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Bulb replacement

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Old May 4th, 2019, 17:54   #1
Kev0607
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Default Bulb replacement

Hi,

I have a 2007 S80 2.4 D. I've notice that the headlights on my car when driving in the night aren't particularly bright. The beam adjustment is turned up to to the max, but even so, they just seem dark to me. The headlights themselves are in great condition, as in there's no fading or water getting inside causing moisture. I just think the bulbs themselves aren't great.

Can I simply change the existing standard bulbs & replace them with these more modern/brighter ones? Or, do I need to fit one of these kits that come with what looks like a transformer to limit voltage, new wiring & then the bulbs?

Thanks
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Old May 4th, 2019, 18:27   #2
SwissXC90
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Whilst new bulbs will always be a bit brighter, it is always debatable if the human eye can tell

What has a much greater impact is headlight alignment, so get it checked. If too low, you will not light up much of the road. And thus it will appear dark-
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Old May 5th, 2019, 11:33   #3
andyg
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Definitely check that the dipped beam is not set too low per SwissXC90's advice.

If that does not help the next option is to fit brighter halogen bulbs. There are loads of threads on the forum for these bulbs, for example Halfords own brand, Osram Nightbreaker or Phillips Extreme Vision. These work by using a slightly thinner filament so it burns brighter but the power consumption in Watts remains the same as the original so they are a straight swap. That should be 55W for your car. The slight downside is that these bulbs burn out quicker than standard bulbs. If you look at the packing they show the % extra light as a headline on the front, but on the back you will see a figure for reduced life. Normally about 40% less.

Avoid at all costs higher wattage halogen bulbs, often 80W, because the extra heat they put out can permanently damage the headlight fitting. Also, do not be tempted by after-market HID or LED bulbs. They are not legal, will be a pain to fit and almost certainly result in MOT failure.
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Old May 7th, 2019, 17:26   #4
october37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kev0607 View Post
Hi,

I have a 2007 S80 2.4 D. I've notice that the headlights on my car when driving in the night aren't particularly bright. The beam adjustment is turned up to to the max, but even so, they just seem dark to me. The headlights themselves are in great condition, as in there's no fading or water getting inside causing moisture. I just think the bulbs themselves aren't great.

Can I simply change the existing standard bulbs & replace them with these more modern/brighter ones? Or, do I need to fit one of these kits that come with what looks like a transformer to limit voltage, new wiring & then the bulbs?

Thanks
You can fit the high discharge bulbs that are available as a plug and play option to your headlights, and this would make a big difference to them, but this could also cause problems with the MOT, as they are not legal unless original equipment on the car. Many owners do this, but remember to change them back before taking the car for its MOT test.

2008 V70se lux 2.4D Geartronic
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Old May 19th, 2019, 19:16   #5
Kev0607
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Originally Posted by october37 View Post
You can fit the high discharge bulbs that are available as a plug and play option to your headlights, and this would make a big difference to them, but this could also cause problems with the MOT, as they are not legal unless original equipment on the car. Many owners do this, but remember to change them back before taking the car for its MOT test.

2008 V70se lux 2.4D Geartronic
I put the brighter halogen bulbs in. They're definitely better & the light appears to be white, as opposed to the yellow colour that they used to be. The full beams have Phillips H9 65v halogen bulbs, which is the same as what was in it originally in terms of wattage. However, the new bulbs I put in are blue, the old ones were clear. When the lights are on, they look similar to xenon with just a faint hint of blue & I think they look great.

The dipped beams were clear H11 bulbs. Like the H9's, the new bulbs I've put in (H11 halogen 75w) are blue, creating a xenon effect when they're on. Both sets of bulbs were plug and play.

I'm a little concerned after reading your post about whether these new bulbs I've fitted are okay for an MOT? They look fine and don't appear to be overpowering/dazzling. The original bulbs were no good in my opinion and the new ones are a massive improvement. The shop I got them from said loads of people buy them, as opposed to buying a full kit to upgrade to actual xenon.

Last edited by Kev0607; May 19th, 2019 at 19:22.
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