Headlight bulbs needed - recommendations/tips
This evening my drivers side bi-Xenon bulb failed and I got the warning in the cluster - didn't notice at first as the car is pretty mucky, though I did hear the beep!
First time in 15 years of S8 with HID ownership that a Xenon bulb has failed on me! :eek: I'll probably replace both as they've been pretty slow to warm up for a while and losing power, but what do people recommend? I want OEM colour temperature, not anything whiter though brighter would be fine. I'm expecting a hefty bill. :-( At the same time I'll probably replace the supplementary main-beam halogens - what are they and what do people recommend as brighter and whiter? They're probably 2002 OEM so pretty pathetic by modern standards. Finally, how difficult a job is it and any tips on making it easier? I did replace the main-beam halogens on my PF S8 and it was a nightmare job requiring removal of ballasts, airbox and sundry other bits, hopefully the FL is easier. All I've ever done on the current FL is replace the sidelight bulbs. :rolleyes: So that's 3 questions, in summary: 1. Recommended OEM colour bi-xenon bulbs for a FL D2. 2. Recommended supplementary main-beam halogens 3. Tips and techniques for replacing them |
Hi Andrew
I'd have a look for the best prices on the Philips X-treme vision D2R bulbs - standard 4.8k temperature but 50% brighter. Around £65 a pop from places like autobulbsdirect I think the front flash is an H7, but best to remove and double check. Same brand and model as above is what I had in mine and were a decent colour match. I was paying about £25 a pair off ebay for genuine Philips X-treme vision. They are straightforward to fit - from memory the air hose needs moving on the driver's side - but if you've got shovel sized hands it might be a squeeze! Welcome to pop down if you need some assistance :D |
Thanks Adrian. Because my car was first registered in 2003 all the web sites offer D2S bulbs, assuming that it's a D3 I guess.
If I override that and put in 2002 they say D2R and H7 which is what I though they were. |
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To match the 4800K xenon's you need the "Diamond Vision" which are 5000K but nothing like as bright. Also not E-marked so not legal. :rolleyes: |
I never noticed a major colour difference between HID and main beam support with the ones I had - they're certainly bright enough to be effective!
We used the H7s in our C5 A6 as headlight bulbs and they averaged a 2 year life - after fitting on the S8 I never needed to replace them as they obviously aren't on anywhere near as much |
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They don't do the H7's at a particularly good price so I'll get those elsewhere. |
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I bought the new Gen2 X-tremeVision bulbs recently (in D2R), as I mentioned here. A tad expensive but a great improvement on the old (regular Philips) bulbs I had. +++ |
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However, too late, I've already ordered the previous version which will probably be a great improvement on what I had. It's a high days and holidays car anyway so I don't do much night driving. ;) And even with only the nearside bulb working it was perfectly adequate on the local twisty lanes last night. :cool: |
I think you probably made a good choice regardless. I suspect the Gen2 improvements (over Gen1) are negligible and not as great as the marketing spiel would have us believe. I think both will show similar improvements over standard. I actually bought a pair of Gen1 bulbs first but I haven't fitted them. When I discovered the Gen2s were out I decided to buy those too and keep the Gen1s as a spare set.
You're probably already aware of this, but just make sure the bulbs you have are genuine; there are a lot of fakes, especially Gen1s (probably just because the Gen2s haven't been around very long yet). As I understand it, some of the fakes are far inferior and can radiate a lot of UV which can damage the plastic headlight lenses. The first pair I received were fakes. At first glance they looked genuine but the giveaway was that the authenticity labels were identical and had the same number; comparing other fake characteristics online (in particular the lack of welding) confirmed they were fake. The seller pleaded ignorance (blaming his supplier) but replaced them with a genuine pair. The labels on the genuine pair were unique and the holographic part was much more noticeable. |
Thanks for the tips on checking for genuine items; I'll look very closely. +++
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