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Xenon Bulbs


lindholme
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Hi all, newbie here. Nice to meet you all.

Has anyone fitted xenon bulbs to their Avensis headlights, and if so do they make a worthwhile difference?

Cheers.

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Hi all, newbie here. Nice to meet you all.

Has anyone fitted xenon bulbs to their Avensis headlights, and if so do they make a worthwhile difference?

Cheers.

I just used the 30% brighter bulbs which do a great job (£10). Doesn't xenon lights require an expensive upgrade ?

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Geuine xenon or HID costs a fortune to upgrade to because you need to upgrade the bulb holder to take the extra heat they produce, install and auto-levelling system and headlamp washers to make them legal.

Most cheap xenon bulbs you see around are not real xenon but slightly blue tinted standard bulbs that are a bit brighter.

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you can get propper hid kits for around £150. and they dont need any extra mods. most kits are plug and play

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There is a known problem on the new Avensis concerning the headlights! firstly the range of light given on dipped beam is very poor

Secondly there has been occasions where the headlight bulb has been impossible to replace as the bulb has melted in the holder and the whole light unit has needed to be replaced.

If yours is the new avensis and still under manufacturers warranty I would consider if the change of headlight bulb would invalidate your warranty concerning the headlight bulb problem

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There is a known problem on the new Avensis concerning the headlights! firstly the range of light given on dipped beam is very poor

Secondly there has been occasions where the headlight bulb has been impossible to replace as the bulb has melted in the holder and the whole light unit has needed to be replaced.

If yours is the new avensis and still under manufacturers warranty I would consider if the change of headlight bulb would invalidate your warranty concerning the headlight bulb problem

Thanks, that's useful to know. Mine is still under warranty and I love it......except for the headlamp range :unsure:

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Halfords Super Brilliance are the brightest bulbs as tested by Autocar

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/prod...0_per_cent.html

if you hurry, Halfords are doing Buy One Get One Free on these bulbs (I just got a set)

- will ask dealer tomorrow how much to fit - probably £25? (Halfords fit for £8.99)

Though previously Osram Silverstar were tested the best

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/prod...test_h7_50.html

so it's strange why this time around they don't fare too well - batch problems?

On my VW Polo the Osram's were super bright, but in my Mercedes they were no different to the standard fit.

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Hmm the Halfords chart said the 2003+ Avensis uses H4 bulbs.

Went to the Toyota dealer to get them fitted £24+ VAT and they said they use H7 bulbs :blink:

I guess the Toyota dealer must be right (service reception) and that Halfords are wrong, but it would be strange that their charts are wrong?

So now have to go back to Halfords tonight to get them changed!

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Hmm the Halfords chart said the 2003+ Avensis uses H4 bulbs.

Went to the Toyota dealer to get them fitted £24+ VAT and they said they use H7 bulbs :blink:

I guess the Toyota dealer must be right (service reception) and that Halfords are wrong, but it would be strange that their charts are wrong?

So now have to go back to Halfords tonight to get them changed!

Interested to know how you get on

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Hmm the Halfords chart said the 2003+ Avensis uses H4 bulbs.

Went to the Toyota dealer to get them fitted £24+ VAT and they said they use H7 bulbs :blink:

I guess the Toyota dealer must be right (service reception) and that Halfords are wrong, but it would be strange that their charts are wrong?

So now have to go back to Halfords tonight to get them changed!

Interested to know how you get on

Well, I double checked my Avensis handbook and it says H7 so the Halfords chart is WRONG!

Went back to Halfords and politely complained that their chart was wrong, spoke to the cashier, her supervisor and the store manager.

H4 is £14.99 and H7 is £19.99 a difference of £5 to pay, which I wanted as a goodwill gesture (so I could just do a straight swop) seeing I had pointed out their specification mistake, and had wasted my time driving to the Toyota dealer to have them fitted (and back), and had to drive to Halfords again to get them changed because of THEIR mistake in the bulb selector chart for Avensis 2003 and onwards model.

