Best headlight bulb for Hid effect

[Mick87]

Hi I own a 2020 focus St Line and am impressed with the car so far.

I have the standard headlights with the led drl's and halogen dipped and main beams.

Can anybody recommend a bulb to replace the halogens with to give a white look as opposed to the yellow look.

It looks a bit odd with led drl's and spot lights but yellow halogen dipped beams.

Thanks

[Matthew McGuinness]

For my fiesta dipped i have installed LED's that fit into the halogen holder from CEUK. For the main i have a pair of blue tinted Halogens. And i have just purchased LED fog lights from CEUK to match the rest. You can buy LED Bulbs off amazon (i just don't know how good they are)

[Frowma]

Replacing a halogen bulb with an LED is a bit of a minefield, you need to make sure that the LED bulb you get has the correct pattern displacement and correct fitment for your headlight, they have offsets and all that sort of malarky. Just buying a H7/H1 LED to replace a H7/H1 halogen will not work.

My advice would be to get something like Osram nightbreakers, they are still halogens but they've got a much brighter and whiter light to them, they are a really good (budget) upgrade on the standard halogens that are fitted by Ford, you will really notice the difference.

[Mick87]

17 minutes ago, Frowma said:

Replacing a halogen bulb with an LED is a bit of a minefield, you need to make sure that the LED bulb you get has the correct pattern displacement and correct fitment for your headlight, they have offsets and all that sort of malarky. Just buying a H7/H1 LED to replace a H7/H1 halogen will not work.

My advice would be to get something like Osram nightbreakers, they are still halogens but they've got a much brighter and whiter light to them, they are a really good (budget) upgrade on the standard halogens that are fitted by Ford, you will really notice the difference.

Thanks was thinking night breakers or philips alternative. Would The night breaker cool blue or standard ones be better?

[Frowma]

In my current car (Punto, soon to be MK4 Focus) I had the original Nightbreakers in, one blew and I couldn't get a replacement for a couple of days so put the original one back in temporarily. The difference between a bog standard halogen and the old nighbreaker was really big. I then replaced both with the new Nightbreaker Lasers and they're really top notch.

Shop around for them, eBay, amazon, powerbulbs all have different prices. I've even got some from euro car parts really cheap by ordering online and using the code of the day then collecting from my local store 30 minutes later!

[F0CUE]

The night breakers don't last very long at all. From my mk2 to my MK3 my LED Bulbs from China with a fan on the back have been used and never let me down. Come MOT time they get swapped back and it's very simple. 

[Monks600]

I’m using H7 LEDs for my dipped beam in a reflector housing. With these specific LED Bulbs I’m able to rotate and push and pull for the perfect beam pattern to match halogen spread.

 

Multiple mots and not one issue at all, lined them up and adjusted them on my garage door and they match the cut off for the halogens.

 

LEDS have come a long way over the years and I must admit, the beam pattern you can get these days in a reflector housing is really impressive with minimal to zero glare.

 

I’ve even gone to the extent of having the MOT tester check the pattern and adjust if needed and he said they were absolutely spot on and have the exact pattern off the halogens.

 

I was put off by HIDS due to how bad the light spread can be and the amount of glare you get off them. Plus in a reflector housing, it’s just dangerous. No matter how well you try to align or level them off, they just dazzle other drivers.

 

Tried nightbreakers and other brands and I can barely get 8 months out of a set of bulbs. They just don’t seem to last long at all, which is a shame as they are decent :)

 

 

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[Frembrit]

I've tried Nightbreakers before and they din't last more than a year (though this was back in 2008/09 so might be different now).

I use Osram Cool Blue Intense main beam (H1 bulb) and static cornering bulbs and they match (or very close) the the DRL's and Osram Cool Blue Intense HID (D1s) dipped/main bulbs. Not as bright as the Nightbreakers but they give a whiter light than the Nightbreakers.

[TomsFocus]

I'm using Phillips WhiteVision H7s for the whitest legal halogens you can get afaik...been in 2 years now and haven't blown one. 

They're much better than the blue lense H15s I inherited in the main beam, can't see anything more with those on!  

[Guy Heaton]

No halogen will get near the colour temp of a hid or led but I have osram nightbreaker in my 19 plate mk4 stlx and they do give a whiter, longer beam.

The new mk4s are all led now.

[Monks600]

No halogen will get near the colour temp of a hid or led but I have osram nightbreaker in my 19 plate mk4 stlx and they do give a whiter, longer beam.

The new mk4s are all led now.

Mk4’S look smart with led headlights. My only concern would be repairing the headlight when out of warranty! I’m pretty sure they’re a sealed unit and if something goes, it’s a full new headlight unit... can’t see them being cheap either considering how much standard reflector housings go for!

 

 

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[Frowma]

I'm picking mine up tomorrow and it's got the full adaptive LED setup, I can't see you being able to change a single blown LED in them so yes it would be a full unit.

 

[Ennvoqation]

2 hours ago, Monks600 said:

Mk4’S look smart with led headlights. My only concern would be repairing the headlight when out of warranty! I’m pretty sure they’re a sealed unit and if something goes, it’s a full new headlight unit... can’t see them being cheap either considering how much standard reflector housings go for!

Aren't the Focus DRL like the Mondeo/Transit van where they have a light loop with a single LED emitter that you can just swap out? From memory it's a silver box that attaches to the headlamp and the main lamps are block units? .

 

Scratch the block units, was thinking of another car.

[Monks600]

Aren't the Focus DRL like the Mondeo/Transit van where they have a light loop with a single LED emitter that you can just swap out? From memory it's a silver box that attaches to the headlamp and the main lamps are block units? .
 
Scratch the block units, was thinking of another car.

They have them on the fiesta for sure! You can swap out the little box for a WiFi RGB module and get all sorts of cool colours! Think on the focus mk3.5 they’re LED strips unlike the fiestas!


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[Frowma]

Just as an FYI, here is a link to the Auto Express group test, the Nighbreaker Lasers came top:

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/76760/best-car-headlight-bulbs-2019