Technical Xenon Aftermarket

[ahmett]

Hello,

Yes I know I should have gotten the xenons as an option when building the car but have not!
I have recently realised how good xenon lights are in comparison to the normal ones. To be honest I live in town so i do not need the lights that much but I am still considering it.
So what does everyone think about fitting xenon lights to a standard lighted fiat 500?

 

[pearce_jj]

You can't. At least, not legally.

 

[bgunn]

It's not just the lights and ballasts, you need the washers and the height sensor and link to the rear beam (and all of the wiring of course) to make it the same as the factory installation.

 

[Turtle]

Nothing better than being blinded by a £40 HID kit.

 

[ahmett]

Yeah because I saw those philips aftermarket kits and a friend from argentina (lawless country of course) put some on his car and he felt their performance was very good and flawless!
I am in Greece (also lawless country)!
Although of course i dont want to blind anyone but i am alone in the car most of the time so i dont think the leveling thing is an issue!

If not xenons then it seems that the osram nightbreakers or the philips x-treme lights make a difference? Anyone?

 

[RUI]

A few companies do a kit in America that is just plug and play. The American lights are different to the European version so I guess they would not fit.
Have you thought about buying some better bulbs?

 

[grimwau]

If not xenons then it seems that the osram nightbreakers or the philips x-treme lights make a difference? Anyone?

Have you thought about buying some better bulbs?

What, like Osram Nightbreakers or Philips X-Treme?

I had the Osram Nightbreakers in my first 500 and found them very good, a whiter light with excellent low beam cut off pattern. I now have the Xenons which are better still and the self levelling works flawlessly.

 

[Lloyd71]

Although of course i dont want to blind anyone but i am alone in the car most of the time so i dont think the leveling thing is an issue!

It's more to do with bumps and changes in level in the road as you drive over it.

 

[Fariniac]

If not xenons then it seems that the osram nightbreakers or the philips x-treme lights make a difference? Anyone?

I fitted the nightbreakers about 6 weeks after I got the car, the difference is major. The actual factory fitted lights aren't that bad, but the colour looks naff.

The nightbreakers are a LOT whiter, though still have an off white look. They light up the road a lot better than the OEMs as well probably due to whiter colour.

There is a slight difference in the pattern from them as well, which I can only ascribe to them being about 2mm longer than the OEMs, that lights up more of the road without blinding oncoming traffic.

Yes...I like them...I like them a lot

If anyone local has the phillips ones I'd love to do a comparison, always out to improve my night driving vision

 

[306maxi]

I've got some Phillips motovisions in my 500

They look orange (which helps not to blind people) but light the road up nicely

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

What, like Osram Nightbreakers or Philips X-Treme?

I had the Osram Nightbreakers in my first 500 and found them very good, a whiter light with excellent low beam cut off pattern. I now have the Xenons which are better still and the self levelling works flawlessly.

A far better solution.

And for the record why are people calling HIDs, xenons :bang:

What Grimwau has suggested are xenon filled bulbs, HIDs are a different setup all together. The only similarity is they are both filled with xenon gas.

 

[bgunn]

Fiat themselves call them Xenon lights.

If you're being pedantic, then they are different to mere low voltage Halogen lights, but most people identify Xenon as HID lights.

 

[durukan]

also you're likely to get an error message every time you start the car because of the voltage or watt difference (whichever it is)

 

[jrkitching]

What, like Osram Nightbreakers or Philips X-Treme?

I had the Osram Nightbreakers in my first 500 and found them very good, a whiter light with excellent low beam cut off pattern. I now have the Xenons which are better still and the self levelling works flawlessly.

If you are sufficiently nerdy, you might like to know that OSRAM have produced a nifty little Android app to help you find the right bulbs for your car. You can download it here:

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.osram.amtool.android&hl=en

and it works, too - I never realised there was such a choice of eurolegal bulbs for the 500 from just one manufacturer!.

there's one for Apple as well (but I haven't tested that one):

http://itunes.apple.com/en/app/vehicle-light/id394901625?mt=8

although I realise the idea of actually opening something to replace an internal part may be an advanced concept to users of iDevices.

 

[306maxi]

The thing that's silly is the answers are already in the vehicle handbook. No need to install some silly App.

That's why I've not bought an iDevice for about 7 years or so. All the apps seem to be geared around inane crap like telling you when your arse needs scratching and so on.

On my Windows Phone I have a few weather apps, a Microsoft app which lets you download the images from bing.com, a last.fm app, a remote control for Windows Media Centre, a sunset app (tells you sunrise and sunset times and a few other things) and that's it. I know that Osram app is free, but how difficult is it to look in your manual?

 

[bgunn]

The thing that's silly is the answers are already in the vehicle handbook. No need to install some silly App.

You do amuse me sometimes - does it really matter if you need to install an application on your phone or not? If it means people are more likely to have the information on hand, with them, because they carry a phone, I see that as a welcome thing.

That's why I've not bought an iDevice for about 7 years or so. All the apps seem to be geared around inane crap like telling you when your arse needs scratching and so on.

That's like the Mary Whitehouse argument for not putting anything that could be construed as 'adult' on the television, there is such a thing as an off switch - i.e. you don't *have* to download an application if you don't see a use for it.

On my Windows Phone I have a few weather apps, a Microsoft app which lets you download the images from bing.com, a last.fm app, a remote control for Windows Media Centre, a sunset app (tells you sunrise and sunset times and a few other things) and that's it. I know that Osram app is free, but how difficult is it to look in your manual?

Good for you. The real reason your Windows phone has so few applications is because no-one really wants to develop for them, because the market place is very small. It's a simple question of economics/effort. Not because the phone is inherently 'better'.

 

[306maxi]

There's also the fact that it's the youngest out there. Plus it appeals to a slightly different market

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

The thing that's silly is the answers are already in the vehicle handbook. No need to install some silly App.

That's why I've not bought an iDevice for about 7 years or so. All the apps seem to be geared around inane crap like telling you when your arse needs scratching and so on.

On my Windows Phone I have a few weather apps, a Microsoft app which lets you download the images from bing.com, a last.fm app, a remote control for Windows Media Centre, a sunset app (tells you sunrise and sunset times and a few other things) and that's it. I know that Osram app is free, but how difficult is it to look in your manual?

Well when you drive just a 500 its ok, but when you've mk2, mk3 Pandas, and Stilo and Yaris in the house hold it certainly helps having an app as I've not the time to go into mums car, get the handbook out and check bulb type when she tells me one is out

 

[arorat]

That's why I've not bought an iDevice for about 7 years or so. All the apps seem to be geared around inane crap like telling you when your arse needs scratching and so on.

Lol

iPhone 4S siri... "set alarm for 1 hour and remind me to scratch arse"

 

[grimwau]

Didn't someone suggest an app for the 500 manual and when ridiculed (a little bit) the point was made that the manual was at home and he/she was 300 miles away with a blown fuse or something.

Surely the same could be said for having the bulb app, as you never know when you might have to replace one when miles away from home.

Of course if you have the 500 handbook app then it will tell you the type of bulb, the type of oil, the tyre pressures, where to jack up the car etc. etc.