Upgrading Car Headlights

[Lord Tyrion]

I've had my current car for a couple of months now, 2016 Mazda 6. In the last 10 days or so I've had to do a lot of night driving in areas without street lights. It's very apparent that the dipped lights are completely gutless. I've raised them to the highest, safest point so that isn't the problem.

As far as I can tell, unless someone has another suggestion, I have 3 options.

1/ upgrade the bulbs to something like Philips Nightbreakers

2/ upgrade to xenon

3/ upgrade to led (if this is possible)

Has anyone done any of the above? Positive points, negative?

The current dipped are frankly dangerous so the status quo is not an option.

 

[KenL]

If you are talking about just upgrading the bulbs, LED ones are illegal and won't necessarily improve things.

The Night breaker bulbs are good.

Changing the whole system would be very expensive.

Are the current lights set correctly?

 

[Mel Smooth]

Put a lightbar on the roof, or a pair of Cibbies on the front ;-)

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Lots of cars are sold with led headlights now, how can they be illegal?

Yes, they are set correctly. The lights give off an almost yellow tinge, they are weak.

Night breakers are the easiest option, I was wondering if a full change was worthwhile and not too scary ??‍

 

[KenL]

Lots of cars are sold with led headlights now, how can they be illegal?

Yes, they are set correctly. The lights give off an almost yellow tinge, they are weak.

Night breakers are the easiest option, I was wondering if a full change was worthwhile and not too scary ??‍

No, I meant putting an led bulb in a Halogen housing is illegal.

Changing the whole units would be very expensive (£2k???).

Worth trying Night breakers. I've seen a worthwhile improvement with these on a MINI with Halogen lights.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

@KenL ah, okay. That makes sense.

Good advice, thank you.

 

[CliveW]

I have a bit of experience with this matter as I have a classic car with basic electrics.

All headlights are poor with the conditions we have at the moment. Dark, wet roads do not reflect light well so even my BMW with Adaptive LED Headlights do not seem to work well, but on a dry clear night they are awesome.

Upgrading the standard halogen lights are the easiest options (I use these in my classic, https://www.piaa.co.uk/bulbs/bulbshow.asp?ID=nighttech ) but you need to check the wattage as some draw more power and can cause wiring to overheat, however the PIAA are street legal. Upgrading to Xenon requires a much higher voltage to the bulbs therefore a transformer is required to do this and the third option of LED bulbs is not recommended as the reflector in your headlight is designed to focus a single small light source whereas a LED bulb has multiple light sources and causes dazzling to oncoming road users.

If fitting Xenon or LED lights, then your car should, by law, have self levelling headlights and headlight washers installed.

 

[KenL]

I have a bit of experience with this matter as I have a classic car with basic electrics.

All headlights are poor with the conditions we have at the moment. Dark, wet roads do not reflect light well so even my BMW with Adaptive LED Headlights do not seem to work well, but on a dry clear night they are awesome.

Upgrading the standard halogen lights are the easiest options (I use these in my classic, https://www.piaa.co.uk/bulbs/bulbshow.asp?ID=nighttech ) but you need to check the wattage as some draw more power and can cause wiring to overheat, however the PIAA are street legal. Upgrading to Xenon requires a much higher voltage to the bulbs therefore a transformer is required to do this and the third option of LED bulbs is not recommended as the reflector in your headlight is designed to focus a single small light source whereas a LED bulb has multiple light sources and causes dazzling to oncoming road users.

If fitting Xenon or LED lights, then your car should, by law, have self levelling headlights and headlight washers installed.

Good info there. Except for washers. My A3 had Xenons and my fiesta ST has leds.
None of these have washers.

 

[Smiffy]

Buy uprated bulbs. You can buy 100w/80's and the police will never know. Did it for years on my motorbike...
Just make sure you get the right fitment for your particular car because it can get confusing
???

 

[KenL]

Buy uprated bulbs. You can buy 100w/80's and the police will never know. Did it for years on my motorbike...
Just make sure you get the right fitment for your particular car because it can get confusing
???

