Xenon Bulbs

[colbee2004]

Hi All, Can anyone tell me which make of xenon headlight bulbs last the longest? I bought a set of Halfords own brand and they only lasted about 7 months. Given the price I would have expected then to last at least as long as the halogen variety. I drive a 5 door 1.4D4D on an 03 plate. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Colbee2004

[Madasafish]

My Philips set have lasted since 2005...

[FROSTYBALLS]

Hi All, Can anyone tell me which make of Xenon headlight bulbs last the longest? I bought a set of Halfords own brand and they only lasted about 7 months. Given the price I would have expected then to last at least as long as the halogen variety. I drive a 5 door 1.4D4D on an 03 plate. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Colbee2004

The brighter bulbs (ie those with 90% more light) don't seem to last as well as ones with a loweer light output. We've had Philips X-treme Vision and Osram Nightbreaker Plus in our cars in recent years, and the life for these seems to be about two years. This applied to my last Corolla, and our current Mazda 2 and Auris. Seven months seems too short though.

Just replaced the Osram Nightbreaker Plus' in the Auris as the nearside bulb went last week (the car is two years old next month). Bought the latest Osram Nightbreaker Plus (supposedly a 50% increaase in life) from Autobulbs Direct - as these were cheapest for the H11 fit the Auris has. Powerbulbs and Autobulbs Direct has these for £ 23.95 in an H4 fitting.

[alfiejts]

frostyballs is right - the brighter bulbs are more highly stressed (eg thinner filaments) to make them brighter so they tend to fail more quickly.

Personally, I'd much rather go with a brighter bulb for the benefits that gives and change it more frequently. I've always used either Philips or Osram's "brightest" bulbs and have only had one blow on me in the last three years, since the last set were fitted in each of our cars.

Be aware also, that bulbs do dim over time, so even if they don't blow, you should consider changing every few years anyway to keep them at their brightest.

And remember, that you should never touch the glass envelope of a headlight bulb when you fit it - because if you do, the oils in your skin will create a hot spot that will cause the bulb to blow early. Even touching the edge of the headlight housing with the glass of the bulb when you're fitting it could put a tiny smear of grease or other dirt on the glass envelope that would shorten its lifespan.

I always wipe mine with meths using a lint-free cloth to make sure they're completely clean before fitting.