Bulb upgrade time! T5.1 SE 2010 / complete novice!

[CaliGem]

Morning all,

It's finally time, what with winter approaching, that I upgrade the dire original bulbs in my van.
I'm a complete novice at anything like this and any posts I've found seem to be quite old.

I'm basically after better vision at night but i've no idea which bulbs I need to change, what they're called and where to source them.

What i'd call the 'side lights', which are on as standard, are they also known as DRL's? It seems to be the same bulb which is also the main beam light?

Then there's the 'bigger' one, the headlight but there's also another bulb in that bit!

Help! what do I change to improve my night driving vision! Should I bother with changing the bottom fog light too?

Yours sincerely......

Clueless!

 

[Alan Andrews]

Biggest problem with any headlight bulb upgrades is heat.

I'd suggest contacting one of the specialised VW Transporter customisation companies and tell what you are after and see what they come back with.

 

[WelshGas]

DRL + Main beam are H15, Dipped Beam are H7 and fog lights H2. The little bulb is the sidelight/ Parking light. Sorry can't remember that one as never changed it.
Get Osram NightBreaker replacements. I've used the Nightbreaker 150.
Now 8yrs old.

 

[CaliGem]

Biggest problem with any headlight bulb upgrades is heat.

I'd suggest contacting one of the specialised VW Transporter customisation companies and tell what you are after and see what they come back with.

Biggest problem with any headlight bulb upgrades is heat.

I'd suggest contacting one of the specialised VW Transporter customisation companies and tell what you are after and see what they come back with.

I don't want to upgrade the full light unit, which is what it seems many of them like to do? I love the t5.1 facelift and don't want it to look like a T6, if you know what I mean?

 

[CaliGem]

DRL + Main beam are H15, Dipped Beam are H7 and fog lights H2. The little bulb is the sidelight/ Parking light. Sorry can't remember that one as never changed it.
Get Osram NightBreaker replacements. I've used the Nightbreaker 150.
Now 8yrs old.

Thanks Alan, this is really helpful. I've been looking at Osram NB's but had no idea what type/size are needed

 

[Perfectos]

Try putting your reg into this site

Euro Car Parts | Car Parts Online & In Store – FREE UK Delivery

Car Parts for every make and model. Order Car Parts Online or Click & Collect same day. Free delivery in UK, 250+ Branches Nationwide.

www.eurocarparts.com

 

[Kayleigh]

DRL + Main beam are H15, Dipped Beam are H7 and fog lights H2. The little bulb is the sidelight/ Parking light. Sorry can't remember that one as never changed it.
Get Osram NightBreaker replacements. I've used the Nightbreaker 150.
Now 8yrs old.

Your best bet is to start with the dipped beam H7 bulbs. The 150% brighter bulbs will give you the best balance between brightness and longevity.
So the OSRAM Nightbreaker 150 that @WelshGas uses or the Philips X-tremeVision Pro 150, which I have used for a couple of years in my Beach (albeit the H4 version), are a good place to start.
If you are happy with those, move on to the H15 and then H2 bulbs.

To stay legal, don’t put LED bulbs into reflector housings that are not designed for them.

 

[CaliGem]

Thanks for your help. I'll be ordering tonight. I'm going for the Osram NB's as they seem to keep cropping up.

 

[CaliGem]

To stay legal, don’t put LED bulbs into reflector housings that are not designed for them.

Last thing I want to do is dazzle on-coming traffic. Good advice. Some headlights now out on the roads are bloody awful. It looks like they've got main beam on permanently!