Ah so that's why motorbikes blind everyone else? ?

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I think its only xenons that have to have washers, but must be auto adjusting. My Mazda 3 has LED headlights with auto adjust as standard fit. Miles better than anything else Ive driven.
I would swap out your current headlight bulb for an uprated headlight bulb. Don't go too mad. I changed out my VW Transporter headlight bulbs for something from Halfords, (again not chavvy bright) and they definately help. I would also suggest getting some RainX glass cleaner to clean your headlamp lenses and other outside glass. You get the RainX stuff and it cleans too without smearing. Helps the headlamps stay cleaner longer.
The other option is to see how much complete LED headlamp units are from Mazda, and whether a retrofit is possible.

 

[Tashyboy]

I think its only xenons that have to have washers, but must be auto adjusting. My Mazda 3 has LED headlights with auto adjust as standard fit. Miles better than anything else Ive driven.
I would swap out your current headlight bulb for an uprated headlight bulb. Don't go too mad. I changed out my VW Transporter headlight bulbs for something from Halfords, (again not chavvy bright) and they definately help. I would also suggest getting some RainX glass cleaner to clean your headlamp lenses and other outside glass. You get the RainX stuff and it cleans too without smearing. Helps the headlamps stay cleaner longer.
The other option is to see how much complete LED headlamp units are from Mazda, and whether a retrofit is possible.

This stuff is fantastic, a big thumbs up from Tash.?

 

[YandaB]

One more thing, you have checked that with all this recent rubbish weather that the glass is clean? I expect you have but if not it might be the cheapest option.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

One more thing, you have checked that with all this recent rubbish weather that the glass is clean? I expect you have but if not it might be the cheapest option.

It's a valid point but yes, I'm cleaning them every day.

 

[need_my_wedge]

I used to do a 2 hour journey to my office 3 days a week. It was a nightmare in the winter for the very same reason. Nearly every car I’ve had over the last 22 years needed headlight bulb upgrades to be anything near safe driving down the rally route I traveled. I always went to Halfords and bought the brightest upgrade bulbs they had. Was a big improvement over the standard bulbs provided by the manufacturer. Worked for all the motors, only ever had trouble with Ford, the Focus would blow one or the other bulb every 6 weeks or so.

The best standard non upgraded cars are my two current motors. Volvo XC60 has Xenon headlamps and the A class has LED, both are way better than halogen.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I used to do a 2 hour journey to my office 3 days a week. It was a nightmare in the winter for the very same reason. Nearly every car I’ve had over the last 22 years needed headlight bulb upgrades to be anything near safe driving down the rally route I traveled. I always went to Halfords and bought the brightest upgrade bulbs they had. Was a big improvement over the standard bulbs provided by the manufacturer. Worked for all the motors, only ever had trouble with Ford, the Focus would blow one or the other bulb every 6 weeks or so.

The best standard non upgraded cars are my two current motors. Volvo XC60 has Xenon headlamps and the A class has LED, both are way better than halogen.

How long did they last? (Apart from the focus) .I was looking at the Philips Extreme and they suggest only 150 hours ?.

Did you use Halford's own brighter bulbs or go Philips or Osram?

 

[need_my_wedge]

I only upgraded each car once. Would last the four years I kept them. I used Halfords own brand as I recall, may have had to replace the odd one a second time but don’t remember it being often (aside from the Ford).

 

[Smiffy]

Just carry out a Google search for "higher powered headlight bulbs" and that will find them. Just make sure you buy the 100 watters.

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

My daily driver is a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and my summer toy is a restomodded (restored and modified) 1962 Corvette.

[Don't judge me. We get a gallon of petrol for what you play for a liter. ]

With a .44 Magnum at my temple, I couldn't tell you what's in them for bulbs.

Will admit this, this however. I can no longer climb in and out of the Corvette if the top is up.

 

[CliveW]

Will admit this, this however. I can no longer climb in and out of the Corvette if the top is up.

I know the feeling!