LED headlight bulb upgrade

[stuart bowes]

ah well maybe that's the difference then? maybe share a link for those ones and I'll give them a punt next time

I'm not knocking osram I've been ordering them as a brand for nearly 20 years at work

[revaido]

A late reply but I picked up a V70 a few weeks ago and the headlights were dismal.

The first thing I did was polish the glazed headlights with a 3M kit you pop on the end of a drill followed by the 3M UV coating (so it lasts longer) and then fitted halogen Philips Racing Vision GT200 H7s which are road legal and about £25 a pair from Amazon.

The GT200s are definitely brighter than what I had in there - in all fairness one side was already out anyway (a Tritas longlife) and the other was a German brand Wurth (think that's made by Osram over there?)

Fitting was a pain as had to do it all by feel and with the clamps really not sure how an LED kit would stay put in there (and like has been said instant MoT fail).

[camturbo]

Osram have bought out some road legal led h7 bulbs which are totally road legal. Unfortunately there are a list of compatibility of certain cars and countries and again unfortunately Volvo's and the uk is not included.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

I tried those and they lasted exactly 11 months (with DRL on)

I then switched to Bosch and they're still going strong 18 months later https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

I haven't yet come across a situation where they weren't bright enough

in fact a lot of people drive around with lights that are way too bright if anything, it's a real nuisance to everyone else

volvo supply the correct LONG LIFE heavy duty H7 bulbs...

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by camturbo

Osram have bought out some road legal led h7 bulbs which are totally road legal. Unfortunately there are a list of compatibility of certain cars and countries and again unfortunately Volvo's and the uk is not included.

.......so they're not road legal then? Currently no LED retrofits are road legal in the UK as they won't have the ECE certification.

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

You mustn't swap the lamps themselves as mentioned above that's a fail (and even if you somehow blag it without them noticing, if you crash and they find them, your MOT is void and therefore so is your insurance)

Once issued the validity of an MOT certificate cannot be revoked, even if the car is submitted for a further MOT and it fails.

Also true for insurance, it's there to protect other people from your mistakes and transgressions.

[stuart bowes]

Originally Posted by Clan

volvo supply the correct LONG LIFE heavy duty H7 bulbs...

I'm sure they do but are they as bright, that's the issue at hand really isn't it, originally he was asking for ways to achieve brighter lighting and that's what I was also going for

[stuart bowes]

As for insurance, as I understood it your car has to be in roadworthy condition for the insurance to be valid and that includes things like having the right tyres in good condition for example. I was only speculating that they might include headlights in that, because I know what insurance companies are like for trying to avoid paying out. Different companies and different policies may vary but is it worth taking a risk?

I'm sure they have provisions in place to make sure the 3rd party gets sorted out for your mistake but do you get a payout when someone hits you. That's the question. In the case of lighting they could argue your headlights dazzled oncoming traffic and therefore you're to blame. Or your tyres were below minimum spec and that's why you didn't stop in time. They're not daft they know all the ins and outs

Besides the bottom line is, there are reasons why it's illegal so obviously don't do it

[Clan]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

I'm sure they do but are they as bright, that's the issue at hand really isn't it, originally he was asking for ways to achieve brighter lighting and that's what I was also going for

They have been bright enough for the last 27 years since volvo first started using Long life H& bulbs. . Generally it is the reflectors or lens causing the problem.

[stuart bowes]

Again, that may well be true

But 'bright enough' and 'as bright as the alternatives' is not the same thing, the first one is an opinion the second one is measurable fact

At the end of the day there are people looking for legal brighter options and not everyone is going to peel apart their lights and start doing repairs to the reflectors (or pay hundreds for new units)

[Clan]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

Again, that may well be true

But 'bright enough' and 'as bright as the alternatives' is not the same thing, the first one is an opinion the second one is measurable fact

At the end of the day there are people looking for legal brighter options and not everyone is going to peel apart their lights and start doing repairs to the reflectors (or pay hundreds for new units)

LED replacement bulbs on cars first registered after 1986 are illegal and will fail MOT. This is a recent new law. I gave up looking for a LED headlamp bulb which gives the prescribed beam pattern about 3 years ago, .