H7 Nightbreaker Unlimited or Laser?

[Craiglxviii]

thought I'd give an update on a set of bulbs I got....

Ring 80w HID Xenon look 4000k H7 Bulbs. In pitch black where a nice much whiter look, very much like the colour of xenons. But in use with any other ambient light you struggled to notice if they were even working. Strangely ends up dimmer than a Std H7 halogen.... !!! worse still left bulb dead within 2 weeks, (got my money back) right bulb now dead within 5 months

It gets more dangerous, at the time I fitted those headlamp bulbs (Christmas), I fitted a set of Ring T10 LEDs I got from Halfords (costing £10), both of these have now flailed so the right (drivers side) had no illumination at all.

Manufacturers are peddling absolute trash these days, my advice is leave the originals alone, they will probably last for another 10 years and a glow worm is better than no worm !!!

It's a strange one how colour temp and atmospherics interact, it really is.

Best advice I can give is to stick with Osram or Phillips' genuine product, of whichever variety you care to choose.

 

[LostKiwi]

Incidentally 80W bulbs aren't legal either (even 24v systems in HGVs are limited to 75)

 

[Submariner1]

Total minefield chosing bulbs ... lack of specific info, and mfg lies.
Went Osram NB UL 3700K on the A Class dipped. Big improvement in vision and whiter, but the others were very old Osram Siverstar +60%.

The CL is harder to sort
Went Osram Cool Blue Intensive + 20% 4,200K on the Cornering lights to try and get a whiter look to match the HIDs
And blow me the NB ULs look whiter. So its not just the Kelvins but also the Lumens combo that matter.
Very irked as I have now discovered the Philips White Vision +60% are in fact 4,200K and not as advertised 3,700K. They would probably look whiter than the Cool Blue Intensives i.e. Drop 100K but gain 40% .

Sadly the fogs are H11s ... why are they so much more expensive than H7s £40 rather thsn £10 for two.

 

[Craiglxviii]

Because they have right angled bends in them Sub

 

[LostKiwi]

Because they have right angled bends in them Sub

And are less common so the recovery of manufacturing setup costs are spread over fewer units.

 

[Craiglxviii]

And are less common so the recovery of manufacturing setup costs are spread over fewer units.

Pshhh nothing to do with it, the tooling and production lines for H11 were paid back, set up
And paid back about twenty times over. They both cost pennies, one just attracts a higher sale price is all.

 

[horatio]

Philips EV +130's result in a W202 being drivable after dusk, quite an achievement.

 

[Submariner1]

And are less common so the recovery of manufacturing setup costs are spread over fewer units.

I suspected that, and add the market always seems to attract discounts in the volume area.

 

[silestanix]

Philips EV +130's result in a W202 being drivable after dusk, quite an achievement.

Most definitely.

 

[Botus]

Bloke at work had BOTH H7 dip beams fail on his golf....
went to the local motor factors, used a discount card and got 2 brand new std halogen bulbs for £2.40 inc vat

 

[JimM]

Hi chaps.

I thought to update you.

As you see in one of my previous posts above, one of the Phillips Xtreme Vision bulbs failed within three months.

I fitted two more in my Prado, +130% and within 6 months both of them have dimmed to less than Halogen.

I am not happy and I will not be buying Philips Xtreme Vision bulbs again.

The Ring Ultima +120% in my S Type are now over 3 years old and still bright, despite having been given a poor review for "inconsistency" which I did not find.

So Rings are my faves.

 

[JBell]

And they're in!

Well, the new bulbs arrived first thing this morning and, after waiting for a break in the weather, I found five mins to put them in. For anyone who's never done this on one of these cars, it couldn't be easier. Definitely not a case of needing a main stealer!
Anyway, the result is... wow! I probably should have taken a side by side photograph for comparison, but the impending rain meant I was inclined to hussle along. I now have bright, crisp dips, which are much more in line with what I'd expect of the car. I dare say they even look a bit more modern than the older, yellowed bulbs they've replaced.
Final score: £14 from Amazon.
Thanks chaps for all the advice. As always, it's appreciated.

Best
Bertie.

They are the best, I wouldn't use anything else and also buy them from Amazon

 

[Chrishazle]

My NB Ultimates are still going strong, and IMHO the extra cost of the Lasers I have in main beam is not justified - as posted earlier, same light output as the Ultimates, so when the time comes my mains will get changed to Ultimates!

 

[AnthonyUK]

I keep an eye on the Autoexpress group tests as the Nightbreakers are a bit dated now but still good.
I'm using a mix of Nightbreakers and Bosch giga's and there isn't that much in it TBH.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/97571/best-car-headlight-bulbs-group-test

 

[Chrishazle]

Autoexpress do not comment about bulb life, and from reading posts above I get the impression that NB Ultimates do well on that score - I'm sure the "slightly better options" than NB Ultimates (which interestingly Autoexpress rate better than Lasers, confirming my experience of both types) are mentioned in posts above as not lasting very long.

 

[AnthonyUK]

If longevity is a major requirement there are some options specifically for that but given that the cost can be pretty reasonable if ordered online I try to stick with the German brands. I know they are most likely manufactured elsewhere but Autoexpress do mention this in other reviews - http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/76760/best-car-headlight-bulbs-2018-group-test

 

[Mr Filipov]

I have UL's on dipped and Laser on mains, replacing NB+ on both. The UL's are great, and are on full time as I have no DRL's, not sure about the Lasers as I seldom drive at night on main beam - and when I did last night in fog the offside one was firing high and left even though I'd been very careful (so I thought) getting the metal tab on the bulb between the plastic alignment tabs. Refitted the bulb today, but have yet to test it. Not yet convinced that the lasers are better than the NB+ they replaced, let alone the ULs!

I wouldn’t use full beam in fog for sure. It limits your visibility if anything else. Suppose that’s why fog lights are put down low on the bumper.