Factory Halogen Lights Upgrade

Theone88 · 03-24-2014, 04:04 PM

Hi all,

Looking to upgrade all bulbs on the front of the car (side, highbeam, low beam, fog and daytime driving lights) to a brighter, whiter light. Do a lot of night driving with no streetlights, plus not keen on the yellow halogens!

Does anyone know any uk sites which sells a whole set?

Purchased the halfords Ultra Brilliance bulbs for my E90 but was looking for alternatives this time around.

Want it to be uk road legal!!

Thanks!!!

r1cey · 03-24-2014, 05:21 PM

Phillips Crystal vision are a good replacement. Had them fitted to my X3 (dip and main), and wife's got them fitted to her Nissan Juke. Not cheap but worth it in my view. 4300K so white enough, and not too blue that they look Chavy!!

Got the visibility pack on my F30, but have just replaced the fogs with these (H8 bulb), cos the "yellow" factory bulbs looked crap against the Xenons (the adaptive lighting means the fogs turn on when cornering).

Have previously used powerbulbs.com a few times, but they didn't stock the H8, so bought from autolamps-online.com this time.

teaston · 03-24-2014, 05:34 PM

Auto Express seem to think the Philips extreme vision are the best headlight bulbs:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accesso...dlight-reviews

jit84 · 03-24-2014, 05:49 PM

I have used 6000k HID kits for most of my cars without xenon headlamps.

It suited an e46 the best as they had projectors built in, and looked even better than factory xenon headlamps.

teaston · 03-24-2014, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jit84

I have used 6000k HID kits for most of my cars without xenon headlamps.

It suited an e46 the best as they had projectors built in, and looked even better than factory xenon headlamps.

But they will blind the sh1t out of oncoming vehicles in reflector headlights!

....,,,,..,,.. · 03-24-2014, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teaston

But they will blind the sh1t out of oncoming vehicles in reflector headlights!

They then get xenons on full beam if too bloody bright.

Or as a friend did, full power on a dragon torch through windscreen.

That is uber bright to say the least.

Theone88 · 03-24-2014, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r1cey

Phillips Crystal vision are a good replacement. Had them fitted to my X3 (dip and main), and wife's got them fitted to her Nissan Juke. Not cheap but worth it in my view. 4300K so white enough, and not too blue that they look Chavy!!

Got the visibility pack on my F30, but have just replaced the fogs with these (H8 bulb), cos the "yellow" factory bulbs looked crap against the Xenons (the adaptive lighting means the fogs turn on when cornering).

Have previously used powerbulbs.com a few times, but they didn't stock the H8, so bought from autolamps-online.com this time.

Hi R1cey,

Trying to not sound stupid

But can I buy 2 sets of the Philips bulb and do the dip and main assuming they are the same?

Is the install fairly straight forward? Remember trying to do the lights on my E90 and failed miserably!

Theone88 · 03-24-2014, 06:06 PM

Had these on my E90, stupidly didn't put the old ones back in before part exing!

davethefish · 03-24-2014, 06:41 PM

funny how 'safety conscious' BMW can be just about every other aspect of car manufacture, but actually seeing where you go at night doesn't seem to be on of them.
or like all Skodas... xenons would be standard across the range.

unfortunately halogen light is yellow,
any bulb that is whiter has a blue filter so will reduce the lumens produced.
the phillips bulbs may be slightly brighter, but i just put mtec halogen bulbs in all mine.
main, dipped, and fog, plus LEDS for the DRL's and medium blue sidelight bulbs.

r1cey · 03-24-2014, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theone88

Hi R1cey,

Trying to not sound stupid

But can I buy 2 sets of the Philips bulb and do the dip and main assuming they are the same?

Is the install fairly straight forward? Remember trying to do the lights on my E90 and failed miserably!

Yes, it was an H7 bulb on my X3, which is the most popular one. Depends on the car. I had to take the air inlet moulding off the drivers side on my X3.

The fog replacement on the F30 was incredibly easy.

r1cey · 03-24-2014, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teaston

Auto Express seem to think the Philips extreme vision are the best headlight bulbs:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accesso...dlight-reviews

They're a good bulb Teaston, but still too yellow for my liking, so upgraded a second time on the X3 to the crystal vision. For an even brighter bulb you get diamond vision, but some reviews suggested these were too blue.

Note: both crystal vision and diamond vision are not approved, but I passed two MOT's with the crystal vision fitted to my X3.

