Replacement high-beam globes for bi-xenon

[phl]

I'm thinking of replacing the H7 globes in the high beam with something brighter; has anyone tried using the 65W Osram or the 80W Philips instead of installing driving lights? I wonder if the high beam has enough of a pencil beam pattern for distance use.

[baldivistribe]

Sounds good to me let us know how you get on.
Cheers
Steve

[gghaggis]

I installed the Phillips CrystalVision (?) globes. They work very well.

Cheers,

Gordon

[joel0407]

I can highly recommend fitting HID ballists and Globes to dedicated high beam lights.

I dont recommend it for H4 type bulbs that use the same reflector and bulb for both high and low beam because the low beam never works out right and you end up with low beam blinding people.

I had a 2005 WRX which had seperate relfectors and bulbs for both high and low beams. I replace the high beam bulbs (H7 from memory) with HID bulbs. The kit cost me about $250 back then but you can buy the same for under $50 these days. Worked fantastic. You will not get close to this much light with standard halogen bulbs. I beleive it's as good and halogen head lights with halogen driving lights.

The only down side I saw was the bulbs take 10 seconds or so to warm up so you couldn't really flash high beam lights to warn of police radar or a hazard of some sort ahead.

Just my recommendation

Happy Days.

[phl]

Gordon,

Were the Philips the 55W unit or the 80W unit? If they were the 55W units, did you find them bright enough to eliminate the need for driving lights?

Joel,

Are the HID 35W or 55W? I already have 35W in the low beam, which are un-shuttered for high anyway, so want something different.

[joel0407]

Joel,

Are the HID 35W or 55W? I already have 35W in the low beam, which are un-shuttered for high anyway, so want something different.


What do you mean un-shuttered? I have a Skoda Yeti with factory HID lights. A mechanical shutter just opens and closes for high and low beam. Is that what you mean?

[joel0407]

If you have the mechanical shutter thing going on for factory high/low beam. I am pretty disapointed with my Skoda lights. I was advise to get the optional Bi-Xenons because the standard Halogens were not that good.

The HIDs I fitted to the dedicated high beam in the WRX would have blown the Skoda Bi-Xenons out of the water.

Vehicle wise, my Skoda Yeti replaced the WRX and the Disco 2 is suposed to be the spare but since I'm up on the km on the Skoda and it's a lease car the Disco is getting a work out.

Happy Days.

[Graeme]

I fitted 55W HID to my D4's high beam. Once the possum light feature was normalised I removed the HID-converted driving lights because they provided virtually no visibility improvement.

[101RRS]

Joel and others - in the D3/RRS with Bi Xenons the high beam is provided by a shuttered H7 HID globe in the outer (projector position). The inner position (which people think is the high beam) is just a Halogen beam to fill in the dark spots in the Bi Xenon High beam. In the non Bi Xenon lights the projector position is a non shuttered H7 low beam Halogen and the inner is the Hi Beam halogen H7.

My car is not Bi xenon so I do not know how putting HIDs or the new hi light output Halogens will go as Hi beam is already being provided by the Bi Xenon but I do have HIDs in the low beam of my car and HIDs in the high beam and high beam is a lot better than the halogens but as mentioned unlike shuttered HIDs which are on all the time, mine do take about 10secs to come to full brilliance which can be a pain - I am looking at replacing them with 4300k super bright Halogens which should be as good as the HIDs and light up immediately.

Garry

[phl]

What do you mean un-shuttered? I have a Skoda Yeti with factory HID lights. A mechanical shutter just opens and closes for high and low beam. Is that what you mean?

Yes, that's exactly what I mean; when you hit high beam, the shutter opens as well as the H7 is lit.

[joel0407]

My car is not Bi xenon so I do not know how putting HIDs or the new hi light output Halogens will go as Hi beam is already being provided by the Bi Xenon but I do have HIDs in the low beam of my car and HIDs in the high beam and high beam is a lot better than the halogens but as mentioned unlike shuttered HIDs which are on all the time, mine do take about 10secs to come to full brilliance which can be a pain - I am looking at replacing them with 4300k super bright Halogens which should be as good as the HIDs and light up immediately.

Garry

I hate reading stuff like this. Never put HID bulbs in low beam reflectors that were not designed for them. You will be blinding oncoming traffic. The bulbs are just too different.


There is no way super bright halogens will be anywhere near as bright as HID.

[joel0407]

Yes, that's exactly what I mean; when you hit high beam, the shutter opens as well as the H7 is lit.

