Recommend and particular headlight bulb?

Kinja'd!!! by "DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
Published 01/02/2017 at 16:38

Tags: mazda5 ; mazda 5 ; headlights ; headlamps ; bulbs
STARS: 0


My halogen headlight bulbs are worn and crap. Anyone had good luck with any particular type of headlight bulb? I’m rocking a 2014 Mazda 5. The headlight lenses are nice, good throw and cutoff.

Are the “premium” halogen bulbs really worth the extra cash? I’ve done some reading on Consumer Reports and all, they don’t really have a firm recommendation.

Helpsies??

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Replies (22)

Kinja'd!!! "LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii)
01/02/2017 at 16:41, STARS: 3

Id avoid silver stars. They burn out too quickly for the price in my experience. Good brightness but not worth it.

Kinja'd!!! "CB" (jrcb)
01/02/2017 at 16:46, STARS: 0

Avoid anything that’s super bright (Pilot something or other comes to mind). Usually they don’t last as long (we sold a $60 set of bulbs that would burn out in three to six months) and they kind of burn my eyes. I think the Sylvania long life models are pretty good, plus they have a warranty that should result in free bulbs if they burn out within two years (I think).

Kinja'd!!! "petebmwm" (petebmwm)
01/02/2017 at 16:58, STARS: 0

osram

Kinja'd!!! "petebmwm" (petebmwm)
01/02/2017 at 17:00, STARS: 0

what bulb does it use? h7? h1?

Kinja'd!!! "Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
01/02/2017 at 17:09, STARS: 0

Looking up your car, you have H11 low beam and 9005 high beam bulbs.

In my experience with the super white/blue halogen bulbs, they do tend to burn out kinda quickly.

Since you have projector housings you could look at LED conversion kits for the H11 low beams. I don’t have personal experience with them but the OPT-7 ones seem to have good reviews on Amazon.

Kinja'd!!! "daender" (daender)
01/02/2017 at 17:10, STARS: 0

I recommend OSRAM (part of Silvania but seems to have higher quality) and Hella bulbs.

Kinja'd!!! "EL_ULY" (uly)
01/02/2017 at 17:10, STARS: 0

Order a set of Philip’s Diamond Vision 5000K halogen

Kinja'd!!! "DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
01/02/2017 at 17:30, STARS: 0

Why do you suggest these?

Kinja'd!!! "DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
01/02/2017 at 17:30, STARS: 0

Why do you recommend these?

Kinja'd!!! "DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
01/02/2017 at 17:30, STARS: 0

Good input,thanks, I’ll look into it!

Kinja'd!!! "DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
01/02/2017 at 17:30, STARS: 0

Oooh that’s good to know, I’ll make sure I check warranties before buying anything.

Kinja'd!!! "DanimalHouse" (thrillerwa09)
01/02/2017 at 17:31, STARS: 0

Yeah, definitely want something that’s good value. I drive mostly urban areas, but when I do end up in the sticks, I need something brighter (and reliable).

Kinja'd!!! "CB" (jrcb)
01/02/2017 at 17:33, STARS: 0

Check out online reviews, too. Those should give you a decent idea if a product is crap or not.

Kinja'd!!! "EL_ULY" (uly)
01/02/2017 at 17:49, STARS: 0

great alternative to installing an aftermarket xenon kit or LED kit. I recommend xenon or LED, but if you don’t want to mess with all that, Philips Diamond Vision offers the good range and stellar color

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Some eBay sellers offer Lifetime warranty if you pay the $7 priority shipping,

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Kinja'd!!! "blackhawkk22" (blackhawkk22)
01/02/2017 at 17:53, STARS: 0

For $100 you could install xenons from xenondepot. Their own model which is the volt i believe is great value for money and the upgrade is fantastic. I did the same thing 2 years ago and haven’t looked back.

Kinja'd!!! "daender" (daender)
01/02/2017 at 18:20, STARS: 0

Longer service life than Sylvania products while providing illumination that’s as good or better than Silver Star Ultras.

Kinja'd!!! "RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
01/02/2017 at 19:20, STARS: 0

I’ve never had an issue with Silverstars....I had a set of Silverstar Ultras on my ‘09 Accent hatch for 3 years before they burnt out. Decently bright and priced well enough. I find the lights on my Accent dim on low beam, so I replaced the Silverstars with a set of these back in November 2016 and all has been well so far - again, decent price and nice brightness. I gaven’t been flashed for them being too bright in high beam, so they can’t be too blinding.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00QJWUPC6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As with any halogen bulbs, make sure not to touch the glass with your fingers as you install them (wear gloves - the oil in your fingers creates hotspots on the bulb glass and causes them to burn out more quickly).

Kinja'd!!! "TylerJ" (TylerJ)
01/02/2017 at 21:38, STARS: 0

Oddly enough, if I put ANYTHING else in my girlfriend’s tC, the bulbs burn out within a couple months. Silverstars are the only ones that last a year or so.

Kinja'd!!! "LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii)
01/02/2017 at 21:41, STARS: 0

Do they have ones that are clear? The blue film just absorbs usable light.

Kinja'd!!! "facw" (facw)
01/02/2017 at 22:27, STARS: 2

I went with their XtremeVision 3700K bulbs instead, which just have the blue on the tip:

Kinja'd!!!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QJWTQYY

Comparison with the Diamond Vision ones seemed to indicate a bit of a wash (Philips advertises that these are their brightest halogens, while the Diamond Vision are whiter, but not as bright), and these are cheaper (plus I hate the fake HID look).

Kinja'd!!! "EL_ULY" (uly)
01/03/2017 at 00:11, STARS: 0

facw replied perfect. Though in my car’s application, solved the lower range of the diamond with xenon yellow kit on the factory projector fog light assemblies aimed just right

Kinja'd!!! "Rykilla303" (rykilla303)
01/03/2017 at 18:23, STARS: 0

I’m gonna get hate for this i’m sure... ebay specials.

Mine cost about 8 bucks with free shipping. Bright white, but since they are cheap... they aren’t overly bright. I’ve only had them a year, so i can’t say too much about longevity. But they are brighter than stock, but not annoying. ...and 8 bucks.