Which Volvo Headlights should you choose? Halogen vs Xenon vs LED

Hi Guys,
In todays video I compare the different type of headlights available on Volvos!
#volvo #volvotips #buyersguide buyersguide

[hermanmunster]

Update: I had the Nighteye LED H7 bulbs installed yesterday, but have gone back to my Osram Halogen bulbs.
At dusk, the LED bulbs made barely any impact, and I couldn't see the light on the road at all. Nor did they light up the rear of any vehicles on the road in front of me to the same degree of the Halogen's.
So I got back home just before it got really dark, and positioned the car in front of a wall to make a comparison. First, the LED bulbs. The light pattern was pretty good, giving a similar beam pattern to the Halogen's, but brightness was noticeably lower, and the light emitted seemed opaque, not an intense DENSE light, which contradicted the bold claims on the sellers ebay listing which states that these Nighteye bulbs are "up to 150% brighter than STANDARD halogen bulbs, with an INTENSE WHITE light" they just aren't, no where near in fact. And they also caused a Bulb Failure error, even though all the cars bulbs were lit, and stable with no flashing, so load resistors will be required for a P2 V50.
The light colour could best be described as a sort of bluey grey, and dull, so not what I was expecting for a bulb that is supposedly to be rated at 6000k, and up to 150% brighter. I was expecting a more intense WHITE light, with a very slight warmish tint, but they were nothing like that.

Then I refitted the halogen bulbs, with the car in the exact same position. They were noticeably brighter, albeit with the slight yellowy halogen tint. I would say they were, in my honest opinion, about 20% brighter than the LED's, but the light was more concentrated, without the opacity of the light that is emitted by the LED bulbs. If you imagine the difference between a light mist that you can see through, and thick white smoke that you can't, then this is the best way I can describe the light effect, Halogen bulbs giving the effect of thick white smoke. They just cut through the darkness much better than these Nighteye LED's, and seem to throw their light further, again contradicting the claims of the Nighteye bulbs.
So I would not recommend the Nighteye LED bulbs, as they could actually be unsafe at night, I feel.

[deanvejnovic]

I've just put my Volvo s80 on sale after like 10 years, but still keep watching these videos...fun and useful content

[hermanmunster]

I've just bought a set of Nighteye LED bulbs, both HB3's and H7's, as they are supposed to be decent. So I will let you know how they work out once fitted. Some LED bulbs need load resistors fitted, so will have to wait to see what happens when mine are fitted.
Funny thing is, I have LED festoon bulbs as my license plate bulbs, front side lights are LED bulbs, as are the upper sideights on the rear. I still need to replace the lower bulbs and fog light bulb on the rear. But with the above bulbs that I have already fitted, I get no errors or flashing bulbs.
I did try LED indicator bulbs, just on the rear, and they were fine when I engaged the hazard lights. But when I tried the indicators, first left then right, the bulbs were flashing twice as fast as normal. Maybe I need all four bulbs fitted, so there is no difference in the draw from the alternator. As it was weird that they were flashing normally as hazard lights, yet overly fast as individual indicators. They weren't the cheapest neither.
I did try some cheap tail bulbs, but they were rubbish, very dim, and they failed to fill the rear lens with light, as the LED's were all facing directly out of the lens at 90°. So the saga continues.
What I have found, is that its a bit of a ball ache to find suitable LED bulbs. And the claims from both manufacturers and sellers, vary wildly, and often fail to meet your expectations.
My quest is just to replace my bulbs with more modern ones, for longevity, and a modern look. And also so there is less draw on my alternator, especially at night, which should help with the car's efficiency, where the electrics are concerned.
I plan to replace all the interior lights too, i have just bought ten W5W bulbs in ice blue, to replace the dim yellowy bulbs. But they may need some adaptation to make them fit, as the dome lights have bespoke bulb holders, and bespoke bulbs.
Here is a video that explains what I mean.
HID/Xenon bulbs are the same thing, I believe.
One thing I have learned, is that if you have reflector headlights, it is critical that you buy bulbs where the actual LED chips are positioned in the same way as the Filament type halogen bulbs, as the reflector lenses are designed around the bulb. And only buy LED bulbs with light chips on two sides, otherwise if you buy bulbs with light chips all around in a 360° configuration, it scatters the light all around the lens, and can cause the beam to be all over the place, and it will not be focused on the road properly.
Watch this video for a better explanation than I can give.

[napke]

I put on 2 new xenon bulbs from Osram to my P3 V70, they are good but nothing compared to LED. Modern cars with LED produce a redicilous amount of light 😮 almost dangerous to look at when another car aproaches on the other lane. Preparing my Volvo for winter today, good cleaning, bought anti-frost for the windows, check the tire psi when temperatures are dropping, check the complete heating system, airfilters, oils and put some anti moist pillows in the car. One thing i really hate: why is it not possible to only change the plastic front of the headlights? I polished them once, looking ok but I think with brand new fronts the lighting will be much brighter... The are getting worse also from the inside, and that you cannot repair eilas. Ok, keep making this movies. Grz from Holland👍

[mehrzahl]

I have Xenon bulbs, pretty good overall and it follows the steering angle. Last year I swapped the bulbs at €50 each (OSRAM), easy to do yourself. Lasted 10 years/250000 km so not bad at all.

