Headlight Bulbs....

[Raeman]

Hi all, gonna be changing the headlight bulbs in the Yaris soon and was just wondering what you guys would choose to buy?

I know there's loads available, different prices ect, but what's the best make, fit, ect for say £20 or a little more?

Has anyone used a certain make, only to buy another type by a different manufacturer because they were better?

Many thanks in advance. ;)

[Red Yaris 54]

Hi all, gonna be changing the headlight bulbs in the Yaris soon and was just wondering what you guys would choose to buy?

I know there's loads available, different prices ect, but what's the best make, fit, ect for say £20 or a little more?

Has anyone used a certain make, only to buy another type by a different manufacturer because they were better?

Many thanks in advance. ;)

It may be worth checking your local "Halfords" as I understand that they currently have their uprated own brand headlight bulbs on a "Buy One Get One Free" offer

[DONFRAMAC]

Hi all, gonna be changing the headlight bulbs in the Yaris soon and was just wondering what you guys would choose to buy?

I know there's loads available, different prices ect, but what's the best make, fit, ect for say £20 or a little more?

Has anyone used a certain make, only to buy another type by a different manufacturer because they were better?

Many thanks in advance. ;)

It may be worth checking your local "Halfords" as I understand that they currently have their uprated own brand headlight bulbs on a "Buy One Get One Free" offer

When I bought my new '53 2003 reg D4-D Yaris I immediately fitted these Halfords 50% brighter bulbs as I had heard that they were a slightly downrated version of GEC 60% brighter ones, which had a good reputation. Price was 2 for 1, at ~£15. There is very little space to fit them, but I managed, but should have worn rubber washing-up gloves to avoid all the scratches I got on the backs of my hands. The performance of these bulbs is all I needed, and the dip-beam had a clean cut-off. They lasted beyond the 5-year old date, when I traded the car for a new outgoing Fiesta 1.25 Zetec Climate.

I fitted the same bulbs to this car, but the beam cut-off is double-lined, and the Fiesta headlamp shells have to come out to change any bulbs. Better bulbs are available today about your price figure, namely Osram Nightbreaker, and Philips extreme plus, at ~ £18-£22 a pair, as I found on the internet last night. PIAA do a street-legal 110/100 halogen, for £52+ per pair, code no HE303, again on the internet. They are definately as far as you can go, without the HID conversion, which I don't think is legal, despite power being only 35 Watts each, but price and reliability would put me right off. ( the HE303's should be fine, just not the HID's, as bulbs and ballasts blow, but I know the HE 303's run ~ sunlight colour temp., at 4000 deg kelvin, so if you do a lot of night driving they might be worth the cost ).

[alfiejts]

Halfords use whatever brand they can get in their own make. I tried them myself and made sure I picked up boxes that contained GE bulbs - but don't be fooled byu their 2-for-1 offer as their prices are nearly double anyway.....

I've tried the lot - GE, Halfords, Osram, PIAA, HID conversions.

Autoexpress do a side by side comparison test and I support their view that the very best "ordinary" bulb you can but is currently the Phillips X-treme.

You can get them for about £17 delivered from an eBay store.....

They're the best I've ever had and even have a "chromed" finish to make them look really great in the headlight too...

I've fitted the H4 and H7 versions of these into all our three cars and they're "almost" as good as HIDS, they're so bright.

[Madasafish]

I am using Philips Extreme.. very good.

[movistargsxr]

I am using Philips Extreme.. very good.

I'll second that, they are very good!

[Raeman]

Halfords use whatever brand they can get in their own make. I tried them myself and made sure I picked up boxes that contained GE bulbs - but don't be fooled byu their 2-for-1 offer as their prices are nearly double anyway.....

I've tried the lot - GE, Halfords, Osram, PIAA, HID conversions.

Autoexpress do a side by side comparison test and I support their view that the very best "ordinary" bulb you can but is currently the Phillips X-treme.

You can get them for about £17 delivered from an ebay store.....

They're the best I've ever had and even have a "chromed" finish to make them look really great in the headlight too...

I've fitted the H4 and H7 versions of these into all our three cars and they're "almost" as good as HIDS, they're so bright.

Nice one then! Thanks for the info, looks like these are what i'll fit then.

