Owners review on LED H7 bulbs from Philips

[Crematoriant]

For those who have halogen headlights and are thinking about LEDs alternatives here I have a little review.

I have now "Philips LED H7 X-treme Ultinon 6000k" bulbs mounted as Lowbeams for about 2 months and I am 100% satisfied with it.
- About 10-15% brighter and longer distance view then "Osram Night Breaker Unlimited H7"
- About 30% more light to the sides of the road ("Oh. I can see some movement there in the forest, better to slow down").
- This bulb has also great light cut! No glaring, you can see road signs above the road and oncoming traffic is not blinded (<- tested with several friends)
- Also you will get that white light color
- Each bulb also has a angle adjustment if needed

Only downside is the cost - about 190,- USD

I head previously Osrams NBU H7 and "PIAA H7 stratos blue 6000k" (<- couldn't see a s**t with those) and it is trully a significant upgrade.

photos with the light cut:
Left bulb - Philips LED / Right bulb - PIAA H7 (from drivers view)



- same - (from drivers view)



both Philips LED





note: DON'T TRUST E-BAYS OR AMAZONS HEADLINES which says something like "Newest super bright 8000 lumes H7 led" or "ULTRA BRIGHT, 12000 lumens", ... which cost only like 20, 40 or 50 USD. You'll get no focus light, tons of glare, blinding everybody and see nothing at night.

[chris_flies]

Good to know I could possibly run these without issues...

Proper headlight aiming FTW!

[JIM1inWisconsin]

Clearly ok to do what you want with your car but as more and more vehicles have the newer led and hid lights night driving is getting to be a real pain. I have to drive five nights a week and have taken to wearing a variety of night time glasses that help somewhat but the glare from some vehicles is way excessive. I've done this for twenty years and it's been getting far worse recently. Many newer vehicles come outfitted with upgraded lights as standard equipment. Of course those that sell the things point out it's a big safety feature for the driver. I suspect it is but at what cost to the other drivers?

[1and1]

Exactly why having a well defined cut off line is so important

And, FWIW, it's the new trucks with their lights just exactly at eye level that bother me...

[Thunderguts]

Counterpoint:

I did not have a good experience with the Philips LED H7 X-treme Ultinon 6000k and took them out the same day that I installed them. Unlike you, I had them only as high beams so I cannot say if they are focused better with low beams.

As high beams they are virtually worthless. The reflector does not focus the light properly and sends it off in a wide, dispersed pattern. The one place it definitely doesn't go is straight ahead. With X-treme Ultinons, the high beams do a better job illuminating the ground in front of the bumper than the fog lights and that's pretty sad.

I didn't get a CANbus error which is a plus, but they flash and flicker for 1-2 seconds every time you turn on the car. That was annoying. I don't know if a resistor would help. I have LEDs for my reverse lights and they flicker upon startup also.

The one good thing I can say about the X-treme Ultinons is that the light is indeed very white. I was going to replace my fogs with X-treme Ultinons also, but after my experience with the high beams, I returned them.

I don't mean to crap on the OP's post. He is specifically referring to low beams and may have a different experience.

[Esteban]

I do a lot of night time driving and am constantly being blinded by the glare of other vehicle's headlights. I consider it a safety hazard, and I've said it before here and there are probably those that disagree (those with the blinding headlights lol) but I think the drivers with blinding headlights should be pulled over and given fix-it tickets.

The funny thing is that I don't think a lot of the drivers know that they're doing that to oncoming traffic, but if they are going to upgrade their headlights they should know the effect it's having on other drivers. Maybe drive in another car with someone driving their car coming at them at night on the street so they can see just how glaring it is.

[Gangplank]

I agree. There has been a proliferation of LED lights used in vehicles with reflectors not designed for them. Bright is good, but there is such a thing as too damn bright.

[JIM1inWisconsin]

I didn't think I was alone on this. The problem is trending in only one direction and it's only going to get worse. The obvious solution is to go backwards with headlight technology and that's not going to happen. The cat's out of the bag. But do you need upgraded lights during rush hour in an urban environment? Of course not. I will continue to try other types of night driving glasses and see if any of them work better. It's a billion dollar invention if you can come up with something that's really effective in solving this problem.

[Crematoriant]

Ofc I agree that so many ppl are buying HID and LED kits for their factory halogen headlights which are blinding everyone.

Sad thing is that those owners don't even care what they are causing... "Ha haaa, my 20-year-old car has white lights! Super modern, super bright, I am king of the road now!"
I am glad that cops in EU (or at least in Czech) are keep watching on it and if they encounter someone that is blinding oncoming traffic ... 5 minutes later *knock knock on the car window* "Good day sir. What a nice shining lights you have. Surelly they are "LEGAL" ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)".

Thunderguts sadly I can't say if it works for oem halogen reflectors. I have aftermarket DEPO headlights with projector. So at least for projectors as Low beam they are working well.

[mike@x-ph.com]

Nice

[jjdajet]

Just to confirm you didn't have angel eyes?

Also I can't find the ones you bought anywhere online but I did find "Philips X-tremeUltinon H7 LED Bulbs 6500K" on amazon for $199.

Do you think they would fit and be similar maybe a little brighter perhaps bc of the 6500k? Thank you!

Here's the link:
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-X-tre...24528527&psc=1

[bobdavisnpf]

Higher color temperature won't make anything brighter, but it can help to increase *perceived* brightness (and increases the coolness factor).

