H7 "long life" vs. regular?

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I had been wondering for a while, and now a burned out bulb has made this into a more "urgent" decision.

A lot of the parts houses I use offer H7s in both "regular" and "long life". Sometimes the LL is more expensive, sometimes it is the same price. I'm generally talking about brands like Osram and the "normal" series - no HID effect, not Silverstar, not VisionPlus etc...

What's the deal with LL? Is there a trade off in light output? I've never knowingly purchased LL H7 bulbs and I've been perfectly happy with their service life. While there's nothing wrong with LL, if it comes at the cost of light output I'm not interested.

Neither google or a few searches here took me to anything directly answering my question.

Thanks,
 
My saab is specced with the LL bulbs as they are on at all times. I have not compared a new LL vs a new bulb that is not, but Ive been extremely satisfied with the lighting system and reach/efficiency.

Sometimes you have to run the expriment to get the data. This may be that kind of a case, unless there is a lumen or equivlent spec provided on a data sheet of some sort. Id go to the mfr's tech department to ask.
 
Originally Posted By: mkIIIman089
Typically more light at the same wattage rating gives shorter life, and it's probably safe to assume the inverse is true as well.


I see three sides to the triangle - light, life, and cost. Since the LLs usually cost 50% more I didn't want to conclude that lower light output was always a result of longer life.

It seems that this is the general consensus though.
 
Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
Originally Posted By: mkIIIman089
Typically more light at the same wattage rating gives shorter life, and it's probably safe to assume the inverse is true as well.


I see three sides to the triangle - light, life, and cost. Since the LLs usually cost 50% more I didn't want to conclude that lower light output was always a result of longer life.

It seems that this is the general consensus though.


There's actually another dimension... efficiency. Sometimes long-life bulbs get their longer life by using a physically beefier filament with extra filament supports, which can give off the same amount of light but generates more heat and therefore draws a little more electrical current for the same amount of light as a standard bulb. In a way that rolls into the "cost" corner of your triangle, though, since it costs a bit more to make the beefier filament.
 
Osram Rallye H7 lamps are a good compromise between LL and high performance. They're a 65w H9 bulb on a H7 base. I've been using them for a few years and they put out a lot of light but last longer than any of the "performance" bulbs.
 
Originally Posted By: tom slick
Osram Rallye H7 lamps are a good compromise between LL and high performance. They're a 65w H9 bulb on a H7 base. I've been using them for a few years and they put out a lot of light but last longer than any of the "performance" bulbs.


They also have a 1200 hour life.
 
Originally Posted By: tom slick
Osram Rallye H7 lamps are a good compromise between LL and high performance. They're a 65w H9 bulb on a H7 base. I've been using them for a few years and they put out a lot of light but last longer than any of the "performance" bulbs.


That extra ampere of current and 10W of heat could be an issue. Have you seen any signs of that?
 
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
OEM H7 55W 1450lumens Life: 650hrs
Longlife H7 55W 1500lumens Life: 930hrs
Narva Rangepower H7 55W 1650lumens Life: 330hrs



Seems to jive with 440's comments above.
 
Most of the Sylvania LL products have a bit less light output, but about twice the rated life. As I understand it (to go along with a prior comment), higher performance bulbs often have smaller filaments that have more electrical resistance, and burn hotter/brighter. The LL filaments are often physically larger, and may not have as much resistance, and burn cooler/dimmer. I don't know if that's true or not.

The OEM bulb in both my 2005 Acura and 2011 Toyota is a Philips H11 LL, but I've never been able to find any Philips LL bulbs at any retailer...this may be an OEM-spec bulb only.
 
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