Best bulb upgrade

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Gozoman

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2016
Messages
39
Car
Mercedes C180 Blue Efficiency
I don't drive much at night but I was taking a friend home this evening along country roads and was a bit disapointed with the lighting so I'm looking to upgrade the standard bulbs to something with a bit more lighting ability. My car by the way is a 2013 C180 Blue Efficiency. The ones I'm looking at are the Osram Night Breaker LASER Performance Bulbs- H7 477,and the Philips Racing Vision 150% Extra Light H7. A friend has suggested the Philips Xtreme Vision PLUS 130% Extra Light - H7, saying that although slightly less bright than the Racing Vision ones they should last twice as long. I'm not interested in the Xenon type bulbs as I don't drive enough at night to justify the price. Anyone upgraded their bulbs and what are your thoughts? Am I looking at the right ones?
 
I have Nightbreakers, which are very cheap on Amazon and I'm very happy with them

Phillips has just released a new one, ECP mentioned it recently on here but I've forgotten the name. They look decent and are road legal
 
I don't drive much at night but I was taking a friend home this evening along country roads and was a bit disapointed with the lighting so I'm looking to upgrade the standard bulbs to something with a bit more lighting ability. My car by the way is a 2013 C180 Blue Efficiency. The ones I'm looking at are the Osram Night Breaker LASER Performance Bulbs- H7 477,and the Philips Racing Vision 150% Extra Light H7. A friend has suggested the Philips Xtreme Vision PLUS 130% Extra Light - H7, saying that although slightly less bright than the Racing Vision ones they should last twice as long. I'm not interested in the Xenon type bulbs as I don't drive enough at night to justify the price. Anyone upgraded their bulbs and what are your thoughts? Am I looking at the right ones?

I had Osram Nightbreaker and then Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited, very bright bulb but I went back to standard bulbs after getting fed up with constantly replacing them....

The Unlimited was supposed to have longer life, but ultimately I went through 8 bulbs in 3 years.... just too much hassle for me.

To be fair though, I always drive with the headlamps on, day or night (2006 car, no DRLs).

So I would suggest that you also consider the manufacturer's stated bulb life when choosing your bulbs.
 
I have Nightbreakers, which are very cheap on Amazon and I'm very happy with them

Phillips has just released a new one, ECP mentioned it recently on here but I've forgotten the name. They look decent and are road legal

That's probably that Philip's Racing Vision which seems to get great write ups.
 
I've used Osram Silverstars which are relatively modest in the scheme of things but were still an useful improvement on standard lamps. They also lasted for 5 years or more.

There's no free lunch with these lamps as higher light output is achieved by running the filament hotter so that shortens their life. Unless you want to carry a spare set I would avoid the very high output lamps that quote 150% more light and go for something lower but longer lasting. Silver stars are 60%.
 
I've used Osram Silverstars which are relatively modest in the scheme of things but were still an useful improvement on standard lamps. They also lasted for 5 years or more.

There's no free lunch with these lamps as higher light output is achieved by running the filament hotter so that shortens their life. Unless you want to carry a spare set I would avoid the very high output lamps that quote 150% more light and go for something lower but longer lasting. Silver stars are 60%.

Yeah, as I just learned today those ads are misleading as you don't get 150% extral light you get an overall light output of 150% in other words 50% brighter. I'm now thinking about LED bulbs as my cousin has just left the house and he was saying he has LED bulbs fitted as standard in his car and the light is great. Probably take me ages to make my mind up!
 
Yeah, as I just learned today those ads are misleading as you don't get 150% extral light you get an overall light output of 150% in other words 50% brighter. I'm now thinking about LED bulbs as my cousin has just left the house and he was saying he has LED bulbs fitted as standard in his car and the light is great. Probably take me ages to make my mind up!

I think it is currently illegal to have retrofitted LEDs as headlamps, but I am not sure. I think it is only permissible if the LEDs are factory-fitted.
 
I think it is currently illegal to have retrofitted LEDs as headlamps, but I am not sure. I think it is only permissible if the LEDs are factory-fitted.

Okay, didn't know that. Do you know if there are any problems computer wise with fitting none OEM bulbs in a newer Mercedes?
 
Okay, didn't know that. Do you know if there are any problems computer wise with fitting none OEM bulbs in a newer Mercedes?

Forum moderator KillerHERTZ will know the answer for this....
 
Hi all.I just bought the new PHILIPS RACING vision +150 vision and they were very poor on my 2009 W204 and not worth the £32 I paid for them on Amazon.they had a blue/purple tint but no light on the road..returned them the next day.I now bought a set of RING +130% and also disappointing. Might have to try the OSRAM Nightbreakers.
 
Hi all.I just bought the new PHILIPS RACING vision +150 vision and they were very poor on my 2009 W204 and not worth the £32 I paid for them on Amazon.they had a blue/purple tint but no light on the road..returned them the next day.I now bought a set of RING +130% and also disappointing. Might have to try the OSRAM Nightbreakers.

Interesting. Keep us up to date with what you find. Did you find any problems with the computer after fitting non OEM bulbs?
 
My Osram Nightbreakers were definitely brighter and also the light was white as opposed to yellow - they were great, and in fact the only reason I went back to standard bulbs is because of the short service life of the Osram bulbs, including the Unlimited ones which should have had longer service life, but didn't....
 
My Osram Nightbreakers were definitely brighter and also the light was white as opposed to yellow - they were great, and in fact the only reason I went back to standard bulbs is because of the short service life of the Osram bulbs, including the Unlimited ones which should have had longer service life, but didn't....


What sort of life were you getting from them mate?
 
Around 6 months (I drive with my headlamps always on). In comparison a standard bulb from a reputable manufacturer (Osram / Philips etc) easily lasts 5 years or more.
 
I have the Nightbreakers on the 124 and so far they have lasted 2years.This is with the car always running with lights on day and night. They turn terrible lights into something reasonable. Quite an achievement on a 124. Knowing my luck they will fail tomorrow after posting this.
 
Around 6 months (I drive with my headlamps always on). In comparison a standard bulb from a reputable manufacturer (Osram / Philips etc) easily lasts 5 years or more.

Wow, that is a short life. Given that I don't drive much at night I might just stick to the standards.
 
i am looking for a whiter light (H4) , i don't really care if the light output is any better as it's for the daft cornering lights , any recommendations?
 
I have the Nightbreakers on the 124 and so far they have lasted 2years.This is with the car always running with lights on day and night. They turn terrible lights into something reasonable. Quite an achievement on a 124. Knowing my luck they will fail tomorrow after posting this.

You are very lucky I think... I bought 4 x H7 Nightbreakers in 2012, then 4 x H7 Nightbreakers Unlimited in 2014, and of the 8 bulbs I only have a single working bulb today.... which went in the boot as spare. And yes I thought they very very good - as said, just got fed up with the short life.
 
i am looking for a whiter light (H4) , i don't really care if the light output is any better as it's for the daft cornering lights , any recommendations?


The Nightbreakers were very white - in fact they were so white that the side lamps looked almost amber in comparison... [FONT=&quot][/FONT]
 

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