The Ultimate Xenon Upgrade Headlight Bulbs of 2023

[@ShortHandedNow]

Great to see BulbFacts back!

[@BulbFacts]

Thanks for the support! Glad to finally find some time to make some new videos, I hope they're useful for everyone.

[@videomaniac108]

I went with the new OSRAM CBN as a replacement bulb for the OEM bulb in my Nissan 370Z and am very happy with the result. The brightness seemed on par with the OSRAM Night Breaker Laser and Phillips Extreme Vision 2, plus the color temperature seemed close to the 5500K I was looking for. I wanted a color temperature that was close to the color temperature of a blackbody radiator that has its distribution of wavelengths centered around the wavelength of visible light at which the human eye is most sensitive, ~555 nm.

[@NobelisBMX]

Hi, how about HID LED bulbs meant to replace OEM xenarc bulbs? Did you test or compare some of those? I've seen many ads on these HID replacement LED lately, was wondering are they actualy better than xenons 🤔

[@a8f235]

I'll try the Osram Cool Blue Intense first even though a warmer light should work better for snowy and foggy conditions. They should still outperform worn out OEM bulbs, so I'll need winter conditions again to evaluate what I think of them compared to OEM, and if I do really need warmer light as well as a bit of a boost as in the night breaker laser bulbs. I think It would be better to find some more yellow/warmer bulbs for the fog lights to add some contrast so I will be better seen in varying conditions. I do live in an area with no streetlights and tight twisty roads, so for me it's almost more important to know that others see me over me seeing where to go. When it gets darker in the year I constantly drive with fog lights together with normal front lights as this helps a lot in being seen as quickly as possible.

[@simonhaugenkolstad8561]

This i strange to hear, cause driving with low beams and foglights are actually illegal in Norway and scanfinavia. Cause it blinds the other driver. I think you are seen well with just low beams on😊 if not people are driving to fast fo the conditions. But hey that just our countries rules. Are you using xenon for foglights?

[@a8f235]

@@simonhaugenkolstad8561 Most foglights on cars are hardly usable alone, and on my car they are combined curve lights and foglights in one so they light up the curves when going slowly, but only straight when driving normally. The other thing is that I'm personally sick and tired of where traffic laws are heading. More and more people are being told by the dealer to just leave the light switch in their car on AUTO, which means no driving lights in the back for others to see you unless it's dark/tunnel(foggy conditions in daytime and most often I see nothing at all = dangerous). Also up front depending on the car/model you only activate parts of the main headlight which can often be just a tiny LED strip. So often that is far from visible, yet climate alarmists think this is smart because you "save" electricity, but don't mind safety. I also know you can drive with ONLY fog lights, and to me I see that all the time, and that is also a safety issue. It's an issue because these lights are mounted further down, so when we drive up and down through elevation, or there's simply a railing or what ever on the side of the road, it takes a lot longer time before these lights are visible for the oncoming traffic. That's a safety hazard. Another aspect is I see more and more people who drive with no lights at all, and I just feel it's a habit thing and monkey see monkey do psychological aspect where some people see others with no light, and then they start to do it. So often you drive behind people with no lights at all(because that's sadly legal in the daytime) and I just feel a lot of people copy it. Personally I leave my main light switch in the ON position so I have full driving lights ALL the time because to me, being seen by others is my main priority. That's the first thing I look for with oncoming traffic, is if and when they have seen me. Only when I know they see me, is when I can know I have something to trust(not blindly...) This means lowbeam xenon lights upfront + a led strip below is active at all times, as well as the rear driving lights being active at all times as well. This is how things used to be, and to me that's the only thing that makes sense given it's a safety issue. Back to the foglights, they are 35W H8 LED lights(so no, not on rally spec foglights), where I'm using a switchback bulb where you can choose white or yellow depending on what you want(yes in the same bulb) I've done lots of tests in different conditions with on/off to see where the cutoff is for each light(foglights should have a lower cutoff than mainbeam which again will aid in not blinding oncoming traffic) So typical foglights are just extra light, and not really much of a boost in output ontop of the main lights. I see them more as you get a bigger surface area of light which others will see more quickly given size alone. When it comes to speed I drive normally, so neither very fast or slow. My only concern is to be seen, and where I live you will see so often even locals cutting blind corners, and that is especially when I want to be seen as quickly as possible given it can be a matter of milliseconds for the driver to swerve away from my car given they used my lane. There's lots of truckers up and down this main road who do the same, even in the winter. I just do what I gotta do to stay alive, that's all. PS: Never ever cut blind corners, ever. All it takes is one time to make the worst decision you ever made...

