martwrxsl

I noticed that one of my dipped headlights has blown. Thinking about getting some of the 90% brighter bulbs. I think the standard subaru are just halogen bulbs. My car is a wrx blob 2004.

Just wondering peoples opinions, experiences on these so called brighter bulbs philps, osram etc...

Has anybody fitted them to their car and noticed a difference?

I notice sometimes that the dipped beam, when both lights were working ok, was only average. The full beam is excellant and I can see from here to the next county.

corradoboy

Philips Extreme are excellent and usually are reviewed as brighter than the Osram +90% even though they are quoted as +80%, mainly due to a better beam pattern and focus. The Osrams are reputed to blow quite frequently too.

martwrxsl

The philps always seem to come out top on all the reviews. Are they really that much brighter though? Are they brighter than xenons?

scooby-tc

iTrader: (2)

I use Osram nightbreakers in both my Spec C and Type R and they are fantastic bulbs much better than the standard rubbish.They have both been in over a tear with no blown bulbs to report

corradoboy

I can only quote my own experiences. My missuse has an 05 Octavia with projector lenses but halogen bulbs and they were woeful. I think they are deliberately designed to be bad so as many as possible opt for HID's when buying or soon after The Philips have brought them right up to acceptable. After seeing the improvement in her car I got some for my Fabia, which I must say has the best headlights of any car I've owned. There was a marked improvement again. I also popped a couple of 100W'ers in the full beam for good measure

martwrxsl

The standard dipped is what I use 99% of the time and I agree they are terrible. Weither it be osram or phillps I'm going to get them. Thanks for your help.

martwrxsl

Agree about the car manufacturers totally. They can fit far better bulbs but there is now such an aftermarket field with HIDS etc....

tanyatriangles

iTrader: (2)

Halfords 90% uprated bulbs are worth a look at the moment, made by GE, they perform well and are BOGOF.

Or you could look at an HID kit? They perform well in all except H4.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I've had this issue where the e39 BMW Halogen projectors can be woeful. The problem being the optics getting coated in fine dust: I spent yesterday baking the headlamps in the oven so I could open them up to clean the lenses and inside of the clear plastic cover.

I also found the bulbs were worn (yes halogen bulbs do wear out) as the glass envelope was no longer crystal clear and the filament was not clean and had heavy deposits. I swapped them for the Hi-beam bulbs (both H7 bulbs) which were still as-new. Put it all back together and bingo, brightness is better and light is whiter. I also realigned the aim right up to the highest legal tolerance lines on a MOT beam tester which has impoved kerbside illumination no end.

As for which bulbs; I reccomend reading this extract taken from Autoexpress: http://www.bmwtips.com/tipsntricks/Bulb/H7.htm

It claims that many bulbs, including "uprated" items from PIAA and Osram failed basic geometry and minimum output requirements for E approval. Food for thought!

Auto Express have done a more recent test, but they are far less informative and critical of bulbs that failed to meet basic requirements (lawers probably gagged them ).