Recommended halogen headlight bulb?

[Northern1]

I've been doing research and I see a few options with positive and negative reviews. Biggest issue seems that if you want brighter you loose on lifespan. I'm looking for something better than OEM to see better down the road but don't want to have to replace then after 3-6 months. Also would like to keep the cost reasonable. Any suggestions?

[doublechaz]

If you're having brightness troubles the problem is probably yellowing of the lenses rather than anything about the bulbs.

 

I put LEDs in mine from Headlight Revolution, but they discontinued the fanless version so I don't know if I can recommend them. The LED part is great, and mine are fanless so they should last a really long time. The fan kind die because the fan dies. Also, they don't keep the cost down. I think they were nearly $150 for the pair. Worth it to me to have great lights that also don't blind other drivers because they get the beam pattern correct. When the cops start impounding cars for ridiculous headlights I'll be good to go.

[Brighton96]

You can look at pretty much any brand and they will have multiple brightness and color ranges. Sylvania has 5 teirs, factory equivalent (lowest priced) is 3700k ish and will last several years if not more. Each teir jumps about $10 per bulb and goes up to 4200k ish. The life span of the highest is <1 year. With brighter ones they will also burn out very rapidly if you touch or contaminate the glass by the oils from your skin or just dirt.

 

So if you are going to stick with halogen then go with a middle teir, that will give you a nice compromise between brightness and life. You'd be looking at $30 ish a bulb and get 2 ish years out of it.

 

 

LEDs and HIDs are good options and both have pros and cons. LEDs last forever and can be used in factory reflector housing but are expensive for good quality ones ($100+ ish) Consult SuperBrightLED.com or RetrofitSource.com

 

 

 

HIDs are incredible and last a long time too, but again costs are even higher because they require adding a wiring harness and getting headlights that have projectors (instead of reflectors) Consult RetrofitSource.com

[Northern1]

Thanks. Gonna take that suggestion. Find something mid tier.

[LateToTheParty]

What did you end up with? I want to put LEDs on mine but I am not sure if it is just plug and play or do I need to do something else. Thank you.

[Brighton96]

I found this a while back and would recommend giving it a watch. I'd also skip like 5 mins in, theres a decent amount of filler content :/

 

 

[LateToTheParty]

Thank you for the link and decided to stick with halogens for now. I am going to try and buffing and cleaning up the headlights (I believe this is a one piece) and I will see how that goes. I did go to super bright LEDs and got some replacement dome, map, hvac control and dash LEDs. Also got some brake and back up LED lights, I will if see if those work as the choices are confusing. I got the 1157 LED Bulb - Dual Function 27 SMD LED Tower - BAY15D Bulb - Red and 1156 LED Landscape Light Bulb - (18) SMD LED Tower - BA15S Retrofit Base - 325 Lumens - Natural White.

[Thor294]

There is a mini h1 retrofit thread here. If you're serious about output, do that.