Lightbulb Test

October 2008

All the electronic wizardry in the world won’t help you avoid a crash if you can’t see where you are going! So, make light of driving this winter – and upgrade your headlamp bulbs.

You don’t have to wait until a light fails to change it, as a bulb’s output reduces over time. Even replacing old bulbs should bring an improvement – but for big gains in visibility, install performance bulbs. These offer up to 90 per cent more light right where the driver needs it: 75 metres up the road.

There are now four of these products on the market, offering 80 per cent or more light. But are they worth the high price? We went to the light tunnel at Philips’ plant in Aachen, Germany, to test the twin filament, 60/55-Watt H4 bulb. Despite being designed in the Sixties, the H4 is enjoying a revival as car makers look to keep costs to a minimum by combining dip and main beam in one headlamp.

Before we even start measuring the beam pattern, though, we should point out it’s essential you get your headlights realigned when changing the bulbs. If you don’t, you could be wasting your money – we found some huge differences between supposedly identical lamps. And you could easily end up with low levels of light or lots of glare for oncoming drivers.

We took two samples of each bulb into the tunnel and measured the light at 50 and 75 metres from the car. The 50 and 75-metre readings taken on dip were combined to rate the beam, and our figures are an average of the two bulbs. We also checked light output and power draw to ensure they met EC rules.

The samples were split into standard, plus 30 per cent and those claiming more than 50 per cent (50 plus). We also tested blue bulbs, which aim to give a white, xenon-style light. Prices are for a pair, but weren’t a major factor.

Verdict

Among the standard bulbs, the result was very tight. But Halfords takes the win as its bulbs were marginally more consistent than those from Hella. Ring’s XenonPlus claims the top place in the plus 30 category, narrowly edging out Philips’ Premium.

Among the 50 plus bulbs, original equipment suppliers Philips and Osram are at the top again. The former takes victory with its X-treme Power, which produced considerably more light than any bulb here. Osram’s Night Breaker came second, and no other bulb was close in terms of performance. If you want that xenon lights look, buy Halfords’ Super Brilliance Blue.

Standard
1 Halfords Value Twin Pack
2 Hella

Plus 30
1 Ring XenonPlus
2 Philips Premium

50 Plus
1 Philips X-treme Power
2 Osram Night Breaker

Blue
1 Halfords Super Brilliance Blue
2 Philips BlueVision

Contacts

A1 Motor Stores (Autobar), 01455 822000, www.a1motorstores.co.uk
Autobulbs Direct, 0844 884 2888, www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk
Bosch, 01895 838551, www.bosch.com
Car Parts Direct  0871 918 1800, www.carparts-direct.co.uk
Consumabulbs (Extreme), 0844 567 9750, www.consumabulbs.com
Elta (Lucas, Max Power), 01675 466999, www.elta.co.uk
General Electric, 0800 169 8290, www.gelighting.com
Halfords, 08457 626625, www.halfords.com
Osram, 01744 812221, www.osram.com
Philips, 01293 776774, www.philips.com
PIAA/Hella, 01978 664466, www.demon-tweeks.co.uk
Powerbulbs, 0845 123 2855, www.powerbulbs.co.uk
Ring, 0113 213 2000, www.ringautomotive.co.uk

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