H7 Halogen Bulb Upgrade

[CAB]

I replaced mine in my H4s, a significant difference.

I also did my H7s but swapped when I installed, so can't personally attest to an improvement, but I am persuaded they are.

I searched for a bulb with standard-length life, can't recall at the moment but will search out what it was. The others are correct, 200% and I think most 150% will have a shorter life.

I'll let you know tomorrow what I used.

 

[dj_]

I replaced mine in my H4s, a significant difference.

I also did my H7s but swapped when I installed, so can't personally attest to an improvement, but I am persuaded they are.

I searched for a bulb with standard-length life, can't recall at the moment but will search out what it was. The others are correct, 200% and I think most 150% will have a shorter life.

I'll let you know tomorrow what I used.

Thank you!

 

[CAB]

Thank you!

Philips X-tremeVision Pro150

These were the only 150% bulbs I could find with a stated lifetime the same as standard H4 or H7.

Can't say I am anywhere nearing the life expectancy, as we don't tend to drive the camper at night often, but it made sense to me.

 

[RustyMac]

for fitting of the bulbs did you remove the headlights?

 

[DaveD]

for fitting of the bulbs did you remove the headlights?

You might not get a reply any time soon, @XZO hasn't been on the forum since last September.

 

[RustyMac]

You might not get a reply any time soon, @XZO hasn't been on the forum since last September.

Ah cheers Dave,

Try as I might I can't get the DRL Led's into the lights with them in place. As I am considering a wholesale lamp upgrade I may be as well to go down the grill & bumper off route to ensure all the new bulbs are correctly installed.

 

[Sackmycook]

Ah cheers Dave,

Try as I might I can't get the DRL Led's into the lights with them in place. As I am considering a wholesale lamp upgrade I may be as well to go down the grill & bumper off route to ensure all the new bulbs are correctly installed.

Are you talking about H7 unit DRL's ?
There is a twist out bulb holder on those....

 

[CAB]

Ah cheers Dave,

Try as I might I can't get the DRL Led's into the lights with them in place. As I am considering a wholesale lamp upgrade I may be as well to go down the grill & bumper off route to ensure all the new bulbs are correctly installed.

Are you talking about H7 unit DRL's ?
There is a twist out bulb holder on those....

Even knowing how they work (I upgraded them before swapping them in for my H4s) it still took 30 minutes to reinstall one when it needed tweaking.

The other one was a matter of seconds!

 

[RustyMac]

For the DRL in the H7 cluster I've mastered the twist out & in with a standard bulb - when i got the van there was a lamp warning light on because the driver side was not connected properly.

Unfortunately with the LED bulbs being longer than the standard bulbs i can't get the bulb holder to slip into position with the headlamp on the van. I needed to drop the standard bulb in at an angle then square up the holder and twist it into place.

@CAB when you installed the H7 headlights did you replace any of the other bulbs for LED's?

I'm thinking i may as well do the indicators and would love to do the dip an main beam as a lot of my driving is on small unlit roads often with big pot holes that i would like to see before hitting.

 

[CAB]

For the DRL in the H7 cluster I've mastered the twist out & in with a standard bulb - when i got the van there was a lamp warning light on because the driver side was not connected properly.

Unfortunately with the LED bulbs being longer than the standard bulbs i can't get the bulb holder to slip into position with the headlamp on the van. I needed to drop the standard bulb in at an angle then square up the holder and twist it into place.

@CAB when you installed the H7 headlights did you replace any of the other bulbs for LED's?

I'm thinking i may as well do the indicators and would love to do the dip an main beam as a lot of my driving is on small unlit roads often with big pot holes that i would like to see before hitting.

Unfortunately not, just standard.

Uprated halogen H7s and whiter DRLs.

Tricky enough as it is for me without messing with LEDs!

 

[Sparkyis]

I needed something cheap to do to the van (!) so I changed the stock H11 fog bulbs to Philips white vision ultra. 4200 and Road legal, apparently as white as you get in a halogen Road legal replacement bulb….albeit with compromised life… we’ll see how long they last!

