Standard headlight performance.

I take for granted from the off set, LED lights will give more of everything and look great for most people. So you could argue that they improve safety.
That is not what this thread is about exactly, i'm not after a comparison with them.

What I really want to know from mainly T5/T6 owners on the basis I'm assuming there has been some evolution since T4's, how do your do your standard head lights perform?
Are you happy with what you see at night on both unlit and street light roads?

Thanks

2020 freedom said:

I take for granted from the off set, LED lights will give more of everything and look great for most people. So you could argue that they improve safety.
That is not what this thread is about exactly, i'm not after a comparison with them.

What I really want to know from mainly T5/T6 owners on the basis I'm assuming there has been some evolution since T4's, how do your do your standard head lights perform?
Are you happy with what you see at night on both unlit and street light roads?

Thanks

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I have fitted Osram Nightbreakers as they are slightly 'Whiter" but otherwise no problems. I use the vehicle daily in all weathers day & night and cover a substantial milage/year on all kinds of roads.
My biggest complaint is poorly adjusted, slow automatic and slow level response on HID and dare I say LED lights on other vehicles.
Main beam is more than powerful enough when required and able to use, likewise Dipped in Urban areas.

WG's input is very valuable to me given the miles and conditions he has covered but I'm surprised no more opinions have been posted.
Anyone?
Are we generally happy with the performance?

I have been reading on another forum about people upgrading from H4's to H7's which on first read sounded like a bulb change but I'm not sure if it's more involved than that?

2020 freedom said:

WG's input is very valuable to me given the miles and conditions he has covered but I'm surprised no more opinions have been posted.
Anyone?
Are we generally happy with the performance?

I have been reading on another forum about people upgrading from H4's to H7's which on first read sounded like a bulb change but I'm not sure if it's more involved than that?

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Ah, now that sounds like different vehicles. I could be wrong but I think the Beach and SE, in T5.1 models, had different Headlight bulbs fitted and the headlights are different internally regarding reflectors. My SE has H7 and H15 for Main/Dipped and DRL's.

We've a standard 2008 T5 SE and I've had no problem with the headlights...

All the threads on headlights indicate the worst headlights are the Beach standard single light, twin filament h4 bulbs.

WelshGas said:

Ah, now that sounds like different vehicles. I could be wrong but I think the Beach and SE, in T5.1 models, had different Headlight bulbs fitted and the headlights are different internally regarding reflectors. My SE has H7 and H15 for Main/Dipped and DRL's.

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That makes sense from the bits I have been able to gather.

Sad said:

We've a standard 2008 T5 SE and I've had no problem with the headlights...

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Nor should you in my opinion
The internet drags up the worst possible scenarios, experiences and disappointed punters but as I'm still looking to make the right move got to ask people like yourselves.
Thanks all.

Sad said:

We've a standard 2008 T5 SE and I've had no problem with the headlights

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Same here 2008 t5 se no problem with standard lights.

We have had a Cali since 2012 and now a T6 Cali and never had any problems with standard headlights but obviously cant compare to leds as dont have them.
I must admit i do like the look of them but was not prepared to pay the silly money for them when most every day cars now come as standard
Dave and Lisa

We have an Ocean, do a lot of country lane driving, and so far have found the standard lights perfectly acceptable.

We also have had a Cali since 2012 and now a t6 have read a lot of posts re lights and that LED are a must before that it was eXons but we have standard lights the only issue I have with night driving is other peoples lights not sure if people have lost the abilty to dip their main beam

We have a T5.1 on a 15 plate, it has standard headlights and the bulbs are as they came from the factory. Where we live there is little to no street lighting and we have no issue with the headlights being inadequate. Cali is used at home as a daily driver, 10000 miles per year, lots of night driving in all weather.

+1 "satisfied " T6 Ocean owner.

Drove a caravelle with leds. Quite a bit better, but not worth the huge extra cost (nearly £1000 per side!!!). Standard candles are adequate


Charles

I just couldn't justify the extra 1600 euros for the LED's on the Spanish model. I don't do too much night driving nowadays and if the originals are too poor I will upgrade like WG has done.