Theone88 · 03-25-2014, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r1cey

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theone88

Hi R1cey,

Trying to not sound stupid

But can I buy 2 sets of the Philips bulb and do the dip and main assuming they are the same?

Is the install fairly straight forward? Remember trying to do the lights on my E90 and failed miserably!

Yes, it was an H7 bulb on my X3, which is the most popular one. Depends on the car. I had to take the air inlet moulding off the drivers side on my X3.

The fog replacement on the F30 was incredibly easy.

Did you replace the fogs too R1cey? Would you recommend a retailer?

Theone88 · 03-25-2014, 10:36 AM

Hi all,

Think I will go with 2 sets of Philips Xtreme H7's for the main and dip beams, any recommendations for the fogs, sides lights and DRL's?

Fully road legal suggestions only please, don't want to blind other drivers (I hate it when it happens to me)!!

r1cey · 03-25-2014, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theone88

Hi all,

Think I will go with 2 sets of Philips Xtreme H7's for the main and dip beams, any recommendations for the fogs, sides lights and DRL's?

Fully road legal suggestions only please, don't want to blind other drivers (I hate it when it happens to me)!!

Theone88, the Philips crystal vision bulbs won't blind anyone, trust me, they are quality halogen bulbs, not cheap alternatives. Most people are blinded by those who have installed cheap aftermarket HIDs into cars not originally designed for them, or using cheap halogen bulbs with ridiculously high K value. 4300K is actually the closest match to white light (for a halogen bulb, google it), and as I've previously said, passed two MOTs with these on my X3, and the wife has H4 crystal vision bulbs fitted to her Nissan Juke.

Read these reviews...

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Crysta...ews/B00480J4PU

Theone88 · 03-25-2014, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by r1cey

Theone88, the Philips crystal vision bulbs won't blind anyone, trust me, they are quality halogen bulbs, not cheap alternatives. Most people are blinded by those who have installed cheap aftermarket HIDs into cars not originally designed for them, or using cheap halogen bulbs with ridiculously high K value. 4300K is actually the closest match to white light (for a halogen bulb, google it), and as I've previously said, passed two MOTs with these on my X3, and the wife has H4 crystal vision bulbs fitted to her Nissan Juke.

Read these reviews...

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Crysta...ews/B00480J4PU

Hi R1cey,

Thanks for the reply. Apologies for the newbie question but will I need to purchase 2 pairs of the H7's for the main and dipped beams?

Which fog lights did you go for btw?

Feel free to recommend side lights and DRL's (everything I've found on DRL's are LED only).

Thanks a million!

teaston · 03-26-2014, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theone88

Hi R1cey,

Thanks for the reply. Apologies for the newbie question but will I need to purchase 2 pairs of the H7's for the main and dipped beams?

Which fog lights did you go for btw?

Feel free to recommend side lights and DRL's (everything I've found on DRL's are LED only).

Thanks a million!

Yes you will need 2 pairs of H7's

Theone88 · 03-26-2014, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by teaston

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theone88

Hi R1cey,

Thanks for the reply. Apologies for the newbie question but will I need to purchase 2 pairs of the H7's for the main and dipped beams?

Which fog lights did you go for btw?

Feel free to recommend side lights and DRL's (everything I've found on DRL's are LED only).

Thanks a million!

Yes you will need 2 pairs of H7's

Thanks Teaston!

Theone88 · 03-26-2014, 07:16 AM

Have gone for the Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited bulb in the end for both dip and main (£24 for 2 pairs from ECP!), have also bought the Philips W5W Blue Vision side lights.

Will take pics when installed!

Just need to sort out the fog and DRL's!

Thanks for your help and advice all!

Zippeh · 03-26-2014, 07:23 AM

Looking forward to pics. Keep meaning to do this with mine. Also, let us know how they are at night!

Theone88 · 03-26-2014, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zippeh

Looking forward to pics. Keep meaning to do this with mine. Also, let us know how they are at night!

Will do!

I do a lot of night driving where there are no street lights so visual improvement was my main aim!

Just waiting for advice on the last couple of mods (DRL and fogs) and that's my lighting changes done!

....,,,,..,,.. · 03-26-2014, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theone88

Will do!

I do a lot of night driving where there are no street lights so visual improvement was my main aim!

Just waiting for advice on the last couple of mods (DRL and fogs) and that's my lighting changes done!

