Osram or Halfords headlamp bulbs?

[andyoctavia]

I had a bulb go yesterday, and luckily replaced it with the good one I took out a couple of years ago when I replaced the front pair with Halfords (Super Brilliance I think).

However, I want to buy a pair of matching bulbs, and wanted to know what folks would choose if they had to go for Osram Nightbreaker (at around £18 the pair from ECP) or Halfords Super Blilliance (at £19 - buy one get one free).

I am very tempted to buy a couple of sets of the Osram at that price.

[Volvomeg]

I put some H4 halfords bulbs in my MK1 octy VRS and they were far better than standard bulbs and still going strong,

 

Then i put a pair of H7 ones in my xc90 and one of them only lasted 4 months and i hardly use the thing, don't know if it was dodgy bulb or what but the others still going strong

[sdenny]

About 4/5 days ago, I bought a pair ofOSRAM H4 Nightbreaker Unlimited from ebay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390971999926?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT) for £11.99, but i see they've gone up to £13.77 as i type this. They claim 100% more light... I can't comment on these as it's the first set and i've not yet fitted, but i've had Nightbreaker and Nightbreaker Plus in the past and been happy

[Guest]

I've never found Halfords bulbs good value and always fit Cobalt IIs.

[ryan-re]

new philips xtreme vision 130%+ Very highly rated bulbs @ around £20 a pair.

[andyoctavia]

Cheers guys, now I am confused, I may well take a trip down the local Poundland/99p/Cheaper than all the rest tomorrow

Seriously, I will go for the Osram.

[IngusSeflers]

In September I bough Osram Night Breakers+ ... after 2 month on side burned out,after another week second. Waste of money IMHO

[ryan-re]

as above. My experience with osram is than they are quite poor for how long they last. Seem to be a brand which goes on nothing but a reputation

[sdenny]

In September I bough Osram Night Breakers+ ... after 2 month on side burned out,after another week second. Waste of money IMHO

 

 

as above. My experience with osram is than they are quite poor for how long they last. Seem to be a brand which goes on nothing but a reputation

 

Which is weird. I put a set in my first Octavia and replaced three years later with another which were still in when i sold the acr another 3 years later. I'm also on the second set in a different car, with about 3 years + between changes

 

Anyway..... they work for me

[Bcc212]

Hi, hope you haven't bought any bulbs yet.

Buy these, please:

http://www.phoenixautobulbs.co.uk/sc/cobalt-blue-xenon-upgrade-car-bulbs/

Review here:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/44959/tested-blue-bulbs

[jgcsteve13]

new philips xtreme vision 130%+ Very highly rated bulbs @ around £20 a pair.

 

did you get these on a deal or is this the normal price for them as looking as well for new bulbs

 

basically where did you get them from

[Cyberstaff]

Don't buy halfords bulbs, they don't last!

I've had osrams and there good but I've had 2 sets in as many years.

Just fitted hid's and wow what a difference.

£25 for kit and £15 to have them coded in by my local garage (well I told them how to do it lol)

Well worth it

Edited 21 December, 2014 by Cyberstaff

[mikey vrs]

Dont bother with uprated bulbs,ive tried various ones,best upgrade is to fit H.I.Ds i fitted the kit from Londoncolour,they cost me £28 & a 4 pack of cider for a member on here to code them & wow,what a massive improvement,i wouldnt fit anything else. 

[ryan-re]

did you get these on a deal or is this the normal price for them as looking as well for new bulbs

 

basically where did you get them from

 

normal price.

 

Type philips xtreme vision 130% into ebay and there will be loads. But make sure they are the 130% ones with a 130% sticker on them as a lot are selling the old versions

[Gobsheene]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Automotive-RW1277-Xenon-Ultima/dp/B005ZSUNL8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419420430&sr=8-1&keywords=ring+h7

 

Get these. 

 

Superb. Very superb.

[flying pig]

new philips xtreme vision 130%+ Very highly rated bulbs @ around £20 a pair.