[@r.k862]

on your website test results i dont get the 'overall brightness score' how you came to conclusion to rate it like that? Also the 'Lumens per bulb' how does it make any sense when the low and high beam Lux is different? for example the lux shows its great improvement its in the plus+ but the lumens shows its in the negative- I tried reading how you scored these but i dont get it and its not clear. I love your channel and thank for what you do, it helped me out a lot though

[@BulbFacts]

Hi RK, you can find the details on how we test and came to our scores here: bulbfacts.com/how-we-test/ . It's basically a weighted percentage from certain categories. Lumens are a test in our integrating sphere and nothing more. It's a test of the total light output not in any application. Hope that helps!

[@sirsmarty274]

Thank you this was helpful.

[@Dexion845]

Great comparison. Even though the DDM Tuning on paper had the highest lux score, you can CLEARLY see that the Osram CBI Next Gen gives you WAAAAAAY more distance vision and clarity. It’s almost as if all of the DDM Tuning’s bulb is focused on foreground, which is useless. I really needed to see this test as I was trying to decide between these two and the CBI-N will be my upgrade. Thanks Bulbfacts!

[@BulbFacts]

No problem, glad it's helpful! The footage may have been different vehicles to be fair (or installed at a different aim/angle), so just keep that in mind. But our actual testing is all consistent using the same exact OE projectors in the same environment (pitch black room). The OSRAM and Philips bulbs are really the way to go though if you want a long lasting performance product. I'm currently testing all of them on our lifespan bench though, so we'll see how the cheaper options stack up.

[@tickandslug]

​@@BulbFactsany news on the lifespan test of the cheaper bulbs?

[@BulbFacts]

@@tickandslug yes! So far all of the Xenon bulbs are still running at 4800hrs. The OSRAM bulbs seem to degrade the least, while the Philips and other brands are degrading a bit more in. All are still very useable though. I'll update the website chart once we start seeing failures, and will likely put together a full review in terms of the lifespan.

[@simonhaugenkolstad8561]

Im trying to decide between ddm tuning and the Osram CBI next gen. Im looking for low beam output. I have 2 ledbars for high beam so thats not interesting. But for me the ddm tuning bulbs will be basicly the same price as Osram. On the video the ddm tuning bulbs looks strange. Like they are focused very spotty. Is it noticable better low beam on the DDM tuning bulbs? And which wattage ballast are you using? 35w or 55w? The bulbs are going in a 2007 bmw e60. With 35w ballast

[@Dexion845]

@@simonhaugenkolstad8561 You'd want DDM, they are tuned for lowbeam output over high beam. The CBN's are aligned to give you the best of both. My QX60 has LED fogs which is why I went with the CBN's in case I need to use the high beams

[@simonhaugenkolstad8561]

Im trying to decide between ddm tuning and the Osram CBI next gen. Im looking for low beam output. I have 2 ledbars for high beam so thats not interesting. But for me the ddm tuning bulbs will be basicly the same price as Osram. On the video the ddm tuning bulbs looks strange. Like they are focused very spotty. Is it noticable better low beam on the DDM tuning bulbs? And which wattage ballast are you using? 35w or 55w? The bulbs are going in a 2007 bmw e60. With 35w ballast

[@pdxproductions7442]

Thank you for the videos you make.

[@BulbFacts]

Thanks for the support!

[@eddiekaine7252]

Would like to request to do a comparison with the leading budget ones such as your recommendations of the DDM TUNING compared to the D2S: Dama Kanji Ultimate Vision Gen3 HID Xenon Bulbs which in comparison is close to the same price points.

[@BulbFacts]

Thanks Eddie, we'll add them to our list for future testing. Appreciate the suggestion!

[@jettangeles2707]

question, why is an auxito led brighter in my hid projector than the morimoto xb hid bulbs? i thought hids were supposed to be superior in projector housings?

[@BulbFacts]

Hello. Some LEDs work very well, and if you are using the Auxito LEDs I'm thinking of, they perform very well. However typically an LED will appear brighter, especially closer to the vehicle, whereas the HID will appear less bright, but will have a more focused beam giving you a further throw down the road. You can test both with a basic lux meter to see the difference there.

[@jettangeles2707]

@@BulbFacts thanks for this info

[@Dblock00]

Is this guy ok he disappeared?

[@BulbFacts]

I'm still around testing new products and updating our website, appreciate the concern! It's been a hectic last year, but I hope to create some new videos soon 😁. Appreciate the support!

