Philips X-Treme Power Bulbs - Distinctly Underwhelmed

[st13phil]

Back in November 2008 I put a pair of these in the dip beam lamps on my W204 in an effort to get a bit more light on the road. I must say that at the time I wasn't exactly convinced that they were anything like 80% brighter than the OEM bulbs, but hey-ho, I'd spent just over 30 quid on them so they stayed in.

Tonight on the way home from work (in daylight I might add, but I run with the lights in Auto mode so they were on) I had a warning come up on the instrument cluster telling me that one of the dip beam bulbs had failed. Once home, I replaced the failed bulb with one of the OEM ones and tested the lights against the garage door. So, with one bulb allegedly 80% brighter than the other it should be easy to tell which one's which, right? Wrong! I defy anyone to tell me which side has which bulb fitted. If I could be bothered, I'd take a piccy and post it up to see if anyone can work out which one is which from the light output but as you'd have a 50-50 chance of guessing it right I'm not sure the test would be statistically significant

When I think about it, all the published tests are on the larger-capsule H4 bulbs and I suppose the Philips X-Treme Power bulbs may well be brighter than run of the mill stuff in that format, but as far as the H7 capsule's are concerned I'm unconvinced.

 

[Smiley]

My wife's polo has H7 bulbs and they seem to be forever blowing - using Phillips super vision plus - the light from the bulbs seems pretty good. I am not sure if it is H7s that blow more frequently or the useless design of the bulb securing mechanism in the Polo headlight.

 

[verytalldave]

I often wonder whether products which claim unprovable benefits DO actually give what they say.
This goes for all things, not just car bits.

Biggest con in my opinion are expensive hi-fi speaker cables.

 

[kwakdonut]

I often wonder whether products which claim unprovable benefits DO actually give what they say.
This goes for all things, not just car bits.

Biggest con in my opinion are expensive hi-fi speaker cables.

Explain?

 

[st13phil]

My wife's polo has H7 bulbs and they seem to be forever blowing - using Phillips super vision plus - the light from the bulbs seems pretty good. I am not sure if it is H7s that blow more frequently or the useless design of the bulb securing mechanism in the Polo headlight.

Philips are honest enough (if you take a look at their automotive lighting website) to advise that their "high performance" bulbs won't last as long as the run-of-the-mill stuff, it's just that this info seems to get filtered out by the retailers

I've had good results with other Philips high performance bulbs in the H4 format and I do believe that those give more light than standard bulbs, but I'm not so sure that it's true for the H7 variety. If anyone can point me at some published test results on H7 capsules that show what the light intensity improvement is then I'd be grateful.

 

[BTB 500]

Philips are honest enough (if you take a look at their automotive lighting website) to advise that their "high performance" bulbs won't last as long as the run-of-the-mill stuff, it's just that this info seems to get filtered out by the retailers

I fitted X-Treme's to all 3 of our vehicles in December 2007, and haven't had one fail yet

 

[BTB 500]

I often wonder whether products which claim unprovable benefits DO actually give what they say.

Independent tests have found a difference e.g.

Make Light of Winter | Products | Auto Express

 

[st13phil]

I fitted X-Treme's to all 3 of our vehicles in December 2007, and haven't had one fail yet

<stating the obvious mode>

I guess the lifespan of the bulbs will be in inverse proportion to the amount of night driving you do?

</stating the obvious mode>

I drive approximately 1.5 hours per day on my commute to work and back in conditions that see the headlamps on for a good 50% of the year. I don't know what your usage pattern is, Bill?

 

[BTB 500]

<stating the obvious mode>

I guess the lifespan of the bulbs will be in inverse proportion to the amount of night driving you do?

</stating the obvious mode>

I drive approximately 1.5 hours per day on my commute to work and back in conditions that see the headlamps on for a good 50% of the year. I don't know what your usage pattern is, Bill?

The Audi is my wife's daily driver and does a 'normal' amount of night driving I suppose ... never worked out a percentage!

The Vito runs with headlights on most of the time, but does less mileage.

The SL rarely gets driven in the dark.

 

[amzchhabra]

I had the x-treme bulbs in my W209 CLK as my dipped beam, and I also felt they were not that great over OEM... I have since switched them to my full beams and there is a huge difference there! I do think these +80% bulbs are more so for the full beams and not dipped. I have replaced my dipped with Philips Diamond Vision bulbs which mimick HIDs but without the overly excessive glare, and they are a huge improvement over the OEM dipped bulbs and look great too!

 

[st13phil]

Here ya go! A little competition to see which side of the car has the 80% brighter Philips X-treme Power bulb, and which the OEM bulb:

Dead easy, huh? So which is the super-duper bulb then, left or right?

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I blew a dipped H7 bulb 2 weeks ago and went to my local motor factor to replace.

While there I asked about an upgrade to the bulbs and ended up with 2 for £15, I did ask for Phillips and he said I could spend £30 if I wanted but these were the same without all the packaing and plastic box.

Fitted them and pretty happy, they have a slightly blue tinge but not at all Barry, I was fnding the originals a bit weedy and these definitely light up signs, cat's eyes and so on a lot better.

 

[Baron_Samedi]

Is da supa dupa one on the left (of your picture)?

ie near side

 

[st13phil]

Is da supa dupa one on the left (of your picture)?

Well, it's either that or the other one

Let's see if a consensus forms before I spill the beans...

 

[Alex Argent]

Nice garage door !

 

[BTB 500]

At very close range and on a white (i.e. reflective) surface I'm not surprised it's hard to see the difference. Might be clearer from a picture of the dipped beam pattern on the road?

 

[wemorgan]

I have these bulbs and the only real difference I perceive in them is their ability to light up reflective surfaces, like road signs and cat's-eyes.

 

[A210AMG]

I guess the left one or passenger side.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I have these bulbs and the only real difference I perceive in them is their ability to light up reflective surfaces, like road signs and cat's-eyes.

Me too.

 

[st13phil]

At very close range and on a white (i.e. reflective) surface I'm not surprised it's hard to see the difference. Might be clearer from a picture of the dipped beam pattern on the road?

Fair comment about the white background but it's just as difficult to see any difference from the light pattern on the road

Is da supa dupa one on the left (of your picture)?

ie near side

I guess the left one or passenger side.

Two correct votes out of two. Out of curiousity, was it a guess or the marginally tighter "hot spot" on the nearside lamp that lead you guys to your conclusion?

FWIW, the difference between these bulbs on the road is so small as to be largely irrelevant on this car. Maybe the OEM bulbs are amongst the better examples of H7 capsules (the OEM bulbs are Philips, BTW), or maybe it's a function of the projector headlamp design