I've just got back from a spin after fitting these today and I must say, I'm really impressed! Far brighter than the OEM bulbs that I had fitted. I couldn't recommend them highly enough.

[dakar]

Don't buy halfords bulbs, they don't last!

I've had osrams and there good but I've had 2 sets in as many years.

Just fitted hid's and wow what a difference.

£25 for kit and £15 to have them coded in by my local garage (well I told them how to do it lol)

Well worth it

I have to agree with this,am lucky to see a year out of a halfords bulb,spent nearly £20 on some of there led,s for my transit and they only lasted 6 weeks:(

[andyoctavia]

Just a quick update in this, and not a particularly good one IMO. I managed to find a couple of spare Halfords super brilliance bulbs (which I had bought a couple of years ago when they were on offer). So, I replaced the bulb back in December, and last night all was dark on that side, so I am not happy. I will check the connections when it stops sleeting, and see if the bulb has really blown, but I find it hard to believe that it has lasted just over a month.

[ryan-re]

they are halfords own brand, buy cheap buy twice

[Kerans]

Don't want to sound like a d**k but are all of you with constantly blowing bulbs changing them without touching or contaminating the bulb in any way?

 

I've tried many different bulbs over the years in multiple cars and although I've seen slight differences in bulb outputs for osram, philips etc. I think that Halogen technology is kind of near its limit even with the bog standard halfords ones, and you won't get much brighter. No bulb I've used has lasted less than about 11 months - I am probably just lucky though.

 

I've now got londoncolour HIDs and they are superior to halogens in almost every way - although I don't like blinding people so I wish I had proper self-levelling bi-xenons. I fiddle with the manual levelling controls quite a lot to keep them out of peoples eyes on stretches of road which I know push the front of the car up.

[andyoctavia]

they are halfords own brand, buy cheap buy twice

 

 

Sadly, life is not that simple. I used to play golf, and managed to break two top end Callaway graphite shafts in exactly the same place (about 2" above the hosel).

I had heard very good reports about Halfords bulbs until I bought them.

I am also very careful and wear latex gloves when handling bulbs, and make sure that they are kept free from any contaminants.

[trundlenut]

One of my headlights popped this morning. I was only about 1 mile from ECP so popped in and bought some Osram night breaker unlimited. The older version of the night breakers lasted 2 years.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Stormchaser]

My Osrams Nightbreakers lasted only 8 months [emoji107]

Now on Halfords Ultra Brilliance +120% that are over a year old. Much more brighter than Osrams and its buy one get one free at the moment [emoji106][emoji4]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kerans]

@Kerans -- have you had the lights realigned when you installed the HID kit? Different lengths of bulb behind the projector length over halogen means that the beam will shine higher than standard. It's generally accepted that a headlight realignment is needed as soon as HID is fitted. With properly adjusted beams, you won't have the problem of dazzling or having to play around with the manual adjuster.

I have yes, but I still think that without the auto levelling system from a proper OEM system that aftermarket HIDs will dazzle other road users excessively, simply from the fact that there are times when the road layout raises the beam pattern into oncoming traffic. So on the parts of my route this is a problem, I lower my lights.

I like the benefits of the HIDs, but I want to live well with other road users. Next car I get has to have factory xenons I think!

[ryan-re]

Sadly, life is not that simple. I used to play golf, and managed to break two top end Callaway graphite shafts in exactly the same place (about 2" above the hosel).

I had heard very good reports about Halfords bulbs until I bought them.

I am also very careful and wear latex gloves when handling bulbs, and make sure that they are kept free from any contaminants.

Sounds like you need to work on your swing :p

I know what you mean. I've used more different types of bulbs than I can remember, especially when I had a mb6 civic vti-s and was using H4 bulbs but never had any last a little time as your Halfords ones. I was constantly changing to try find the best ones for the car, only bulbs I didnt try was PIAA because of the cost.

Not saying you aren't careful, it might be there was a defect in the bulb its self.