In the past it was easy to be spotted and be nicked for having higher wattage headlamp bulbs, but today with HID and other high performance bulbs on the market being rated at 55W but chucking out the same light as a 100+ W bulb, there must be little or no chance of being spotted and nicked for have a 100W bulb, also why does the 55W rule still apply? In the past it was to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers, but why would a HID not dazzle, but a 100W bulb would?

 

Also, as you should only use main beam when there isn’t oncoming traffic, why is main beam limited to 55W, as if you use it correctly you wont be dazzling anyone?

 

The reason for asking is that HID are expensive (approx £200), whereas a 100W bulb is as little as £10

i work in the motor trade and have always found this strange that your main beam wattage is limited by law.how absurd is that.i fitted 100w watt mains anyway as im willing to take the risk.i must say though that 100w mains still look dim compared to my 6000k hids.

Thing is you're doing it to be safer, was out last night and the standard set up is dangerous on both main and dipped, I’m going to buy some 100W main and 100W dipped bulbs, to be honest I expect the 100W dipped to be a bit better but not so much so that I get pulled or dazzle others, but if I notice people flashing me then I remove them. The mains will only be used when there is no oncoming traffic, so unless I’m pulled for something else and they decide to check my bulbs (never had it in 26 years of driving) they will be ok, I’ll power them via a new circuit and relay.

 

I’ll have to find someone local with HIDs to see just how good they are and start saving some pennies!

got mine off flea bay from a guy in japan 5mnths ago.£135 with shipping.still strong money but what a difference.

Better than £200, were they ok to fit?

Bizarrely I think aftermarket HIDs could be illegal too as any car with HIDs should also have a built in headlight washer.

 

I don't think it'd be a problem - I'd happily fit higher wattage bulbs or HIDs if I was less lazy / tight.

I’ll have to find someone local with HIDs to see just how good they are and start saving some pennies!

I don't know about 100w bulbs but the HIDs I had on my old zed were the mutz nutz.

I have to start saving all over again!

I don't know much about the legality and quite frankly doon't care! most police and MOT testers will assume that it was like that from new and won't question it.

I've tried all the different bulbs available and they make a slight improvement but usually burn out in days or weeks.

 

Just fitted HID's and the difference is staggering!

Light up the whole road like on any good modern car setup.

I wouldn't waste your money on bulbs just put it towards some HID's which you can get for about £150 now.

Fitting takes 5 minutes and is just the same as changing the normal bulb - put the bulb unit in as normal and plug the control box into your bulb connector.

There is no comparison between 100w bulbs and HID's. HID's are more than worth there cost.

 

However the biggest problem with stock zed headlights, as that they quickly gather dirt inside the lenses, and if your finding the stock High beam poor then that is definatly the problem. Taking apart the headlights and giving them all a good clean will give you comparable headlights to most non-HID cars!

Sounds like HIDs are the way to go then! I took the dipped beam bulb out at it was at 55/85 PIAA £23.56 each and its useless!

Has anyone bought one from here?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8070344559&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Thanks

David

Sounds like HIDs are the way to go then! I took the dipped beam bulb out at it was at 55/85 PIAA £23.56 each and its useless!

 

Firstly let me respond to the above - the dip beam bulb you took out should be a H3 55W (or H3C 55W if you have a JDM Z). PIAA bulbs have a nominal rating of 55W but due to the inclusion of Xenon gas in the bulb they "appear" to burn as bright as a 85W bulb - but in essence it is still putting out 55W of light on the road. If you look carefully on the packaging it'll state the amount of "lumens" the bulb puts out - this is the effective measure of the amount of light that is produced. You'll probably notice that the amount of lumens is the same for a standard 55W bulb and an uprated 100W bulb ...

 

Secondly, I have done exhaustive research into headlight bulbs (as well as other bulbs) as part of my new venture (http://www.ultimatecarbulbs.co.uk - not up and running yet so not much to see on the website). I will here very briefly (with the emphasis on briefly) summarise a few points:

 

In relation to the ZX headlights - the main culprit for bad light output is dirt build-up on the inside of the projector lens and the main glass. Once this is cleaned you could potentially be looking at a 50% increase in both brightness and efficiency.

 

Secondly, both halogen and HID bulbs can potentially "dazzle" oncomers if the headlight is incorrectly alligned. When upgrading to HID lighting it is crucial that you get the alignment checked and adjusted. HID bulbs spread the light differently (due to the fact that the bulbs are naturally longer than their halogen equivalent, thereby producing a different spread pattern).

 

Thirdly, upgrading to say 100W bulbs without cleaning the headlight glass is going to be of very little use.

 

In light of the above I would recommend the following course of action to anyone who's looking to get more out of their headlights:

 

(1) remove the headlights, carefully split them and clean both the glass and the projector lens

(2) replace the old bulbs with new ones; If you don't want the same yellowy glow then go for bulbs with Xenon gas in the bulb - like the Xtreme White bulbs we [DTA] sell. Stick with the stock wattage first (ie 55W H3© dip beam, 55W H1 main beam)

(3) get the headlight alignment checked and adjusted accordingly. Any garage which performs MOT tests will have special equipment to test the alignment.

 

If your budget allows still complete step (1) and then replace the system with a HID kit. Then get the alignment adjusted accordingly.

 

If I can be of any further assistance to anyone relating to bulbs and headlights then please feel free to ask.

 

I hope the above has been of some help.

 

Regards,

 

Dan

Dan,

 

Thanks for the advice,

The PIAA bulbs were already in the car, I looked up the spec on their site.

 

I just checked the headlamps and glass and the shell are spotless, but one of the full beam reflectors is crazed so might need to replace it. I’ll remove the units and cleans the dipped beam reflectors.

 

As my car was imported at the end of 2003, I assume that the PIAA bulbs are less than 3 years old, should still be replaced?

 

Thanks

David

As my car was imported at the end of 2003, I assume that the PIAA bulbs are less than 3 years old, should still be replaced?

 

That doesn't mean that they weren't already on the car whilst in Japan ... Bulbs will deteriorate over time but usually they will just fail rather than become dimmer over time. In theory, 3 year old bulbs should be fine. However, if you want to experiment I would suggest you replace them with something like our H3C Xtreme White bulb - which is rated at 4500K (55W) and matches the colour of a 4500K HID kit. Light output is obviously not comparable to HID though.

 

Let me know if I can help in any way.

 

ATB

 

Dan