Upgrading Bulbs

[nsparey]

I have to say while the dip beam on a Tuscan S is much better than on a Griff, its still not great. High beam is fantastic beeing Xenon on the S, but has anyone tried brighter blubs? the loacl Motor World had, blue 30% brighter bulbs and 80W versions that arnt road legal. Also I want to change the indicator bulbs for some blue one, Ive had some before on a Bimmer with clear indicators, I hate the way the orange show through. It seems from the hand book you have to take the bonnet off to get at them, nice for those side of the road bulb changes then

[bogie]

I tried a variety on my Elise - those 30% brighter ones are pretty rubbish and dont last long, the best bulb I tried was the Phillips Visionplus - try www.powerbulbs.com for a good price....I only kept them for a while though before getting an aftermarket Xenon kit with ballasts etc - £400 well spent as I driver around 4-5 hours a day in the dark during winter.

I didnt realise that only high beam was Xenon on the S - I thought theyd do both ! ...or would that be 'bi-xenons'?

[powerlord]

I havn't done it in the tuscan as I'm quite happy with lights, but in previous cars I usually get a high power set from ebay.. 100/160s usually.

Yeh, they are illegal but how many time have the plice stopped you to check your bulbs. If they are correctly adjusted they won't dazzle anyone, and they make a hell of a lot more difference than those crappy 'blue 30% brighter' things.

stu

[nsparey]

I tried 100W ones on my 750i BMW. melted the housing, so im alittle nervouse of trying that again.

[david beer]

Are aftermarket gas discharge legal yet, dont think so ? Fitting "illegal" bulbs may not be checked by mr plod, but you can guarantee that in the case of an accident, the insurance co would not pay out. Like wise plastic brake pedals etc, i know as my friendy repair man said get them off before the insurance guy arrives. Sad that we have all these rules and regs, but its for own good.

[powerlord]

yeh, insurance aside. Personally I think they'd have a job with this one and you'd be fine. The standard jo motorist wouldn't know how to change a bulb never mind what wattage it is.

'too many watts officer ? what's a watt ? can you let some of them out then ?'

As for melting.. hmm. well in the 300zx you had to be a bit careful as the wiring was rated just for the job so you had to keep an eye on it for a while, check it wasn't gonna get too hot.

If you have plastic lenses (some jap imports) then I agree melting housing could be a problem, but otherwise I wouldn't have though an extra 45watts (for dip) would take most enclosures to melting point. BMW clearly the exception.

stu