[asimpsonlowe]

Hi,
My headlights seem pretty poor compared to everything else ive ever had, so i was thinking of upgrading the bulbs.....my husband says dont get xenon??? do you guys and ladies out there have any suggestions?

BTW, my headlights are correctly alligned and clean inside and out!! So i know its not them at fault...just crap bulbs i think.

Thanks.....:spanner:

 

[Stafainn]

How old is your MGF? Fs tend to have a problem with the lens oxidising and the the inside of the glass getting coated. This is caused by the heat from the bulb. Eventually, it's not uncommon for cars to fail their MOT. If you fit more powerful bulbs then they'll probably generate more heat which will speed up the the deterioration of the lights. Answer really is to replace the lights. Lots of people have fitted new bulbs, but very few have raved about the difference.

 

[Sprinter]

Sorry but I have to agree with David (not sorry to agree with him, but sorry because his diagnosis is almost certainly correct).

When I had my F I thought the lights were not quite what I was used to; my Mondeo was much better, even my motorbike was better and could be safely driven fatser at night than the F).

I searched the archive and discovered that it was quite normal for Fs 'of a certain age' to lose lighting power. I also discovered that everybody had tried different bulbs. I knew best so I bought 4 new higher power bulbs and found I could then drive nearly 4 mph faster on roads I knew. It seemed that those who recommended replacing the whole unit may have been right afterall.

I had a close shave at an MOT when they had trouble getting a focus point. The same day the MOT centre failed a Rover with similar units as they couldn't find a 'discernable beam pattern'; the owner was quite upset as the light looked OK to the naked eye.

Pure chance, I changed the car to a TF on a not to be missed deal and almost couldn't believe how much better the lights were. A year later and I am still amazed that I struggled with the old ones for so long.

So Andy (was it? or Andi??), if you want to drive any distance at night I must recommend new units. Or look through the archives and see if you could get the existing ones recoated.

 

[asimpsonlowe]

Thanks for the advice guys, but one of the lights is brand new, (drivers) because of the problems you talk about, the other light (passenger) is not very old as it was replaced by the dealer i bought the car from 3/4 months ago. The lights have standard 55 watt bulbs in and seem very yellow compared to husbands Astra :twak: ( still not a good reason to have one), So its not down to oxidisation? Do i just have to be content with candles in the headlights, or is it worth upgrading to better bulbs????? probably also worth mentioning that my F has Trophy headlights on, apparently fitted as standard to the Abingdon? just thought id add that....


Thanks