All headlight bulbs will eventually need to be replaced. Even if your old bulb hasn’t burned out completely yet, it’s probably not as bright as it used to be and should be. Bulbs wear out. The filament gets weak, which reduces the light output. Waiting for the filament to break is waiting too long. You don’t want to wait until you’re driving in the dark when you need them for them to fail. So it’s time to replace the bulbs; which bulbs are the best replacement headlight bulbs?
Best Replacement Headlight Bulbs
#1 – Philips X-Treme Vision
#2 – Sylvania Silverstar
#3 – Philips Standard Halogen
Good
“Best” is different for different people. For some, if the bulb works and is cheap, that’s best. If that’s what you’re looking for, here are your headlight bulbs:
Philips Standard Halogen:
It’s about 6 bucks, and it gets the job done. The great part about a standard halogen is that it will last much longer than a high-performance bulb. The color will be decent, but it will not be extraordinary. However, they will be better than the worn-out old bulbs you’ve got now. If you want a good set of bulbs that will last, you’ll enjoy these.
Better
If you’re looking for better than average, but don’t want to pay the higher prices for the higher performance, here is your bulb:
Sylvania Silverstar:
These are great middle-of-the-road bulbs. They were top of the line at one time, so some heavy technology was invested into these bulbs. Over the last few years, several bulbs have surpassed these in brightness and longevity, but their prices are also higher.
I’ve used these bulbs in my vehicles and loved them. The light output is excellent, and the color is very white. They’ll likely last about 1 year, or at least that has been my experience with them, and I’ve purchased these repeatedly. Great headlight bulb for the price.
Don’t buy them at an auto parts store (or any bulbs for that matter), and you’ll end up paying about twice as much as what you’ll find them on Amazon.com for, plus tax. Anyway, you can’t go wrong with these if brightness and color are important to you. Also, the bulbs look bluish, but the light output is white.
Best
If you’re looking for the best of the best and you want the brightest and whitest, I suggest that you go with these:
Philips X-Treme Vision
These are the brightest, whitest, and longest-lasting (for a high-performance bulb) as I’ve found to date. Notice that there is almost no film or coating on the bulb’s glass. That allows for the maximum amount of light to escape.
The tip is tinted blue, which helps produce that white light color. To be clear, they do not throw a blue light. I’ve been purchasing these for a while now, and they are great. These will run you about $30 to $45 on Amazon, depending on the bulb model you need for your vehicle.
To speak to longevity, they are still relatively short-lived compared to a standard halogen, but they can last longer than a year. That will depend on if your car headlights are always on or if you have the ability to turn them off completely during the day driving. You’ll probably get a year, maybe a little more out of them if you can’t. If you can, it could be much longer.
I love the white light and the better night vision, so I don’t mind buying a new set every once in a while.
These halogen bulbs are great compared to other halogens, however, these halogen bulbs vs LEDs still fall short.
So depending on what you’re looking for and what is important to you, this quick guide will help you select the best replacement headlight bulbs for your vehicle. I’d love to hear your experience with any of these bulbs. Feel free to leave a comment below.