Yeah mate. Dump some HIDs in your high beam will make a hell of a difference.


I don't know about later model Discos but the Skoda has a CANBUS system. It know if a bulb is blown. Just make sure your don't have any issue with the HID s using less current.


Happy Days

[101RRS]

I hate reading stuff like this. Never put HID bulbs in low beam reflectors that were not designed for them. You will be blinding oncoming traffic. The bulbs are just too different.


There is no way super bright halogens will be anywhere near as bright as HID.

Sorry but your comments show you do not know much about the lights in the D3/RRS. The Halogen lights in these vehicles and the BiXenons are the same with the exception of the globes and shutter. Putting HIDs in the low beam projector of the halogen housing is the same as having the Bixenons on in low beam - no difference. I do not blind oncoming drivers - the light pattern is no different. People who blind oncoming cars with HIDs were previously blinding people with their halogens.

I get blinded more by illegal hi wattage halogens than I do hids - there are exceptions though.

[irondoc]

the focii of halogen and HID bulbs is different, so if you put HID bulbs in halogen reflectors or projectors, you will get a different spread of light. Most conversions do not work very well.

[joel0407]

Sorry but your comments show you do not know much about the lights in the D3/RRS. The Halogen lights in these vehicles and the BiXenons are the same with the exception of the globes and shutter. Putting HIDs in the low beam projector of the halogen housing is the same as having the Bixenons on in low beam - no difference. I do not blind oncoming drivers - the light pattern is no different. People who blind oncoming cars with HIDs were previously blinding people with their halogens.

I get blinded more by illegal hi wattage halogens than I do hids - there are exceptions though.

Yes your dead right. I have very little knowledge about D3/RRS lights but I'm willing to be schooled.

What I read from your statement: The factory Bi-xenons include bulb and shutter. You have bulb but no shutter. Same housing.

The shutter is what creates the cut off for low beam so with out the shutter you basicly have high beam all the time. Correct me if I am wrong.

Secondly it's not the reflector thats the problem. It's the bulb position. HID bulbs are much longer than Halogen bulbs. The light hitting the reflector gets reflected all wrong for low beam.

Happy Days.

[phl]

After testing the lights tonight, it would appear that the HIDs stay low, whereas the halogens are aimed higher. Not sure if these are possum spotters, but the halogens high beam starts where the HID end.

And not sure these being adaptive are the same as normal HIDs.

Must find myself some long dark road to test where the halogens are aimed at, and whether they would be of any use being brighter.

[joel0407]

After testing the lights tonight, it would appear that the HIDs stay low, whereas the halogens are aimed higher. Not sure if these are possum spotters, but the halogens high beam starts where the HID end.

And not sure these being adaptive are the same as normal HIDs.

Must find myself some long dark road to test where the halogens are aimed at, and whether they would be of any use being brighter.

I am so confident that if you buy yourself a set of HID balllist and bulbs for around the $50 mark and your not massively impressed with the light they produce, I'll buy them of you for what ever you paid for them.

I'll need a set soon anyway, when I put a couple of Hella Ralley 4000 on the front of the Disco II. I can buy standard Hella 4000 for about $180ea. I cant get a Hella 4000HID for under $800. So it's pretty worth while converting them.

Just putting my money where my mouth is.

Happy Days.

[Graeme]

Must find myself some long dark road to test where the halogens are aimed at, and whether they would be of any use being brighter.Face a high wall then reverse away to watch the "fill-in" beams get higher and higher above the bi-xenon beam. Unless you do something about the alignment by tilting the HID globes or the bi-xenon assembly, more light won't do much. HIDs with their greater depth of beam will give a little more light on the road but the flashing bright light on the possums' branches directly above is very distracting.

[LGM]

I have been reading with interest!

Graeme is right the 'Fill In' beams are signalling to some extra terrestrials up in the sky.
I personally could not be bothered mucking around and purchased a couple of good HID driving lights and 'Bob's Your Uncle' I suddenly have light on the road where it is needed. :eek: It obvioulsy does not address the sky-lights but that no longer matters. In fact they actually become useful when your are travelling on roads that are tree lined as Sky-lights allow you to pick your way aorund curves when the are just over the brow of a hill!
I guess that some use from them is better than nothing. ;)

[irondoc]

I removed the halogen H7 globes from the "possum-spotter" high beams and prefer the results. I have bi xenons, so xenon low beam and xenon + halogen spotlight high beam.