Thanks also to everyone for replying. Cheers. ;)

[reece]

Accessory of the year for 3 years running

[reece]

Accessory of the year for 3 years running

Which I can’t find

Tried 2 independent auto shops and Halfrauds, any ideas?

[stantheman1]

I've seen a few on eBay!

[aygoal]

I wanted some new ones on Friday and wanting them for the weekend I went to Halfords. I got the Extreme Brilliance (+90%) bulbs on BOGOF (19.99 each). i knew the weather was going to be awful during the weekend so thought I want the bulbs now rather than waiting for online delivery.

The difference is marked with a much brighter light that is a nice pure white. I am impressed.

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

I fitted my car with some Osrams from MDC back in July or thereabouts. They aren't bad but I'm looking for something even BRIGHTER and price is irrelevant. A lot of you (and had a look on Auto Express too) say that the Philips X-treme is very good. There is talk about PIAA bulbs being equally as good if not better? However, there seem to be some disadvantages of using them such as them melting reflectors and casing and what not and even being illegal. Some agree and some disagree with this. Could someone shed some light on this and provide some easy to understand information for someone who although loves his Yaris, really doesn't have a clue about motoring other than the very basics. Cheers!

[alfiejts]

I fitted my car with some Osrams from MDC back in July or thereabouts. They aren't bad but I'm looking for something even BRIGHTER and price is irrelevant. A lot of you (and had a look on Auto Express too) say that the Philips X-treme is very good. There is talk about PIAA bulbs being equally as good if not better? However, there seem to be some disadvantages of using them such as them melting reflectors and casing and what not and even being illegal. Some agree and some disagree with this. Could someone shed some light on this and provide some easy to understand information for someone who although loves his Yaris, really doesn't have a clue about motoring other than the very basics. Cheers!

Standard bulbs use approx 60 watts which means that the wires are passing 5 amps of current through them.

Wires are designed to carry only a certain current and bulb filaments glow white hot, giving off heat.

The Phillips X-Treme are about as bright as you can get using a "standard" bulb that draws the same current as a standard bulb.

What Phillips have done is make the glass capsule smaller, have made the filament thinner and have increased the pressure of gas in the bulb.

The net result is that you get a brighter bulb that draws the same current and gives off the same heat as the car was designed for (except it may not last as long as a standard bulb, because you're pushing the limits, but that's a small price to pay for the extra brightness....).

There are other bulbs of higher wattages (such as the PIAA ones). The higher the wattage, the brighter the bulb, but also the more current flows through the wires and the hotter the filament gets.

If you fit a bulb that draws more current than the car was designed for, there is a risk that the wires will get hot because of the extra current flowing through them and that may melt the insulation. In extremes that could cause a "short" and blow a fuse or even cause a fire....

Secondly, the higher wattage filament will burn hotter than the standard bulb. That could lead to heat discolouration or melting of the plastic headlight reflector. On older cars with metal headlight reflectors and glass lenses, that wasn't an issue, but the plastic reflectors and lenses of modern cars are a different matter....

There are also regulations relating to headlight bulbs and they have to be "E marked" to be legal for road use.

I'm not sure of the details of these - but I believe there's a maximum wattage allowed by these regulations to stop dazzle and so you don't get E-marked higher wattage bulbs... I can't see a bobby actually asking to see your bulb markings, but if you're involved in a crash causing injury to someone else who was dazzled and the police examine your car you could be in trouble...

Thats the full story....

Suffice to say that I read every teast of headlight bulbs and try each one that comes out "top" to try and get the best brightness. I can support the recommendations that the Phillips X-Treme have on this forum as they are the brightest "ordinary" bulbs I've used.

Even in my Audi A3, I've removed the OEM projector HID headlights that I retrofitted and reverted to my ordinary reflector headlights with X-Treme bulbs in them. They're nearly as bright as the HID bulbs (someone's going to disagree, but for all practical road purposes, there's little in it) and the cut off of the projector HID headlights was so shart that over undulating a-roads (Snake Pass in particular), the extra "scatter" you get with ordinary reflector headlights actually lit the road better than the sharp cut off of a projector beam.

Hope that helps....