Standard lights fine on ours. All getting too complicated imo. Possible problems with fancy stuff costs a fortune to mend and is an MOT fail if not working correctly.

briwy said:

Standard lights fine on ours. All getting too complicated imo. Possible problems with fancy stuff costs a fortune to mend and is an MOT fail if not working correctly.

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The LED DRL on my Q5 headlight stopped working out of warranty it required a new headlight and was very expensive.

Stoneybroke said:

All the threads on headlights indicate the worst headlights are the Beach standard single light, twin filament h4 bulbs.

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I agree as that is what I have - they do leave a bit to be desired so I swapped the bulbs out and now they are better - though still not excellent! Came as a shock after my Golf GTI with top spec lights as switching between the two vehicles is quite a difference.

bigmac77 said:

We have a T5.1 on a 15 plate, it has standard headlights and the bulbs are as they came from the factory. Where we live there is little to no street lighting and we have no issue with the headlights being inadequate. Cali is used at home as a daily driver, 10000 miles per year, lots of night driving in all weather.

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I too have a 2015 Kombi with standard light no issues at all there fine

bigmac77 said:

The LED DRL on my Q5 headlight stopped working out of warranty it required a new headlight and was very expensive.

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I was thinking about this how do you swap a led light 3 years down the line??
I can't imagine it being a simple bulb swap????
£10 from a car accessories store me thinks not??

The H4s on the Beach aren’t as good as the H7s on our old T5.1 Caravelle. That said, they light the road. Getting out of my c63 and getting in the van at night is a bit of a shock so I’ve bought some of the Phillips racing visions to try out. Shorter life but apparently a lot better & I can buy a lot of replacement bulbs.

Previously I had a VW Sharan with standard lights and I was very satisfied. When I ordered the Cali, I ordered standard lamps as well. And now I am not satisfied at all.
The difference is : my Sharan had H7 bulbs, while my California Coast has H4 bulbs. I think that's all the difference.
There was an option to have H7 headlights, for just 148 euros. But I did not know when I ordered ;-(

Wesel said:

Previously I had a VW Sharan with standard lights and I was very satisfied. When I ordered the Cali, I ordered standard lamps as well. And now I am not satisfied at all.
The difference is : my Sharan had H7 bulbs, while my California Coast has H4 bulbs. I think that's all the difference.
There was an option to have H7 headlights, for just 148 euros. But I did not know when I ordered ;-(

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I have uploaded this attached file by mistake and I do not know how to delete it.

Referring to original question on Halogen lights not LED ones.

Basically the Beach model comes with H4 light units and Oceans with H7 units in standard trim.

H4 is a 2 filament bulb where the dip goes out when the mainbeam is on so only ever 2 filaments (L&R) are on at any time. Total 110watts dip & 120watts mainbeam (55/60watt bulbs)

The H7 has 1 filament but 4 bulbs in total. 2 dip & 2 mainbeam. The main advantage over the H4 is that the dip filaments remain on when mainbeam is operated. Total 110 Watt dip & 220 Watt mainbeam. (55watt bulbs)

Dip is the weak area of both headlight types and other than a slight improvement by changing bulbs I haven't seen any as yet.
Fitting extra lights that are on during dipped mode gets into all sorts of legal issues. Mainbeam only ones are no problem but can have a frightening light loss when dip is selected as it takes time for eyes to adjust. If you can find a wartime Spitfire Pilot pull up a sandbag and have a chat about night vision.

High spec bulbs from Osram And Phillips are available for both H4 and H7 versions and have found these do give an improvement for not too much cash outlay.
There are 100watt versions available and are not road legal plus the heat output may damage the light unit.

Decades ago I purchased 75/60Watt H4 bulbs under the Lucas brand but these have gone out of the catalogue now, pity as they were really good plus had vertical dip making no need for any changes when driving on the right.
Never found out why 24 volt HGV's have 70watt H7's but 12 volt cars only 55watt ones.

LED lights have 'bling' DRL's (daylight running lights) which attracts many..

Compared with standard lights, LED lights wil spread more light just in front of the car. However if you combine the standard lights with the fog lights, you get a good spread and general lightning.