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Post by Big Blue on Mar 28, 2018 16:09:16 GMT
BMW appear to charge extra for headlamp washers on the 3 Series, I was surprised as I thought Xenons had to have washers by law. See Martin's research about 25w Xenons |
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Post by Martin on Mar 28, 2018 16:14:59 GMT
BMW appear to charge extra for headlamp washers on the 3 Series, I was surprised as I thought Xenons had to have washers by law. BMW don’t fit Xenons to the 3 series anymore and the std LEDs don’t need washers (see my post above!). |
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Post by alf on Mar 29, 2018 9:32:37 GMT
Top spotting Martin! It's interesting how the OEM's have taken a valuable USP - just the word "Xenons" is enough to get people interested - and sub divided it up!
I don't do much dark driving as a % of the total, but I'd want the extra light for sure, especially after the XFR's lights, which on the old bug-eyed version like mine are very bright. It's partly an age thing, but unfamiliar potholed country lanes with cars coming the other way regularly, and water on the screen, is no fun with dull lights. The dip beam brightness makes the most difference and I bet the more powerful lights score there. On main beam everything scores OK.
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Post by Martin on Mar 29, 2018 9:40:03 GMT
Thanks!
The best thing about the voodoo lights is that you’re getting at least partial main beam most of the time and an added bonus is you’re distracted less by bright lights coming in the opposite direction as well. They make driving at night much easier overall.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Mar 29, 2018 10:36:19 GMT
My optician ( a car enthusiast) has a different take on the whole headlights thing. He reckons most 40+ drivers could save themselves a fortune on upgraded headlights by just buying a pair of driving glasses for nightime. They can have perfectly Ok vision in daylight but as it gets darker their pupils dilate and their vision deteriorates, so they think somethings wrong with their lights and go for brighter ones.
Of course he has a financial interest in this.
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Post by Mark on Mar 29, 2018 11:52:29 GMT
Apologies in advance for this post....very dull to some I’m sure, but I did do some research to justify the £1500 cost of choosing Adpative LEDs over the standard 35w Xenons in the BMW! I’m pretty sure your BMW had 35w Xenons. This whole area is generally pretty unclear and most manufacturers aren’t as honest as Alfa. Because there are different types of each unit you can’t say LEDs are better than Xenons. Also, bi-xenon just means it’s one bulb and the beam is partially blocked off to give you dipped beam, so it sounds better than it is! If a headlight (dipped beam) has an output of 2,000 lumens or more, it must have washers fitted along with self levelling. The 25w Xenon units are in the 1,500-1,800 lumen range and the 35w are 3,200-3,500. So there is quite a difference. Not all LEDs are equal either (as Simon knows), the basic LEDs BMW (and others, like SEAT) fit are below 2,000 lumens as well, the benefits are a whiter light and lower power consumption. It broadly goes - Halogen - 25w Xenon - Basic LED - 35w Xenon - LED - Laser. Having had full fat voodoo LEDs, I would really struggle to go back. The Boxster has 35w Adaptive (PDLS) bi-xenons with a supplementary halogen high beam, so they’re very good in isolation, but the BMW units are a lot better and well worth the extra cost. You’re absolutely right, Martin - the Xenons were 35w on the E92. I’d forgotten about that. |
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Post by Big Blue on Mar 29, 2018 12:34:37 GMT
My optician ( a car enthusiast) has a different take on the whole headlights thing. He reckons most 40+ drivers could save themselves a fortune on upgraded headlights by just buying a pair of driving glasses for nightime. They can have perfectly Ok vision in daylight but as it gets darker their pupils dilate and their vision deteriorates, so they think somethings wrong with their lights and go for brighter ones. Of course he has a financial interest in this. My mother does exactly this. |
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Post by PG on Mar 29, 2018 20:16:18 GMT
It broadly goes - Halogen - 25w Xenon - Basic LED - 35w Xenon - LED - Laser. You are right that a lot of manufacturers are very opaque about the real power of their headlights. I think the only thing that you can use as a definitive guide is that if headlight washers are not standard, you need to upgrade the lights.... I'd also never buy a car new car that I was not able to test drive at night. I'm afraid it is anther old age thing - you need better headlights! |
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Post by racingteatray on Mar 31, 2018 18:09:58 GMT
Not on a 4-series GC. Mine had metallic paint, xenons, leather, pro nav, heated electric seats etc as standard. Yes but is yours the M Sport version? Some of those come as standard on that plus I think you only get free metallic paint on the bigger engined ones, I was looking at a 320i and the things I've listed cost extra - any colour other than white is £650. Yes, unlike the 435i, which could be had in "Luxury" trim, the 440i is only available as an MSport. |
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Post by Martin on Aug 25, 2019 8:27:45 GMT
Now this is a great idea and further proof that fast estates look better than fast saloons.  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2019 11:06:30 GMT
Surely the Stelvio fits that brief?
