I haven't put a meter on mine, but I'm curious as to the voltage drop in our chassis.

If it's more than a volt that's just lumens left on the table.

Really the ultimate solution is higher wattage bulbs, but I wouldn't do that without a new harness and relays to take the load off the stock wiring.
I did e codes, a harness and 100W hellas in my jeep. It's better than most news cars now.

It may also be that as the suspension has settled your lamps just aren't aimed properly
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html
see there.

 

Thanks to freedomfries. If you have halogen you can swap in H9 lamps with a slight modification.

http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?248897-Osram-Nighbreakers-Broke-At-Night

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

 

Yup, H9 bulbs are the best upgrade for H11. The Wagner ones are re-boxed Philips for less

 

I agree this that the H9 mod, was a relatively cheap and easy upgrade for my 2006 V70 and 2008 V50

 

Read this:
Low beams are H7, high beams are 9005 (HB3).

Best bulbs for low beam are Osram Rallye 65w H7.

Standard H7: 55w, 1400 lumens, 500 hours
H7 ultra "Plus+50": 55w, 1550 lumens, 225 hours
H7 rallye+65: 65w, 2100 lumens, 500 hours, obvious choice.

The extra 10w is of no consequence as far as electrical power or heat.
(those 80w to 100w bulbs are a different story!)

Direct order link is here:
http://store.candlepower.com/osraulhiouh7.html

Best bulbs for high beam are Toshiba 9011 (HIR1).

The new bulbs are not some tinted or overwattage version of 9005, but
rather employ a relatively new technology called HIR, Halogen Infrared.
The mechanical dimensions of the bulb are all virtually identical to the
9005, but the bulb glass is spherical instead of tubular, with the sphere
centered around the filament. There is a "Durable IR Reflective" coating
on the spherical glass. Infrared = heat, so the coating causes heat to be
reflected back to the filament at the center of the sphere. This causes
the filament to become much hotter (producing more light) than it can by
passing electricity through it, *without* the shorter life or greater heat
production that comes with overwattage bulbs (to say nothing of
overwattage bulbs' incompatibility with stock wiring.)

Here's the comparison:

stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hours
new: HIR1, 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 320 hours

These bulbs are spendy, but their cost is worth considering in context:
Any number of companies will charge you more than this for a tarted-up
9005 with blue colored glass (PIAA and Sylvania Silverstar come to mind)
that doesn't produce more light and has a very short lifespan.

The HIR bulbs have a double-wide top ear on the plastic bulb base, this is
to comply with the law requiring different bulbs to have different bases.
The extra-wide plastic top ear is easily trimmed or filed to make the bulb
fit your headlamp's bulb receptacle. Once that's done, they go directly
into the headlamp, and the existing sockets snap on. See attached. Direct
order link is here: http://store.candlepower.com/hirlighting.html

Can also make your brake lamps 40% brighter, type P3497,
http://store.candlepower.com/taillights.html

Can make your reversing/backup lamps 100% brighter, type 796,
http://store.candlepower.com/reli.html

I also stock Osram's "magic" Diadem turn signal bulbs, applicable for your
rear blinkers, which disappear (chrome ball) when off to eliminate that
orangey look, flash legal amber when on, and will NEVER fade/bake to
brownish white like the originals (go look at yours, almost certainly
flashing white rather than amber). Order at
http://store.candlepower.com/7507dla.html

Your Volvo burns the low beam headlamps as Daytime Running Lamps. Cars
like yours with headlamp-based DRLs come originally equipped with Long
Life bulbs. These are exceptionally warranty-friendly and conducive to use
as DRLs due to their long life, but their output is low and the beam focus
(and resultant beam reach) they produce is poor, due to the filament
modifications made to get extra long life out of them. This is a bad
trade: A very small potential increase in daytime safety for a very large
and definite decrease in nighttime safety.

Regardless of bulb variant, using the low beams as daytime running lamps
shortens the effective life of the bulb in terms of days' runtime between
bulb changes. Not only that, but headlamp-based DRLs are not optimal *as*
DRLs in terms of safety performance, and they consume significant fuel.
Using headlamps as DRLs is akin to opening the fridge door, pulling up a
chair and using the fridge light to read a book! There are much
better-performing and less costly ways of implementing DRLs. If you wish
to correct this error on Volvo's part (one of the only errors they made;
those are well built and very capable cars), it is neither difficult nor
expensive to do: Simply deactivate the factory Daytime Running Lights.
Instructions on request.

If for whatever reason you wish to continue to have DRL functionality on
your car, you would do well to install a DRL-1 module ($42 here). This
module runs the bright amber front turn signals full time as DRLs (except
when they are actually flashing as turn signals). See
http://dastern.torque.net/Mods/DRL/DRL1.html for installation info. The
turn signal DRL is legal under US and Canadian Federal standards, and in
all states and provinces. It gives greater conspicuity and wider-angle
visibility to the daytime lights, uses less fuel, does not encourage
improper nighttime use of DRLs instead of headlamps, and burns bulbs that
are considerably longer-lived and less costly than headlamp bulbs.

This is from Daniel Stern Lighting

 

This is why we love JRL^^

 

I will vouch for the Osram Rally 65W H7s. They are a marked improvement.


Uploaded from my Commodore64

 

JRL, Can you please double check your bulb info for my 2006. I think it is incorrect.

 

YOU check it, you have the company name right there

 

He's just listing all bulb upgrades. Earlier models use H7 lows and 9005 highs

 

Why are you asking ME why I said something?
I copied this from one of the best lighting companies in the US, Danial Stern Lighting, ask HIM

 

jrl whiineeey