Does anyone know how these compare, I have standard Halogen, which I upgraded the bulbs in, this
made a fantaastic difference.

I have heard tell that the HIDS are cr@p.

Does anyone have first hand experience of both? 

Halogen = Standard and very poor especially with projector lens
Xenon = Often confused with HID, extreme Type filament lamps are filled with Xenon gas which helps them burn brighter and they are far better as a replacement to the standard lamps.
HID = High Intensity Discharge and are far superior in light output to Halogen or Xenon not suited as retrofit in standard reflector lamp units as the beam pattern is all wrong and the produce more glare than useful light, hence they are always used with projector lights.
The HID lamps provide a wide even beam of light, some people don't like them as the beam is so well defined at the cutoff point it makes it look quite short, in reality, side by side, the HID is far superior to the Xenon filament lamps.

A downside with HID is the reflectance of traffic cones, in a long line of them it is blindingly bright.

Yep, agreed, proper LR HID's are far superior to Halogen or wanna be Philips Xtreme and I've had all three. You can tell the difference between all of them when yousee them on the road.

I'd speculate the crap comment came from someone with the wanna be bulbs.

Hi Im slightly confused now

I have a MY11 with standard (I assume projector) lamps, what are the options to improve from this starting point?

Also apart from the AutoExpress article are their any other comparisons or reviews as we are looking at whatt we should do for our future car fleet with reference to safety at night both on existing cars and new ones.

Ta for any help on this

Nick

dunroof wrote:

Yep, agreed, proper LR HID's are far superior to Halogen or wanna be Philips Xtreme and I've had all three. You can tell the difference between all of them when yousee them on the road.

I'd speculate the crap comment came from someone with the wanna be bulbs.

As it's the cheapest upgrade and the standard projector is woeful I changed to Osram plus, it did make a difference but not massive. Even so it is worth it and there are better than the Osram's as stated.

iain cooper wrote:

dunroof wrote:

Yep, agreed, proper LR HID's are far superior to Halogen or wanna be Philips Xtreme and I've had all three. You can tell the difference between all of them when yousee them on the road.

I'd speculate the crap comment came from someone with the wanna be bulbs.

I was thinking about upgrading to Philips Xtreme this winter ( relatively easy upgrade and seems to have good reviews )

but would this be a waste of time and money ??

Iain

I cannot recommend them enough - they transformed my lights

see review here
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/prod...power.html 

The 'Philips Xtreme' link is 2007, things have moved on since then. I believe the Osrams took an Auto Express award for 2011, as did the Halford's brand.

Hi As previously stated in another thread also, you cannot get H11 bulbs in the Philips extreme only H7

Nick

EYorkshire wrote:

The 'Philips Xtreme' link is 2007, things have moved on since then. I believe the Osrams took an Auto Express award for 2011, as did the Halford's brand.

agreed,


however I have read a few tmes that the life expetancy of the osrams is a littlt low - even for the Plus version.

I have had the Philips or 20 months - and still going 

are the headlight bulbs easy enough to change ?

Iain

Maybe a good thread to whinge that as a £33K plus car, the HSE should come with HIDs as standard.

And yes - fully agree. No normal headlamp can compete with an HID. 2010 HSE Auto in Santorini Black/almond with xenons and privacy glass.

iain cooper wrote:

are the headlight bulbs easy enough to change ?

Iain

Look on "Technical" "how do you change headlamp bulbs". A good simple explanation there by E Yorkshire.
In future try a search of the threads before posting!  10MY (Sept 09) TD4 HSE Auto in Stornoway Grey (Now Gone)

08 FL2 TD4 SE Manual in Rimini Red (Now Gone)

I was thinking about upgrading to Philips Xtreme this winter ( relatively easy upgrade and seems to have good reviews )

but would this be a waste of time and money ??

Iain

Hi, no, not a waste of money, they are certainly better than the standard Haolgen, but I wouldn't say outstanding. As for changing them, dead easy. Give mea shout if you can't find the thread on how to change them.

I have just upgraded my standard bulbs (lamps? ) to Osram Nightbreakers Plus which I also had in my FL1. Not as good as HID but probably about the best legal compromise in reflector-type headlights like my GS has. I have used HID conversion kits in a few cars and while they are superb for light output, they are best suited to projectors which are less likely to dazzle other drivers like reflectors. Cheers,
Raz
FL1 TD4 GS Auto 2001 Silver
FL2 TD4 Auto 2007 Black
FL2 XS SD4 Auto 2012 Fuji White