Quote:
Originally Posted by rnlisg
i have a 2007 m/y xc70/se,i love the car but the dipped beam is awful,even with it adjusted to the high position,i always drive at night with the spot/fog lamps(or whatever you want to call them) on as well,i have been looking at some nightbreakers which are supposed to give 90% more light than the std bulbs,i also looked at some 100w bulbs but believe they are for competition use.
david ref the service costs,
i contacted my local main stealer in kent,he said it would be £450 ish!!would not haggle so stuff them,i will be using an independent(tivoli motors) in hastings,volvo specialists for over 20 years with all the kit,quoted £200 inc c/car for same service as main stealer.
cheers all
sandy
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Fog lamps are for use when it's foggy and only with sidelights on. The fog lights on the XC70 are very good when used in this manner. Visibility without horrendous glare from the fog.
Their use in any other conditions is illegal, and for good reason. They dazzle oncoming traffic and quite frankly, they're a pain in the arse.
Now, apart from the illegality of using them, they're actually pointless in anything other than really foggy weather and provide absolutely no extra additional visibility - they light up the road right in front of the car, at low level to get under the fog as much as possible.
Find a dark car park, stick sidelights only on, switch front fog lights on then switch on the dipped beam and watch how the light from the front fogs disappears from the area in front of your car - you'll lose a foot of light right where the road disappears from view under the bonnet, but you'll not lose any light from the far end of the dipped beam (unless your dipped beam lights are seriously out of adjustment).
The use of 90/100 bulbs is of dubious legality - it's possibly, thanks to EU law, not illegal as 90/100s are legal in Germany and under EU law, that should make them legal in the UK but there's a whole heap of new legislation on its way to make pretty much any modification to headlights otherwise in accordance with manufacturers specifications illegal, including not having headlight wash mechanisms in combination with upgraded headlights.
The absolute downside of fitting higher powered bulbs is you run the risk of burning out the wiring by pulling additional current and generating additional heat that's capable of cracking the lens covers and making bits of the headlight mechanism (adjusters etc) more prone to cracking.
I'd go with getting the headlights aligned first at an MoT centre and then fitting the highest quality bulbs in the traditional 55/60w range.