Giving my '05 a 2010 facelift!

[jasonb]

Upon reading a few articles, the general advice is to use the same wattage bulbs.
The increase in brightness comes from the type of gas used which makes for a more efficient output. Claims by some manufactures (Philips) suggest an increased brightness of up to 90%.....take it with a pinch of salt!
If you increase the wattage, you draw more current across the entire lighting system which may eventually lead to burnt out wiring.

Secondly, there are claims that the standard Volvo bulbs out-perform aftermarket alternative in terms of life expectancy!
Good luck!

[BenB]

Personally I got some 'Osram Night Breaker' bulbs from ebay for £14. Quite a lot whiter and they do 'seem' brighter, they claim 90% brighter and 30m increase in vision. Obviously those figures are their own, but for the simplicity of changing the bulbs I'd recommend them

[s40_kid]

Originally Posted by jasonb

Hey Higgy,
what are you doing with your lighting upgrades?
I've installed a HID kit (6000K) and replaced the side-lights with LED's

The HID bulbs went through a phase of not coming on correctly for a week (a few false starts). I googled the problem and found that on occasions the supply voltage is insufficient. There are after market adapters to fix the problem. Mine seemed to resolve itself after I placed the order...ho hum!

Of course the LED side-lights were a must as the HID's made for such a pure light, the side-lights looked rather dated.
I purchased and installed the canbus bulbs first (with SMD 5050's) but they failed quite quickly.
I went for the cheaper non-canbus LED's next (again with SMD 5050 chips x9) with multi-layer technology.

My research has led me to believe that the SMD 1210 chips let off less lumins than the 5050's (just an fyi), so I've avoided the 1210's. There are plenty of messages out there complaining about poor light from LED bulbs!! The more lumins, the better (imho).

I tried the door mirror indicators next and ordered more SMD 5050 LED's (amber) and quickly found out how pointless the exercise was.
The lower wattage caused a few problems with the relay and upset the indicator flash delay. I'm sure there is a resister kit which will correct but I'm not convinced the end result will be a happy one.

I have the face-lifted rear lens and I'll be playing with the bulbs in due course.

Good luck with yours!
Jason.

jason can you recommend any led 501 bulbs?

[jasonb]

For side lights, try to go with those that have the highest lumens rating.
I'm running these at the moment - see ebay item 180483520834

Here are my reasons for going with these:
UK seller
SMD 5050 chips which are brighter than 1210's.

At the end of the day, it is about personal choice!

If it's brightness that you are after, look for those with the most SMD 5050 chips.

Good luck
JB

[jasonb]

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...20100316_1.jpg

These whopping great big pieces of plastic look interesting.
66 Bulbs with a claimed output of 462 Lumens.
I know they're 1210's but the numbers seem to stack up.
On the downside, they're not cheap at £23 a pair.
Ebay 180483664608

[s40_kid]

Originally Posted by jasonb

For side lights, try to go with those that have the highest lumens rating.
I'm running these at the moment - see ebay item 180483520834

Here are my reasons for going with these:
UK seller
SMD 5050 chips which are brighter than 1210's.

At the end of the day, it is about personal choice!

If it's brightness that you are after, look for those with the most SMD 5050 chips.

Good luck
JB

thanks for the info Jason. For £4 they have got to be worth a try . Not bothered about brightness just want to get away from the yellow sidelights compared to the retro fitted HID's.

[jasonb]

Today I finished off installing the light oak console trim and a sports steering wheel.
I'd love to replace the centre console with the face-lift but I'm not sure if it's a straight swap or not.
The front door cards would be a good swap, purely for the tiny extra piece of storage.

[Jonnieb2009]

JB

When you say 'face-lift' do you mean the storage box/armrest. Im not sure myself, I was looking into this but you would also need to change the cig lighter and DTSC switch etc.. looks a big job and prob expensive. Have you got any pics of the new console etc

[jasonb]

Jonnie, was just an idea. The handbrake may need changing too. Perhaps more work than it's worth.

Today I managed to get the front bumper in to primer.
I'll need to fix a few more blemishes but looking good.
I can't believe how much primer was required to coat the bumper.
More base coat ordered as I think I'm going to need at least four tins maybe five to get a decent layer.

I'll prep the R-Design spoiler next, get that section in to primer and do the whole front end in colour at the same time.

I'm going to leave the rear end of now, I'll need a break from spraying soon I think.

Watch this space and I'll post pics!

[BenB]

I'd love to your progress pics Jason! How is the Sport wheel different??