Spare bulbs

[sapphireblack]

I think I've been screwed on an online purchase ? Two further bulbs arrived today as per my order. Problem is neither are actually Philps but of foreign manufacture. Looking back at my order confirmation, the word generic is now leaping off the page. I am stupid or the sellers are sneaky.

☆ Seller has assured me that the bulbs i have are genuine. Their small print says they may not be in original packaging.

[sapphireblack]

I commute in the dark every day at present and generally have no problem with LED headlights. I do notice more glare when the following occurs:
Cars never designed for either HID or LED have had them added - it’s an MOT fail but they just take the bulbs out.
Fog lights on when not needed and fitted with inappropriate bulbs.
Badly misted light lenses - as in decaying plastic not damp - MOT fail at some point but a lot on the road.
Dirty lights that the drivers never bother cleaning.
Badly loaded vehicles - especially vans - so the beam pattern is too high.
The odd driver not noticing the little blue tell-tale in the dash!

I see maybe 20 vehicles each way every day with at least one mandatory light out. Changing bulbs isn’t simple on many cars so it gets left til later…

The headlight conversions frequently have el Cheapo bulbs from eastern territories shall we say that the filament or arc is in the wrong place so causes glare.

I’m religious about keeping my front and rear lights clean as they are bright, but the cut-off is where it should be and the only times I get flashed are when the beam-forming auto high beam is a bit slow to react. That’s very rare. The i4 has 4 laser supported LED projectors and can light 1/2 mile of road ahead. The brightness is all within spec.

I don’t think the issue is with manufacturers, it’s more likely to be any of the reasons above with drivers of those vehicles either not noticing or not caring.

I would like to think manufacturers get it right, and I'm sure poor maintenance of whatever specific type plays a part. I'm not often a night-time driver these days, retirement means any type of commuting is rare now. That said i cant believe all bright light issues are purely poor vehicle loading, or maintenance is to blame on every occasion.

I freely admit to fitting LEDs to two vehicles, both with projector lenses and the beam display was the same, brighter and whiter which is what i wanted to acheive. Neither cars ever had MOT issues

[X5Sport]

Lots of people do it, and for the same reason. 40 years ago my Mk1 Cavalier had 6 x 100W (rally) bulbs fitted to Hella lamps and it never got picked up. Nearly killed the uprated alternator but those were good lights

[Leslie]

I was out last night late with my daughter who got her test and her first car and we were flashed about 20 times in about 5 miles , had a look and one dip bulb was fitted wrong and shinning at the sky , even flashed by people with only one headlight the cheek lol Thd bulbs are very easy access though on the little citreon so fair play and 4 quid a bulb

[sapphireblack]

Back in the eighties i had a Mk2 Astra GTE, to which i added four Cibie rally lamps. Country lane driving was great fun. I just looked on the DVLA website, apparently it no longer exists. I can't say i am surprised.

[X5Sport]

My Cavalier met an unfortunate end when a Mercedes driver turned right, across my nose, about 10 yards ahead. More interested in getting into the Golf Club (19th hole I might postulate). There was no way I could stop. Hit him on passenger side, both doors. Both cars written off. No injuries, but I had put a lot of time, money and love into that car. Bought a Manta GT/E as a replacement.

[Leslie]

Very little makes it the 40 years now to free tax and historic status probably less than 1 % and its going to be much more difficult in the future as a lot of the cars people would want to own are currrently paying very high ved in the 400 plus range , £750 for a v8 m3 I think so as cars get old fewer will pay it , the m3 maybe being an exception as it retains some value.
Back in the good old days when vauxhall opel was a decent brand , had an sr nova , mk3 sri cav , redtop calibra then a v6 calibra those were the days !

[sapphireblack]

Seeing the word Calibra just took me down a Google memory trip. Never had one but remember them well. Nearest i could get would be a Cavalier SRi, white with the anthracite lower third. The cambelt went on that just as i came to a switch off. The engine survived.

Having gone into Calibra via Google, there's quite a few for sale, and i had no idea, there were so many 'specials', including some only sold in Germany.

That's my nostalgia trip for the day sorted early.

[Leslie]

Very few calibras left now sadly id have another if I had the space either v6 or turbo 4x4 but there are but a handful of turbos left now .

[X5Sport]

I had the 8v version for under a year. The ECU had a fault, Dealer couldn’t diagnose what the issue was but wanted me to pay £800 for a replacement whilst they sent mine off for checking by Vauxhall. If they found a fault I would get the money back. I think we all know how that would have gone. I gave them the keys and drove out with a white Cavalier SRi. Had that car for years and replaced it with a 1st Gen Škoda Octavia Estate. Three of those then the E53.

[Leslie]

My sri was an 8v mk3 1989 hatch so the first of the new shape , looked sharp in silver no abs yet and very low geared pas at least 4 turns to lock which was a bit dissapointing , the calibra steering much sharper maybe it was just the 8v was like that.
Traction control on the v6 was bust but they were "all like that" , main dealer plugged there new "tech 1" code reader in and charged me 250 quid in labour and asked for another 600 quid in parts with no guarantee which I declined as that was a lot of money back then ! The car was 4 years old and already certain parts were obsolete like engine mount bushes. , master cylinder let go too, unique to the v6 another £350 from a vaux specialist , local main dealer had it in 3 times to fix the aircon and couldn't ! Funny how remember stuff like that ( near 30 year ago now )

[sapphireblack]

Good to know dementia isnt knocking on our doors yet

When the cambelt went on my SRi it was just as i arrived at a pub car park for lunch with a client A rare occasion when as i had no choice but to wait for recovery, an extended lunch was the only option