Upgrade Xenon Bulbs.

[Spawnegit]

Hello all.

Been a while since I've been on here although never a prolific poster as the search button normally helped

Move to Deepest Norfolk last year and wife is saying the lights on her 2006 are not bright enough. Browsed the search and checked the bulb upgrade options and it guided me to buy the Osram Night Breaker H7 bulbs at £24.

Went out this morning to fit them and found the car is actually fitted with Xenons.

I can see from here that Xenon upgrade for the Osrams are ahem... slightly more expensive @ £140

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BBNCBQ...language=en-GB

Has anyone upgraded to these bulbs and are they really worth the money?

[Harley Dave]

Not sure what you mean by "upgrade" to the Osram Xenons

Surely, if you need Xenons, then that's what you have to fit.

I don't think you can "upgrade" from H7 to Xenon

Do you mean "fit Osrams rather than Volvo branded"

I would think the only difference would be the price and maybe the temperature colour.

The Xenon's output does diminish a bit with time/use.

How dim are they?

Is the headlamp lens still clear?

You could always tell/suggest to the missus to slow down a bit as befits her new location...

Cheers

Dave

[Spawnegit]

Originally Posted by Harley Dave

Not sure what you mean by "upgrade" to the Osram Xenons

Surely, if you need Xenons, then that's what you have to fit.

I don't think you can "upgrade" from H7 to Xenon

Do you mean "fit Osrams rather than Volvo branded"

I would think the only difference would be the price and maybe the temperature colour.

The Xenon's output does diminish a bit with time/use.

How dim are they?

Is the headlamp lens still clear?

You could always tell/suggest to the missus to slow down a bit as befits her new location...

Cheers

Dave

I didn't realise until I went to change the bulbs they were Xenon and not the H7 that the online registration searches indicated.

I do mean to upgrade the current Xenon to the Osram version. Are they "200% brighter as they claim"?

Originally Posted by Harley Dave

How dim are they?

They look OK to me but they certainly are nowhere near as bright as the lights on our other cars.

Originally Posted by Harley Dave

Is the headlamp lens still clear?

As clear as they seem to be on any of this car and age. They have been polished a couple of times and while they are not milky, they do have areas where the plastic has blurred. Not sure apart from buying complete new units if anything can be done apart from polishing them up every 12-24 months.

Originally Posted by Harley Dave

You could always tell/suggest to the missus to slow down a bit as befits her new location...

I have, not sure it registered as expected as the lights on my 2010 L200 Barb are a lot better and I don't think they are Xenon.

[Tannaton]

If you have a facelift 2007 with ABL lights then you need the D1S bulbs as per the link in your post.

The problem with Xenon bulbs is their light output deteriorates almost from day 1 and often can be as low as 20% before they fail completely - so the optimum time to replace them is well before they actually stop working.

I've got the Osram lamps you link to in my 2011 XC90 and the headlights are as good as my (now sold) 2015 XC60 which I would say are the best car headlights I've ever experienced.

So I would highly recommend you go for them. If looking around, do not be tempted to use bulbs with a colour temperature higher than 5000k as that just ruins night visibility. Stick to Volvo OEM, Osram or Philips or you will likely be replacing them again in 6 months.

If you read the Osram blurb carefully, they say they are 20% brighter but can give up to 200% better illuminance. Not sure how that works...

The other thing with Xenons is unlike halogen lamps the power they use is controlled by the external ballast, so the only way to make the bulbs brighter is to get better quality, more efficient bulbs. You cannot simply install higher wattage versions, as some people do with halogen.

[Phil Croxley]

I discovered the deterioration in Xenon bulbs when a replaced one in a previous car, they definitely need replacing in pairs.

[Spawnegit]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

If you have a facelift 2007 with ABL lights then you need the D1S bulbs as per the link in your post.

The problem with Xenon bulbs is their light output deteriorates almost from day 1 and often can be as low as 20% before they fail completely - so the optimum time to replace them is well before they actually stop working.

I've got the Osram lamps you link to in my 2011 XC90 and the headlights are as good as my (now sold) 2015 XC60 which I would say are the best car headlights I've ever experienced.

So I would highly recommend you go for them. If looking around, do not be tempted to use bulbs with a colour temperature higher than 5000k as that just ruins night visibility. Stick to Volvo OEM, Osram or Philips or you will likely be replacing them again in 6 months.

If you read the Osram blurb carefully, they say they are 20% brighter but can give up to 200% better illuminance. Not sure how that works...

The other thing with Xenons is unlike halogen lamps the power they use is controlled by the external ballast, so the only way to make the bulbs brighter is to get better quality, more efficient bulbs. You cannot simply install higher wattage versions, as some people do with halogen.

This is a 2006 model with the indicatiors in the wing, not the mirror so I think pre-facelift.

Defo Zenon (see attached).


Nice to hear from someone who has the Osram model. Its a bit spend on an old car so need to get some reassurance it is worth the money

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Spawnegit

This is a 2006 model with the indicatiors in the wing, not the mirror so I think pre-facelift.

Defo Zenon (see attached).


Nice to hear from someone who has the Osram model. Its a bit spend on an old car so need to get some reassurance it is worth the money

Ah you have the reflector based Bi-Xenon - these require a D2R bulb - NOT the D1S lamps you shared earlier.

If you want to conserve the contents of your wallet, but still have a good lamp - try these :

https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/o...arc-d2r-single

£66 a pair at time of posting - bargain!

[Spawnegit]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Ah you have the reflector based Bi-Xenon - these require a D2R bulb - NOT the D1S lamps you shared earlier.

If you want to conserve the contents of your wallet, but still have a good lamp - try these :

https://www.powerbulbs.com/product/o...arc-d2r-single

£66 a pair at time of posting - bargain!

OK just to be sure on the right model of bulbs. Here are a few more images.

Are these definitley the D2R bulb?

WhatsApp Image 2023-12-01 at 16.06.29_84703c6c.jpg

WhatsApp Image 2023-12-01 at 16.06.29_c8f694c8.jpg

WhatsApp Image 2023-12-01 at 16.06.30_27b82b3c.jpg

WhatsApp Image 2023-12-01 at 16.06.30_da25c6e6.jpg

WhatsApp Image 2023-12-01 at 16.06.31_e55c8ac6.jpg

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Spawnegit

OK just to be sure on the right model of bulbs. Here are a few more images.

Are these definitley the D2R bulb?

Attachment 151685

Attachment 151686

Attachment 151687

Attachment 151688

Attachment 151689

Yep - it says D2R on the base.....

[Spawnegit]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

Yep - it says D2R on the base.....

Thanks. Didn't see that. Glad they're the cheaper ones !