X-type Headlights - were they any good when new?

[Zero123]

Haha a highway code buff. Rule 115 says to use dip or dim dip in built up areas. Its the 30mph bit that is important and who drives at 30
Ford were the first to introduce dim dip which meant when yo put your side lights on the dip beams came on 25 percent bright..
However since they changed our street lighting to rotten white spot lights the roads round here are what I call badly lit at the best of times.

Roger

I also remember the dim dip headlights but since they stopped them many years ago I doubt there are many cars left that still have them - shame really as I thought they were a good idea meaning less likely to cause dazzle on brightly lit roads especially when wet. Anyway, Rule 115 is only advisory so again it is not an offence to drive on sidelights - it is Rule 113 which is "You Must" meaning it is a legal requirement, clearly states to use headlights at night except on roads with lit street lights. Confusingly, it states 30mph unless otherwise specified. As to what defines "when visibility is seriously reduced" I guess is open to interpretation.

What annoys me though are the idiots - usually taxi-drivers even though I am one myself - who insist on stopping on the wrong side of the road with headlights blazing which are directed straight into your eyes!

 

[XMan2002]

No, they weren't but lighting technology was just beginning to revolutionize at the start of the new millennium and has since jumped leaps and bounds. Halogen technology is legacy technology just as the original filament technology was to it. I recommend HID (not LED) due to the type of glass/plastic housing used on headlights on automobiles from the X-Type's era

 

[rchiv]

I also remember the dim dip headlights but since they stopped them many years ago I doubt there are many cars left that still have them - shame really as I thought they were a good idea meaning less likely to cause dazzle on brightly lit roads especially when wet. Anyway, Rule 115 is only advisory so again it is not an offence to drive on sidelights - it is Rule 113 which is "You Must" meaning it is a legal requirement, clearly states to use headlights at night except on roads with lit street lights. Confusingly, it states 30mph unless otherwise specified. As to what defines "when visibility is seriously reduced" I guess is open to interpretation.

What annoys me though are the idiots - usually taxi-drivers even though I am one myself - who insist on stopping on the wrong side of the road with headlights blazing which are directed straight into your eyes!

Oh dear from reading further I have found that I am breaking the law every time I stop and use the Brake Hold function as it does not turn off the brake lights that's Modern German technology for you.
I totally agree with your comments regarding stopping on the wrong side of the road with their headlights on, most inconsiderate and if they are HID or LED its even worse.

Roger

 

[willowbob]

Agree with all before; headlights are probably the worst feature of my X Type. I use 'Nightbreaker' bulbs now and this makes them now 'OK', no more. Changing the bulbs is also a bit of a fiddle (well it was for me as I have big hands) so taking the bumper off (yes, really) was the only way to change the bulbs. Glad I did it though.

 

[Whiskery]

Agreed with all comments here - dipped headlights are pants. Mine were beginning to flicker so when I looked (not long had the car), there were weird LEDs fitted which were so long, with the heatsink and mini fan, the protective covers (the one's folks have difficulty removing) were missing. Replaced them in under half an hour and removed the battery to do the nearside.

I have put Nightbreakers in now (bargain from Amazon at £13+ for a pair) and they are as willowbob said just OK, and in my opinion better than the LEDs that were in there.

Next job this week - wheel bearing!

 

[Zed Kable]

Brillo pads - a good scrub every time you give the X a wash and brush up helps a little - it turns the little brown pools of light to yellow.....for a week or so.
I’m not faffing around with bulbs until I have to.

 

[Euan Tausney]

The very first thing I did to my car was fit HID bulbs to the dipped headlights! As its the very same lamp units that are used in the factory Zenons, the lights are stamped D2S compliant, and mine have passed every MOT with them fitted, and I even volunteered this info to my MOTer, who confirmed they are compliant with the new rules. I did notice the new rules fail to mention LED lights at all!

 

[AnthonyR]

I drove an xtype when new in 2006 and I remember it being "of the time". My parents had a Volvo V50 and it was comparable. They were all using the same sort of projector technology from the late 90s which was a bit poor. Nowadays, the aluminium deposition has probably worn away or been UV damaged by years of use and is dull so even dropping an HID kit in there won't win any awards.

the X-Type halogen uses a Hella 2 projector style with a custom smaller projector lens and therein lies part of the issue. The 64mm projectors found in the X-Type are smaller than the 3.0" units which sit in most cars of that vintage. In fact only a handful of cars use the smaller projectors so retrofitting is tricky.
The Hella 2 halogen projector is not well suited to HID retrofits anyway. The focus is reasonable but it creates a lot of scatter in the foreground and the cut off isn't that clean.

I have developed a method of retrofitting a D3S xenon system including projector to the X-Type headlight. There are a couple of people on this forum who use the system. I'm not using this as an advertising forum so if you're interested then take a look at the video I created at the time. Hopefully admin is OK with this.

Note that it's still not a fully road legal system but the more modern ECE beam cut off and D3S system makes for a far more enjoyable drive at night and the MOT is unlikely to fail because the system looks entirely stock.

Other than this, I used Osam Nightbreaker Lasers in re-aluminiumised projectors but it still didn't meet with my approval hence developing the above.

 

[X-man]

Looks good but would be concerned about dazzling the oncoming drivers. Is that why they are not road legal? One of my biggest bugbears during the winter months.....

Having said that, I had standard halogen lights in my previous x-type and they were death traps. At times it was difficult even seeing the edge of the road they were so bad. My current x-type has the self levelling xenons, and the difference is like night and day (literally).

 

[AnthonyR]

Looks good but would be concerned about dazzling the oncoming drivers. Is that why they are not road legal? One of my biggest bugbears during the winter months.....

Having said that, I had standard halogen lights in my previous x-type and they were death traps. At times it was difficult even seeing the edge of the road they were so bad. My current x-type has the self levelling xenons, and the difference is like night and day (literally).

Strictly speaking it's no different than fitting 80w or 100w bulbs to your halogen car. The headlamp housing doesn't have self levelling so fails a constructions and use test. That said, mine have passed 2 MOTs and of the 20 or so sets out in UK cars, none have failed yet. It's not like an aftermarket system with big red leads and ballast boxes everywhere - it 100% mimics the oem system but with a better bulb and projector. You would need to be a specialist in the X-Type specifically to notice the upgrade - I'm just honest!

If you have washers fitted there is little chance of an MOT fail.
If you don't have washers, the tester will probably assume you just have very good bulbs.

The factory projectors are just terrible.