Should you buy Cheap HID Bulbs?

In this video we tested some cheap bulbs from Amazon, against the bulbs that came standard inside these new 350Z headlights, plus we tried out a set of some of the best HID Bulbs ever!

Rate these for me in the order that YOU would buy (1 is best, 4 is worst):

- Amazon Bulbs
- Osram CBI
- Osram 66240
- Philips 85122

[LightwerkzGlobal]

Great info and love to see you playing with HID bulbs and showing your followers the "light"!

Here is some feedback from someone who has been working with these bulbs day in and day out for the past 16 years.

The Osram 66240 and Philips 85122 are your standard replacements. That is the bulb you will be sold at your local dealership should you wish to purchase a replacement. Replacement can be up to $200/pc list price at your dealership's parts counter. The Philips has always tested to be weaker than the Osram in my experience. These bulbs are great overall, better than any aftermarket bulb for many of the same reasons as the "high end" bulbs mentioned below. These standard replacement bulbs are dinosaurs though, they have not really been changed or improved over the years.

I believe the CBI was Osram's first bulb that was made toward the "tuner" community. You are absolutely correct, these bulbs used to retail for around $190 on the internet when they first came out. They first came in those carton boxes, eventually Osram put them in the "duo box" which is the latest packaging. Coincidentally the CBI is fully phased out now and replaced by the CBN, which is the NextGen CBI. The CBI was always a winner, very bright and a solid overall choice. The problem is the "tuner" community still demanded a true "6000K" bulb. Osram came out with the CBA which was the Cool Blue Advance, which never was too popular, and then the CBH. CBH had the color but the performance was awful. Finally came out the CBB, the Cool Blue Boost. Rated up to 7000K, but had amazing performance. This is still a real winner. Problem? Its for "off road" use only, and European customers were not using them because their inspections are too strict. In the USA, no one seems to care.


Aftermarket bulbs all suffer from the same thing, including aftermarket D2S bulbs. The most important thing to get proper is the alignment of the capsule and rarely are the capsules every perfectly positioned like they are on the Osram or Philips bulbs. You also have poor life, mismatched colors, poor colors. etc. Same thing that plagues all aftermarket bulbs. Just say no if you can! You always get what you pay for and its best to spend a few bucks extra on the Osram os Philips Bulbs.



Always replace bulbs in pairs. This way intensity, color, and overall performance matches from side to side. That is why modern day "tuner" bulbs are sold in pairs. Generally speaking the ballast is what dictates the warm up time of the HID system. Those Matsushita ballasts pull a lot of power and warm up quick. In terms of intensity readings, we find its best to wait to about the 45 second mark before taking a final reading. Even though you dont see much happening after that initial 15-20 seconds when the color stabilized, the intensity changes a good amount. The best you tested today is the Osram CBI.

Anyways I hope you dont mind me dropping in a few links here. I created a special coupon for your followers called "FLYRYDEHID" and it will allow 10% off for the Osram and Philips products we have on the site. Hopefully that gives anyone that extra push they need to splurge for the right choice.

[mariovelasquez]

I’m not gonna lie you confused me a bit I had to watch the video twice lol. But I’m glad you took the time to compare the different bulbs. I usually spend the extra cash to get a good quality product and keep a set of the cheap bulbs just in case. Yes, I do keep extra bulbs as a back up.

2 - Amazon Bulbs
1 - Osram CBI
4- Osram 66240
3- Philips 85122

[flyryde]

Grab your guide so you know what to ask if you're a buyer, or what to answer with if you're a builder 👌

[rushilkisoon]

100$ for a bulb might seem expensive, but compared to the cost of replacing a whole headlight assembly when the main LEDs/lasers fail, I’d take the bulb any day.

[Tyler-bktj]

so you didn't give any information on if the cheap bulbs are worth it. great.

[killersleeve]

This video was incredibly well done. I’m def a fan of both the ostensibly and Amazon bulbs. In my beater, Amazon, in my gtr who knows!

[nasimwehbe]

Osram for sure but Morimoto also makes great HID bulbs.

[xDMGx]

Your test has one fatal flaw. Yellow light has a longer wavelength than blue. So blue bulbs will be brighter at short distances and yellow will be brighter at long distances, as reflected by your results. Your test should either use bulbs of the same colour temp OR include a long distance lux test. Other than that, good work!

Oh, you should add some of the Phillips 6000K Ultinon, they’re the best bulbs i’ve found so far.

[azimpetra]

Should've timed it on the Lux Meter, to see how long it takes to reach full brightness?

[Hellbound]

Do a head to head with budget d2s bulbs like morimoto, diode dynamics, NHK, stuff like that see what's the best bang for the buck.

[carforumwanker]

IN good conditions, the blue light will work well. If you have poor conditions like snow. rain /fog etc .The yellow beams work better

[TheDonCucaracho]

— so which one is your pick? First, second, third but that was filmed fourth after editing, or bonus that was supposed to be third but was called fourth although it's the third on the first video but with wrong specs?

— yes.

[crazytestpilot]

Why are you so concerned about warmup time? That only happens for the first 15 seconds of warming up the car. It means nothing.

[Matty_mccfly]

Glad you did this video I need new bulbs in my g5r currently running cbi.

[lindgrendon]

Confusing video. So, was the cheapest the winner? How many different options did you really test?

[johnmaurice]

Great video but camera move too fast and missing the light output part. Slow it down in my opinion.

[ManoElMacho]

How hot do HIDs get? Also love they way you make your videos. Very engaging

[georgef]

I’ve had amazing luck with Xentec bullet hid kits, I’ve never tried any other type of xentec kits. The small round bullet kits work well.

[CenteKris]

Hey there, i have a question. I'm looking on DIY video how to install lens into a reflector headlight. I've installed mine on 4 screws, but I don't like the look of that. I know it's covered inside and not visible outside but I just hate how I did it. Is there any tutorial which way is pro way to do it?
Thanks in advance 👍

[yassirwitwit]

Can you make a video about oem les headlight revolution