Best headlight bulbs - Which? tests

[Greydj]

As it is a regular question I thought I would put up the Which? results (March 2010).

They tested high/low beam H7 form factor bulbs (and HIDs) in a new Astra and measured light intensity (lux), the more the better! Price is per pair.

Factory fit Dipped 91 lux main 48lux

Factory fit HIDs Dipped 164lux 131lux

Osram Nightbreaker +90% £16.49 Dipped 97lux main 63lux Best Buy

Bosch Pure Light £21.98 Dipped 141lux main 55lux Best Buy

Philips Xtreme power +80% £25.69 Dipped 102lux main 62lux

Halfords Super Brilliance +50% £39.98 Dipped 90lux main 62lux

Excellent value from the Osrams and stunning dipped performance from the Bosch.

But just look at the HID performance especially on main beam!

[Andy K]

THanks for the data. And just when I had stopped buying stuff !

I think you have to be carefull with the Osram Nightbreaker ones, as I hear they don't last very long at all.

Like 1 month in some cases! But I guess they are trying to fix that.

[Dom]

You can have 200 Lux headlight bulbs but if they are badly focused then they will be a waste.

A lot of the 50% brighter claims are because the bulbs are better focused and more light gets to the areas you can actually make use of.

[astra16vcdti]

The halfords once are good long as it's a country road if ur on a normal road there useless got some in my astra guns change em asap

[Big Col]

good timing, one of my bulbs popped today.

I too had heard the Osrams don't last very long so I went for the Philips Xtreme power.

ordered from PowerBulbs got free sidelight bulbs thrown in.

I will report back how they perform.

[Big Col]

Got my new bulbs installed this evening.

Only been for a short drive but they are definitely brighter and whiter, so I suppose they do exactly what it says on the tin. They did however replace bulbs of an unknown brand that have been in the car since I go it.

The biggest noticeable change is that now there isn't such a significant difference between the dipped and main beam cos the dip has improved. Suppose I'll need to look into getting better main beam bulbs now

Haven't fitted my free sidelight bulbs yet

[Johnny A]

I don't use main beams much so the Bosch pure lights look like the best bet for me

[Greydj]

You can have 200 Lux headlight bulbs but if they are badly focused then they will be a waste.

A lot of the 50% brighter claims are because the bulbs are better focused and more light gets to the areas you can actually make use of.

Which? averaged the light levels which were measured at 10m 20m for dipped and 50m 75m and 100m for main. The distance is the main reason why the main has a lower measured output than the dipped.