Headlight question

Letsdoit

Have a 2007 passat and the lights are awful in the night so was gonna pick up set today. anyone recommend a set ?

Would i have to get the lights re aligined or focused?

Mycroft H

What lights does it use? A H7 bulb? Some people use bulbs like the Osram Nightbreakers to good results.

Letsdoit

ya there 25euro was gonna get um and yes two pin H7 bulb, will they give the white glowing light something similar to the Xenon bulb. what about the focusing on putting in new bulbs?

Mycroft H

Letsdoit wrote: »

ya there 25euro was gonna get um and yes two pin H7 bulb, will they give the white glowing light something similar to the Xenon bulb. what about the focusing on putting in new bulbs?

If your light are correctly aimed than it will be fine.

Chimaera

If your headlights are not giving out enough light, there are a few things to do before throwing money at the problem.

Make sure the lenses are properly clean. If they're scuffed it's usually possible to polish them back up. There are plenty of threads in the Detailing forum on doing this. In winter weather especially, it's pretty easy for dirt and grime to build up on your headlights: you should be cleaning them off once a week really.

Get the alignment checked properly: it's not unusual for garages to turn the aim down pretty low on cars so they won't fail the NCT, but it screws up the light output afterwards.

If you've checked those and are still unhappy, then the OSRAM Nightbreaker bulbs are good, but they've a shorter lifespan than regular H7 bulbs so bear this in mind.

_Kaiser_

I had a B6 Passat for years as I agree that the standard bulbs are pretty crap. As recommended try the Osram Nightbreakers OP. I used those in mine and it made a big difference.

Also worth checking alignment if problems persist after that but don't expect xenon-like brightness either.

SleeperService

Chimaera wrote: »

Get the alignment checked properly: it's not unusual for garages to turn the aim down pretty low on cars so they won't fail the NCT, but it screws up the light output afterwards.

"yerrah she'll fly the nct now so she will" ...
Grand around town maybe but a disaster in the country. Just fixed mine after last owner/garage. Maybe thats why so many people use ###lights, the fogs could have better throw than their dipped headlights!

Nightbreakers are good upgrade. Latest model claims to have improved lifetime.

bazz26

Not sure about the regular Passat but I find the headlights on the CC to be very good.

I'd try getting the headlights aligned first, if they are out of focus then the beam will not be pointed at the correct position of the road. After that try the likes of the Osram Nightbreakers or Philips Vision Plus bulbs.

mgbgt1978

Chimaera wrote: »

Get the alignment checked properly: it's not unusual for garages to turn the aim down pretty low on cars so they won't fail the NCT, but it screws up the light output afterwards.

Can't see the logic here.
The NCT headlight aim test has a range and any headlight that falls outside this range will fail....either too low or too high.
Most guys adjusting the lights will try to aim them in the middle of the required range to ensure a pass. If they simply set them low then the car would still fail as the beam falls outside of the allowable range.

Chimaera

Perhaps. I had an experience of asking a garage to set the alignment before an NCT which I passed. I wondered why the light output was so terrible and had it rechecked elsewhere to find out it was aimed much too low to be any use on the road.

Ded_Zebra

The problem that we always had with our B6 was that the bulbs were really hard to get in right and when the bulb is in right it doesn't feel very positive. No garage that replaced a bulb in it got it right and had to be re-done by us. Once the bulb is in right they are very good lights.

SleeperService

Chimaera wrote: »

Perhaps. I had an experience of asking a garage to set the alignment before an NCT which I passed. I wondered why the light output was so terrible and had it rechecked elsewhere to find out it was aimed much too low to be any use on the road.

At least 3 cars bought by me or family members with headlights adjusted way way down. Not crashed and new front bumpers and lights slapped on. Who is adjusting these and why, if not garages for NCT? The mind boggles, by the time something is that close to you its too late at >50kph.