How hard is the front bumper removal and reinstall? Is there a link to it? I'm stuck at work on my phone and don't have search feature. Thx

 

will these fit 2012 xjl portfolio as from my understanding they are fitted with LED bulbs and not HID

 

2012 XJ's have HIDs installed for the headlight. Starting in 2016, XJ's came with LED headlights. A lot of the other bulbs in the headlights and tail lights are LEDs from the factory. So, when you say "the bulbs are LEDs", you need to preface it with which bulbs you are referring to. A lot of the small bulbs around the car are incandescent bulbs (ie, interior lighting, exterior entry lights, license plate lights, etc). These can be upgraded to LEDs should you so desire, but be aware that what you pay for the bulbs normally reflects in their quality. So, you buy cheap bulbs, you are going to get a cheap product. Not to say that you have to buy the most expensive ones out there, but don't go cheap either.

 

Well, after doing a lot of research, I ended up ordering a set of the OSRAM CBI 5000K bulbs as others on here have. My Land Rover was also in need of new bulbs, so I decided to order them for that first as they are much easier to change so I could see how I liked them, and I'm very pleased!

Although the name is "Cool Blue Intense," there really isn't any blue that I can see. The light color is a very cold, pure white. They put out 3400 lumens, compared to the 3200 lumens of the OEM philips bulb - and they do it at a higher kelvin temperate (i.e. a more pure white in this case compared to the yellowish light of the philips bulbs). Apparently these bulbs were developed in 2013, using some newer technologies that allow for equal/slightly higher lumens than 4300K bulbs at the higher 5000K temperature. My non-scientific comparison to a set of new 4300K Philips bulbs confirmed this! lol

I've ordered a pair for the XJ now, so when it's no longer -10F outside, I will attempt to install them without breaking anything...

Attached is a pic of the OSRAM bulbs in my LR3.

Link:

 

Unimpressed with the standard bulbs I opted to fit PHILIPS D3S X-tremeVision gen2, which are 4800k - indeed there is no alternative to removing the bumper. 2x bulbs were £180. I can confirm these work perfectly with adaptive headlights.

RE brightness: I would only go as far as saying they are definitely a whiter light, brighter by maybe 10-15%, but not nearly as bright / white as other Audi and BMW running D3S bulbs, which we all see around. I can only conclude that the configuration of the Jag headlamp diffuses the light differently, and worse. Otherwise I can't explain why in traffic a typical 2012 Audi with the same era headlamps seemingly always beams brighter.

Its definitely an improvement, but if you're hoping for a vast difference then best go the whole hog as follow xDave's LED headlight installation guide.

 

I wonder if the headlamp needs to come apart, and the projector lens cleaned?

 

I had the same thought, but one headlamp is just 12 months old so ruled out any possible dirt build-up being a problem....plus opening the sealed units looked like a small nightmare!