The standard bulbs of the Halogen(non xenon) equiped Passat are not what I would call the best for light. My wife's Hyundai i30 has brilliant lights and they are non xenon, so I thought there must be a better bulb out there.

3 Putt(of this forum) and I met last Sunday and discussed quite a few matters and the bulb questiuon arose. See 3 Putts thread:
http://www.vwwatercooled.org.au/newf...ad.php?t=20560

After a bit of research, I had already purchased a set of Philips Power2Night bulbs, which are supposedly a 50% brighter and whiter light, and thought they were an excellent upgrade as they made a *big* difference over the standard bulbs. They really are nice and white and light up the road slightly further and also have a much better spread nearer the car. Previously, I had sometimes switched on the fog lights to give more light nearer the car, but with the new bulbs I no longer feel the need to do this.

After reading 3 Putt's thread about Philips-X-Treme bulbs, which are an 80% higher output light, for the same power, I decided to give them a try as well.

The X-Tremes are a tad brighter and a tad longer in beam length but not as big a difference over the Power2Nights as the Power2Nights are over the standard bulbs. Anyway, I replaced both the low and high beams with the X-Tremes and I can highly recommend them over the standard bulbs and I would also highly recommend the Power2Nights if you do not want to spend the extra.

The high beam is also quite a revelation using either bulb type, but the X-Tremes seem to give a more uniform light.

Standard pricing for Power2Nights are $59.95 a pair and for the X-Tremes $79.95 a pair.