I ended up getting the sylvania basics since they should last longer.. i noticed on the base of them they did not say sylvania but they said osram?
Headlight Replacement, What Version to Choose?
- Thread starter Kevinmcc2
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Same company, Sylvania is just their USA branch.
Osram is a German company that acquired Sylvania in the early 90s.
Their bulbs are sold here with Sylvania branding, and in most cases, it's not hard to suss out which are the equivalents to the ones sold under Osram branding, at least for the bulb types that are commonly shared with Euro-centric applications.
The H7 Basic would be equivalent to Original Line, and so on. The overseas marketing has shifted away from explicit +20/30/50/100/120% "plus" segmentation, and it looks like they've cut out most of the lower/mid-tier options and simplified the lineup, but they're the same bulbs, for the most part.
Their miniature bulbs are quite good, and again, for the Euro type-approved applications at least, made in places like Germany, Italy, or Slovakia.
(With the more loosely defined types, like for example, an 1156, the COO may vary. And take note, an 1156 is not a P21W, which is outwardly similar, but differs in electrical characteristics, and must meet other criteria, like nickel-plating and dimensional accuracy to be type-approved. They can be interchanged physically, and even function, but hide other gotchas like unexpected current consumption and corrosion. People commonly put 1156s instead of P21s in their BMW's fixtures, and burn up the sockets, or if not that, get phantom bulb failure warnings because the light module is seeing current draws outside of what it expects.)
Philips used to be similar, with the Euro-application-centric headlight bulbs made in Germany, and other types made in places like Korea or China.
But since Philips' automotive and LED emitter division was sold to a Chinese capital fund in 2015, I believe most, if not all of their stuff is made there now. With what kind of quality, I haven't experienced first hand.
Even before that, I found some of their stuff to be sub par compared to Osram. I bought, and returned a pair of headlight bulbs that didn't have proper geometry, with the globe fused to the base tilted at an angle, which was easy to see because the welds on the ring weren't even and landed in different places. They were replaced with a pair of Sylvanias.
WIth H7 being a type that was commonly used in European applications, it's more likely to come from the "better" sources, unless they've decided to cut costs there as well and shift manufacturing to Asia.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2024
This is correct, and my experience as well. The stock bulbs seem to work fine and last longest. Silverstars last 1/4 as long
I've also tried Osram +30, +50 and Phillips HIR bulbs. All had much shorter life.
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I have replaced 2 sets of the Xtravision in the past year. Absolutely garbage. They don’t last worth a poo and is not worth the price tag. This time I just bought the basic and I gotta say I can’t even notice any difference (except price!). I would just stick with basic and save your money. Marketing strikes again!
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all my aftermarket bulbs seem to have much shorter life then the oe bulb
Some of that equation might be due to the better shock dampening when the suspension is new and compliant on a new vehicle. Based upon my experience with numerous vehicles built in Japan, the OEM headlight bulbs made by Koito last much longer than aftermarket bulbs. In fact, when possible, I buy spare replacement Koito bulbs on eBay.
KOITO H7 Bulb
