Yes, as we all know, the dipped beam on the coop is next to useless. I need to buy some new bulbs and was wondering if anyone could recommend the brightest ones??? (and no, I can't afford to go HID before I get bombarded).

I have tried a search on the forum but couldn't come up with anything relevant...

Cheers.

Joe

Phillips Extreme vison.

Don't bother with the ebay +50% etc bulbs, get the proper ones.

I have Osram Nightbreakers and they are an improvement over standard, but are still not great.

I have Osram Nightbreakers on my full beam and I've noticed absolutely no difference over standard bulbs. they were quite expensive too. Not worth it IMHO.

For dipped beams, I think the best thing really is to go down the HID route. Sorry Joe90
I got a new HID set on ebay for only £15 more than I paid for the Nightbreakers btw.

how much for the phillips ones?
dipped beam is like two candles on my car!

Go HID.
I've already ordered a set for my new coupe (coming Thursday). I've always run Jap cars and they have terrible dipped lights, so have now had approx 6 HID sets. Ebay are the best bet, but most are sealed units (ie if the bulb goes, you will need to wire in yourself I think?).
I would go for a set of 35w 6000k, they seem to be the best. I bought a set of 35w 8000k for my Impreza, but they seemed a bit too blue.

Hope this helps

ps - all plug and play so a 30 min install!

take the lights out the car and refurbish the lenses. stands a fair chance the lacer has gone milky stopping the lights being so effective.

i did that and put a set of hid's in, 40 quid of ebay, and well worth it

The problem with HID's is that they are technically illegal.

The philips Extreme Vision are around £20 for a pair IIRC.

On my Alfa 156 they made a massive improvement on dipped beam.

"technically" is a very manipulative scenario

Just put old ones in for MOT

That's true Symon, but I think the guidance says that they would not go about checking whether you have automatic beam levellers installed (and its running HIDs on a car without these that creates the problem).

I did not have any problems with my MOT, have not had any attention from the police (and I live in London and there are enough of them down here), and my insurance company did not seek to enquire whether I had also fitted auto levelers when I told them about the HID installation.

To the OP - you need HIDs. I'm telling you - I'm as tight as they come and I would spend the money twice over.

Get a cheap set from Turborevs (35W 6000k). You will not regret.

cool - thanks for all your help. Will go for the philips ones - does anyone know off the top of their heads what H number they are (i.e H4 etc)??

Cheers

Joe

I was genuinely suprised how cheap HIDS sets were for the Coupe. On my shopping list........

Madness, compared with Hids the Phillips are a complete waste of time, £20 more buys you Hids H1 BTW

2nd that

3rd that

for the extra 20 quid tops, it would be silly not to go with HID's

sorry Bockers - it's been a long day - did your post mean the normal bulbs are H1 or is that for the HID's???

i'm just a bit put off by fitting the HID's. Is it complicated??? What exactly are HID's anyway??? Are they just different bulbs or do they need completely replacing with re-wiring etc???

sorry for my lack of knowledge

Excuse the ignorance, but why are HID illegal?

If it's something to do with disconnecting the height adjustment, I left mine connected and they still work fine.

I bought some extra bright lights for my girlfriends mx-5 (halfords were selling them at 50% off), an improvment, but not a patch on the improvement I got with the HID's on the coop. Sorry joe 90. The cheaper sets of HID's aren't much more than high power bulbs.

Right, Joe, HID's are easy.

You get 2 boxes that are a direct plug to your original wires. These then lead to your headlight sockets (H1 I believe), then all you do is put the HID bulb where your old one was.

I don't know why they're illegal, all I know is that a company in Japan told me that 6000k is legal in the UK

HIDs are the best thing you will ever buy and in my opinion are the only way to go. They're easy to fit (no extra wiring) and you get full instructions. The bulbs are a bit fiddly to get into the units, but once you've done one it's easy to do the 2nd. I got a cheap set off eBay for £30 as well!

H1 fitment for both halogen and HIDs.

I guess it matters where you get your MOT done, I know others have had theirs passed without any problems, but I had to take mine out (have a 2nd set of headlights so wasn't a problem) as the tester insisted on testing the lights without the engine running, for some reason one of my HIDs will not work while the engine isn't running, once it's running they both work... ah well.

Coop lenses are not manufactured to run HIDs and may dazzle other road users, hence could be deemed as illegal... not sure what the official line is on this is though.

you have to have head light washers and self levelling lights to have HID's.

the coupe lights have a very good beem paten and work very well with HID's. Just make sure you set the level up correctly and dont be tempted to set them to high

other than that i can only recomend them on dip beam as the cheaper kits have a 3-5 second warm up time

There is nothing in the MOT test concerning HID lights in regards to headlight washers and self adjusters. The only fail that can be applied to HID (and all headlights in general) is if you go for higher than 6000K colour temperature kits which look almost purple .

Here`s a link to the testing manual page .

Baz

i've had 2 sets of these from turborevs now, the best investment you can make for increased vision on your car and therefore increased safety

HID's all the way, one of the best if not the best thign you can do to your coop.

HID's are not illigal, with regards to self levellers and headlight washers, they have to come as standard on cars with factory fit HID's, and it does not apply to aftermarket kits. i have never had a problem with mine. Just make sure that you have your headlights adjusted when you have fitted them.

This is an interesting read.

http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/roadsafety/drs/hidheadlamps

TBH though it's the people fitting HID's to old reflector style headlights that cause the problems.

The Coop's headlights are the same projector style as most modern HID lenses and give an excellent beam image on the headlight test equipment when used with the HID kits.

Baz

OK OK I give in.

Will get myself some HID's. - Turborevs here I come.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Joe

Do you have to order HIDs that are coupe specific, or do all HIDs fit. Are they an easy fit and why only for dip beam?

I think it's the H1 fitment that you need. Other than that no need for them to be coupe specific. I'd recommend that you get some from a vendor who has been tried and tested rather than some chap in china on ebay.

They are easy to fit although mounting the ballast so that the bonnet will close can require some thought and care - there is a how to on here though that will give you some ideas, basically mount them on one of the sides of the headlight back.

They have a warm up time and therefore most people think that they are not good for a main beam which needs to be "flashed".

This is the difference.

Interestingly it's not so much how far you can see that makes the difference (the coupe has a deflector in it which cuts out light beyond a certain point and, so long as the angle of the beam is the same no more road is covered). Rather it's what you can see within the area - and the fact that the area is fully lit to its outer edge that makes the difference.