[@Dblock00]

@BulbFacts phew 😅 thanks God 🙏 Good to hear from you, yeah I look at website every other month but hasn't been updated for years

[@BulbFacts]

@@Dblock00 I did run some updates recently for the LED category, but will be working on other categories including Xenon soon.

[@TATTDIS]

So for reflector housings HIDS aren't recommended?

[@BulbFacts]

I would avoid an HID conversion in a reflector, as the bulb typically produces too much glare.

[@j.davenport6065]

What is the best option d4s for a Subaru Outback? (factory hid) it’s a low beam only in the 2017 5 th gen. Looking for the best any cost. Thanks in advance

[@BulbFacts]

It will depend on your budget, but here are our top choices today for different price categories: bulbfacts.com/hid-oe/recommended/

[@alwyz.packin]

Does this translate to h1 bulbs also? Currently have morimoto 5500k with their 35w ballast and wouldnt mind something brighter since its about time for a replacement. Thanks

[@BulbFacts]

If you are referring to LED, the results may give you an idea how a particular brand and model performs, but H1 sizes seem to differ in their design so I would ultimately say no, don't rely on these results for the best H1 available.

[@DutchDukeMan]

15 dollar alibaba LED bulbs. very bright 6000k pure white

[@thephonetalks14]

Hi! Just wanted to ask since the color temperature on box of dmax is different than actual, would you recommend getting their 5500k or 6000k models?

[@BulbFacts]

Go for the 4300k model. We tested it right at 5000k actual, and it's performance was quite amazing. We also tested their 6000k model and the performance wasn't good and they produced a very blue tone, so I would avoid that model.

[@thephonetalks14]

@@BulbFacts I had been using previously heartray 5th gen 5500k. Lasted almost 2 years. I was finding if I could get the same but they are now like they dont exist anymore. A few sellers selling 3rd and 4th gen of heartray. I might go for either DMEX 4300k or ball cnlight 5300k or heartray 4th gen. How long did DMEX 4300k lasted?

[@BulbFacts]

@@thephonetalks14 The DMEX is holding it's own so far on our lifespan bench at 1500hrs. They output has degraded a bit, but they are still going pretty strong along-side the OSRAM and others so far! Time will tell though, and I'll post the results once they burn out on our website chart.

[@aaronb6727]

Are D1S bulbs obsolete? not showing available for cool blue intense from link provided.

[@BulbFacts]

D1S is still pretty common. Just be sure to change the size on the product page to D1S, as it defaults to D2S it appears. Here is a direct link in case it helps: brisource.com/products/osram-cool-blue-intense-nextgen-hid-xenon-replacement-bulbs?variant=40940129714326

[@trilingualkid]

I got the DDM tuning ultra from you guys, their 6500k is more like 8000k I couldnt see a damn thing outside.

[@BulbFacts]

Sorry to hear that! We don't sell anything, just test and recommend products. Did you go with the Ultra or Plus kit from DDM? What ballast wattage did you use? Curious as to why it was so blue..

[@trilingualkid]

@@BulbFacts I went with ultra, it was stock ballast, I end up with CBI and it was way better. Drove in OKC snow storm with the 6500k bullb and thought it was raining because it was so hard to see outside.

[@BulbFacts]

@@trilingualkid I see, thank you for sharing your experience! The OSRAM CBI is a great product and we recommend it all the time as long as it's in the budget.

[@cronosvquarin6206]

This is confusing you don't state what the kelvin temperature the box claims, you only state what the actual measured kelvins were. But you have a choice of kelvin when you buy them. So I don't know which is going to give me the same results as the video. Am I missing something?

[@BulbFacts]

Sorry about that. I did post the model we tested on our website if you want to take a look: bulbfacts.com/hid-oe/chart/

[@Daniel-fr5uq]

Osram Nightbreaker has only 4300k Color Temperatur

[@BulbFacts]

Correct that is their claim, but our method of measuring color temperature set them a bit higher. We feel by testing all products together provides a way to compare and make a more informed decision.

[@Kaiser187]

$150-$200 for bulbs?! they are smoking meth. My 8 year old $25 Ebay kit I bet has way better output and being 8 years old now, well worth $25 for the entire kit. Still looks damn good with no flicker or dead spots.

[@BulbFacts]

Hi Kaiser, some of the cheap Xenon bulbs can last a very long time as well. I have seen this on our lifespan tests which is nice to see. I wouldn't expect as high of output in the long term though, depending on use.