Does anyone have a headlight bulb they like using for high/low beam (2003 DII).

I’m not exactly sure which Sylvania bulbs I used last, but one just went out and it seems it didn’t last very long. I tested with other bulbs and just moved a bulb from the high beam to the low beam position to temporarily replace the one that went out. I just wanted to be sure it wasn’t the connection or something else. I think the bulbs were the Sylvania Silverstar, but I think they’re Osram bulbs?

I’d never checked, but it looks like there are much less expensive options including bulbs from Hella and Osram.

Please list some recommendations for good make/models of bulbs. I live in an area that’s rural and there aren’t street lights or anything like that, so it can be very dark, especially with trees overhead blocking light from the moon and stars.

Do you use different ones for high and low beam?

Do you use HID-style halogen lights like the Sylvania zxe? If I’m not mistaken, these are mostly just a marketing gimmick as they’re not HID headlights?

Is it better to convert to LED lights?

 

Judging by your photo icon and your request for separate high and low beam bulbs, you have a 2003-2004? The Sylvania Silverstar bulbs never lasted longer than 6 months for me when I used to have them in some prior sporting cars. Really, you want to avoid bulbs that have any type of tint or color coating on them. That tint reduces the overall brightness of the bulb because it is filtering certain colors to cause the emitted light to appear "whiter."

What you want are bulbs with no tint or color coating on them at all. I have been running Philips VisionPlus on my 2000 D2. Same pair of bulbs for the last 2.5 years (I think? maybe 3.5?). These bulbs are genuinely brighter, have no coating, and the build quality is much better than what I used to get from Sylvania. I definitely recommend these Philips bulbs. They aren't as ubiquitous as Sylvania in your typical auto parts store, but sometimes the smaller, lesser-marketed ones do carry them.

And a bit more information on high-performance bulbs:
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

 

Wow, thanks for this excellent information. I’m going to try the Philips Vision Plus like you recommended - the price was better too. I’ll put them in the low beam position (separate low and high in the 2003 and 2004 - sorry, I didn’t remember that was one of the differences between the two versions of the DII). I’ll move one of the leftover bulbs that has some life left to the high beam position I pulled it from to get me through the next few days and then I might replace those with the Philips Vision Plus as well after they’ve gone out.

I’ll update with some initial thoughts and perhaps again later on when they’re gone just to track how long they lasted.

I knew there had to be some heavy marketing mumbo jumbo in this field since I think the blue lights aren’t actually the same as the fancy lights in a newer BMW and all that. They’re “HID-style” which just sounds like snake oil, right?

Thanks again

 

The blue (and purple) bulbs are meant to mimic HID, but light output is very poor and lifespan is very short for those kinds of bulbs. There are HID "retrofit" kits that uses an actual HID bulb and ballast (of varying quality), but when used in a housing meant for a halogen bulb the pattern is not matched for the new bulb causing significant glare for oncoming vehicles.

I'll be happy to hear your thoughts on the Philips bulbs as I've only had experience with them in my own Disco and my old RX-8.

 

I would do a HID projector retrofit and get the best of everything. A proper light output from a HID bulb (true cut off so not blinding on coming traffic), theretrofitsource is a great resource and there is a thread on here about which one to buy and how to do it. It's a little involved for some people but it's really not very difficult if you take your time.

 

I have these LEDs after having HID lights for years that would not last long. You will have to mod,/extend your rear gray caps in order to make them fit for 03-04. The are extremely white and bright 6000k. I have had several friends drive by me and they are not blinding. Maybe in a low corvette. I dont have high beams currently, but will have them soon. They come with a 1 year warranty. I had them for just over a year.

 

I upgraded the wattage to 70/100 instead of the standard 55/55 H7s back in June. Output is much brighter and haven't gotten any protests from oncoming traffic. Obviously this is putting more strain on the wiring however the stock fuses should be preventing any overload problems. Make sure not to get the 24v 70w lamps.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hla-h770w

 

the problem with coloured lamps, to up the lumens they up the wattage. To do so on a lamp that is limited to 12v means you have to make the filament thinner so it glows hotter. This not only burns it out faster, but makes it more prone to vibration failure. Stick with the vision plus.

 

I don't disagree with your logic regarding how the filament is made to burn brighter, it sounds sensible to me, however I disagree that higher wattage bulbs burn out more quickly based on my own experience. I've run 80/100 H4s and 100w H1s in my BMWs for 25 years and they burn out no faster than a sealed beam. At least not at a rate that I would consider excessive. I have 3 cars with them now, for a total of 18 actual filaments in daily use, and I can't remember the last time I bought replacement bulbs. It's been at least 5 years.