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[9582djk]

I desperately want to change the headlight bulbs as they are terrible. I do remember the car having whiter sidelights when I bought the car earlier this year, and when it went in for an MOT it seems they were changed. When I use to own a roadster I fitted HIDS from hiddirect, is it straight forward to fit on the Forfour or is it better just to change the bulbs to a brighter set?

[mr singh]

brighter bulbs are a waste of money! i had a set of 120% brighter bulbs fitted in my 1.1 and they were as dim as the normal bulbs... normal bulbs lasted longer over the 120% brighter ones.


HID are straight forward of you follow the guide, however there was a group buy that Crazy G arranged for new projector lens units, they are well worth the money. i honestly am over the moon with the difference they have made to night time driving.

[Big Brab]

I have Philips extreme vision bulbs fitted and they are a good quick swap, not as good as HID but still very bright.

[CrazyG]

Osram Nightbreaker Plus (or Nightbreaker2 as they are
sometimes called), are an improvement, but nowhere near
as good as the replacement projector units from the outfit
that I arranged a 'group buy' for some time ago.
Do have a read/look through the related posts etc for them
to get an idea of what's what etc etc.

The difference between these and just fitting an HID kit into
the rather poor original projectors is; to say the least; quite
a dramatic step up. Sure an HID kit will give more light, but
still with the same poor rather vague beam pattern due to
the freznel lens of the original unit.

To say I was disappointed at the level of uptake on the
'group buy' replacement projectors I organised would be
an understatement to to say the least, and I will not repeat
the time and effort I went through to get that superb offer.
So, if you really DO want really good headlights then the
price these guys charge should not put you off.  They are
quality units, not Chinese copies/replica's....ok.
Checkout the website...   www.retrofitlab.com
have a look around it first....and then, to ensure you get
everything you need (see the various posts on the Group Buy
thread for a good guide on that), then send them an email
with details of what car you want them for etc etc, and a list
of what it is you think you need and ask them to cast their
eyes over it....also ask them what it'll cost. They should then
come back and tell you if it's ok or not, even possibly send you
an invoice that you can pay, and then they'll ship them off to you.

[mr singh]

I have Philips extreme vision bulbs fitted and they are a good quick swap, not as good as HID but still very bright.

they may be bright to look at when your standing in front of the car but when your driving, its a different kettle of fish. i used to use the B1224 to get to and from York from Leeds and it was unlit for the majority of the road and even with the 120% brighter bulbs fitted, it was a scary drive.

im sure that in my SB3 with its new projector units if feel more comfortable driving that same road.

the new projector units from www.retrofitlabs.com are of really high quality and it shows in the design and set up of the units.

[Big Brab]

Mr Singh how come sometimes when  I post you say something negative ? Have I said something to upset you ?.
I am sharing my experience as a driver not one of someone that looks at headlights from outside the car comparing stock to upgrade, I drive on the M61 and part of it has no lights and the Philips extreme are excellent for lighting up the motorway I am not a sales man pushing The Philps brand just sharing my experience .

[9582djk]

I don't know if it's the link but retrofitlabs doesn't work

[gregk2]

https://www.retrofitlab.com/

[mr singh]

im sharing MY experiences when i used 'brighter bulbs'... they went that much brighter over the standard bulbs is all im saying, they might be brighter on other cars but not the forfour.

[Problemchild]

im sharing MY experiences when i used 'brighter bulbs'... they went that much brighter over the standard bulbs is all im saying, they might be brighter on other cars but not the forfour.

As the thread on the retrofit labs upgrade says, its the projector lens on the forfour that is the issue not the bulbs

I have used PIAA and HIDs and neither make the road much brighter

personally i would never spend the ££ on expensive bulbs again as HID kits are now £30 and far superior and so easy to fit

JJ

[9582djk]

What HID kit are you referring to for £30?

[Problemchild]

most of them.....

thats not the cheapest either

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/55W-HID-Xenon-Conversion-KIT-Headlights-Error-Free-Canbus-H7-6000-8000-10000K-/391000701362?var=&hash=item5b097539b2:m:mnnilw2TCjrD7Kr89CSGKog

JJ

[CrazyG]

Hmmm....although it says 'Leicester, United Kingdom' in the
Location bit near the top it's actually from China !
Scroll right down to the 'Business seller information' box
and click on the Contact Details, 'Guangzhou' in China. 

Stuffing an HID kit into the existing projector unit is much
the same as full/high beam in fog !   loads of light fa sure,
but not much use as the light is scattered all over the place !

The choice therefore is...do you want £16 worth of HID light splattered
here there n everywhere, or do you want lots of really good focussed
bright light exactly where you want it on the road (as per all new cars) ?

To help you with this 'difficult' decision, there is a 'review' (Guide) in
the Gen.1 Technical area of the Lighting section from sajseven...
with a video and pictures of a side by side comparion between an HID
kit in the original projector verses the Retrofitlab set-up.
http://www.forfour.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=5228.0

[Problemchild]

yeah but where do ALL the hid kits come from (e.g. hids direct?)

whether its HIDs, £30 osrams, £10 cheapos, they are all sat behind the same lens so the money thrown at them is pointless (PIAA are £60)

the reason for the lack of take up of the retrofitlabs is the complexity of fitting

dunno where your kit is G but mine is in the box on the shelf still

JJ

[mr singh]

im sharing MY experiences when i used 'brighter bulbs'... they went that much brighter over the standard bulbs is all im saying, they might be brighter on other cars but not the forfour.

As the thread on the retrofit labs upgrade says, its the projector lens on the forfour that is the issue not the bulbs

I have used PIAA and HIDs and neither make the road much brighter

JJ

i was referring to when i had my 1.1, not my SB3