New Lights Needed - 2005 Pontiac Vibe GT

I swore I had an account on here from years back when I was building bicycle lights, don't know if I used a different username or what, but I tried all my email addresses w/o any luck. Anyways...

2005 Pontiac Vibe GT (2ZZE engine).

I started the process today of restoring the plastic on the headlights. Used the Philips kit because it came with a UV sealer. I did the really bad one today & was really impressed with the outcome. Now to see if that UV protection really works, if not I will do the route one of the mods listed in another post while I was researching.

Headlights: 9003 (100,000 miles on these bad boys, haha, starting to get pretty darn dim, darn near useless in any foul weather)
Fogs: 9006 (I don't use them/leave them on, except during heavy snow storms in Chicago which is getting rare, but would use them when in the Yooper. I really miss having real Hella fogs on my old car).

I see the X-tremes from Philips seem to be the popular one from the 2 mods I have seen responding to other posts. There is the +100 & the +130, so I wonder which of those 2 are better. Then I see the 450 hours lifetime and think there has got to be better. So with that out there, and hopefully didn't violate any rules as I did search (here & genvibe, but genvibe is all about that illegal retrofit crap & purple lights with halos and neons, I'm 42, not 14). Thanks!

nixternal said:

2005 Pontiac Vibe GT (2ZZE engine).

..

Headlights: 9003 (100,000 miles on these bad boys, haha, starting to get pretty darn dim, darn near useless in any foul weather)
Fogs: 9006 (I don't use them/leave them on, except during heavy snow storms in Chicago which is getting rare, but would use them when in the Yooper. I really miss having real Hella fogs on my old car).

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Strange how the badge engineering sometimes goes slightly beyond badging, but in weird ways. They kept the Toyota-built 2ZZ-GE but went with their own headlamps (the Matrix had 9005/9006 composite high/low beams instead of using the 9003).

I see the X-tremes from Philips seem to be the popular one from the 2 mods I have seen responding to other posts. There is the +100 & the +130, so I wonder which of those 2 are better. Then I see the 450 hours lifetime and think there has got to be better.

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My personal recommendation is the +100, which will have the longer life and won't have the blue band over the high beam filament. The low beam performance on the +130 is better, and in those conditions where you're prevented from using high beams (higher speed traffic but just dense enough to prevent using high beams) you do want all the low beam you can get, but you'll be changing bulbs more frequently and your high beams will suffer somewhat.

As for fog lamps, they're fine for heavy snowstorms and heavy, heavy rains-- but only at *night* and only at a crawl. Otherwise, you're really making your driving task less safe for yourself and others.

So with that out there, and hopefully didn't violate any rules as I did search (here & genvibe, but genvibe is all about that illegal retrofit crap & purple lights with halos and neons, I'm 42, not 14). Thanks!

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Not sure how searching before posting would violate any forum rules! And you're a step ahead of many by realizing the retrofits and the purple halos and neon and all that is crap. Some people never get past 14, it seems...

Alaric Darconville said:

Strange how the badge engineering sometimes goes slightly beyond badging, but in weird ways. They kept the Toyota-built 2ZZ-GE but went with their own headlamps (the Matrix had 9005/9006 composite high/low beams instead of using the 9003).

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I wish they would of went with composite, the one thing I am not a fan of is a single bulb hi/lo, especially on the back country roads of Michigan.

My personal recommendation is the +100, which will have the longer life and won't have the blue band over the high beam filament. The low beam performance on the +130 is better, and in those conditions where you're prevented from using high beams (higher speed traffic but just dense enough to prevent using high beams) you do want all the low beam you can get, but you'll be changing bulbs more frequently and your high beams will suffer somewhat.

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So, I already knew what you were going to suggest ahead of time, I just needed the confirmation I guess. Who knows, you could have surprised me & told me something different Amazon here I come, might as well buy 2 packs, because that is still cheaper than buying one locally.

As for fog lamps, they're fine for heavy snowstorms and heavy, heavy rains-- but only at *night* and only at a crawl. Otherwise, you're really making your driving task less safe for yourself and others.

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I just wish the stock ones were more effective, but it just seems like they were put in there for cosmetic purposes. One of these days I may consider fabricating in some real fogs.

Not sure how searching before posting would violate any forum rules! And you're a step ahead of many by realizing the retrofits and the purple halos and neon and all that is crap. Some people never get past 14, it seems...

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I have a neighbor, across the street, who is probably mid to late 40s, he doesn't get it yet. HID in a halogen setup. Our driveways are at an angle from the garage down to the street. When he backs in, your headlights shouldn't be lighting up the house 30 yards across the street. I told him how stupid they are (never went into the legality stuff, because drug dealers don't care about that kind of thing), and he is like I can see great though. Guess if you were duck hunting at night they might work.

Thanks Alaric!

Nothing wrong with Philips Xtreme Vision. There's also the Osram Nightbreaker H4. For the best value, the GE Nighthawk Platinum is often on sale on Amazon and eBay.

The Vibe has different headlights because it was sold internationally, whereas the Toyota-branded Matrix was only sold in the US and Canada. (The JDM name for the Vibe was Toyota Voltz). Which car has the better headlights, the Matrix or Vibe? Both are made by Stanley.

The car is still rocking the original bulbs, almost 100,000 miles. I got kind of lucky with this car. Just replaced the clutch at 98,000 miles. The lights are starting to dim to the point where going down a dark road at night, I have no choice but to use the brights. I tested them again tonight, the oem bulbs, after restoring the headlights, and they are still bad, actually much better than 2 nights ago, but still need to be replaced.

I got lucky also, Pep Boys, online, I got 25% off, then did a scratch for another 25% in store. I picked the X-treme Vision +100, new wipers front & back, and a little of the stuff that ChrisFix on YouTube uses to get super clean windows. Tune up today, new clutch last week, bring on the Chicago winter! (probably going to be a lame one).

Now, I just need to read up on properly aligning the lights on the Vibe, just in case I have to do that.

-Virgil- said:

Headlight aiming page

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Perfect, thank you! The spot we used as kids is still available & freshly paved. Went and checked it with my level & it is pretty darn good. Obviously someone has already been out there, because they left chalk marks 25 feet away from the wall