As mentioned in a previous thread I got a Seat Ibiza aerial from the dealer for a fiver, nice cheap mod. Doesnt look too different in the photo but is a fair bit shorter and I much prefer it.

Got myself some 6000k bulbs off ebay (not expensive and happy with them) mainly because my led sidelights were very white compared the the dipped beams and didnt looked right, but also because they match the Diadem indicator bulbs.

Regular bulbs

New bulbs

Comparison

Job done

Now I just need to do the fogs, not looking forward to doing that, think it will be a total pain in the rear having to take the bumper off. Does anyone know of an easier way? The bulbs look easy enough to take out if I could just get my hand inside.

...I just need to do the fogs, not looking forward to doing that, think it will be

a total pain in the rear having to take the bumper off.

I was terrified of doing this job too.

It's not as bad as it seems but you have to be methodical

and a little bit brave. But only a little bit... This is also for sleithkeithy who should have his

foglamp to fit by now.

First... Take out the fog surrounds. and then if you can get your hand in there. unplug the fog lamps.

The wires aren't long enough to lower the bumper to the floor so disconnect them.

Then squeeze the 3 "prongs" of the front of the temp sensor and pop it out of its mount,

You needn't unplug it. But you could also do that leaving the sensor in the bumper. ...

Undo 4 fixings in each wheel arch. Top one that looks different to the other 3 is the most important one.

DO NOT pull the sides of the bumper out until this is removed. It doesn't look like it's one you need to

remove to do this job, but you do, it goes directly into the bumper but out of view.

There are 2 or 3 fixings on the underside of the bumper each side as well but it's

fairly apparent which ones they are if you look.

The 3 plastic lugs on the bottom are a bit fiddly. Lay a sheet under the car so that if/when the pins drop out

you won't lose sight of them. Ideally don't push them all the way through as the fixings can be removed

without this being necessary. Once pushed in gently pry the outer "cartridge" out with a flat bladed screwdriver

Once all these are done you can tug the sides away from the wing... The brave bit...

Lastly take out the two fixings at the top near the rad.

These should be all that is holding the bumper on the car at this point. .

Give it all a gentle wiggle to double check it is free, then...

Taking care not to bash your headlights pull the bumper firmly but gradually

directly away from the car toward yourself.

Reverse instructions to refit. Hang at Top, pop sides back in then fix bottom.

then wheel arches. HTH

Garry

Thanks for the advice Gary

God that sounds like a nightmare lol.

Is basically full bumper removal? Is there a guide anywhere with pics?

Thanks for the advice Gary

God that sounds like a nightmare lol.

Is basically full bumper removal? Is there a guide anywhere with pics?

http://www.forgemotorsport.co.uk/media/FabiaVRS(1).pdf

You can download it to a lap top and take it outside if you need to.

This helped me out a lot. But remember you'd only need to remove

the undertray if you were doing the job this guide is actually for. ( FMIC )

Or if you lose a plastic pin from the centre fixings so be warned!!

Don't lose any...

Aha I knew I'd seen it somewhere before, been searching for ages lol.

Cheers mate

any links to the bulbs you bought mate?

Aerial looks good but I wouldn't mind seeing the new Polo one on a Fabia; shorter and smooth rather than the wire wound type.

Actually in Fog (the only time to use Fog lights) white or blue lights are not what you want. They produce more glare than yellowish bulbs.

See: Daniel Stern Lighting - What are Fog Lamps Really For? and What is Selective-Yellow Light?

I never use the fogs anyway. Only changing the bulbs so all my lenses reflect blue.

Should have taken a photo with the new headlight bulbs on with the regular fogs, the difference is massive. When I change my fogs I'll do a before and after.

Edited 6 September, 201015 yr by saint1d

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/H7-H-7-METAL-BLUE-HID-XENON-HEADLIGHT-BULBS-/350119504227?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item5184bfa963

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/H3-H-3-METAL-BLUE-HID-XENON-FOG-LIGHT-HEADLIGHT-BULBS-/180303702913?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item29faf02b81

This is where I got the bulbs, delivered the next day.

Driving home I pulled into the local supermarket car park and parked the car facing the windows to check the lights were ok (I hate it when someone drives towards me with one bright bulb). So guess what? Yep my drivers side bulb is way brighter than the passenger bulb :(

I've checked that the bulbs are correctly fitted with the notches in the right place, and they are securely held by the clips. Surely if the headlights were correctly aligned before I changed the bulbs, they shouldnt need re-aligning? Any suggestions?

I thought it was a HID kit you fitted, not just bulbs. Thats a good white light for a normal H7 bulb.

Surely if the headlights were correctly aligned before I changed the bulbs, they shouldnt need re-aligning? Any suggestions?

