172 bulbs

[clio bouy]

hi all, i have a 1.4 16v 2002 clio and i saw a brand new 172 comin towards me the other day and the bulbs looked awesome, they were glowin purple and bluey white,so i looked in the spec when i got home and it says that the 172 comes with zenon bulbs! can i put them in my clio?and if so does anyone know what make they are or can i put any zenon bulb in- do u wreckon they will still look as good? any help will be appreciated
thanks
neil

 

[Paranoia]

What you have in your Clio are reflector lights, a bulb that projects its light via the reflector that you see when you look into your headlight.
Xenon bulbs on the other hand are bulbs filled with an inert gas that has an electrical arc pass through them, the bulb sits behind a convexed lens which creates an almost like daylight light via the lenses prism when light passes through it. This is what causes the spectrum of colours you see simular to those seen through a prism when sunlight passes through it.
To replace your existing lights with xenons would mean replacing the entire light housings and installing the headlight levellers all to enormous cost.
You would be looking at a LOT of money to convert if at all possible.
Your best bet would be to shop around looking at aftermarket bulbs that try to recreate xenon light.

 

[chenks]

or u could find a written-off new 172 (with rear damage) and pinch the light units from the front of it (hopefully undamaged)

although the chances of finding one are slimmer than Will Young picking up a chick on a night out !!!

 

[JonC]

the MkII 172 have High Intensity gas Discharge head lamps. Dont confuse them with aftermarket xenon light bulbs. These are not your regular H1,H4, H7 etc bulbs. By all means get the aftermarket xenon bulbs, but dont expect to get the same light intensity or same look as HID lamps.

 

[clio bouy]

thanks people, ill probably just get some ring ice blue 100 watters, i had them in my old clio and they were real nice-although not as good as the zenon look. many thanks
neil

 

[telford_mike]

I heard somewhere that the bulbs alone for the 172 Mk 2 are over £100 each - has anyone been unfortunate enough to need one?

 

[Liam]

xenon bulbs should really last the life of the car.
There are companies out there that claim to be able to convert any non xenon model car to use xenon bulbs at reasonable cost. I read it in a mag advert the other day.
Apart from that do what im doing and siply upgrade the bulb package. Although not as spectacular as xenons they are a real improvement to standard jobbies.
Id recommend Phillips blue vision (which they state use a mixture of halogen and xenon gas to produce a light closer to daylight) I know they look much better and are legal unlike 100 watt ones. And blue vision can replace all your bulbs, fogs, side lights main and dip beam. Id also like some silver vision indicator bulbs. So even xenon models can replace some of their bulbs should they wish i.e side lights/fogs. With my new motor being a non-xenon model Ill be upgrading the bulbs when I collect the car, as soon as I find out what sort they are! any one know now? easy to change?

 

[Rich]

I just replace the main and dipped beam bulbs in my 172 MkI. I went for Philips VisionPlus for the main beam (H7) and Philips Premium (HB5 or 9005) for the dipped beam - Philips dont do the VisionPlus (+50% light) in the HB5 fitment yet, but the Premium is also Halogen/Xenon gas mix with +30% more light.

The improvement is substantial over the standard bulbs. I recommend these - they come top of the Autoexpress survey. I bought these online and got a pair of Philips BlueVision sidelight bulbs free.

I didnt go for the BlueVision for the main & dipped as although the light is whiter the intensity is not as good as the VisionPlus and Premium.

Cheers,

Rich

 

[Liam]

Im certain youd be able to get the HB5 bulbs in blue vision they seem to do every type. HB5 fogs??

 

[Liam]

forget my last post Ive just read again and i see my mistake. Anyone know fitment type for all bulbs in new models, non xenon ones?