H7 bulbs - burned out in 9 mo.

jesus_man · May 9, 2017

I bought a set of Sylvania Silverstar Zxe's last summer. Today, one burned out. For $60 I expected better longevity. I am looking into their 1yr warranty, but if that doesn't pan out, or in 9 months I will be looking for something better.

I am reasonably happy with the light output of the Zxe's. But I think they should last a bit longer!

With all the LED tech out there, is there a good retrofit for them? Or do I just keep buying H7's? I did look at Daniel Sterns site and sent him an email. He has a a Phillips brand that he recommends that are far cheaper than the Zxe's, so perhaps I'm stuck with that option??

Thanks!

oilhammer · May 9, 2017

I run the Osram/Sylvania Silverstar Ultras in all my cars, and they are maybe not the longest lasting bulbs I agree. I of course ditch any DRLs I have too, so that helps lengthen their life considerably.

You can find them online for less than $60/pr. Heck, I think even Walmart sells them for less than $50/pr.

I always buy the pairs, and usually buy a few pairs at a time. I think maybe they cost me around $15/ea bulb or so. I have not had to buy any in a while, though.

jesus_man · May 9, 2017

Mr. Stern recommends these at half the price of the Silverstars:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QJWTQYY/?tag=2402507-20

Osram is going to send me a replacement set (very fast response). I am asking for a set of the Ultra's as I want to get away from the tinted glass.

I kinda like the DRL feature, even at the cost of new bulbs every year...

turbobrick240 · May 9, 2017

The OEM osram ultra long life h7's last a long, long time. And a pair is only $15. I have silverstar ultras in my low beams now- they are bit brighter, which is good. They do have some of the blue tinted glass around the tip. I also got some ultra long life bulbs for spares.

ZippyNH · May 9, 2017

To get the bulbs to be brighter, but the same wattage, the manufacturer uses a shorter life filament...
This is well documented, and even stated on the package if you compare the expected life of the dimmer regular life, and the even dimmer long life units...it's a trade...there was even a class action lawsuit over it a few years back.
When I used those bulbs, I had to keep a spare in the glove box...and even with buying them on rockauto.com, the $$ still added up in a few months...

jesus_man · May 10, 2017

Well, I will now have a spare after Osram sends me replacements. They are Ultra's so we will see what happens down the road.

VeeDubTDI · May 10, 2017

jesus_man said:
I bought a set of Sylvania Silverstar Zxe's last summer. Today, one burned out. For $60 I expected better longevity. I am looking into their 1yr warranty, but if that doesn't pan out, or in 9 months I will be looking for something better.
I am reasonably happy with the light output of the Zxe's. But I think they should last a bit longer!
With all the LED tech out there, is there a good retrofit for them? Or do I just keep buying H7's? I did look at Daniel Sterns site and sent him an email. He has a a Phillips brand that he recommends that are far cheaper than the Zxe's, so perhaps I'm stuck with that option??
Thanks!

If you look at the rated life of Silverstars, you'll find that it's significantly less than a standard headlamp because they are slightly over-driven in order to increase their output.

Most ultra-long life lamps sacrifice light output for longevity.

20IndigoBlue02 · May 10, 2017

jesus_man said:
I bought a set of Sylvania Silverstar Zxe's last summer. Today, one burned out. For $60 I expected better longevity. I am looking into their 1yr warranty, but if that doesn't pan out, or in 9 months I will be looking for something better.

I am reasonably happy with the light output of the Zxe's. But I think they should last a bit longer!

With all the LED tech out there, is there a good retrofit for them? Or do I just keep buying H7's? I did look at Daniel Sterns site and sent him an email. He has a a Phillips brand that he recommends that are far cheaper than the Zxe's, so perhaps I'm stuck with that option??

Thanks!

"higher performance" bulbs reduce bulb life. Can't have both. Blue coatings filter out a lot of light, so they need to boost up the bulbs to get it to meet output requirements, this in turn reduces life.

If you want an H7 that lasts, get a Longlife bulb (which comes from the factory).
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/store/category/car-bulbs/fitting/h7-499/bulb-type/eco-and-long-life

jesus_man · May 10, 2017

Great discussion. That's the trouble with technology improving so rapidly. We want the lighting from modern HID and LED vehicles in our older hoopties...

andykurz · May 18, 2017

20IndigoBlue02 said:
"higher performance" bulbs reduce bulb life. Can't have both. Blue coatings filter out a lot of light, so they need to boost up the bulbs to get it to meet output requirements, this in turn reduces life.

If you want an H7 that lasts, get a Longlife bulb (which comes from the factory).
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/store/category/car-bulbs/fitting/h7-499/bulb-type/eco-and-long-life

This is absolutely right. If you want long life, don't buy the fancy bulbs.

N2UADTDI · May 26, 2017

IMO - #1 - bulbs are made to burn out quickly so you have to buy another bulb.
#2 - If you look at the bulb package it will say something like 12.8V. But they are really getting closer to 13.8 or higher in the car. Higher voltage shortens the life of the bulb.
#3 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel

jesus_man · May 26, 2017

planned obsolescence exists in more than just relatively inexpensive light bulbs...

H7 bulbs - burned out in 9 mo.

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