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Post by racingteatray on Aug 27, 2019 11:25:33 GMT
Surely the Stelvio fits that brief? Yes, at a launch event for the Giulia QF somewhere in Shoreditch, having ascertained that the QF version doesn't get folding rear seats (unlike the regular Giulia), I asked whether there was going to be a Sportwagon version and was told that this was definitely not going to happen, because they were going to do an SUV version instead "because that's what the market wants". |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2019 11:44:35 GMT
I saw a Guilia QF is stealth black and black wheels combo the other day. Looked really cool, even though it's not a colour I'd choose myself.
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Post by alf on Sept 4, 2019 10:46:50 GMT
Surely the Stelvio fits that brief? Not entirely - the height has a big impact on the drive, and also mean you have to compromise one of ride quality or handling more severely - making a taller heavy car with long travel suspension handle well requires a very stiff setup. Keep ride OK (as Jag have done with the SVR F Pace) and you get plenty of body roll and poor control at the limit. A lower car will also have significantly better MPG at motorway speeds. The car magazines have been repeating ad nauseam the economy/drive/price benefits of an estate or large hatch vs an SUV for some years now, however, and it's clear that the public want to buy SUV's! I used to hate them but there is something weirdly compelling about them - an F Pace SVR would suit my long Europe trips well - but my driving when by myself in the car much worse than the XFR. An estate version of the Giulia QF would be right at the top of my "want" list however. I have concerns about the quality and longer term running costs of the Giulia QF (and will probably head for German V8's or blown 6's after the current XFR) but the sheer appeal of the QF is massive. |
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Post by racingteatray on Sept 4, 2019 10:51:39 GMT
QFs do at least seem to hold their value pretty well by Alfa standards.
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Post by Andy C on Sept 7, 2019 11:39:17 GMT
Surely the Stelvio fits that brief? Not entirely - the height has a big impact on the drive, and also mean you have to compromise one of ride quality or handling more severely - making a taller heavy car with long travel suspension handle well requires a very stiff setup. Keep ride OK (as Jag have done with the SVR F Pace) and you get plenty of body roll and poor control at the limit. A lower car will also have significantly better MPG at motorway speeds. The car magazines have been repeating ad nauseam the economy/drive/price benefits of an estate or large hatch vs an SUV for some years now, however, and it's clear that the public want to buy SUV's! I used to hate them but there is something weirdly compelling about them - an F Pace SVR would suit my long Europe trips well - but my driving when by myself in the car much worse than the XFR. An estate version of the Giulia QF would be right at the top of my "want" list however. I have concerns about the quality and longer term running costs of the Giulia QF (and will probably head for German V8's or blown 6's after the current XFR) but the sheer appeal of the QF is massive. I thought similar , but soon changed my Mind after a ride in a stelvio QF driven like its been stolen down a country lane . The ride in ‘normal’ mode on the a43 was fine too |
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