Was there a reason you did not just spec xenons?

Theone88 · 03-26-2014, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brigand

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theone88

Will do!

I do a lot of night driving where there are no street lights so visual improvement was my main aim!

Just waiting for advice on the last couple of mods (DRL and fogs) and that's my lighting changes done!

Was there a reason you did not just spec xenons?

Purchased an AUC. One day I will eventually spec my own car!

For my budget it was a choice between one with pro nav or one with xenons.

03-24-2014, 04:04 PM	#1
Theone88 First Lieutenant 75 Rep 399 Posts Drives: 435d F36 GC Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Bristol iTrader: (0)	Hi all, Looking to upgrade all bulbs on the front of the car (side, highbeam, low beam, fog and daytime driving lights) to a brighter, whiter light. Do a lot of night driving with no streetlights, plus not keen on the yellow halogens! Does anyone know any uk sites which sells a whole set? Purchased the halfords Ultra Brilliance bulbs for my E90 but was looking for alternatives this time around. Want it to be uk road legal!! Thanks!!!
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03-24-2014, 05:21 PM	#2
r1cey First Lieutenant 122 Rep 337 Posts Drives: VW Golf R Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Tayside, Scotland iTrader: (0)	Phillips Crystal vision are a good replacement. Had them fitted to my X3 (dip and main), and wife's got them fitted to her Nissan Juke. Not cheap but worth it in my view. 4300K so white enough, and not too blue that they look Chavy!! Got the visibility pack on my F30, but have just replaced the fogs with these (H8 bulb), cos the "yellow" factory bulbs looked crap against the Xenons (the adaptive lighting means the fogs turn on when cornering). Have previously used powerbulbs.com a few times, but they didn't stock the H8, so bought from autolamps-online.com this time.
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03-24-2014, 05:34 PM	#3
teaston Banned 10996 Rep 32,881 Posts Drives: X3 M40d Join Date: May 2012 Location: The High Seas iTrader: (1)	Auto Express seem to think the Philips extreme vision are the best headlight bulbs: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accesso...dlight-reviews
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03-24-2014, 05:49 PM	#4
jit84 New Member 1 Rep 14 Posts Drives: F31 330D Xdrive Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Northants iTrader: (0)	I have used 6000k HID kits for most of my cars without xenon headlamps. It suited an e46 the best as they had projectors built in, and looked even better than factory xenon headlamps.
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03-24-2014, 06:06 PM	#8
Theone88 First Lieutenant 75 Rep 399 Posts Drives: 435d F36 GC Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Bristol iTrader: (0)	Had these on my E90, stupidly didn't put the old ones back in before part exing! Attached Images
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03-24-2014, 06:41 PM	#9
davethefish Captain 131 Rep 664 Posts Drives: 2012 F30 320i Sport Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Bedworth iTrader: (0)	funny how 'safety conscious' BMW can be just about every other aspect of car manufacture, but actually seeing where you go at night doesn't seem to be on of them. or like all Skodas... xenons would be standard across the range. unfortunately halogen light is yellow, any bulb that is whiter has a blue filter so will reduce the lumens produced. the phillips bulbs may be slightly brighter, but i just put mtec halogen bulbs in all mine. main, dipped, and fog, plus LEDS for the DRL's and medium blue sidelight bulbs.
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03-25-2014, 10:36 AM	#13
Theone88 First Lieutenant 75 Rep 399 Posts Drives: 435d F36 GC Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Bristol iTrader: (0)	Hi all, Think I will go with 2 sets of Philips Xtreme H7's for the main and dip beams, any recommendations for the fogs, sides lights and DRL's? Fully road legal suggestions only please, don't want to blind other drivers (I hate it when it happens to me)!!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

03-26-2014, 07:16 AM	#18
Theone88 First Lieutenant 75 Rep 399 Posts Drives: 435d F36 GC Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Bristol iTrader: (0)	Have gone for the Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited bulb in the end for both dip and main (£24 for 2 pairs from ECP!), have also bought the Philips W5W Blue Vision side lights. Will take pics when installed! Just need to sort out the fog and DRL's! Thanks for your help and advice all!
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03-26-2014, 07:23 AM	#19
Zippeh Captain 345 Rep 926 Posts Drives: F82 M4 Manual 2015 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: North Wales iTrader: (0)	Looking forward to pics. Keep meaning to do this with mine. Also, let us know how they are at night!
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