Headlight bulb recommendations

[_HighVoltage_]

Tonight I had an awful driving experience. Rain, fog, twisty roads and lots of stupid pick-up trucks whose headlights are so high that can almost blind a person...No accident, but I got scared a few times...

I want to get better/stronger headlights for the Volvo. The car has four headlamps. The highbeams are great! But since I'm not an asshole, I don't drive on high beams when there is a car coming toward me.
The low beams...it's like they are non existent. They are properly alligned, and the lense is clean, I'm guessing just the bulbs are crap.

What brand should I get (reasonble...), the type I need is 9006. Also...should I go for the ones that have blue-white light? All I care about is vision, I don't care about the "coolness" factor.

[Spectre]

I wouldn't assume that the bulbs are crap. It's the lens design - it is deliberately crippled by US DOT regulations of the time period. A higher power bulb won't help a whole lot and it'll just melt the housing. Many cars from the era suffer from the same issue; including my Pathfinder.

I'd get newer, clear lensed headlights, something like this, though maybe some that are a little more subdued:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VOLVO-850-T5-T-5...d=p3286.c0.m14

On a cheaper note, you could fit auxiliary driving lights.


The blue-white bulbs on the US market don't really help and actually retard the bulb efficiency quite a bit. They shift the bulb's output spectrum, but at the price of lumens/candlepower.

I would go for some Sylvania XtraVisions, if you really want new bulbs.

[thevictor390]

The RX has an auto-dimming rear view mirror which is absolutely amazing for night driving... in fact I think the car would be dangerous without it (what with all these big American trucks and SUVs around). Unfortunately I just looked some up and they seem quite expensive aftermarket.

No experience with aftermarket headlight bulbs but a couple of auxiliary lights can make a big difference.

[Spectre]

You can go to a junkyard and get certain GM or Chrysler autodimming mirrors that are more or less universal. Three wires and a little bit of work later and you're all set if you want that function in an older car. Usually about $20 at the junkyard.

[_HighVoltage_]

I was hoping this would be an easy fix
What if I get a pair of PIAA bulbs, would that be a lot better than the regular Sylvania bulbs? (they are twice the cost...)

[Spectre]

Nope. The problem is the lenses and reflectors, not the bulb wattage or color temperature per se. Even if you do fit brighter bulbs, all they're going to do is increase the glare other motorists see (due to the lens aging and the terrible DOT pattern in that era.) You may recall my comment about your Volvo's headlights from some time back... Looks like you just found out why I repeated Jeremy's "candles in jamjars" comment - they really weren't very good.

Today, you'd fit a better set of light units, but that is kind of expensive as you've seen. Many people who had issues with headlights back in that era fitted things like these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-H...Q5fAccessories

This resolves many problems and it's fairly cheap. They aren't driving lights (though those would help) or fog lights, they're actually additional but much better low beam headlights.

[_HighVoltage_]

Woo...I really like those. Although, I think they might be a challenge to my electrical engineering skills.

If my theory is correct, I need to find the wire from the light switch inside the carl; splice it, so it can operate both relays (regular lights, and the Hellas). Then connect the Hella relay to the battery...and that's it.
Or am I missing a few steps?

[Crazyjeeper]

I would wire the Hellas separately from the regular headlights. Cutting up the original wiring harness just seems like a bad idea.

[Spectre]

Yeah, I would also wire them separately. Easier and arguably safer.

[emil_t]

why no get aftermakert xenons ? but bear in mind the EU says you must have headlight washer in order to authorise them, and probably autoleveling stuff in the head light, though i have friends that don't have any of those things and haven't got a problem yet (though they've tested if they blind upcoming traffic). You can get bi-xenons even if you have H4 bulbs.

Plus, i remember seeing a set only on dipped beam for 50 euros (not including instalation) but from what i've heard you can install them yourself with some electrical knowledge

[thevictor390]

When you click the "save" button while editing your post, there's a delete button right next to it! (it's amazing how many people don't know that.)

[_HighVoltage_]

Some people from the Volvo forums suggested that i get HID's. They suggested one 35w kit that only costs $40. I'm very tempted to get it.

[Spectre]

HIDs will not solve the problem of your crap lens/reflector units. All they will do in your case is increase glare without increasing usable light.

[Nabster]

They'll increase useable light as well, just enough to be useful, but as a result you'll have to aim them down further to not blind oncoming people, so what the net result is is a nice bright patch for the first 30 yards or so in front of you and them dim the rest of the way. The headlights in my grand prix are the same crappy design, so I know first hand how that goes. Auxiliary lights are the way to go, as long as you mount them properly so they don't look like crap. I also agree you should wire them up separately, having each set of lights on its own switch is very much worth the hassle of running an extra switch.

[Joker19583]

I found these: http://www.duw.de/shop/Beleuchtung/D...7-Details.html

looking better then the "angel eyes" in my opinion, unfortunatly more expensive.
But they won't ruin the aerodynamics like the auxiliary lamps.

[Spectre]

...

He's driving a Volvo brick. It has NO aerodynamics to ruin.

[MattD1zzl3]

I have a similar problem in my 1997 Camry, is this the same horrible DOT era spectre?

I was gonna replace it with some new bulbs (not HID's, but just new ones), but now im thinking crazy rally pods on the front, just for the hell of it. (im completely serious, the car is ragged and i dont care about screwing into the hood)



it does SAY universal

[_HighVoltage_]

...

He's driving a Volvo brick. It has NO aerodynamics to ruin.

Hey! It can do 134mph! ...or at least it could when it was brand new
Apparently my drag coefficient is 0.32, which could be even lower since my rear has lowering springs.

How much is the drag coefficient of the Jaaag if I may ask?


The range of the headlights is good...I'm just not happy with the brightness. Yesterday I fiddled with the regulators, and I only managed to make it worse.

Now the driver headlight is good but the other one sends a weird concentrated ray of light up in the trees.

[Spectre]

The XJR is .37 and the old Series III, even with the reverse scoop front end, is only .375 (thanks to the TWR spoiler). Of course, they have less frontal area than your brick.

[jmb]

Id say naff lenses too - I got better bulbs for my '99 Passat (Philips x-treme power) and they were brighter but didn't actually help. The refracting lenses in the headlamps just kinda "absorbed" all the extra light

Same bulbs in my clear-lens Focus though - bloody excellent!
So if you can find aftermarket clear-lens headlamps it's the way I'd go. HIDs in the standard units will probably be a disappointment... but if you know someone who has tried it, then maybe check it out.