Halogen Bulb upgrades that are not LED
- Thread starter dave_b
- Start date
Their was a magazine article Auto Express comparing Halogen Head Lamp bulbs I have it some where
Auto Express
H7 Phillips racing Vision GT200 5 stars
H7 Ring Xenon 200 4stars
H7 Osram Night Breaker 220 3 and a half stars
H7 Halfords 200% Brighter 3 stars
H7 Lucas LIGHT booster 200%
H1 Philips X-treamVision Pro150 5Stars
H1 Ring Zenon 150 4stars
H1 Osram Night Breaker laser 3 and a half stars
H1 twenty20 daylight 150 3 stars
Not sure, you may need to look at respective manufactures web pages.
They pretty well all look orangey white, a fair way short of 4,000 Kelvin or boy racer bluey white 6,500 Kelvin oh and they don't last as long as the original dreary stock lamps.
Perhaps other magazines have done tests just like they do for tyres? Though for tyres I tend to look at the main online and YouTube tyre-tests. I do not buy the magazine myself , if my wife does any shopping at a supermarket she often brings me back some thing to read cars or tractors something like that could be one or the other. Unfortunately the days when supermarkets had loads and loads of car magazines or any subject really have long gone and WH Smith are well away in town centres usually and out of the way, If I really want a magazine these days I have to pay a yearly subscription and have them delivered LIKE HI_FI News for instance. In any case I understand W H Smith is not going so well and are trying to sell there shops. What a shame they have been going 220 odd years.
I have Night Breakers, they are noticeably whiter than standard bulbs.
I would imagine these days most after-market bulbs try to cater for fashion of the day.
Do you want brighter or whiter? Phillips 200% are regarded/reviewed as the best for brightness, but only marginally whiter and with a reduced lifespan than standard bulbs. I’ve got Osram Intense Blue which are whiter than most, but nothing to get particularly excited about and certainly nothing like LED. They are also brighter than standard (150% if I remember correctly) and have lasted well so far (2 1/2 years). They’ve been good in my H7 headlamps but may try the Phillips next time.
I drove for about 5 hours at night earlier this week which was my first long experience with the H7 lights. Mostly motorway but then some dark A roads near to home. I found the H7’s to be OK. My other cars are a VW ID.3 and Tesla, both with LED, so, pun intended, a night and day difference in comparison.
I know I could get the THQ LED lights, but I have been seeing poor fitment issues on some Facebook groups.
So I thought if there is a way to improve what I have with a bulb upgrade, I should be good to go.
Don’t necessarily want ‘whiter’, it was just a general question. If the Philips are really 200% brighter, then I would imagine they will give me what I want (an improvement on what I already have which is already good).
So, I need 2 x H7 and 2 x H1 bulbs or are both bulbs H7 in the headlamp unit?
Are they still a royal pain to swap out?
I know I could get the THQ LED lights, but I have been seeing poor fitment issues on some Facebook groups.
So I thought if there is a way to improve what I have with a bulb upgrade, I should be good to go.
Don’t necessarily want ‘whiter’, it was just a general question. If the Philips are really 200% brighter, then I would imagine they will give me what I want (an improvement on what I already have which is already good).
So, I need 2 x H7 and 2 x H1 bulbs or are both bulbs H7 in the headlamp unit?
Are they still a royal pain to swap out?
Just like you, we have a VW iD3 and ours are fitted with the Matrix LED headlights, which are incredible. We have THQ V2 headlights fitted to our van, with THQ LED bulbs. Whilst these are not as good as the iD3 lights, they are exceptional compared to the H4 lights they replaced. I followed the THQ installation video and have had no fitment issues at all. I think they are well made, look great and are much safer than the standard VW headlights.
They are no where near 200% brighter in real life as that is a lab figure but they are a noticeable step up. Isn’t it H7 and H15 on a T6.1? Your handbook will say.
I switched my car over to Philips White Vision Ultra four or five years ago and the van followed around three and a half years ago. Colour temperature is claimed at 4200K. A definite improvement in visibility and I consider a good compromise in terms of bulb life.
My car has 6 H7s plus two foglights and the van has four H7s plus two foglights. No failures until late last year when my car blew a cornering lamp followed a few months later by a dipped headlamp. At around £20 a pair, I can live with that!
My car has 6 H7s plus two foglights and the van has four H7s plus two foglights. No failures until late last year when my car blew a cornering lamp followed a few months later by a dipped headlamp. At around £20 a pair, I can live with that!
The VW factory original fit LED Lamps are quite good. I have no idea what comparative £price the might be. However Mrs has a Yeti Motion Elegance with HID bendy lights which are really excellent and shows up the Caravelle lights by a long way having far greater intensity, spread, depth and range and can turn with the steering, spoilt.
Colour temperature, it is better for seeing where we go if bulbs lamps and so, are in a temperature range that is not too extreme because the human eye is not linier in its efficiency. I believe this might become be more of a case as we age.
Colour temperature, it is better for seeing where we go if bulbs lamps and so, are in a temperature range that is not too extreme because the human eye is not linier in its efficiency. I believe this might become be more of a case as we age.
200% brighter than what? The claimed % increase is above the minimum requirement for lamps. It could be that regular lamps that come fitted from the factory are "150% brighter" than the minimum, so the super duper shiny packaged uprated lamps aren't going to be all that much of an improvement.
We have a Tiguan with IQ LED headlights. These are very good and very clever, but for power and range they are no match for the bendy xenons on my 5 series.
What are IQ lights are they intelligent perhaps?