Higher color temperature can "help" with night driving by fooling your body/brain into thinking it's more day than night, and elevating seratonin. OTOH this elongated period of forced serotonin can increase fatigue and lead to a more abrupt dropoff in cognitive ability to focus on the myriad details/decisions you process while driving. Warmer color temperature lets you relax a bit more, letting serotonin fade and increasing melatonin; this is a bad thing if it lulls you into a driving stupor, but it's a good thing if your more-relaxed brain better retains its cognitive abilities (like, not just noticing the movement in the woods, but better calculating what it is and if it's headed your way).

I prefer for the most part to keep my daylight in the daytime, and at night I want a much warmer light. My 135i has the Fancy Pants Lighting Package (Xenon lights, adaptive headlights, headlight cleaning system) and is a bit whiter than I like at 4300K - although my wife, who wants 5000K wherever she can get it, loves them, she doesn't drive at night if she can avoid it. My E30's stock headlight setup is pretty much ideal for me, especially after "upgrading" with all new Original BMW stock light assemblies (yay new lenses) and bulbs... I think that original Stock-for-USA setup is around 3000K.

[Crematoriant]

Originally Posted by jjdajet

Just to confirm you didn't have angel eyes?

Also I can't find the ones you bought anywhere online but I did find "Philips X-tremeUltinon H7 LED Bulbs 6500K" on amazon for $199.

Do you think they would fit and be similar maybe a little brighter perhaps bc of the 6500k? Thank you!

Here's the link:
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-X-tre...24528527&psc=1

I do have angel eyes. Those headlights I have are made by DEPO. Projector housing for bulbs with angel eye rings.

Anyway 6000k and 6500k are basically the same. Those 500k more won't add more light output. Only difference is in color spectrum. Light with 6000k is white and 6500k is white too but already with a slight touch of blue color. (see pic below)

So yes those bulbs which you are refering will fit.

[fun2drive]

I have LED's made by Super Nova H7 6000K and got them from Headlight Revolution. I am very sensitive to correctly installed lights that do not spread to other drivers and blind. The BMW reflectors still have good cut off and don't cause issues with blinding. I tested them a number of times on the road and against my garage with the same height adjustment as the halogens.
For what it is worth most if not all manufacturers use 4300K as the best over all. I don't agree because 6000K does a great job of reflecting light off of objects. Has nothing to do with the perceived look from you eyes has everything to do with light refection.
What does irritate the hell out of me is the idiots in trucks with HIDs pointed spraying light everyplace and the fogs adjusted so high that they blind all lanes. Why the cops don't pull these idiots over I will never know.
You as a responsible vehicle owner need to have lights that are not blinding other drivers. I typically will change the reflector to a projector but this BMW reflector is pretty good so I didn't change it over.
I have run HIDs in projector housing for the last 15 years and they work well. I have run multiple sets of good quality LEDs in a couple of various cars and trucks and they work well.
It isn't about lumen output it is all about BEAM PATTERN. Without a good beam pattern you are wasting your money. My last 3 sets of LEDs I bought from Headlight Revolution for one reason, they test all the products they sell and others using two headlight buckets compared to the stock lighting.
That is the only real test of a light because junk LEDs or HIDs for that matter will spray light everyplace but where it should be or worse yet their output can be less than the stock halogens that served as a baseline.
I like the OPs install and I have great H7's halogens in the high beams which are DRLs in US models...

[jjdajet]

Originally Posted by Crematoriant

I do have angel eyes. Those headlights I have are made by DEPO. Projector housing for bulbs with angel eye rings.

Anyway 6000k and 6500k are basically the same. Those 500k more won't add more light output. Only difference is in color spectrum. Light with 6000k is white and 6500k is white too but already with a slight touch of blue color. (see pic below)

So yes those bulbs which you are refering will fit.

I don't have angel eyes that is why I am asking. I just have the basic halogens. Will they fit my setup? Thank you very much.

[Crematoriant]

jjdajet Yes, they should fit OEM reflector halogen headlights.

[jjdajet]

Originally Posted by Crematoriant

jjdajet Yes, they should fit OEM reflector halogen headlights.

Thank you!

Last question I have is do you know of install instructions you can guide me to? A link would be great!

[NorthernDancer]

Whenever I need advice on automotive lighting, I go here:
https://www.danielsternlighting.com/
Presently he recommends GE Lighting H7 NHX, on Amazon pack of 2 is $73.09. He does say sometime soon he will have something even better.

[Crematoriant]

Originally Posted by jjdajet

Thank you!

Last question I have is do you know of install instructions you can guide me to? A link would be great!

Installation guide is included in the package with bulbs, cabels and resistors.

Or you bought it second hand?

[jjdajet]

Originally Posted by NorthernDancer

Whenever I need advice on automotive lighting, I go here:
https://www.danielsternlighting.com/
Presently he recommends GE Lighting H7 NHX, on Amazon pack of 2 is $73.09. He does say sometime soon he will have something even better.

Wow awesome site thank you very much! Have you bought bulbs per his recommendation?

[jjdajet]

Originally Posted by Crematoriant

Installation guide is included in the package with bulbs, cabels and resistors.

Or you bought it second hand?

I am looking to buy a pair to upgrade away from the halogens color. Is the installation difficult? (I guess that wasn't my last question )

[NorthernDancer]

Originally Posted by jjdajet

Wow awesome site thank you very much! Have you bought bulbs per his recommendation?

No; in my present situation, I don't need better lighting and I do have a set of Hella H7s ready to go when one of my bulbs burn out.