Halogen Bulb Tests (Published in the BMWCC magazine)

[Mike Fishwick]

SOME LIGHT ON HEADLIGHT BULBS Mike Fishwick
Some Illuminating Facts

There is now a huge range of replacement halogen bulbs available at widely different prices, most of us assuming that they all provide at least adequate performance, and that a well-respected name will provide better performance at a higher price. As headlight performance has a direct effect upon our personal comfort and safety, not to mention those of other road users, these assumptions should be correct. Would that they were – in practice neither price nor apparent pedigree can guarantee performance to even the minimum legal standard. It takes only a tiny error in the manufacture of a cheap bulb to drastically reduce the performance of an expensive headlight.
The popular car magazine ‘Auto Express’ has made comparative tests of many headlight bulbs, covering the main types – H1, H4, and H7. Although neither H3 nor HB3/HB4 types were tested, their conclusions will also apply to these.
The samples were purchased at random and evaluated by the test facility of Philips Automotive Lighting, at Aachen in Germany. These tests were observed by representatives of both Auto Express and the AA Technical Information Centre, so in spite of the venue they must be considered impartial.
The tests were divided into three parts – first an hour’s ‘burn in’ period, then a check of electrical power, light output, and geometry (filament position etc relative to the mounting flange) in comparison to the requirements of the appropriate ECE37 regulation. The final part of the tests involved operation in a long unlit test tunnel, where light intensity readings were taken against the kerb and road centre at distances of 50 metres and the kerb at 75 metres. Measurements were also taken of glare experienced by other road users at two points on the ‘opposite’ carriageway. All tests were carried out using a realistic supply voltage of 13.2 volts.
The range of bulbs tested was enormously varied, covering products from all the well-known sources such as Bosch, General Electric, Halfords, Hella, Lucas, Osram, Ring, and of course Philips, not to mention the minor players. Prices – for a pair – ranged from £5.87 to £52.95. The test results were a real surprise, proving that the most expensive was nowhere near the best, and that a major brand name was not a guarantee of satisfactory or even legal performance.
The verdict? In their recent test of H1 and H7 bulbs, Auto Express was ‘Shocked to discover that nearly half our random sample failed to meet legal requirements,’ with up to five failures found on one bulb, and another with three failures, including the filament being in the wrong place! There was worse to come, as ‘We failed to buy a legal bulb from either Hella or Lucas.’ This will not surprise older motorists, to whom Joseph Lucas was known to as the ‘Prince of Darkness!’ The situation is no better in the H4 area, where half of those tested by the French magazine ‘Auto Plus,’ including some very well-known brands, failed to meet the requirements of ECE37.
Amongst the H1 bulbs, the basic Hella (£4.37) and Hella Xenon (£8.74) failed the geometry test, as did General Electric’s Super Blue (£19) and their Euro Blue (£19), as well as the basic Auto Lamps (£6.50), Lucas (£6.60) and Lucas Premium Xenon (£19.98) products. The Halfords All Weather (£19.98) was described as ‘Dreadful’ and had the distinction of failing on low light output, as did the Auto Lamps Cobalt (£13) which also produced one of the highest levels of glare for oncoming drivers, while the Halfords Laser Blue (£19.98) was extremely powerful with a massive 1,701 lumens – well over the legal limit – but failed on the geometry test and ‘Blinded other traffic.’
In the H7 group, two out of three Bosch products were excluded, the Bosch Premium (£23.90) being over 10% short of meeting the legal minimum light output, and like the Bosch Blue (£39.90) also failed the legal geometry test as did the Astralamp (£19.98), the solitary Lucas product (£20.74), Power Train (made by Eaglite at £13.98) and Osram Cool Blue (£17.27).
The most expensive of the group were certainly not the best. For example, the Bosch Xenon Power (made by Osram) gave an acceptable if mediocre performance for £45.90. Worse still, the PIAA Super White, which claimed to be ’The 55 watt bulb with 100 watt performance’ could not even make the minimum legal power output, failed the geometry test in four areas, and produced a beam described as ‘One of the worst’ – and all for £52.95!
With so many failures of well-known brands, what should we buy? Auto Express summed it up by stating: ‘Amid the gloom, however, one name shines out from the rest, and that is Philips.’
In order of merit, the best five H1 bulbs were: Philips Premium (now eclipsed by a Vision Plus equivalent) Ring Xenon Plus (made by Narva), Halfords Brilliance, Philips Blue Vision, and Osram Super.
The H7 tests provided a convincing demonstration of consistency from Philips: Philips Vision Plus, Philips Premium, Philips Blue Vision, Ring Ice Blue (by General Electric), and Halfords Laser Blue. The Halfords Laser Blue incidentally, was only just behind the Ring product in terms of performance, but £24 a pair more expensive. The Osram Super Star, at £25, was ‘Recommended’ but did not figure in the results as it was not on sale at the time of the test.
The best H4 product originally tested was the Osram Silver Star, but even this was soon eclipsed by an H4 application of the Philips Vision Plus technology providing 20% more light. This bulb really hits the ECE 37 limits, using 67 watts to produce 1148 lumens from a legal limit of 1150. Osram have recently hit back, however, their current Silver Star delivering appreciably more light on the road than even the Vision Plus.
In terms of cost, the best H1 bulbs are all within £5 a pair of each other, the Philips Premium being particularly notable as the cheapest. In the H7 world this was generally increased to around £10, from the Philips Vision Plus at £24 to the Ring Ice Blue at £15.90. Similar prices are to be found in the H4 area.
We are so used to the first priority of motoring journalists being to keep the advertisers happy, regardless of their readers’ interests, that it is a really refreshing experience to read such a review. This certainly gives one faith in the opinions of Auto Express, and I offer my congratulations for their integrity.
These tests certainly confirmed the saying that power is nothing without control, as is illustrated by the 1,710 lumens of the Halfords Laser Blue H1, which in practical terms was slightly behind the H1 first place Philips Premium with its 1,667 lumens. This has since been improved upon by a Vision Plus equivalent.
Once the 85 watt level is reached the law of diminishing returns becomes very apparent, an average 85 watt filament producing 2450 lumens, while the 100 watt equivalent only manages another 50 lumens. Even with so much light output the superior beam control and hotter filament of the modern 67 watt H4 bulb is more than a match. As is represented by the 1148 lumens of the Philips Vision Plus, the use of modern technology provides better all-round performance than the popular 80/100 watt bulb, and generates a more uniform beam than even the 90/130 watt variant, in spite of their much higher light output. The key to this is improved focus, made possible by the smaller filament and very tight quality control, which also reduces dazzle. The lower wattage and ultra-violet filter coatings of modern bulbs will also prevent damage to the plastic reflectors which are now widely used.
The latest development from Philips is their Blue Vision range, which combines the accuracy of Vision Plus with an even hotter filament, operating at a colour temperature of over 4,000 degrees Kelvin, which is very close to that of gas discharge lights. These are available in H1, H4, H7, and the HB3/4 types used by BMW.
We can certainly see that our choice of headlight bulb is critical, not only to provide us with the best beam, but also to prevent others from being dazzled. Another conclusion is that the presence of a ‘CE’ approval mark on a halogen bulb, regardless of the brand name on the carton, means nothing except that the manufacturer is aware of ECE 37, even if they ignore its requirements!
The majority of brand names are just that, being simply a packaged product from General Electric, Osram, Narva (a subsidiary of Philips) or an anonymous eastern European factory. Philips appear to market their own products directly, and from the results of these tests the product lives up to their name.
Philips were the only manufacturer to achieve the distinction of scoring very well in these tests with all their products, and did so at prices which also provide excellent value for money.
We live in a world where the ECE 37 regulations are obviously ignored by many manufacturers, too many drivers and riders choose headlight bulbs for low cost or a fashionable blue beam, and headlight alignment is ignored. It is little wonder therefore that dazzle from oncoming traffic is now a real problem.
There appears to be little that can be done about these problems under the current system. We need the EU directive to be rigidly enforced, MoT tests modified to include meaningful beam tests of all light units, and our police forces left free to concentrate on genuine road safety problems rather than being used to generate income from speeding offences.
At an individual level the best answer is to make sure that your headlights are working as well as possible. Buy really good headlight bulbs, and even if you drive a new BMW do not assume that the headlight performance cannot be improved by new bulbs of known quality. Try it and see – fit new bulbs and keep the originals as the spares you should carry anyway. The difference can be remarkable.
One aspect of halogen headlight bulbs usually overlooked is that of age. I find that after about five years of normal night-time use the filament will have drooped a little, this being sufficient to noticeably degrade both beam control and performance when compared to that provided by a new bulb.
One thing is clear – we should select our halogen bulbs with care, replace them periodically, and ensure that they are correctly aligned at all times. The cost is little and the benefits are large.

The author is indebted to ‘Auto Express’ for permission to quote from their review, and to Philips main dealer Regal Auto Bulbs of Ashford for background information. (In case of difficulty in obtaining Philips bulbs, contact mail order specialists Regal Auto Bulbs on 01233-860638)

The Vision Plus range has recently been superseded by the Blue Vision, operating at a colour temperature of over 4,000 degrees Kelvin, which is close to that of gas discharge lamps. From personal experience these really are the best bulbs one can buy, and even manage to make a good improvement to the lights of a Z3, which are pretty good anyway.