Anything I can do to improve lights?

[Firestar_3x]

Rip them apart and fully clean inside and out. Done this on both my cars and the difference is much better than you could hope to achieve with any fancy bulbs.

Have you done this on plastic lense units Clarkey?

If so you use the oven trick, what did you seal them back up with?

 

[Clarkey]

Have you done this on plastic lense units Clarkey?

If so you use the oven trick, what did you seal them back up with?

No, both have glass lenses. Plastic units are pretty resilient to heat though, had the BMW ones up to 140C with no sign of melting or even softening.
Regular silicone sealer to seal. I suppose if you were a worrier then you could use sikaflex to be sure.
You'd be amazed how much dirt build up there can be on the inside of the lenses, and the back of the ellipsoid lens, my cars are antiques though so YMMV.

I forgot to mention, proper beam alignment is critical. You can have the best equipment in the world but if it isn't aligned correctly then the results will be poor.

 

[The Running Man]

had this on my mr. glass cutter and osram night breaker plus did the trick although new clear ebay headlights is another improvement again.

 

[Big Chris]

Wet sanding + polishing + uv sealant basically.

You'll need:

• about 4 grades of sandpaper - I used 1500, 2000, 2500 and 3000. If it's gone yellow, start lower
• automative masking tape
• cutting polish
• finishing polish
• uv sealant
• polishing attachment for a power drill and polishing pads
• lots of microfibre towels/cloths
• about 2 hrs

Here's a video of it being done:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sZg9cj2hxI

If you are really keen on doing it I can get you a list of the stuff I actually used. I did a fair amount of research at the time on it.

Cheers, I'll take a proper look at this later. Never really done anything like this before so it's all new to me. I'll have a proper look at my headlights later and get some pics up so you can see if you think I need to go all out on them or if a quick rub will do the trick.

 

[Hades]

Lens and reflector clean/refurb/replace.

Better bulbs.

Upgraded headlight wiring loom (I'm adding this to my 18 year old Corrado).

 

[DiCe!]

You buggers with super bright lights blinding my with my **** vision!

 

[mjt]

Osram night breakers

No

Philips X-Treme Vision

yes

 

[rossk26]

I disagree! I have used both the above, and the Osram's outlasted the Philips by a long shot. I was actually disgraced at how long the Philip's lasted for the price.

Whereas the Osram's lasted a really long time, and were cheaper. Although this was a while back now, I've had xenon's since 2010

 

[Firestar_3x]

No, both have glass lenses. Plastic units are pretty resilient to heat though, had the BMW ones up to 140C with no sign of melting or even softening.
Regular silicone sealer to seal. I suppose if you were a worrier then you could use sikaflex to be sure.
You'd be amazed how much dirt build up there can be on the inside of the lenses, and the back of the ellipsoid lens, my cars are antiques though so YMMV.

I forgot to mention, proper beam alignment is critical. You can have the best equipment in the world but if it isn't aligned correctly then the results will be poor.

Thanks

The inside of mine need sorting out since i've got a very slight mist, don't really want to spend £400 on some new headlights.

 

[Howard]

I disagree! I have used both the above, and the Osram's outlasted the Philips by a long shot. I was actually disgraced at how long the Philip's lasted for the price.

Whereas the Osram's lasted a really long time, and were cheaper. Although this was a while back now, I've had xenon's since 2010

Agreed, the Philips are better though.

 

[Gonzo0]

I would as suggested clean the lenses up and put some better bulbs in.

My Mk1 Focus RS has like new headlight lenses and once I put a pair of Ring XenonMax bulbs in it was like daylight had arrived at night.

Someone actually asked if I had HIDs in because they are so bright.

 

[mjt]

I had 2 sets of Nightbreakers and neither lasted particularly long. I think the first set lasted around 6 months and the other set 12.
Replaced them with the Philips, but I sold the car 6 months later.
The Philips were brighter though.

 

[Imy]

I had the Philips in my MK1 Focus for 15 months and they were still working when I sold the car. I was careful not to touch the bulb with my bare hands when installing - maybe that helps.

 

[Haze]

Having driven a 2008 VW Caddy van for a week (mostly at night), I've realised the headlights on my Mk1 Focus are rubbish.

Without spending hundreds, is there anything I can do to improve them? Are there better bulbs I can buy or will I have to replace the whole lot?

i had the same thing happen when i drove my mums cmax, i thought mine were good till i got in hers, and then i was OMG