Headlamps

Try better bulbs first.

On my old S70 the OEM bulbs were garbage but when I put some of the Phillips bulbs in it made such a difference.

Of course now I don't care as my new one has the Bi Xenon lights as standard :-)

Philips Vision + are £15 or so a set, or £30 for both dip and mains. Decent wiring (assuming the existing is shit) and higher wattage bulbs would give similar results, but high wattage bulbs don't cost £15 a pair...

Apparently the wiring can take 100w bulbs if in good nick. I dare you to try if first though, and let me know :)

BTW

What's a Olvov or should that read vovlo :-)

I don't even know what a vovlo is.

Its one of those speacial poverty-models (ala VW Gol) were they had to send blueprints to Argentiboguagria via a 9600 baud modem (complete with transmission errors) thus VW Gol / Ovlov 60S etc :)

Have you checked if the wiring or switching is poor? You do this by measuring the voltage drop with an accurate DVM. Measure from the positive on the battery to the positive on the furthest light from the battery with them switched on - it should be less than 0.5 volts. Do the same with the earths.

If DVM means digital voltmeter, then I don't have one. But I do know someone who does...

Maplin sell them - good enough for this sort of job - for a few pounds. Also Ebay. They're one of those things that will find many other uses...

Cheap does not equal decent - the two things are mutually exclusive !

If you want cheap bulbs, then go to eBay.

If you want decent bulbs (ie, with an MOT-friendly beam pattern) then buy Philips/Osram/etc.

I've had 100w bulbs in both my previous 405 and my TI. Never had the slightest problem.

I know quite a few other people who've done the same - it doesn't cause any harm.

The 100w-bulb-melt thing is either

A. lies.

or

B. applies to cars with headlights made from yoghurt pots.

So buy one !

Yep - so go ahead. Although for what it's worth, my 100w bulbs are lots brighter than my Philips 55w Vision Plus - yes, the VPs are better than normal bulbs - but they pale next to high-output jobbies.

Next step up is a HID kit, but you need to multiply the budget by ten.

I fail to see the relevence here.

Doesn't it seem a bit silly to mess about replacing the wiring etc. when you can simply buy direct-fit bulbs as above ?

Also, the issue with 100w bulbs is the heat - they can alledgedly melt the reflectors/mounts in the headlight. The wiring won't be a problem (as long as you have proper relay-switch lights) - unless it's human-hair thickness, it'll be more then capable of carrying the small amount of current required by a 100w bulb !

It's not just the possibility of the wire overloading and melting, but the voltage drop. A small amount of voltage drop makes an out of proportion difference to the light output of an incandescent bulb.

in news: snipped-for-privacy@news1.newsguy.com, "Nom" slurred :

How did you do that in the 405? They use a twin filament bulb - i.e. the same bulb for both main and dipped beam, don't they? Can you get 100/55 bulbs to allow you to remain legal, or did you just use

You can get 100/80s (i think), which although are technically illegal for newer cars, no one really notices if your lihgts are properly aligned. I ran them for years in my various 205s and never had any problems with Police, MoTs or getting thru scrutineering on road rallies.

That's poverty-spec 405s.

The non-ghetto models (ie, both my GTXs) have both a twin-filament H4 for dipped & main beam, *AND* an additional H1 (or H3, can't remember) for full-beam.

It was the H1 (or H3) that I swapped for 100w items.

The TI just has a pair of H1s on each side - I've stuck 100w bulbs in the full-beam bulbs, and Philips Vision Plus in the dipped-beamers.

Yes, you can. But I didn't - see above.