able to level your xenons via the rheostat instead

Eitherway you would need the right headlights. Halogen Projectors arent then same as HID/xenon projectors you see. If so you'd be best opting for the r32 xenons

lim_walk:

This is a topic which always comes up too.

I think the auto levelling and headlight washers issue is only for new cars on the production line. Anything as a aftermarket, i believe, doesnt have such restrictions. Just jst need to be able to level your xenons via the rheostat instead

Eitherway you would need the right headlights. Halogen Projectors arent then same as HID/xenon projectors you see. If so you'd be best opting for the r32 xenons

I'm sure i read it on the Vosa site that any HID's/Xenons needed auto levelling and headlight washers whether they were manufacturer supplied or after market..

Fact sheet: Aftermarket HID headlamps

December 2006

In the Department's view it is not legal to sell or use after market HID lighting kits, for converting conventional Halogen headlamps to HID Xenon. If a customer wants to convert his vehicle to Xenon HID he must purchase completely new Xenon HID headlamps. The reason for this is that the existing lens and reflector are designed around a Halogen filament bulb, working to very precise tolerances. If one places a HID "burner" (bulb) in the headlamp, the beam pattern will not be correct, there will be glare in some places and not enough light in other places within the beam pattern.

The following is the legal rationale:

The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK.
Under these Regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law.

However new vehicles have HID headlamps. This is because they comply to European type approval Regulations. The UK cannot refuse to register a vehicle with a European type approval. These are to ECE Regulation 98 (for the HID headlamps which are tested on a rig in a laboratory) and ECE Regulation 48 (Lighting Installation on the vehicle).

For the after market, a used vehicle cannot obtain type approval because it is only applicable for new vehicles. However we feel that saying "HID is banned in the after market" would not be reasonable. Instead we should make analogies with new vehicles. It would be reasonable to require HID in the after market to meet the same safety standards as on new vehicles. The same level of safety should apply.

Therefore a HID headlamp unit sold in the after market should:

1. be type approved to ECE Regulation 98 as a component.

2. when fitted to the vehicle should enable ECE Regulation 48 to be complied with (although no government inspection will take place).

3. Comply with RVLR as far as "use" is concerned.

In practice this means:

1. The headlamp unit (outer lens, reflector, bulb) shall be type approved to ECE 98 and be "e-marked" to demonstrate this. That can only be done by the headlamp supplier - Hella, Valeo etc. who must test the headlamp in an independent laboratory.

2. Once fitted to the vehicle it must have headlamp cleaning and self-levelling (which can be for the headlamp or can be in the vehicle suspension - some expensive estate cars have "self-levelling suspension" and that is adequate). Also the dipped beam must stay on with the main beam.

3. The headlamp must be maintained in good working order, kept clean, and aligned/adjusted correctly like any other headlamp.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988 it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts which are not legal.

In summary it is not permitted to convert an existing halogen headlamp unit for use with HID bulbs. The entire headlamp unit must be replaced with one designed and approved for use with HID bulbs and it must be installed in accordance with the rules stated above.

If you require any further information regarding the regulations covered by this fact sheet, please contact the DfT at the address below:

Transport Technology and Standards 6
Department for Transport
Zone 2/04
Great Minster House
76 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DR

Telephone: 020 7944 2078
Fax: 020 7944 2196
Email: TTS.enquiries@dft.gsi.gov.uk

I have the philips xtreme bulbs (white) for main and dipped and then have the philips extreme blue on the side lights so when lit up the front has the whitness of the xtremes with the subtle blue tinge on the sides. The difference with these is incredible especialy down the local lanes near to where I live, the only problem I have coem across is somtimes people flash you as they think dipped is full beam but a quick flash back puts them straight. One of the best mods I did and not overly expensive got mine from power bulbs direct.

hmmm... yep i just found that here (good spot) - http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

i guess thats limiting then....looks like im breaking the law?!!

I didnt want to do the self levelling option as it was only more money to spend for the conversion. Come to mention it.... i assume the headlight washer system would cost abit too.

lim_walk:

hmmm... yep i just found that here (good spot) - http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

i guess thats limiting then....looks like im breaking the law?!!

I didnt want to do the self levelling option as it was only more money to spend for the conversion. Come to mention it.... i assume the headlight washer system would cost abit too.

If i was you i would carry on as you are and if any thing arises, IE you get stopped by our 'wonderful officers of the law' or you fail an MOT then i would start to worry about putting your HID's right. As long as the beam pattern and your headlights are correct i can't see you have any problems with the traffic police because many MK4's and MK5's have rolled out of the showrooms with HID's/Xenons anyway - I think if you were stopped to check to see if you had headlamp washers and auto levelling then you would be very very unlucky!

 Why would VOSA specifically order that these lights should have washers when only a small number cars (new and old) on our roads have this facility?

I got mixed between Vosa and the Department of transport, it's the department of transport who tell you what you should have with HID/Xenon headlamps in order for them to be road legal.

im guessing with many things new it takes awhile to become industry standard.

More and more cars now use xenons and with time it "may" become the industry standard or become even more popular. The problem with HID/Xenons is that the beam is very powerful it needs to be directed in the correct direction. Particles or grease on the headlight will cause glare and can blind other drivers.....etc.