Are we going back to H4 style headlights ?

[Nigel Worc's]

The H4 single bulb style, with two filaments.

What has made me ask is I borrowed my daughters 14 plate i10 the weekend before last, and that has them.

My mates new transit connect has them, and I've noticed the new VW Caddy at work also has them, whilst mine has four H7 lamps.

Seems an odd move to me.

[Mave]

Sorry mate but you really spotted what kind of headlamp bulbs are fitted to a loaner? I don't even know what kind are fitted to my own car!

[Nigel Worc's]

You can't miss it mate, you get that momentary darkness when you switch from dipped to main & vice versa.

[Mave]

Never new that! I know mrs maves vw camper has h4s from when I was trying to do something, anything, to make the road more than 10 yards ahead visible without NVGs- never thought about the moment when the relay flicks across and its dark...

[MagnaJeep]

Improvements to headlight design perhaps?
The H4 bulbs in the huge headlights of my father's Vivaro are way better
than those stupid projector things in my Passat.
Even after retrofitting the oem xenons to the VW I'd say it's a draw in light distribution, only the colour is different.

[Nigel Worc's]

It seemed that obvious to me anyway, I hadn't driven a car with only two headlight bulbs for years and years.

[lbc]

I don't think I would enjoy a main car without factory xenon's fitted as the motorway and anywhere out of town has no street lighting here.

[Triumph Man]

Nigel Worc's said:

You can't miss it mate, you get that momentary darkness when you switch from dipped to main & vice versa.

I agree, I hate them. They smack of cheapness as well. Much prefer my H1 projectors and separate H1 mains.

[Mr Taxpayer]

Quite possible. Economies of scale and manufacturing cost make a single buld headlamp unit cheaper; plus i10 isn't exactly a vehicle that's going to have 'driving experience' as a major selling point. Expect ot see them on vans and budget cars for years to come. Xenons on high performance cars and as an option on cars with 'high performance' ambitions or as company car park ammo for Shirt-Sleeve, Bluetooth and Oakley.

[Cyder]

It's all to do with the packaging size of the lamp area, the styling (two pockets obviously looks very different to a single pocket) and cost.

Believe me, no design engineer particularly wants to use an H4 any more if they can get away with it.

[saaby93]

Surely H4 bulbs are much better if used in a decent sized reflector housing
Lens based halogens, you only need a moth to blat out 50% of the beam and over bumps the self levelling systems fail to keep up, so blind anyone oncoming.

Big lamps

Edited by saaby93 on Wednesday 8th October 12:38