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I was driving home Saturday night when I thought the head lights need a clean as they seemed a bit dim. So when I got home I checked them and yea you guest it the bulb's gone :-( So Sunday morning removed the light and found it was a sealed unit. I went to Halfords and a few car parts suppliers and no one had one. Same message that's a dealer part :-( I remember seeing a message about wobbly lights and some using a different head light. So I went through the mail and found it :-) Mini Cooper head light will do. Drove back to Halfords can I have a Mini head lamp we don't stock them :-( we will have to order one, they also said that the Lucas ones are all sealed unit's. I thought that only old cars have sealed units and most new ones would have a separate bulb?. So I still have a duff head light and no further forward, I am going to ring the nice Mr Mazda dealer to see how man arm's and leg's I need. If I get a Mini head light does it have the locating lugs so it will fit the MX5 housing?. Also will the head light alignment be out if I use the Mini one. (12/99) |
| Buy a pair of Cibie or Hella 7" headlights with bulbs. Much better than any other solution. They fit as straight replacements - absolutely no complications. (12/99) |
| I bought a sealed unit from Halfords a month or so weeks back. I removed the old one and took it with me to show them and the had some in stock. The plugs and fittings are exactly the same as the original so there's no worries on that side of things. Maybe try a different Halfords store or go in to the same one when the chimp who served you before isn't working ;-) (12/99) |
| Just like to say thank you for your help on my head lights. I have ordered a pair of Hella 7" head lights so I can just change the bulb if they go :) (12/99) |
| Ah well, had to happen in the end; one of Mr. Toad's headlights has finally gone. Being a Roadster (capital R), he had sealed beam headlights, so I wanted to replace them both with non-sealed units, so I could put in brighter bulbs. Popped down to my local accessory shop, and had the foresight to try and fit the unit they sold me at the time. Right diameter, but too fat at the back & wouldn't fit !!! I had to resort to another selaed beam unit (£7.99 - took out a 2nd mortgage) So, I'm going to order up a pair of either Cibie or Hella 7" H4 units, as they're meant to fit fine. What I want to know is: what are the best bulbs to fit ? I've gone from 50W units to 45W (grrr), so I'll get an improvement even with 55W bulbs. I'd really like to fit something V V bright, but what's the best ? I can go for Zenon bulbs that are meant to be 30% brighter, or I can go for 80/100W bulbs, that aren't strictly legal for road use, but who's going to measure ? (12/01) |
| I've used 85/100 halogens in the Cal, and if they're aligned correctly there's no dazzle, and it's sailed through the MOT with them. I've not had any problem with wiring getting cooked, but I found the bulb life to be very short, so I'm now using standard rated Philips ones, which were highly rated in the Auto Express tests. I do miss 2 x 100w when blasting down the lanes though ;-) (12/01) |
| I use Cibie Iode headlights (actually they're made by Valeo these days), but they're superb with Zenon bulbs (30% brighter), 60/55W. Some strange things happen - for example, if I'm behind say 6 cars on a motorway and there's a reflective sign 400 yds ahead, I find it is my headlights, rather than any of theirs, that reflect from it (I realised this after a long trip down to Dover overnight this Summer) - you can tell from what happens on bumpy bits. Following that particular night time convoy, others commented that my lights (and those of a Mk 2 with similar bulbs) were much brighter than anyone else's. I wouldn't want them any brighter - they make reflective signs on dark roads very dazzling as they are. But I never get flashed by anyone. (!) (12/01) |
| I found the Zenon bulbs an improvement over the Std halogen when fitted to the Alhambra I had. The units in my MX-5 are hella (std fitting?) (12/01) |
| Try here for Cibie: http://www.cars.u-net.com/carsrallysporthomepage.htm (They're in Derbyshire, but do mail order) (12/01) |
| Try: http://www.powerbulbs.com They stock both the award winning Philips Vision Plus bulbs and the Ring Xenon Plus bulbs. Site even has an application part so you can verify what it is you need. The Ring bulb looks good compared to the Philips - and a damn site cheaper too. (12/01) |
| Just thought I'd point out that the £19.50 for the Philips bulbs is for a pair whereas the rings are 10.95 per bulb. Hence the Philips are actually cheaper... (12/01) |
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Okay, I imported bulbs and sold them for a while (www.ultimablulbs.com). Basically there are 3 types of bulb for modern cars: 1) Halogen Gas 2) Xenon Gas (the 30% brighter type) 3) HID (also sometimes known as Xenon but not the same as the above) Halogen is bar far the most popular gas and the cheapest. The Ring Xenon plus uses the xenon gas to produce the 30% brighter type. The philips if my memory serves me correctly, is not a Xenon bulb, but what we call in the trade an 'inside blue quartz'. Basically it is a standard Halogen bulb but with the glass of the bulb made from a blue tinted material rather than neutral. This gives the impression of a whiter light and brighter emitted from the headlight (the blue tint, absorbs the yellow from the light spectrum). In reality though, the normal or Xenon bulb will light up further distance but will not be as white a light as the Philips. HID (high intensity discharge) as seen on the top model German cars and Omega's (and more and more by the day) is a totally different system to the 12v bulbs discussed above. It uses only 35w of power but the voltage is at 25,000v!!! Hence the light produces is so white and powerful. The HID and normal halogen bulbs are not interchangeable. If you like the improved lighting of HID, you can now get HID conversion kits (bulbs and transformers) to convert you standard 12v into HID. Prices are around £500 for the Philips kit. Conclusion: If you have a 12V headlight, then the brightest light for driving (illuminated distance) is the Xenon type. If you want the HID look and have 12v, but cannot afford the HID kit, then go for the Philips Vision plus or similar. Downside is, people looking at your car will find your lights white and bright, but for the driver of the car, the headlights will not illuminate as far as the Xenon. HID, well you got best of both worlds! (12/01) |
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To get Xenon headlight bulbs @ GBP 6.37ea. go Tel; 0155 9305454 or ring for their free catalogue, well worth having (12/01) |