The store manager said there was absolutely nothing he could do on the goodwill front and nor could head office, and so I reluctantly forked out for the extra £5 and temporarily swallowed the inconvenience and time of having made several trips to rectify the situation because of their incorrect specification. (I'm writing to head office, anyway).

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Hmm the Halfords chart said the 2003+ Avensis uses H4 bulbs.

Went to the Toyota dealer to get them fitted £24+ VAT and they said they use H7 bulbs :blink:

I guess the Toyota dealer must be right (service reception) and that Halfords are wrong, but it would be strange that their charts are wrong?

So now have to go back to Halfords tonight to get them changed!

Interested to know how you get on

Well, I double checked my Avensis handbook and it says H7 so the Halfords chart is WRONG!

Went back to Halfords and politely complained that their chart was wrong, spoke to the cashier, her supervisor and the store manager.

H4 is £14.99 and H7 is £19.99 a difference of £5 to pay, which I wanted as a goodwill gesture (so I could just do a straight swop) seeing I had pointed out their specification mistake, and had wasted my time driving to the Toyota dealer to have them fitted (and back), and had to drive to Halfords again to get them changed because of THEIR mistake in the bulb selector chart for Avensis 2003 and onwards model.

The store manager said there was absolutely nothing he could do on the goodwill front and nor could head office, and so I reluctantly forked out for the extra £5 and temporarily swallowed the inconvenience and time of having made several trips to rectify the situation because of their incorrect specification. (I'm writing to head office, anyway).

TOO RIGHT. For a store manager not to be able to give you a £5 goodwill gesture for wasting your time and money is pathetic. I bought mine off eBay and paid only about £8 for a pair that are 4000mha brightness and great. i try to avoid Halfords if i can as they always seem to be expensive, or low on stock for the items you need.

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Have just brought some Halfords today for mk1 avensis (sidelight and dipped in same lense) the chart said H7 which is what I've got - not changed them yet but do you think I have the wrong ones.

Hmm unless anyone else has changed mk1 bulbs for "performance" ones should I wait and speak to dealer on wednesday or do I have right ones.

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order on line good products and better prices i think Halfords has a nick name of hellfords lol lol on some car web sites umm umm

I THINK WE SHOULD RE NAME THEM

my radio was nicked from Halfords sorry hellfords and they had no cctv on the car park poor lights (bulbs out )!!!!!!!! and said 10 radios have gone that weekend !!!!!

the store manager said no cctv even in the store !!!

I WILL NEVER SHOP WITH THEM AGAIN

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order on line good products and better prices i think halfords has a nick name of hellfords lol lol on some car web sites umm umm

I THINK WE SHOULD RE NAME THEM

my radio was nicked from halfords sorry hellfords and they had no cctv on the car park poor lights (bulbs out )!!!!!!!! and said 10 radios have gone that weekend !!!!!

the store manager said no cctv even in the store !!!

I WILL NEVER SHOP WITH THEM AGAIN

The nick name I've heard of is Hellfrauds :D

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OK, the dealer swopped my Halfords 50% Xenons in (they pulled out OSRAM 'long life' 64210L bulbs).

The light is a lot whiter with more intense hot spots compared to the Osrams when shining onto my garage door at night (and when engaging my front foglights onto the garage door as well, previously the fog lights were brighter than the headlights, now it's the other way around...although the foglights have a much wider area coverage).

Previously when engaging high beam onto the garage door, and flicking back, the comparison was frankly like dipped beam looking like side lights!!! - now it's not so bad. On unlit country roads (which is quite testing for any light as most of the surfaces are black - not many reflective surfaces like bright white reflective lines or many clean reflective cats eyes) they appear subjectively in real world unlit country lane use, about 15-20% brighter (Against the garage door subjectively they do appear around 50% brighter...but that's because my garage door is white and it relects back more light). The Osrams appeared to have a more noticable hotspot nearer the car, the Halfords appear to have a longer reach.

