I was given some amazon gift vouchers for xmas dont really need much at the moment but have been considering changing the headight bulbs on my mazda 6. Dont want to go for the cool boy racer look just a bit more light, has anyone used osram night breaker 90+ before? if so do they make a difference, do they dazzle on coming traffic.
Readers reviews are differing some say they make a difference others say they dont
Looking at these
goo.gl/wCYSD
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If you want more light, how about these? I also have Amazon vouchers to spend. :-)
tinyurl.com/bqbm6rs
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 28 Dec 12 at 22:44
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Yes, used Osram Nighbreakers, very good, very bright, nice pattern, very short life - both mine blew after 12 months. Used philips ones and they have been OK.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 28 Dec 12 at 22:43
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How long did the philips last? Was they standard or x-treme.
Did look at the ring bulbs but iv always thought of them as a middle of the road brand neither cheap nor expensive.
Last edited by: mazda chris on Fri 28 Dec 12 at 23:09
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>> How long did the philips last? Was they standard or x-treme.
Yup Philips Extremes, two years and still going strong, not quite as bright as the osrams were, but a dead bulb makes things pretty dim.
>> Did look at the ring bulbs but iv always thought of them as a middle
>> of the road brand neither cheap nor expensive.
Think of ring bulbs as rubbish and you wont go far wrong.
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 28 Dec 12 at 23:16
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>> Think of ring bulbs as rubbish and you wont go far wrong.
>>
I must have led a sheltered life, I didn't realise that badge snobbery extended to headlight bulbs. Does it also apply to household bulbs? :-)
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>> >> Think of ring bulbs as rubbish and you wont go far wrong.
>> >>
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>> I must have led a sheltered life, I didn't realise that badge snobbery extended to
>> headlight bulbs. Does it also apply to household bulbs? :-)
stick some ring bulbs in your car, and when they fail you will realise its nowt to do with snobbery
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>> stick some ring bulbs in your car, and when they fail you will realise its
>> nowt to do with snobbery
>>
I have a pair of Ring H7s in the garage. I bought them as a distress purchase from a petrol station one Sunday evening far from home.
They are not too bad, they worked OK and were replaced with Nightbreakers on getting home. Now put in the boot with the long distance roaming kit when off around the bazaars.. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sat 29 Dec 12 at 19:28
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"Think of ring bulbs as rubbish and you wont go far wrong."
I'm with Zero on this. Some years ago, my wife's Focus Mk1 developed a bad habit of blowing headlamp bulbs and I kept replacing them with cheap 'Rings' obtained from a local motor factor. I thought that 'bulbs were just bulbs' until I was advised on 'the other forum' to use decent branded bulbs. As the old ones blew, I replaced them with Ford Motorcraft bulbs and the last one was 4 years ago; none have blown since. Do I want to spend an hour skinning my knuckles and swearing whilst trying to change a bulb in a Focus? Hell no, I'd rather pay a few more quid and have them last for years!
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According to Auto Express both Halfords bulbs and Ring bulbs are made by a company called Alite - which I think is Chinese.
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Dont like halfords bulbs either.
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Got a 57 Mazda6 here, inserted Halfords +90% H1 Extreme Brilliance bulbs in the dips (had 2xH1s and 2xH7s left over from the Mondeo, bought them a week before it died - Mazda6 takes H1s in both dips and mains so I have a pair of H7s going begging). Terrific dip beam illumination now, most noticeable on two-way A- and B-roads in the wet. The mains on the Mazda are unadulterated straight-ahead spotlight beams - the weaker standard main bulbs are noticeably dimmer compared to the +90% dips which stay on when main beam selected.
The dip beams on a Mazda6 are rather susceptible to road dirt, being small projector-style lights. My commute of 25 miles, mostly in the dark and mostly on back-roads, means I have to clean the lenses every time before setting off. No great hassle, as I drive an HGV and routinely clean its headlight lenses several times a day.
