Drivers side high beam replacement !@#$#$%^(and a comment about phillips visionplus)

Well the dash light went on signaling that one of my headlights was out....it actually turned out to be the drivers side highbeam. I have had a package of Phillips vision plus lights I have been meaning to put on the car, so this was a great opportunity to test the brightness against stock. First of all.....just my luck, this is the HARDEST ligiht to replace out of the 4 because the air box / filter is in the way. I scraped the crap out of my hand trying to reach in there and get it out, i finally was able to break it loose. I installed the new bulb, but putting it back in was close to impossible. I had to take apart half the the airbox to get enough room to get my hands in there to put it back in and lock it down.....what a PIA.....

All that aside, after it was installed I turned on the car, and with the daytime running lights on quickly noticed the difference of the phillips vision plus bulb over stock. In "daytime running light mode" the bulb burned white not yellowish like the stock bulb. In Full highbeam mode, it covered the same amount of ground but was definately brighter. I finished up by replaceing the passenger side hi beam for a match set.

I had a pair in my last A4, they truly are one of the best for light output.
This is what Phillips says about them:
"Up to 50% more light on the road
20 metres longer beam
Better reflections from road signs
UV resistant Cut Quartz safe to use with plastic lenses
Optimises colour temperature to give deep white light
Interchangeable upgrade with existing lamps
Fully Compliant with ECE Regulation 37"

Originally Posted by Bill97Z

Well the dash light went on signaling that one of my headlights was out....it actually turned out to be the drivers side highbeam. I have had a package of Phillips vision plus lights I have been meaning to put on the car, so this was a great opportunity to test the brightness against stock. First of all.....just my luck, this is the HARDEST ligiht to replace out of the 4 because the air box / filter is in the way. I scraped the crap out of my hand trying to reach in there and get it out, i finally was able to break it loose. I installed the new bulb, but putting it back in was close to impossible. I had to take apart half the the airbox to get enough room to get my hands in there to put it back in and lock it down.....what a PIA.....

All that aside, after it was installed I turned on the car, and with the daytime running lights on quickly noticed the difference of the phillips vision plus bulb over stock. In "daytime running light mode" the bulb burned white not yellowish like the stock bulb. In Full highbeam mode, it covered the same amount of ground but was definately brighter. I finished up by replaceing the passenger side hi beam for a match set.

Hi Bill97Z,

I am thinking to replace my high beam with the Philips Vision Plus also. Since I use it as a Daytime Running Light and turned it on most of the time, I am a little bit worry about the life span of the bulb. May I ask how's your experience so far with the Vision Plus? Also, do you think it 'might' be too bright for DRL?

Thanks for your comments and information!

iSpY

I have a pair waiting for replacement too, just can't be bothered to risk my life doing it. I'll let the dealer do it. When I asked my service guy about it he said they actually remove the whole bleepin' light unit for the change!

E46 fanatics have a great thread on headlight changes, and there are 4 screws to remove to change the bulb. Not worth my time!!

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=214682

Why didn't you just take the airbox out of the car? Once you get the lid off (6 clips) it's 2 more nuts in the bottom of the box, and that's it.

It doesn't make locking the ring back on easier, but it's easier to get at with the box removed.

Just out of curiosity, where can you get the VisionPlus bulbs? Any online location?
Thanks,
Jim

Originally Posted by Bill97Z

...I scraped the crap out of my hand trying to reach in there and get it out, i finally was able to break it loose. I installed the new bulb, but putting it back in was close to impossible. I had to take apart half the the airbox to get enough room to get my hands in there to put it back in and lock it down.....what a PIA.....

I had the same pleasant experience with the same light on my old 325. I taught my daughter all sorts of inadvertant vocabulary while I tried to get the bulb back into the socket....

Originally Posted by Jim H

Just out of curiosity, where can you get the VisionPlus bulbs? Any online location?
Thanks,
Jim

You can get it from http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/ or http://www.autolamps-online.com
Both of them are in UK but they provide free shipping to US. I think the cost is around $40 to $50 per pair.

I am still thinking to use one of the followings to replace my DRL (inner light).
1) Philips VisionPlus
2) PIAA Xtreme White
3) Sylvania Silver Star (US version)

Since it is mainly for DRL, I more concern on the color (hate halogen, prefer white), power consumption (do not want to melt my Bi-Xenon) and the life span (since it is on all time). Could someone share his/her experience on these bulbs please?

Thanks!

iSpY

I tried the US SilverStar once in H7 for the highbeams. I only ran them in full highbeam mode since my DRLs are disabled. Even then, they looked nearly identical to the stocks (I only changed one side to compare) and were much less white than the Narva 9006 (supposedly the same as some Philips) that I was running in my fogs at the time. So they went back to the store.