A perceived 15-20% brighter light is not startling, but worth it for me, as I do a lot of roads without street lighting. I think the achilles heal is the projector style headlamp design, as large reflectors and totally clear lenses like I had on my VW Polo appeared very bright with Osram 'Xenon' SilverStar bulbs. (Like on this Polo http://www.quality-autoimport.no/catalog/i...06N%202000-.jpg - nice large reflective surfaces and 100% optically transparent lens )

Osram SilverStar Xenons in my E Class Mercedes the increased brightness is less marked as the lenses are 'ribbed' and 'semi'-transparent which I'm sure robs some of the light. ( like on this E Class http://inc28.web.aplus.net/01/600_par_e_series/DSC00003.JPG )

The Avensis which you don't need an introduction to has to throw the light from a 'tunnel' using a 'magnifying' lens it seems rather than a reflector

http://www.toyota.dk/media/global/images/s...15_1024x768.jpg

Although when you stand infront of the vehicle the lights don't appear to be very bright, as the area of light is small, round (compared to other car's large reflectors) and focused somewhere on the tarmac rather than your eyes (a design to prevent dazzling oncoming drivers perhaps), in real world use it picks up more details than you give it credit for.

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I've just compketed my HID upgrade, quite a challenge with the space around the headlights :ffs: .

before I finished I took some comparison pic's.

gallery_27071_603_38594.jpg

gallery_27071_603_27437.jpg

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I've just compketed my HID upgrade, quite a challenge with the space around the headlights :ffs: .

before I finished I took some comparison pic's.

776714_15_full.jpg

776714_16_full.jpg

NICE!! :drool:

...darn, I should have taken some pics too.

On a scale of 1 - 10, if your original bulb is rated at 'zero' and your HID at 10

I think the Halford's 'Xenon' bulbs come in at about 3.5 / 4

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Sorry if this is slightly off topic but thought I should add my experience with Halfords.

I bought a Thule roof box and fittings from Halfords for my new (then) T180 Tourer back in October.

The staff member assured me the fittings supplied were correct but on reading the Halfords guide I wasn't convinced, but the reference chart was very vague :unsure:. Halfords advertise a fitting service which my wife suggested we use but the Halfords lady said they couldn't do this for at least 3 weeks due to staff holidays/shortages. We had to wonder why they had carried the sign outside that specifically advertised this service? :eek:

On fitting the bars and box I found that the clamps supplied were not suitable for the standard-fit roof bars on my Avensis. Another trip to Halfords and this time I spoke with a different member of staff who confirmed I had been supplied with incorrect parts. An exchange was performed but they didn't have the appropriate Thule parts and I couldn't wait for the required special order. As a result I accepted some Paddy Hopkirk clamps and a refund for the cash difference. :yahoo: The resulting storage system was easily fitted and performed superbly during a week's family holiday in Scotland. :thumbsup:

The lesson learned is to ask for a 2nd opinion if one isn't happy with advice given. ;)

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Interesting topic this.

There has been much debate on this site about bulb replacement and the problem with headlight failure etc.

I'm wondering if the HID upgrade is a more cost effective alternative to having the whole unit replaced (especially when out of warranty)? If faced with a melted bulb holder for example, which I understand would result in a whole new unit being fitted, would it be possible to have a HID upgrade done without the need for a new unit? Does anyone know if this is possible? How do the costs compare? Accepted that you would have to replace the pair.

GregT3-S the results of your HID upgrade look very impressive. Does the obvious extra bulb brightness result in much improved road visibility?

On dipped beam the lights on my Avensis are only just adequate and I'm often tempted to switch the fog lights on especially on B roads to improve the lateral visibilty. Does HID improve this also?

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OK get rady for a rant!

The correct way of doing this would be to buy from the dealer all the OEM HID parts. However if I had that sort of money I could afford the monthly payments on a 2.4L petrol TSpirit that comes with HID lights. So I bought a Bosh 6000K HID kit off eBay for £95 delivered. This is not a perfect kit however as it takes power from the headlight circuit and not the Battery via a relay. The other problem is how long will it last? And is it legal? Only time will tell on these aspects.