No life issues with the Halfords bulbs yet, I've used them in my cars over the last 10 years and have only had a couple blow after 2 years/40,000 miles plus.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Fri 28 Dec 12 at 23:14
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I'd love to try uprated bulbs, but as my headlamp units were changed under a recall due to melting (Nissan Almera N16), I'm reluctant to fit anything that may generate more heat than OEM.
May be worth considering if you've got plastic bits in yours?
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As long as they are the same wattage, then the energy in is the same.
So they are unlikely to give more heat, because if for any given wattage e.g. 55W if the bulb converts more of that 55W into visible light, then it stands to reason that less of it is wasted as heat e.g. Infrared spectrum.
I would say the uprated standard wattage bulbs give less heat into the surrounding materials as a greater proportion of the energy is shone out up the road.
"bathtub tom
I'd love to try uprated bulbs, but as my headlamp units were changed under a recall due to melting (Nissan Almera N16), I'm reluctant to fit anything that may generate more heat than OEM."
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I went for a Mazda6 Sport back in 2007 to get the HID lights. I know you cannot swap things but if anyone stumbles across this thread again in future - HIDs much better. I did a back to back run across a part of the Snake Pass in the Mazda and Mondeo Ghia and it made it obvious to go for the Sport spec Mazda6. Almost a night and day difference. And better before getting to the dark twisty bits too.
Fast forward and deciding if I'd go for the standard lights on the replacement car or the adaptive xenons. Same roads at night... the be-xenons are even better than what the Mazda6 had (it used standard bulbs for full beam). And I have bendy lighting for corners plus static turn illumination too. These really work.... makes the replacement more difficult if it's not got these.
... and adaptive dampers too.... I can feel another VW being automatic choice (maybe a cheaper one next time). But I like the look of the new Mazda6.
Back to topic... lighting is a safety feature to me (I know it's not that as all cars have lights). And why I'd pay for HID/Xenons again (standard on the Mazda6 I had).
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Something that's worth considering when buying uprated bulbs as has been pointed out before is usable lifespan.
I've had many a set of uprated bulbs that have lasted 12 months and then 1 bulb has blown resulting in having to buy a new pair.
I now use Osram ultra life bulbs, not ultra bright but have a guaranteed 3 year life-span, I did note this from the data sheets on the Osram site;
Night Breaker Plus - Lifespan 250hrs
Ultra Life - Lifespan 1100hrs
As the saying goes, 'a candle that burns twice as bright only lasts for half as long'.
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>> Yes, used Osram Nighbreakers, very short life - both mine blew after 12 months.
You were lucky. I only got 8 months out of my dip beams. Blew within a week of each other. The high beams lasted approx 2½ years though.
I've now got Ring Ultimas in my high beam. Same brightness, but not as good as the beam pattern is not as spread out as they were with the Osram NBs. The Ring ones have a narrower beam pattern.
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We use night breakers. 2 cars and a motorcycle, 6 bulbs in all. We haven't upgraded the main beams on the cars although I did idly ask Santa for a pair of H1s for the main beams. Mrs H and I like the quality of the light and believe there's a genuine improvement in beam pattern and throw. As Zero points out the early night breakers had a life of a year or less. The new night breaker pluses about double that in my experience.
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I upgraded my Mondeo with four Osram Silverstars ( previously the best bulbs) and have been very pleased with them. Just one failure in many years.
I also upgrade my parking lights to Philips W5W ( 501s) Bluevision Ultra 3400 Kelvin
( bulbs came free with my order) I am very impressed with them.
Much much brighter and White like Xenons. Only when close up there the faintest hint of blue.
The X type is always slated as having poor lights.
I am planning an upgrade and will replace the main beams with Philips.
I am now considering a HID upgrade to just the dip beams as the objections re MoT failures seem to be going away.
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I had a pair of 10" Cibies with chicken wire stone guards bolted on to the bull bar of my old Land Rover 30 years ago for the same reason. Wouldn't really suit a Jag though I s'pose...
:-)
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Mazda Mazda 6 - osram bulbs - Old Navy