LEDs would undoubtedly be better and match the “whiteness” of the headlights but I don’t have Carista or equivalent and don’t want to deal with possible DAB effects or warning lights!

They aren’t the same as the factory LED headlamps but are definitely whiter…

Sorry, didn’t take pics before/ comparison as I was too annoyed about not being able to unclip the second bulb connection ( easy when you figure out on the first one you just squeeze the bottom of the connector and it pops off beautifully!!!) but I’ll take pics later on this evening and post them….

 

[FunkyT]

Have just bought some H7 lights and waiting for them to be delivered as an upgrade to my He's.
I am going to replace all the bulbs before fitting and wondered people's opinions on the best models to go for light output and quality.
Any advice is appreciated.

 

[CAB]

I used Philips.

They were the most powerful I could find but still with full life expectancy, lots of the other 150% & 200% bulbs had a shorter lifespan.

 

[Ads_Essex]

Have just bought some H7 lights and waiting for them to be delivered as an upgrade to my H4's.
I am going to replace all the bulbs before fitting and wondered people's opinions on the best models to go for light output and quality.
Any advice is appreciated.

I’ve moved your post to this existing thread as it’s something previously discussed, so you’ll be able to see what others are running.
Keep us posted on your final decision

 

[mlh677]

Another vote for Philips, although I don't think you will go too far wrong with any decent brand such as Osram, etc.

I am a big fan of Philips White Vision Ultra - I consider them an excellent compromise between light output, lifetime & style. I have two sets of H7s in my van (dipped/main) and three sets in my car (dipped/main/cornering) and I have found them to offer a great improvement over stock bulbs.

To keep things white, I have some Philips LEDs as W5W sidelights; though when switched off I definitely preferred the appearance of the blue Philips filament bulbs that come bundled with the H7 bulbs in the daytime... sad, I know.

For DRLs I am running Twenty20 CanPlus LED which look great when illuminated and really do help to modernise the front end appearance in my view.

Worth noting that the LEDs I am using do not trigger any canbus errors and do not seem to create any electrical noise, so no impact on radio reception either.

 

[jaybee]

Hi guys new member here I know theres plenty about this on the forums but I'm swapping out my H4s for H7s and I just wanted to ask people here who have more experience than me what is the best bulb setup

 

[hoggle]

Hi Jaybee,
It's all about preference. And if you have got a few weeks you should look through the H4 To H7 Upgrade thread, it has loads of info in it.
I recently done the H4 to H7 change and have fitted the following bulbs.
H7 Philips RacingVision GT200 12V 55W Halogen Bulbs (Pair) H7 lights will need 2 pairs of these bulbs.
582 7440 Twenty20 Elegance Canbus LED's 12V W21W LED DRL's. The Twenty20 Led DRL bulbs will need the following Canbus kit to stop a Bulb warning on your dash.
VW T6 Transporter LED Fog Light Upgrade | eBay
You might be able to source a similar product cheaper elsewhere.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08LQY6Q9C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 Whiter looking side light bulbs, the originals look pale Yellow and spoil the look of the Whiter bulbs.

 

[ginkster]

It’s all in the H4 to H7 Upgrade thread. No need to read all of it, just work backwards from the newest.

As mentioned above, it’s all about personal preference for the bulbs. Longevity vs cost vs brightness vs colour vs legality. You will get every answer! Up to you really.

Many of us have had success with the Twenty20 LED DRLs linked by hoggle. I did not need the Canbus kit though (nor did many others).

The H7s are a worthwhile upgrade though, even with bog standard bulbs.

 

[jaybee]

Thanks for the input guys much appreciated

 

[jaybee]

Sorry to be a pain again guys but my h4 has a p21 drl bulb in the h7 the drl now becomes the main beam do I have to change the connector I thought it was just plug and play but their two different bulbs