Mazda 6 Headlight Upgrade Options?

Freakbro · 13 Feb 2018 at 10:39

I have a '56 plate Mazda 6 TS and the headlights are rubbish, most of that I guess is due to the units have gone 'foggy'.

As I was going to look at replacing the headlight units anyway I wondered if there is a better upgraded unit to put in or is it just a case of new unit and a better halogen type bulb?

ci_newman · 13 Feb 2018 at 10:55

If the plastic is foggy, is a repair / polishing kit an option instead? I've had to do that with all of the Jap cars I've owned and them come up really well.

Freakbro · 13 Feb 2018 at 11:09

Hmm, hadn't thought of a proper polishing kit....worth a shot at £20 I guess.

So if that works ok, any recommendation for a good bulb?

Phemo · 13 Feb 2018 at 11:24

I've had good success with the Philips XtremeVision +130% bulbs. Have those in a couple of my cars and they work well. I'd tried Osram Night Breakers and a couple of others before but they didn't last for very long. May have been fluke but the XtremeVisions have lasted ages now and were a definite improvement over standard bulbs.

Freakbro · 13 Feb 2018 at 11:37

Thanks guys, I'll check both those things out

ci_newman · 13 Feb 2018 at 11:40

I've used this a few times with excellent results. It needs a lot of patience though!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-Headlight-Restoration-Discoloured-Headlights/dp/B0078IHJ1K

new boy · 13 Feb 2018 at 11:43

I just used a normal polish (meguiars ultimate polish) it worked great. As long as its one with a bit of cut, not just fillers, it'll work.

MichaelAwkward · 13 Feb 2018 at 12:00

Yup, I used the meguiars kit to great effect on my old mk2 Mazda 6. Cleaned up the headlights a treat.

Abyss · 13 Feb 2018 at 16:33

I used normal car polish and a DA polishing machine on the Volvo and they came up great. Needed a fairly aggressive polish to start though.

adolf hamster · 13 Feb 2018 at 17:03

Phemo said:
I've had good success with the Philips XtremeVision +130% bulbs. Have those in a couple of my cars and they work well. I'd tried Osram Night Breakers and a couple of others before but they didn't last for very long. May have been fluke but the XtremeVisions have lasted ages now and were a definite improvement over standard bulbs.

i second this opinion, one of those things i have on my list of "things i always put on a car when i buy it" alongside bosch flatblades.

ci_newman said:
I've used this a few times with excellent results. It needs a lot of patience though!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-Headlight-Restoration-Discoloured-Headlights/dp/B0078IHJ1K

hmm, might try this out

Armageus · 13 Feb 2018 at 17:30

Halfords uprated bulbs are worth a go as well if you get them on offer (which is most of the time), and they normally have some form of warranty/free replacement as well.

sovietspybob · 13 Feb 2018 at 19:32

I've used toothpaste to polish up jap headlights before, i think you need to be fairly careful as it's quite abrasive but it brings them up quite quickly then i finished with some regular autoglym SRP and seemed to last a while and not go foggy again straight away.