Crap lights - esp dims

[Myfeckin FTO]

Guys,

I take it that some of you have changed the dims on the FTO - as you know they are pretty poor -
I would like a blue look Xenon type bulb - has anyone on here changed these ? - Where did you get them? - how much etc?

Thnks

MfFTO

[kevinod]

Guys,

I take it that some of you have changed the dims on the FTO - as you know they are pretty poor -
I would like a blue look Xenon type bulb - has anyone on here changed these ? - Where did you get them? - how much etc?

Thnks

MfFTO

Someone (CJ?) recommended www.powerbulbs.co.uk, just bought a pair of Philips dims off them yesterday. Haven't got them yet to try them out but supposed to give 30% more light than standard bulbs. ~€34, and getting a free set of Philips sidelight bulbs too so happy enough.

One thing to note that I've come across - not every bulb is suitable for plastic lenses, something I didn't think of before. I'm wondering is this to blame for the bad spot on my drivers side lens, that a non-plastic friendly bulb was used for a while.

I don't know whether it's the UV from the non-friendly bulb that breaks down the plastic or it's a heat issue (think its the UV reason, saw UV mentioned on a site I can't find now) but definately there is a reason some bulbs are not suitable for plastic lenses.

As it happens all the powerbulbs.co.uk bulbs are suitable for polycarbonite (plastic to me and you) lenses. Heard this before I got to their site though so its not a sales gimmick they're pushing or anything, before someone suggests it!

Kev.

[Mustang]

MFFTO check out the bulbs section on this site.
http://www.versionr.com

Mustang

[CJ]

MFFTO check out the bulbs section on this site.
http://www.versionr.com

I don't know why I never spotted the section on modifying the 60W high beam bulbs to fit the low beam connectors, thats next on the list!

CJ

[CJ]

I got the 60W heads from powerbulbs today and took a broken junior hacksaw blade file and a square connectors on the bulbs, I also has to do some filing around the sides to get them to fit. On first impression, theres not much difference in intensity, it hasn't got dark yet mind you! In theory, they should emit approx 20% more light so we'll see later, If I ever get to open up the lenses, I'll be removing the diffusion glass to get a bit of reflective material in there. More to come...

CJ

[Mustang]

CJ wrote

modifying the 60W high beam bulbs to fit the low beam connectors

Of course we would all like more light from the headlights, especially the dipped beam, but from a safety point of view is there potential there to dazzle on coming traffic? And having people cursing you for "not dipping your headlights" even though you're not using the full beam?
"That w@+$er in the FTO didn't dip his lights"

Just wondering

BTW exactly what bulbs did you get..manufacturer, type e.g. HB4
You've bought HB3 and 'converted' to HB4 right

Mustang

[CJ]

Of course we would all like more light from the headlights, especially the dipped beam, but from a safety point of view is there potential there to dazzle on coming traffic? And having people cursing you for "not dipping your headlights" even though you're not using the full beam?
"That w@+$er in the FTO didn't dip his lights"

Just wondering

IMO, this is not a problem for the following reasons:

1. The FTOs dipped beams are diffusion based, theres no reflective material behind the lenses to intensify the light source (hence the low luminosity levels to begin with).
2. Dipped lights are angled lower than the headlights and shine down towards the road rather than directly ahead
3. The FTO (especially when lowered) sits lower than most vehicles thus lessening the chance of dazzling oncoming traffic.
4. You're only increasing the output by 9W or 18%, when you consider how bad the dipped beams are to begin with, this figure is insubstancial. Even an engineer can appreciate that

Now that I've justified myself , heres the verdict:

I drove around this evening and I must say, the difference is quite noticable, you can actually see the beams ahead rather than a dull glow. The road, roadside and objects in your path can now be seen more clearly than before.
This is a safe mod that I would recommend (I take no responsibilty yada yada..) if you want to improve nightime visibility cheaply and easily. This is not a replacement for a set of HIDs but its a decent improvement over stock bulbs. I used HB3 Philips Blue Vision, you also get a free set of sidelight bulbs when you buy off powerbulbs.

Oh yeah, one last thing, I object to the words 'w@+$er ' and 'FTO' appearing in close proximity in the same sentence!

CJ

[Mustang]

Thanks for the clarification CJ! Wasn't sure about the technicalities.

CJ Wrote

I object to the words 'w@+$er ' and 'FTO' appearing in close proximity in the same sentence!

If you dazzle them enough with your extra bright lights, they wont be able to recognise the car, so I guess you could drop FTO from the sentence! No offence intended

Mustang

[kevinod]

For anyone who doesn't want to get funky with a hacksaw, I got Philips Blue Vision HB4/9006 bulbs from Powerbulbs, put them in, and have tried them a couple of times since. Definately a big improvement in dims, a lot more light there now.

Philips claim a 30% increase in light with these bulbs, think I believe it! €34 I think it was well spent.

Kev.

[CJ]

.Philips claim a 30% increase in light with these bulbs, think I believe it!

And if you get busy with a hacksaw, you can realise a 48% improvement

CJ

[Mustang]

For the more bling bling people out there. PIAA platinum white series bulbs are available in HB4 format (FTO dipped beam) -draws 51W but produces 80W apparently. Also HB3 (FTO high beam) -draws 60W but produces 110W. Price £77.50 stg per pair.

[Kace]

I have these - could'nt afford to stump up for the Brights, Spots and Wedges though. PIAA Vv expensive indeed.

[Mustang]

I've been doing an increasing amount of long distance driving, and with the evenings closing in, more and more of that travel has been in the dark. It's just no fun driving long distance at night with the FTO's standard (crapy) lights. So like CJ I decided to get greedy with the light and fit the high beam bulbs into the dipped beam sockets.....quite happy with the results. When fitting the side lights (supplied FOC by powerbulbs) I came accross a problem. The head of the screw which holds the side/fog/indicater lamp assembly on the drivers side has been completey damaged by some bufty using an incorrectly sized screw driver. Try as I did to get it off I just damaged the screw further. I now have two headlights emitting nice 'crisp' bright white light, one matching side light, and one fairly dull 'yellow' side light The contrast has to be seen to be believed! Any advice on how to remove the damaged screw of the side light assembly, and then obtain a replacement screw would be appreciated?

Mustang