How important are good headlights for good dashcam performance at night?

[Dadi_T]

I do have the optional, factory-fitted HID D2S. But the light output is not very good.

There is no other better choice for you in Europe than those from the photos below, regarding the amount of light. Yes, they do not have the same life expectancy as the standard d2s bulbs from the same companies.
Even if you have other problems, new bulbs doesn't mean bad money spending, because if you didn't know what type of bulbs you have, almost surely you have never changed them and they are dying.
And even if the lens are smoked, wich is the next most common problem with xenon headlights, you should experience an improvement.
After you change the bulbs, try to adjust your headlights. Yes, they also have a manual adjustment. There are tons of videos and it's easy.
After that, if still doesn't resolve the problem, you should consider changing your lens. That it is a more expensive job.

 

[Harsh]

So it’s not H11. Funny, my Google search showed H11 for Mazda 6 2010.

The ExtremeVision Gen 2 have great reviews, I’ve seen a few comparisons. I’m currently using Morimoto D2S 4800K at 55W.

 

[TonyM]

So it’s not H11. Funny, my Google search showed H11 for Mazda 6 2010.

That's the base spec. My car has the optional D2S.

 

[TonyM]

After that, if still doesn't resolve the problem, you should consider changing your lens. That it is a more expensive job.

I'm considering changing the car, and not just because the lights are dim! It is a much more expensive option though.

 

[Nigel]

After you change the bulbs, try to adjust your headlights. Yes, they also have a manual adjustment. There are tons of videos and it's easy.

If you do adjust them, don't be surprised if it results in an MOT test fail, and a small payment to have them readjusted. Sometimes that is a good thing though, because they can then end up accurately aligned instead of just good enough to pass the MOT. The MOT is only looking for lamps that will blind oncoming drivers, it is not looking for badly adjusted lamps. Park near a wall while you are adjusting them, like Dadi_T says, it is easy, as long as you can see what you are doing because you have the beam pattern on a wall, and mark the original position so that you can see what you have done. There is no magic in it, probably just a single up/down screw adjustment. Changing the headlight bulbs may be easy too, or extremely difficult, depending on how hard the car manufacturer decided to make it by forcing you to dismantle half the car to get to the bulbs, thus allowing their service engineers to charge for hours of time!

 

[Harsh]

 

[TonyM]

D2S nightbreakers ordered. I will ask my local mechanic to fit and adjust, and comment on any other issues with the lights.

 

[jfsoto1988]

Its also a good idea to clean the interior windshield with rubbing alcohol or Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (if available) to remove dust and plastic off gassing.

 

[Kremmen]

Also, depending on the make, remove and carefully/gently clean any CPL you have fitted

And the dashcam lens

 

[TonyM]

I'm glad that I had a local mechanic fit the Osram Nightbreakers today. Turns out there was no easy access to the bulbs (as suggested in various YT videos) for my car spec, so it needed the front bumper/fender off and the entire headlight units to be removed. Thankfully they only charged me for an hour's labour, which was still twice the cost of the bulbs.

 

[Dadi_T]

so it needed the front bumper/fender off and the entire headlight units to be removed. Thankfully they only charged me for an hour's labour, which was still twice the cost of the bulbs.

Ouch!
In theory, for bulbs replacement on my car, the front bumper also needs to be removed.
Practical, i found a guy from a service with thin hands and he managed the replacement in 15 minutes. That saved me money and time.

 

[TonyM]

HDR ON and OFF with the new bulbs. These are not a drastic improvement, but I do see a noticeable difference with a more clearly defined cut-off than before, and a higher proportion of number plates are now readable at night

Further testing required to see how they perform in different situations, however I will probably use the HDR timer function to only use HDR at night.

 

[Panzer Platform]

Lovely.

 

[TonyM]

Sample video with the new Osram Nightbreakers. I can definitely read a much higher percentage of oncoming number plates, driving at up to 50mph. Front plates are black-on-white so they have good contrast. The black-on-yellow rear number plates have less contrast so are harder to read, but I think it is not so important to read the plates on parked cars. Overall I think it's a fair improvement.

 

[Dashmellow]

Relief from ultra-bright headlights is coming — but slowly

New rules could prevent headlights from blinding oncoming drivers.

www.axios.com