Is the light output any better? Well yes and no, the headlights still project the same patern which i think is the main problem with the design. Can i see further? Yes and no the light output is now bright enough to see to the limit of headlight pattern but i can't see any further just because the're brighter.

So am I happy with this upgrade? Hell yes It's so much better than the halogen bulbs they replaced. I can see whit lines and curbs so much better on unlit roads and illuminate road signs much further away. Did I have to make my own loom to improve the kit design? Yes and did I have to buy some new back covers for the headlights? Yes because the loom needs to run through them and I wanted some undamaged ones as backups. I also scraped and cut my knuckles like mad and swore a more than a bit!

Would not go back though (maybe once a year in the future for MOT's)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If anyone has any questions don't hesitate to ask.

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Update on the Halfords 'Xenon' bulbs on unlit country roads

They are actually not bad. The first days I tested them it was raining, so for some reason they were not as effective in those conditions. On dry dark days, they do seem much brighter perhaps subjectively 30-40% brighter. It helps if you dim down the instrumention lighting as on the Avensis it is quite 'fierce' which detracts from the headlamp lighting. Also the auto rear view mirror dimming doesn't dim as much as I would like it too (compared to a manual dip) - the rear car's headlights still being quite distracting. So I dip my head a bit so the rear view glare is out of view giving me total concentration on the road in front.

Still having said that, I find that most of the oncoming traffic do have brighter lights than mine, dazzling me in the process. :wacko:

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  • 8 months later...
Hi all, newbie here. Nice to meet you all.

Has anyone fitted xenon bulbs to their Avensis headlights, and if so do they make a worthwhile difference?

Cheers.

Hi,

I have had xenon bulbs for about a year now, they are Eurodezigns, they do make the road brighter and with a slight blue tint. but over time they become dimmer. i have just brought a HID conversion. hope it passes the mot with it.

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I have a HID kit from a previous car which I will fit in my Avensis shortly. The kit has H1 bulbs but I can get replacement HID bulbs on eBay for about £35, which isn't much more than a pair of slightly uprated halogen bulbs.

I'm dreading fitting them having read the tales of woe from other owners on here about removing knuckle skin or the bumper (depending on which option you go for!).

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I have a HID kit from a previous car which I will fit in my Avensis shortly. The kit has H1 bulbs but I can get replacement HID bulbs on ebay for about £35, which isn't much more than a pair of slightly uprated halogen bulbs.

I'm dreading fitting them having read the tales of woe from other owners on here about removing knuckle skin or the bumper (depending on which option you go for!).

I have installed a HID kit in my 2007 Avensis. ;) Just remove the front bumper, and everything is easyer. Please have a second person help you reinstall the bumper!

Difference: REMARKABLE! Light output compared to original Osram is >200%. B)

!!Note: The H7 bulps are rotated at a wrong angle!! To fix this, and have the return wire on the bulps running below the bulp, the flange must be reshaped slightly, as also documented. Otherwise you will see a black shadow to the left. (this is actually shown on the first picture, before the fix).

Full photo documentation if you click the pictures: http://www.cig.canon-europe.com/a?i=7ujZLe3qIm

HID Installation photos

-Thomas

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I have installed a HID kit in my 2007 Avensis. ;) Just remove the front bumper, and everything is easyer. Please have a second person help you reinstall the bumper!

Difference: REMARKABLE! Light output compared to original Osram is >200%. B)

!!Note: The H7 bulps are rotated at a wrong angle!! To fix this, and have the return wire on the bulps running below the bulp, the flange must be reshaped slightly, as also documented. Otherwise you will see a black shadow to the left. (this is actually shown on the first picture, before the fix).

Full photo documentation if you click the pictures: http://www.cig.canon-europe.com/a?i=7ujZLe3qIm

HID Installation photos

-Thomas

Thanks for that, it is incredibly helpful!

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