Lights Upgrade

[drbass]

Hi all,

Being generally extremely happy and impressed with our Eos after 2 weeks (more detailed report to follow) there's one thing that is somewhat dissapointing: the lights, similar to the ones in my Passat, are not quite there.

In the Passat I replaced both low and high beam with Philips X-treme Power. Interesting bulbs. The low beam does not really "illuminate" the road however there's a lot of light happening: any reflecting surfaces like road signs or cats eyes are visible at extreme distances. So the light is there, it's just a little "understated", for the lack of a better description - hope this makes sense. The high beam is simply outstanding compared to the original ones.

Since the Eos is driven mostly in suburbia (I'm doing some limited "country driving in the Passat) I was thinking of getting the BlueVision for the low beam which are supposed to provide a very visible beam, and the X-tremes for the high beam.

Has anyone tried this combination, or is anyone able to provide some feedback on the BlueVision?

Thanks,
Michael

[gregozedobe]

AFAIK the X-treme v ersion of the Philips globes give the maximum light output at std wattage, while all the "blue" versions of globes give less light (but it is "whiter" if that is what you want).

Osram Nightbreakers have a whiter beam, but slightly less output than the equivalent X-treme (at least in the H4, H7 and H1 globes I've tried).

Some cars lights can be improved by using thicker wires and a relay (because the std wires are a bit thin for the current, so there is a bit of voltage drop by the time the power goes through all the switches and thin wires).

[silvershadow]

I asked a similar question for the same reasons on the VW Eos Owner's Club forum some time ago and was advised changing the standard bulbs may require using a Vag Com diagnostic unit to reset the settings relating to the light bulb diagnostics incorporated in the system. Apparently, non-standard bulbs can confuse the electrical management system.

I have placed upgrading the lights on hold pending acquisition of a Vag Com reader and time to experiment - unfortunately other demands on my time for the rest of this year mean I will not be able to do this in the short term.

[drbass]

Thanks, Greg,

I'm well aware of the principles behind the different options.

As mentioned, I'm very happy with the Xtremes for the high beam in the Passat but find they're not illuminating the area in front of the car (low beam) as I would expect. Don't get me wrong, there's oodles of light as evidenced by the brilliant reflections off the signs and cats eyes, I just don't get the sense of more brightness.

According to the Philips "brochure" the BlueVision are comparable in beam reach with standard bulbs (which means they have a higher light output initially with some of the longer frequency light - i.e. "red" - removed by the blue glass) but with a whiter light. In my opinion that should result in a brighter area in front of the car, at least subjectively.

I'd just like to know if anyone has tried this with their VW (not just Eos, should have posted this somewhere else maybe).

silvershadow, thanks for your comments as well. As mentioned several times I changed the bulbs in the Passat without any problems. There was no need for any adjustments using VAG Com. The replacement bulbs are "standard" in terms of wattage and voltage, and I can't see how they would mess up the system.
BTW, the "blown bulb detector" worked fine - one of the Xtremes gave up the ghost a couple of weeks ago (I'm a firm believer in "lights on always"), and it registered just fine.

Let's see if there's any more comments and/or first hand experiences forthcoming.

Regards,
Michael