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

Thank you ever so much, alfiejts! With the exception of the last paragraph it made perfect sense and I appreciate you taking the time to explain it in easy to understand bite size chunks. I'm impressed with your english skills also. So, so many people nowadays have such poor english skills its appalling but thats something else altogether!

I'll tottle off and find some of those Philips bulbs now. Should have done some detailed research a couple months ago but will keep the Osrams that I put in as spares, just in case!

Update:

Right... I've come across H4 and H7... Whats the difference and which one do I use for my Yaris? Do I get two sets? One for main beam and one for dip?

[reece]

The Yaris uses H4 bulbs which are a combined dipped and full beam, one bulb will do the job of both

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

Thank you very much, I'll order some right away!

Update: £18.14 with postage and packaging off eBay. Brilliant!

[reece]

I’m also going to get the Philips Extreme Power bulbs, they have an excellent write up from Auto Express, are fully legal and recommended for safety, jobs a good ‘un

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

You can buy them cheaper on eBay too!

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

Just bought an 269 LED Extreme Power Festoon bulbs - 30mm

"These Ultra bright LED festoon bulbs are the elite in their field. Each festoon comes with a single super bright LED. Available in white for the ultimate interior upgrade bulb."

My car is going to be lit up like a Christmas Tree by next weekend when I fit them! Ha ha.

Who else agrees that the Yaris manufacturer fitted interior light is pathetic?

[Raeman]

I must get some of these soon, been too busy lately to even think of bulbs.

Maybe it's a trip to halfrauds tommorow....or if it's a nice day, (doubtfull) it's just has to be motorbike fun instead.

[reece]

Who else agrees that the Yaris manufacturer fitted interior light is pathetic?

There are 3 in the new Yaris 2 at the front and 1 in the centre.

[DONFRAMAC]

I fitted my car with some Osrams from MDC back in July or thereabouts. They aren't bad but I'm looking for something even BRIGHTER and price is irrelevant. A lot of you (and had a look on Auto Express too) say that the Philips X-treme is very good. There is talk about PIAA bulbs being equally as good if not better? However, there seem to be some disadvantages of using them such as them melting reflectors and casing and what not and even being illegal. Some agree and some disagree with this. Could someone shed some light on this and provide some easy to understand information for someone who although loves his Yaris, really doesn't have a clue about motoring other than the very basics. Cheers!

I have read on this forum, that some models of Toyota have slack contacts in the headlamp plugs, so that they run hot, and melt. One posting reported that when he was getting new, different plugs fitted, the mechanic had just finished doing the same job on another Toyota of the same model. These were using standard wattage bulbs. My own car has ceramic inserts at the back of the reflectors (Ford Fiesta '58 reg), and I've just fitted a pair of PIAA HE303 H4's ;-- 60/55 Watts, putting out 110/100 equivalent light, with UV stabilised quartz glass to stop the headlamp shells discoloring,and some blue tint to filter out the yellow light, raising the whiteness (colour temperature of 4000 deg kelvin). £50 for the pair, from "motaman", Bristol, is a lot of dosh, but I can see the wet grassy verges at 60 MPH on dip, and the long beam is phenomenal. No-one has flashed at me, and I don't feel the need to slow-down as the dip is so broad and bright, though not especially long.

There are some H4's that have an extra 10-20 yards of beam, but those people have had to take them out as they were getting flashed constantly.

[aygoal]

As I have been using my upgraded Halfords +90% bulbs for 2 weeks now, here is a little report back.

on the H4 bulbs in the Yaris, the difference is fantastic. On one of the lanes near me I find much less need to use main beam so I am really pleased with the result. On my Zafira with H7 dipped beam the difference is less noticable, but the originals were better anyway and probably mounted slightly higher up. IMO upgraded bulbs are the best £20-25 you can spend

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

When I get my Philips Xtreme I'll report on my findings! Got a new LED interior light bulb which is supposed to be ten times brighter than the manufacturer fitted bulb. It isn't at all but does illuminate the car with an ambient blue glow. Does anyone know where I can get a really bright interior light for my Mrk. 1 Yaris?

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

When putting in my new headlamp bulbs do I clean the connectors with WD40 and a cloth to get all the rubbish and used vaseline off there and replace it with some new vaseline or do I just leave it and connect them up?