Hi,
I’ve got a 2009 NC2 with halogen bulbs and the low beam is shockingly bad.
I was driving through country lanes the other day and there was a car in front of me so I couldn’t turn my high beams on. There was a sheep in the road which my low beams didn’t reach far enough to illuminate. I only managed to stop in time because I saw the car in front of me swerve. If that car didn’t swerve I’d have ended up in an accident because my lights don’t illuminate enough road for me to see something and then stop in time. It feels like a real safety concern.
So what do I do? I’m pretty new to car ownership - this is my first year of driving.
I’ve heard that HIDs and LEDs in halogen housings are not only illegal, but also pretty useless.
Is it worth swapping out the housings? Is that even possible?
Or should I just look for the best halogen bulbs I can find? What have you guys done personally?
Thanks!
I’ve used Osram Night Breakers (H7 for dipped beam; HB3 for full beam) and, while not phenomenal, they do make a difference.
Only downside is that the brighter the bulb, the lower the life expectancy. On most cars, that’s an acceptable trade-off, but changing bulbs on the NC MX-5 is such a pain that it’s not something I want to do any more often than I have to!
As you say, using HID or LED bulbs will fail an MoT, and probably won’t work well anyway in a housing which is designed for a Halogen bulb light source.
The headlight alignment might need doing.
When I first got my NC, forward illumination wasn’t great, but I put up with it. My partner however, insisted that something was wrong.
Low and behold, when it had its MOT the headlight alignment needed doing and forward illumination was noticeably better.
Also, in my NC there’s a little beam adjuster and I have that on the uppermost setting.
Having said all that, I wish there was a less yellow bulb available that wasn’t necessarily brighter, just whiter.
Have you got a photo of the front of your car, showing both headlights? Given the age, I’m just wondering if cloudiness/haziness on the lenses is contributing.
If my hunch is correct, I’d get a lens cleaning and sealing kit and see if that improves things sufficiently for you. If not, uprated bulbs as suggested already - but these will have limited chance to shine (pun intended) if the outer lens is clouded. If you do those two steps and still think there’s an issue, I’d look at beam alignment.
Also - when did you last have an eye test? Definitely worth considering your own equipment, as well as that of the car 
Thanks all for the replies.
I’ve ordered some osram night breaker 200s and will be fitting them asap.
There is a little bit of fogging around the edges of the headlights but not a lot.
I’ve attached a picture of it, not sure how well it shows the fogging.
As for eye tests I had one a couple weeks ago; a little bit of far sightedness in the right eye but not enough to require glasses.
Super, yep those lenses look OK.
Fingers crossed the uprated bulbs will sort it for you. Not the easiest thing to change on an NC mind you!
Roger that.
Go in from the wheel liner is the best option to save your hands!
The nearside one is a pig. You can reach, but can’t see what you’re doing. I find the headlights rather good, so I fitted Osram long life bulbs as I’d rather not do it again anytime soon.