D2S HID bulb: Philips ($120) or Osram ($138) or Cheap off brand ($19)?

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Aug 16, 2018
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TX, USA
I have had my suv for over 4 years now. I have 8 lights infront of my car and when I light them all up, they all look white except for my low beams which are oem color of 4300k. All others are white. I want to replace my current low beams.

Without a doubt, Philips and Osram are top brands. But some cheap aftermarkets with their price point make some of them a good value.

Look at the price difference; Philips $120 VS Osram $138 VS cheap off brand $19.

I could sacrifice and try to buy Philips or Osram, but I see the cheap off brand has some good reviews too.

I need some help if anybody can chime in with what they would buy in this situation. If you have a cheap after market D2s or say hd that has lasted over 3 years, please, let me know. Or if you know another off brand that has a good review and you can share a link with me, please share.

I am looking for any bulb that is between 4800k to 6000k. I would like white. My ideal would be 5000k bulb.

Would appreciate any suggestions or which bulb to buy among these 3. Also, any experience with some cheaper off brands which lasted over 3 years would be appreciated. Share a link if you can.
 
Here are pictures of the 3 bulbs I am looking at on Amazon and some shots of my lights on my 2012 Infiniti QX56.

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Originally Posted by benhen77
I have one of these in the X5. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F6Y3QYF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Replaced an Osram unit that shattered while in use. Have had it in the driver's side light for more than a year and have been pleased with its output.

I'm usually one to buy the better part, but I don't really see the benefit of spending $100 for the Osrams.


Thanks for the response and the link. Decent price also.

So, dis you buy this but replace only one bulb? Why didn't you replace both bulbs when you bought this?

I agree with you about cost. I started this thread because I am really wondering if the Philips and Osram which each cost over $120, if they are that much better than some of these cheap brands with good reviews.

They say you get what you pay for, but I am honestly trying to see people like you with good experiences with the cheaper brands so I can easily make my decision to buy a cheaper brand instead of spending 4 to 5 times more for the Philips or Osram.
 
I think I have the original Xenon bulbs in my 2008 Mercedes. Xenon bulbs last a lot longer than regular halogen and the reason you have 4200k was that was considered the ideal color temperature for vision at night for maximum range.

As for which ones, depends whether you want the bulbs to flicker or burn out quicker. The $19 ones are fakes. You can find Philips or Osram cheaper if you search around for them, but beware of Amazon, there are also fakes thrown in there with the real ones because they tend to mix their inventory with all vendors. Either of them are probably good as they can be OEM on many makes.
 
Originally Posted by csandste
Paying nineteen bucks and potentially saving a hundred would be worth the risk of wasting nineteen bucks to me.

This. I expect that the cheapies might come from the same Chinese factory as the Osram or Phillips bulbs.
 
Had a HID bulb on my 05 prius fail to start. Replaced bulb with cheapie. No better. Replaced ballast with cheapie. Works, but the bulb was dim. Went back to first bulb, aimed, polished lenses. Now great.

With nearly 300k, I figured that the presumably OE bulbs could have dimmed with age, and that replacing with cheapies had potential for improvement. I was wrong.
smile.gif


+2 on avoiding counterfeit stuff. Even if you pay 95% of full retail you might be getting swindled if it's not an authorized retailer.
 
HELLA D2S5000K is $27 plus shipping at Rockauto.com. 5000k name brand bulb.
 
I had the different Osram, Philips, etc bulbs in my Amazon shopping cart for a long time but tried some of the lower-cost ones and so far, so good. I figured, like others above said, for $20, I'll chance it vs $80-130 for the well-known brands.
 
Headlight Revolution did a test comparing name brand vs Generic HID's, all these measurements are in lux, performed on the same vehicle without moving it.

The "HID warehouse" bulbs were your generic $20 HID's. If I were going to buy non Osram/Philips HID's, I'd get Morimoto or NHK's.

Also, HID's dim and start to blue shift as they age. My Durango had the factory 4300k bulbs in it when I bought it, they were bluer and far far dimmer than the Osram CBI's (5500k) I replaced them with.

[Linked Image]
 
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interesting to me as my 2001 TT uses the D2S hid bulbs. car is a summer fun flip top + drive little at night. i have the car about 7 yrs + it was a lo miler. its said that hids get weaker with time + higher output = shorter life. like everything today buying is a crap shoot!! "do you feel lucky punk"
 
Do not get the $19 Chinese knock offs. Look for made in Germany Osram orcI think you can still get USA made GE 4600K bulbs that are D6S that were oem in a number of Cadillacs
 
Originally Posted by twouvakind
Didn't mean to hijack but "what the face"? Please explain the last image from OP.


My exact reaction. It's like a mad max movie scene
 
Originally Posted by Alfred_B
Originally Posted by twouvakind
Didn't mean to hijack but "what the face"? Please explain the last image from OP.


My exact reaction. It's like a mad max movie scene


That is on a road trip in the Hill Country in Texas. It is in a small town called Utopia, TX. I was driving through some back roads and I came across a fence with those dead coyotes or are they small wolves? No idea. But some land owners in the area kill those animals and hang them up like that on the fence.

I was driving back roads in that area for adventure and came across that. I stopped and took some pictures and a video.
 
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