Halfords Xenon HID Style upgrade pack

colm_mcm

Picked one of these up yesterday as one of my 7 month old Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited blew.
I'll start by saying I was very impressed with the Osrams. Night time driving made much easier than with standard bulbs and they look good too, giving out a very white light. A set of H7 usually costs €30.
One downfall of the "Unlimited"s is that they are very much limited, a criticism regularly levelled at the standard Nightbreakers. I'd rarely get a year out of them. For this reason I was reluctant to spend another €30 at my local unfriendly motor factors.
I was in Halfords anyway and said "feck it, I'll just get whatever they have"

I noticed single bulbs for €30 or so. Halfords always have comical pricing on some items. Then I saw a pack with 2 H7s and a pair of blue looking 501 5w parking bulbs included. RRP €59.99

Swiped my Halfirds trade card and that became €24. Happy days, marginally cheaper than the Osrams, they might last longer - and I get parking light bulbs.

The biggest surprise is the parking bulbs, they look like white LEDs, handy if your CANBUS is fussy about LEDs, they also give a more natural spread of light on the reflectors than LEDs do. They look bright white rather than blue (Crappy phone camera)

Next I fitted one of the H7s (piece of cake 30 second job in a civic!) and I'm glad to say they're just as white as the Nightbreakers are. From driving tonight with one of each (I know, I know) I can say that the light is as good a quality too.


Some pics:

Upgrade 5w bulb vs standard bulb



Halfords HID style (left) vs Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited (right)


A box, yesterday

Fiskar

Hope they work out for you. I too had a set of Osram nightbreakers in my car and they both blew after 14 months, both within a month of each other. I had to put back in the original Philips OEM bulbs that are in their 7th year of service!
Car is an 07 Volvo S40, won't be buying osram again.
I will sit on the fence regarding the Halfords bulbs until pressed into action, more than likely will get Philips bulbs.

colm_mcm

My mother lives out in the sticks, her i30 has 17 inch wheels and UK spec hard suspension. It was eating bulbs from going over bumps and potholes. Tried loads of different bulbs on it and the only ones that have actually lasted are Halfords heavy duty ones.

http://www.halfords.ie/motoring-travel/bulbs-wiper-blades-batteries/bulbs/halfords-472hd-heavy-duty-car-bulbs-x-2

Again halfords card makes price more acceptable.





14 months isn't too bad, on a Volvo the lights are on during the daytime. (Mine are always on when driving too) I'd be delighted with 14 months, if they were hard to change that'd change things.

Supergurrier

My Osrams blew one after the other within 2 days afew months ago.

Already have Cree parking bumbs though. Can the H7's be got seperately ?

colm_mcm

Yes they can, but they work out the same price anyway when you buy two.

Can't get the parking lights separately AFAIK, which could be an issue if one goes. I'll take yours just in case.

They have GE stamped on them, dunno if the coating is just put on bulbs post-manufacture?

BMJD

I had the exact same problems with Osrams in my old Prius, they both went after about 6 months within a couple of days of each other, replaced both with the Halfords brand which lasted well over 18 months until I changed the car.

Pov06

You should try some Pilot Tuning Project BLU-XE bulbs.

http://www.lampa.it/en/prods-8-10-210-840-1-1.asp

They are made in Italy. I used them before getting my Nighbreakers. I had them on for about a year and they are still good. I paid about €15 for 2 bulbs in my local motor factors.

When I switched to the Osrams I didn't see much improvement. The only difference was the price and the Osrams were quite a bit more yellow than these bulbs.

colm_mcm

The Nightbreaker unlimited are much whiter than regular Nightbreakers,
Did you buy those from the website or locally?

Pov06

colm_mcm wrote: »

The Nightbreaker unlimited are much whiter than regular Nightbreakers,
Did you buy those from the website or locally?

Yeah I meant Nightbreaker Unlimited.

I bought them in my local motor factors (Rathcoole Motor Factors). I think I've seen them in Tallaght Auto Parts too.