[Hughjass]

My V70 has the "bending" xenon/hid set up, I found them very poor when I first bought the car but after polishing the heavily degraded headlamps and changing all the bulbs for mildly upgraded Osram ones they are now very good. Still quite a sharp cut off to the dipped beam and although I've had them checked I still occasionally get flashed by oncoming traffic so maybe they dazzle a bit.

[peterlang]

In my BMW 225Xe I changed out the standard halogen for Philips racing vision in dipped and main and was pleased with the results until I picked up my V40 this week with full LED lighting system, they just take things to another level and that's just in areas with street lights, other advantage they don't run hot and car uses less energy to power LED's

[____________________________.x]

I don’t have an issue with brightness in my V60, but they have quite a sharp cutoff. I can barely see anything beyond that line. Ford felt like they had a bit more of a flood to them. I hate having someone with LEDs behind me, I slow down and make them overtake

[kmorton]

I bought some Sylvania upgraded Halogen bulbs for my low and high beams. They are brighter with more of a white light than the standard bulbs. I am not sure if there are any LED or HID bulbs available for the P3 chassis

[sobnerlouis]

Hello,
What are the installations to do if we want to put xenon headlight instead of halogen on a Volvo S80 of 2008 ?

[helloreviews]

My p3 xc70 came with the xenon projector lights but they were too dim, so i replaced them with some amazon hid and they were better but still too dim, now i have some aliexpress led and they are excellent, brighter than oem and they only costed me about $60 dollars for the pair

[rui]

On mine v70 i use halogen Philips Racingvision Gt200. Legally can't use xénon or LED

[andrewfitzmaurice]

My used to me, Discovery 4 came with halogen bulbs and unless they were on main beam it was like have candles!

As other D4s came with xenons, I purchased replacement headlights and the difference was amazing and it massively increased my night vision.

However, they now seem like candles again as my wife has LEDs in her BMW i3, and the light from those is fantastic and so white.

About to take delivery of an XC70 with the active bending xenons, so will have so see how they compare. I would hope better than the D4, but I expect the i3s LEDs will still have the edge.

[junkyardmagic]

Think mine are Xenon I might have to think about swapping if one of them goes. did you swap out the whole unit, and how much was it?

[MegaMarkymark]

Hid/xenon bulb are the same thing HID means 'High intensity discharge' and is related to the power supply which use a ballast to create an AC current of approx 70v to maintain an arc but the initial ignition requires -+23, 000v. So be very careful wear gloves disconnect the battery when working on these systems. Also when a Hid bulb/ballast goes wrong they will go pinkish and start to flash this is where it gets expensive as people will change the bulb, but in reality you will probably need to change the ballast as well as these wear out overtime and this can end up costing you £4-6 hundred but should last 50-70, 000miles.
I came from a modern car with LEDs and it was like driving In the day with a really bright white light and when I bought my V70 p3 it had halogen bulbs it was like looking through pi$$ filled coke bottles in comparison to the LEDs. I have purchased some Amazon LEDs and it's like night and day and I've also changed all the interior/ exterior bulbs ( festoon/w5w) and it gives the car a much more modern feel.

[kmom]

Is there a way to convert S80 from halogen to xenon lights with projector

[randomdriver]

It is very easy to change the D1S xenons in S80. I have done it couple of times on my car and it is no more complicated than changing a halogen bulb. In some cars even the halogens are more complicated to change than the xenons than what it is in S80/V70 Volvos. You can find them in almost any car parts stores. I wouldn't change the halogen bulb on roadside in a dark even if I would get it couple of euros in almost everywhere, I still would do it at home in a comfortable setting. And on the way home why not stop at auto parts shop and get the new D1S. Even some big markets which are open 24/7 sell those xenon bulbs too over here. Osram and Philips etc. can be had about 50eur or little over 40gbp. Not too much considering they will last like 3-4 times as long as halogen bulbs. As for leds I cannot say anything other than they are expensive to replace and nothing lasts forever. So in my opinion xenons are perfect balance between longevity and amount of light and they do not cost that much more.

[kidspalace]

Hey man, I enjoy your videos so much. Can you do a cambelt change for your volvo or have you already sorted it out? I own a 2012 xc70 d5 volvo. I believe it's got the same engine specs as yours. Cheers

[Apex]

Halogens are like candles in the night esp since I got this V60 with Xenon and the active bend stuff in it. The lamps might cost more but again they should be available in a lot of places and it makes sense to carry a spare (its good practice)

The LED based ones i have no been happy with of late; seems to just be overpowered.

[peterclifton]

Must admit I’m looking for new bulbs 💡 for my P3 my car has halogen Lighting definitely not the brightest lights going, technology has come on so far but then I suppose so as a cost A new halogen headlamp for my PS3 is over £300 xenon headlamp nearly 1000 I wouldn’t lie to say what it would cost you to replace an LED headlamp 😳 any ideas of a decent upgrade would be greatly appreciated good informative video