Hi all,

This is my first post here so please say if I've done anything wrong.

So due to the size of family I have I have had to lose my 3 series BMW for something bigger. I have dipped my toe into the Audi world with a 2006 Q7 3L Quattro.

I love everything about the car despite the few things I need to get sorted what with it being a much older car.

The one thing I'm really struggling with at the moment is the headlights, they are appalling. I've been looking at upgrading to Xenon or Led or just going for the Osram nightbreaker 200. Has anyone had any experience with this? I'm looking for maximum light output whilst maintaining both the original light housing and not making them illegal.

Many thanks in advance

 

My '08 has the HID headlights and they too are pathetic. By comparison, the LED headlights in my 2019 Subaru are outstanding.

 

It just really depends on the amount of oxidation on the exterior lenses and if there is anything else wrong with bulb holders, etc., inside the housings themselves. I've cleaned up plenty of hazed-over headlight lenses in my day, and only replaced one set because they were terribly hazed and actually broken at the bulb holder. It couldn't be fixed/repaired, so got new ones of same type as OE, and it wasn't too costly. If your housings are clear/usable, then you just go with better bulbs, or can consider the LED bulb upgrade too. Just don't cheap out if you go the LED route and do your homework to see what works best. So far as halogen bulb replacements go, I've been a big fan of the Hella 1.5 & 2.0 bulbs, which throw a lot more light on the road than the OE bulbs do in the same fixture, and they are relatively inexpensive. Nothing that performs highly is going to last nearly as long as the stock bulbs will, but it's a good trade-off to get the illumination you need for driving safety. None of that means beans though, if you don't start out with perfectly clean/clear housing lenses, so the light is not 'lost' or obscured by the housing lens itself.

I just installed the HID D3S Osram nightbreakers in my '10, and they are an excellent upgrade over the OE Osram HID bulbs, but I know zip about their halogen bulb versions or how they stack up against the competition, such as the Hella performance bulbs I mentioned. Again, the Hella performance bulbs can be sourced in a twin pack and I've installed those in as upgrades for several of my older cars and been quite impressed by them.

 

Chiming in - I have been using Osram Nightbreaker on previous cars and can highly recommend. Not the cheapest bulbs, but with plenty of light. The OCD part of me even replaced the fog lamps with Nightbreakers to have the same light temperature, you know.....
On my Q7 (2012) all lights will be replaced by Osram in April.

 

Thanx for all your input guys it's much appreciated. I've decided to go for a set of Osram nightbreaker 200s and see how I get on with those before doing any more

 

+1 on upgrading the fog bulbs recommendation; upgrading those old fog bulbs has made a huge difference on our Q7s. I bought some 'Eye of Megatron' LED H11 bulbs that are so bright I'm actually going to put some yellow film over the glass lens to take them down in color and intensity just a bit, but they are really helpful on dark roadways now, whereas the original bulbs were so dim I could barely tell they were functional. If you go looking for LED bulbs, just realize that they go on sale regularly for a significant savings. I got first set for under $40, and paid just a bit more for the second set, which was the next generation of same bulb...both are terrific. They do require the extra resistors direct plugin module to avoid Q7 giving 'bulb-out' errors in dash display. The seller, Hikari, provided me with the resistors for free via customer support, etc. I bought on Amazon...on sale, otherwise they are usually listed as overpriced, just like most good quality bulbs are. No matter what, just get some new, high-output bulbs.