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[pauls]

Hi just bought car and the headlights are rubbish. What's the best h7 bulbs on the market. Dont want to go down the conversion route. Just need brighter and a longer throw.
Cheers.

[Viral_Jim]

I used Osram nightbreakers in the Volvo.

They were good, but they don't last as long as regular H7 bulbs.

[STEMO]

Acme extremely bright......or osram night breakers.

[STEMO]

I used Osram nightbreakers in the Volvo.

They were good, but they don't last as long as regular H7 bulbs.

Oi you......posting too quick!

[Viral_Jim]

I used Osram nightbreakers in the Volvo.

They were good, but they don't last as long as regular H7 bulbs.

Oi you......posting too quick!

Proper sad b@stard me. 

[Andy B]

despite the Interweb praising various nightbreaker super duper H7 'bulbs' I found the difference barely noticeable when I tried them in my now deceased 451 Smart. The somewhat extra cost over a 'normal' named brand H7 wasn't worth it IMHO

[Doctor Gollum]

If xenons were a factory option, it's probably worth the effort to retrofit them. Depends on the car though, as some headlights are woefully shit... Vectra C to name but one.

[aaronjb]

despite the Interweb praising various nightbreaker super duper H7 'bulbs' I found the difference barely noticeable when I tried them in my now deceased 451 Smart.

Found the same in the OHs MINI, too; made absolutely sod all difference to my eyes, the lights were just crap. Are just crap. We tried some aftermarket Chinese projector jobbies which are slightly less crap, but now the shutter for high/dip beam on one size has got lazy

As DG says, next up I'd retro-fit the OEM Xenons - which, before everyone rages about the law, there is actually a BMW/MINI retro-fit kit for.. they're 5W less (25W vs 30W IIRC), use manual levelling but add the automatic wash functionality, and must pass C&U regs given MINI sold them in the UK

Of course, that's £900 or so... so she might just have to put up with squinting in the dark!

[pauls]

If xenons were a factory option, it's probably worth the effort to retrofit them. Depends on the car though, as some headlights are woefully shit... Vectra C to name but one.

I looked into this. But by the time I have bought all the bits and had it coded it was over £1400.

[Doctor Gollum]

Which is why no one bought them if they were options

[TheBoy]

Firstly check they are aligned properly.  No bulb will really adjust the height or throw of the light, only the intensity. No bulb is going to produce miracles, and if the headlight design is rubbish (like any Vauxhall since about 1990), you can't shine up the turd.

I found Vision+/Nightbreakers to be slightly better than normal personally. How much of that is down to degradation of the old bulbs is a matter of some debate.

[scimmy_man]

check the voltage that is getting to the bulbs,

too many connections and you can be running them on 11v

[Andy H]

despite the Interweb praising various nightbreaker super duper H7 'bulbs' I found the difference barely noticeable when I tried them in my now deceased 451 Smart. The somewhat extra cost over a 'normal' named brand H7 wasn't worth it IMHO

If you are comparing good quality branded halogen with the nightbreakers then you may not see much benefit. When I have swapped out old unknown halogens and fitted nightbreakers there has been a marked improvement.

Also - Halogens are very sensitive to voltage - if you have some poor electrical connections or an alternator that is dying you lose significant light output.