H7 lights require very accurate placing of the element in the H7 bulb to get the correct beam pattern.

Unfortunately the quality of construction for some H7 bulbs is utter CR*P and two bulbs from the same pack will give different beam patterns.

I find it best to stick with well known brand bulbs in H7 lights

Bummer. So do you think I should look to adjust the bright one? The only downside I can see with this is if I need to replace them in the future one will be out again. That said I have never had to replace a headlight bulb that has blown.

As I understand, LED's technically aren't legal, although I am sure plenty of people with them have had no trouble from the boys in blue, and there's an argument that they have an environmental benefit. The whitest and best legal sidelight bulbs I have found are Osram cool blue 21D. Philips bluevision aren't too bad, and Halfords Laser blue are an improvement on stock but not great. Halfords ultra blue say they are not road legal, which I suspect is due to the blue filter blocking out too much light rather than being too blue. The Halfords silver indicator bulbs are Osram Diadems, although expensive compared to online without trade card.

Actually in Fog (the only time to use Fog lights) white or blue lights are not what you want. They produce more glare than yellowish bulbs.

Can recommend Osram All Season Super, give a yellowish tinge to the light.

Aerial looks good but I wouldn't mind seeing the new Polo one on a Fabia; shorter and smooth rather than the wire wound type.

Hmm a part number would be good. Seems the cool aerials start out about a fiver then when they gain popularity with aftermarket use they make their way to £20+, lol.

Edited 6 September, 201015 yr by anewman

Bummer. So do you think I should look to adjust the bright one? The only downside I can see with this is if I need to replace them in the future one will be out again. That said I have never had to replace a headlight bulb that has blown.

The best way to do it is to have them set properly.

Then the next time you have to replace a bulb - face the car towards a wall and measure the beam cut-off against the wall.

Put the new bulb in and set it to the same as the measured headlight.

Tbh that's what the original plan was, but in bright daylight against a white garage door it proved very difficult. Any ideas on how much a garage would charge for setting them?

Going to take the bulbs out tomorrow and switch them round and check to see if the same bulb is still brighter, maybe it's just not sat right, however I'm pretty sure it is.

Edited 6 September, 201015 yr by saint1d

Tbh that's what the original plan was, but in bright daylight against a white garage door it proved very difficult. Any ideas on how much a garage would charge for setting them?

Going to take the bulbs out tomorrow and switch them round and check to see if the same bulb is still brighter, maybe it's just not sat right, however I'm pretty sure it is.

My local MOT station charges £5 to set headlights

Some still do it free but I doubt many do any more

Cool thats not bad then. Will look into tomorrow, thanks for the post

Sorry to get pic heavy, but it will help put my mind at rest!

Been out in the car to the shop, had a look at the reflection in the window and again one light looked a lot brighter than the other, so I stopped off at a nearby footy pitch on the way home to check out the lights from a distance. To my suprise they look absolutely spot on. Quickly took some pics...

Adjusted to lowest level >>

Adjusted to highest level >>

Quick foglight comparison >>

So what you do guys think, I think the levels are fine and I'm worrying about nothing lol.

Difference in light does not normally show up in photographs. However there is certainly something strange about those. The left one (Off side) does seam slightly brighter than the other.

Have you shown them up against a wall (or Garage Door) to see if there is any difference in hight?

Edited 6 September, 201015 yr by Jim H

Yeah it's tricky with the camera, I also think the fog looks brighter on that side on the photos. To the naked eye though the headlights were spot on, normally I'm critical to the extreme, so the slightest doubt would have had me paranoid about it. Will try them against a wal or garage door tomorrow, or might just pop down to kwik fit or somewhere similar and see if they can check them for me.

Going to try a stumpty aerial too, have been advised the Lupo Aerial is good also for the fabia

look good the light bulbs, but looking bright and actually displacing it on the road are two different things, How good are these against say night breakers ( osrams ) im currently using these and find them outstanding but only seem to last about a year, I do like your indicators - I wanted to go the all clear look and bought chrome bulbs but they were useless, didnt blast much light at all.

Do your LED side light 501 bulbs give off much heat?

thanks

Well I'm guessing (but never used so cant compare) that these aren't as good as nightbreakers purely cos they cost 1/3 of the price, but then again will wait and see when I drive home from work tomorrow night. If they are rubbish then I will bite the bullet and get a well known brand.

The 501s are great actually. They dont give off anywhere near the heat of the filament bulbs I took out, I know this after leaving them on for 5 mins I could touch them no problem, the ones I took out really burnt my fingers. They are 9 leds per bulb.

Edited 7 September, 201015 yr by saint1d