JHZR2
Staff member
I had an H7 burn out in my saab on a road trip. Decided to give the underpowered/overdriven "Eco" bulbs a try. This one is a sylvania, though Philips makes them too... My understanding is that the Eco bulbs are a lower current rated filament, but a hotter burning one.
I've used +30 and +50 H4 bulbs for years. My saab is my interstate car and I was willing to possibly give up a few lumens in the interest of a test. No bulb lasts forever, and if it were so bad, it could have always gone in the spare bulb pile.
But it looks like their claim of up to 25% more output than used standard bulbs is right.
Left is the Eco bulb with about 20 hours on it. Right is an OE Philips long-life that I installed around four years ago, and has maybe 20k miles of use. This car runs the headlights full power at all times, as DRLs.
I'm happy. They seem marginally brighter, draw around 1A less current (and should be cooler in the housing, preventing it from getting hazed from the inside), and notionally will last longer. Who knows though.
I've used +30 and +50 H4 bulbs for years. My saab is my interstate car and I was willing to possibly give up a few lumens in the interest of a test. No bulb lasts forever, and if it were so bad, it could have always gone in the spare bulb pile.
But it looks like their claim of up to 25% more output than used standard bulbs is right.
Left is the Eco bulb with about 20 hours on it. Right is an OE Philips long-life that I installed around four years ago, and has maybe 20k miles of use. This car runs the headlights full power at all times, as DRLs.
I'm happy. They seem marginally brighter, draw around 1A less current (and should be cooler in the housing, preventing it from getting hazed from the inside), and notionally will last longer. Who knows though.