NARVA Blue Power headlights = terrible

[Denno]

Just wanted to vent my anger towards these stupid headlights. I've paid $100 to buy them, high/lows and high beams, and they're worse than my stock headlights. Was driving in the rain the other night with them in (the first night I had them in actually), and I couldn't see a thing, I wasn't even sure if my headlights were on! I went back to th place I bought them and they won't do anything about it, so I've wasted $100 on globes that I'm not going to use, and that I can't sell because I'm not going to tell someone that they're good when I know that they aren't.

So what did I learn? Don't buy NARVA Blue Power headlights, and don't listen to shop assistants, do your own research and then go into a shop to buy what you want.

100% more vision my a$$.

[Trevor 062]

flog them on ebay & let someone else find out there useless.

[Denno]

I couldn't do that to someone lol. Plus then I'd get bad rep on eBay, don't want that now do I ..

[camstatic]

Contact Narva directly, I'm sure if you speak to the right person (this is the key) and be persistent enough, they'll swap 'em for some +50s or something.

I've had problems with Narva in the past, and they weren't unfair with helping me out.

[Denno]

I've already emailed Narva, got a guy called Steven (can't remember last name). The thing is, Blue Power are a combination of Plus 50 and Arctic Blue, which means they should be better yes? The guy told me that in the email (that they're a combinaton). He said they'll be willing for me to swap them for nother pair, but they'll just be the same, so why would I want to do that? :S

[camstatic]

Well arctic blues never lasted long in the beginning, due to them having to burn brighter and hotter to create the same amount of light through a blue filter. +50s are decent globes, I'm assuming they burn hotter without the blue filter, they don't have the low temp white look, but you can see quite well.

So if he's willing to swap for +50s I'd go for it, but I'm not quite clear on if you meant he'd only swap for another set of Blue Powers, or if he'd swap for any globes in that price range.

[mx kid]

i put a set in my car a couple weeks ago. i dont think they were Narva tho. just a $40 set from supercheap. i wasnt impressed at first coz i didnt think they were very blue but they are heaps brighter and in night time you can notice the blue

[Denno]

..... but I'm not quite clear on if you meant he'd only swap for another set of Blue Powers, or if he'd swap for any globes in that price range.

Either am I. All he said was they'd be willing to swap, didn't specifically say for Blue Power or for same price etc.

I've talked to a mate and he said that Philips headlights are better anyway, Philips Blue Power or Crystal Vision.. Agree?

[camstatic]

Yeah they seem to be a bit lower temp light than the Narva counterparts, they paint everything a shade of... I guess you could say a mix of light purple/aqua.

They look great from a bystanders point of view, but I've never driven with them.

[mx kid]

the ones i got were Calibre - Extra Vision Blue. it sed on the pack ultra white light and 50% more light volume. they were just under $40 so i thought what the harm in givin em a crack. and yeah like i sed, im pretty happy with em. fairly bright and a nice blue tinge. thats even through old VS headlights

[faroogoo]

If Narva wont swap them for a better pair,just get them to swap them for a new pair of Narva Blues then sell them on Ebay,that way you get some of your money back & theyre still in the original packaging.Just write unwanted gift or something.

[Haydz]

i can speak for the phillips lights and they are much better than the narva.


you will be much happier usign them over the narva or calibre lights

[DUK13Y]

I have phillips crystal vision and they are 100X better than the standard lights. Before you throw them out, make sure that they are clean and try them again. Give them a wipe with metho and don't touch the bulb again. The smallest amount of dirt or oil will dramatically reduce the illumination.

[Denno]

I was very careful not to touch the bulb in the first place :P, so I'm doubting that the problem. I measured the voltage at my headlights and I'm getting 11.6, would this matter much?
I'll say now that my stock bulbs are brighter then the Blue Power ones, which would lead me to believe the voltage being what it is doesn't matter..

Haydz: Which philips do you have?

What I really want is a whiter light, not the yellowish colour that it is stock, and would like some more light too.

[daron]

anything with blue in them is junk
i had osram cross stars extra 50% and wow they were awesome
i just replaced with new Philip's extra white and seem fine very white
i had blues and got defected and they were pure rubbish
all blues in any brand are illegal in SA even narvas and Philip's
i would be taking them back to who you bought from and tell them they are junk and want refund or swap for white globes

[Benboy]

Philips Crystal Vision is the way to go.

[Denno]

I have already tried to get my money back, but they aren't going to do anything about it grr! That's actually what prompted me to post on here, had to vent a little. Are the Philips extra white's good? Do you get more light output as well as the white colour of the light?

Benboy: Crystal Vision is illegal isn't it?

[Fun_Bucket]

Let me know what lights you end up with and how they go. I'll be driving from Sydney to cairns in a few months, and i'll need new lights before i go as mine are so farked i can't tell sometimes if there on or not and i have to check!! .

I've looked around, but so many different brands and different opinions. It's good to hear it straight from a fellow Commodore owner who's actually brought them.

[NickVR]

anything with blue in them is junk
i had osram cross stars extra 50% and wow they were awesome
i just replaced with new Philip's extra white and seem fine very white
i had blues and got defected and they were pure rubbish
all blues in any brand are illegal in SA even narvas and Philip's
i would be taking them back to who you bought from and tell them they are junk and want refund or swap for white globes

Blue visions are street legal, they are DOT compliant. Anything that is whiter than that is not. The reason being is cos they don't illuminate very well in the rain. Even the blue visions seem slightly duller in the wet. Have a look at the phillips web site and it tells you what is legal and what isn't. I have also heard the x-treme power are good, 80% more light but not sure how white they are.

X-treme Power

[Dan355]

Tried Narva blue globes once. As you already know they are hopeless. I managed to get my cash back though and bought the phillips crystal vision globes which are excellent but pricey. Phillips Crystal Vision FTW!

[danja]

You'll generally find that "white" lights give higher visibility than yellow (eg stock) lights, but once they start getting noticably blue, they're actually worse than the stock ones.

They also make you look like a RiCe bOi.

[phatvtcom]

you got pics of them in and on??

[nathg]

Have a look at my thread..Phillips 'Blue vision' and they work pretty well, better than the Calibre ones I had in previously.

[commsirac]

I was very careful not to touch the bulb in the first place :P, so I'm doubting that the problem. I measured the voltage at my headlights and I'm getting 11.6, would this matter much?
.

Is that with the engine running, if not, that's about as good as it gets.

Personally, I think everyone gets carried away with putting brighter lights in their car, I suppose the auto accessory shops love it at $40 and up for globes when a standard one only costs $8 and will generally last the life of the car.

The standard lights on my vx are great, unless I was doing 140Km/h+ on unmarked roads I couldnt see a need for any more. Compared to lights on cars of 30+ years ago there is no comparison.

Im not sure how lights that boast 80% more output can be used, the standard lamp is close to the maximum legal output that can be used in low beam driving.

[Fun_Bucket]

I read somewhere (was VK related though....) that the stock relay's are only designed for a certain light ouput....and that installing brighter, or more powerful globes would require the relay to be upgraded...????