Originally Posted by Kaz

I tried the US SilverStar once in H7 for the highbeams. I only ran them in full highbeam mode since my DRLs are disabled. Even then, they looked nearly identical to the stocks (I only changed one side to compare) and were much less white than the Narva 9006 (supposedly the same as some Philips) that I was running in my fogs at the time. So they went back to the store.

Thanks for the information, Kaz. So, I guess SilverStar should be out of my list. Either Philips VisionPlus or PIAA Xtreme White. I think both of them should be good but just don't know which one will last longer.

iSpY

Well now its a few months later, and I have replaced the driver and passanger side highbeams with Phillips silvervision plus. When I was running one of them vs the stock bulb on the passanger side, I did notice a whiter, brighter light. My drivers side low beam just went out and I replaced it with a standard sylvania bulb from pepboys just to get it working again in a snap. This bulb is no brighter but burns a lot whiter than stock.


hope this helps.

Think you had a difficult time replacing your bulb. I read this in the Tribune Motormouth column over the weekend.

"Bum bulb puts Maxima in a $250 fix

Published December 26, 2004

Q. Since when is changing a headlight bulb a major job? The dealer says the front bumper has to be taken off of my Nissan Maxima to replace the headlight (bulb) at a cost of $250. I have checked with local repair shops, and they have no experience so they couldn't confirm that the bumper has to be removed. I can't believe a manufacturer would engineer a car in such a manner. Can you confirm that the bumper has to be removed to replace the bulb?

F.L., Prospect Heights

A. We couldn't believe it either, so we contacted Nissan. It took a while to get an answer, but the bad news is that the price you were quoted is probably about right--depending on labor rates. As you probably know, carmakers must strike a balance between manufacturing, service, recycleability, cost and so on. Obviously, serviceability got the short end of the stick this time. Of course, you can voice your displeasure to the automaker. Smart ones listen to their customers."

Originally Posted by Bill97Z

Well the dash light went on signaling that one of my headlights was out....it actually turned out to be the drivers side highbeam. I have had a package of Phillips vision plus lights I have been meaning to put on the car, so this was a great opportunity to test the brightness against stock. First of all.....just my luck, this is the HARDEST ligiht to replace out of the 4 because the air box / filter is in the way. I scraped the crap out of my hand trying to reach in there and get it out, i finally was able to break it loose. I installed the new bulb, but putting it back in was close to impossible. I had to take apart half the the airbox to get enough room to get my hands in there to put it back in and lock it down.....what a PIA.....

All that aside, after it was installed I turned on the car, and with the daytime running lights on quickly noticed the difference of the phillips vision plus bulb over stock. In "daytime running light mode" the bulb burned white not yellowish like the stock bulb. In Full highbeam mode, it covered the same amount of ground but was definately brighter. I finished up by replaceing the passenger side hi beam for a match set.

Yes, the dealer replaced my driver's side bulb (halogen) early in the warranty. I would have replaced it myself if the air box was not in the way.

Originally Posted by Bill97Z

Well the dash light went on signaling that one of my headlights was out....it actually turned out to be the drivers side highbeam. I have had a package of Phillips vision plus lights I have been meaning to put on the car, so this was a great opportunity to test the brightness against stock. First of all.....just my luck, this is the HARDEST ligiht to replace out of the 4 because the air box / filter is in the way. I scraped the crap out of my hand trying to reach in there and get it out, i finally was able to break it loose. I installed the new bulb, but putting it back in was close to impossible. I had to take apart half the the airbox to get enough room to get my hands in there to put it back in and lock it down.....what a PIA.....

All that aside, after it was installed I turned on the car, and with the daytime running lights on quickly noticed the difference of the phillips vision plus bulb over stock. In "daytime running light mode" the bulb burned white not yellowish like the stock bulb. In Full highbeam mode, it covered the same amount of ground but was definately brighter. I finished up by replaceing the passenger side hi beam for a match set.

You do realize that all this trouble is because you still have the stock airbox on. Get a CAI and on top of the other recognized advantages (more power, better sound) you will also be able to change your bulbs in about 2 minutes.



adc
03 330 ZHP

Originally Posted by Bill97Z

Well now its a few months later, and I have replaced the driver and passanger side highbeams with Phillips silvervision plus. When I was running one of them vs the stock bulb on the passanger side, I did notice a whiter, brighter light. My drivers side low beam just went out and I replaced it with a standard sylvania bulb from pepboys just to get it working again in a snap. This bulb is no brighter but burns a lot whiter than stock.


hope this helps.

Hi Bill97Z,

Do you have a picture of your car with Philips VisionPlus turned on? I have never see it in person and would appreciate if you can share with me. Since it is for DRL, I'm not concern on the brightness but more concern on the color (white, no yellow, no purple)

Thanks!

iSpY