Mazda 3, 54 Reg

captainzorro

Hi,
I have a Mazda 3. 54 reg. 1.6l petrol.
My headlight bulb stopped working and I went to buy replacement bulb.
I was amazed to find out that it costed £20.00 for a pair ( I was told I can't buy one).

So I bought a pair and got them fixed. I think its known as H7 bulb(white).
I and my wife finds the new bulbs a bit dim as the original ones were quite powerful.

Any suggestions on which ones do I need to buy or are all the bulbs are the same, and is it just me?

Please help.
Thanks.

Premier_2

£3.99 in lidl for a pair (if they have any stock left)

You might even find them in poundland (but beware if you have plastic headlamps, the poundland ones are not anti-UV)

You should replace them as a pair, hence why they are often sold this way.

Some are brighter than others. Look out for +30%, +50% or even +70%
(I think the Lidl ones are +50%)

goldspanners

if you spent £20 on a set of pish headlight bulbs then you should have bought a set of philips X-treme power. very bright and last forever,well almost.

osram nightbreakers are bright but burn out quickly ive found.

halfords bright white bulbs get a good write up and they are around £20 but haven't tried these yet personally.

fatbelly

goldspanners wrote: »

if you spent £20 on a set of pish headlight bulbs then you should have bought a set of philips X-treme power. very bright and last forever,well almost.

I agree with you, