[freestyle]

looking to get some xenon bulbs and was wondering if anyone has any advice on any of these:

http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/home.php?cat=255

 

[zoomie]

1) Those aren't Xenon bulbs. The PIAA ones have the word XENON on them with a bunch of Japanese words around it. Basically, all those types of bulbs mimic XENON bulbs. They aren't actually XENON bulbs themselves. I'm not sure if that matters to you.

2) Regardless of them not being XENON bulbs, they do appear to be high quality after market bulbs. I say this b/c the glass is not painted a color like the low end ones i have in my foglights. The bulbs in those photos look like the glass is actually blue itself. It resembles the PIAA ones very much. I wouldn't pay too much for those bulbs though. I regret paying $80 for my first set of PIAA bulbs and now use $15/pair Korean branded ones from ebay.)

Warning: These bulbs produce more heat and therefore potentially can burn not only the headlamp housing, but the bulb plug itself. It's been fine on my Rav4 so far, but I have seen damage done to a Corolla using those bulbs. Also if you touch the bulb by accident, you may get finger grease on it which can cause the bulbs to explode. That's happened in my foglight before and I had to shake out the shattered pieces. If it happens to your headlight however, there isn't much you can do w/o removing the hole unit itself.

If you're on a budget, I recommend just getting the Sylvania Silverstars. They aren't as white and they're $45 a pair I believe. Sylvania is the same company that makes your current bulbs. Check my website for comparison of various bulbs.

 

[bmorton]

When shopping for new bulbs you have to decide if you want a bulb that actually puts more light on the road (the Osram Silverstar, Philips VisionPlus and GE Megalight Plus fall into this category) or a bulb that is tinted blue to make the light look more bluish-white (Sylvania Silverstar, Osram Cool Blue, the Xenon bulbs on that page are examples).

If it's really the blue look you want then I'd personally recommend going with a name brand like Osram or Philips.