InsolentMinx

a fair point

i don't think anyone sets out to think 'blinding people is cool'. Ignorance is probably their main issue. I dunno... maybe it is different in rural Wales, where there is next-to-no light pollution, and you could light up a field with a AAA battery powered torch But seriously, why wouldn't you want to get the maximum visibility possible? Surely that's your biggest weapon for safe nighttime driving? Most things that come standard on a car are the cheapest possible option. There are more powerful road legal bulbs available, so why not upgrade? Here, it's hard to illuminate a road properly, and get a good field of vision with the standard bulbs. If there's a bulb out there that can give a more powerful beam without breaking the law, then what's wrong with trying to see more of the surroundings? Why don't you use full beam? It's there... use it for your advantage. When I used to drive through the Lake District at night, I'd always have my main beams on until I saw a car coming.... they light up the whole environment sooo much better than the dipped beam, and help you better spot ay hazards well before they pose a threat to you. Maybe I'm just more keen to be aware of my surroundings?

well, i went for a brief night drive last night, and gotta say that the Osrams seemed to light up the road (near and far) a lot better than the HIDs did. Ok, so they beam isn't as white and 'cool looking', but I can't really fault the amount of the road and surroundings that they illuminate. I didn't hit any un-lit roads to explore their full potential, but it was late and roads still a bit icy, so didn't want to head too far from home.

i got mine at blackcircles.co.uk at about £89 per corner with fitment at a local garage included (if i recall)

link broken...

i did notice that with the bins... but then i also noticed that in the Osram pic I'd parked a little further right, so thought that maybe the shadow from the garages cast over the bins more the car parked to the right has also been and gone and returned, but not parked as far in as they had before...

weird... have you got a pic of the beam pattern, like mine?

i've not been out for a drive yet, as it's snowing. will adjust when i do.

did you not read what i wrote? "I'd been doing quite a bit of nightdriving and had noticed that although bright, the 6000K HIDs didn't quite light up the road infront of me as much as I liked. Plus the massive 'UFO' dots really annyoed me when I saw them against the back of cars infront at traffic lights With the new MOT regs coming up, and my MOT due soon, I decided to swap over to the Osram Nightbreakers."

funilly enough... I actually just swapped from HIDs to Osram Nightbreakers yesterday... some pics below: http://www.celica-club.co.uk/forum/index.php?/topic/134095-swapped-the-hids-for-osram-nightbreakers/

I'd been doing quite a bit of nightdriving and had noticed that although bright, the 6000K HIDs didn't quite light up the road infront of me as much as I liked. Plus the massive 'UFO' dots really annyoed me when I saw them against the back of cars infront at traffic lights. With the new MOT regs coming up, and my MOT due soon, I decided to swap over to the Osram Nightbreakers. I found them for £13 at AceParts on eBay. I've used them before for other car bits, so didn't mind spending a few pennies extra compared to other sellers I've not used before. Delivery was free and took 2 days, so nothing to complain about there. The only issue is the damn fiddly fitment with the headlights having to be removed for optimum efficiency. 2 hours in the cold was NOT pleasant!! I took the 'after' pic below as soon as it got dark, just before going out for some drinks; so couldn't test drive the bulbs last night. And with the shitty snowy/slushy road contitions now, I can't be arsed to go out for a drive to test them tonight either, so the road-test will have to wait... Although I do dislike the more yellowy colour of the bulb when looking at the car, the after pic below does seem to suggest that they're a slightly more bright beam of light, albeit not as 'white' as the HIDs. Now I know too, that the camera slightly adjusts for brightness (so not a perfect compairson), but the centre of the Osram beams do seem brighter than the HIDs... but the 'road' does seem a little more lit up with the HIDs Bear in mind though, that both the pics were taken with the same level on the headlights... so this is what I found to be the optimum level for the best road illumination for the HIDs when driving; but I may need to lower the Osrams slightly to get an optimum beam pattern for road use. (oh, and the car isn't parked in exactly the same place... but did make sure to get it the same distance from the doors) :thumbs; Anyway, I wasn't sure if there had been a before/after pic of the light production from each, so voila: Unknown brand 6000K HIDs Osram Nightbreakers

TUT TUT TUT you're cheating amber doesn't mean 'go' ... green does!

i had a guy work on my 140 at Rising Sun. for £60 he knocked 3 or 4 dings and a slightly bigger dent. all were invisible after 40 mins work. He said he could have kept going, but all the "deformations" he continued to point out I couldn't even spot! such is the curse of a perfectionist's eye...

black one looks like a cross between 350Z and the newer style Hyundai Coupe.

where does it say that on their website? edit: oh yeah: "We currently have dealers in the United Kingdom and Belgium. Email us for their contact information."

i just wedged a small phillips screwdriver into the end of mine when they did that, and unscrewed them simples. ebay or halfords sell plastic numberplate screws they're all the same. i'm not sure how the numberplate holder actually fixes on though, so can't comment on that

but i'm guessing it was in the street, and not in a car park? i reckon your best bet is to just get a new door.... can't remember if mine was £60 or 80 from AMS, but it's much easier/cheaper than knocking out and repainting that one!

fuck! looks a bit like mine did. that certainly can't be polished out! where did you park? looks like someone sideswiped you. lucky they didn' get the mirror too

sorry to hear that dude. it's a horrible feeling. i came back to find someone had driven into the back quarter of my car... as usual, no notes or witnesses so i feel your pain. but how deep and long is the scratch? most dents can easily be pushed out by a pro. the scratch could be treated with Scratch-x or carefully touched up and polished out.

i didn't even look at the link... that thing is fugly. you can get little cameras that subtley mount in the rear bumper which would be much better

applying for the TV licence would be funny. reverse cameras should work no probs. i think they just wire into the reverse light for the power and plug into the head unit. that way it comes on when you hit reverse (and the reverse light comes on). gotta drill a hole in the bumper tho...

yup. no rush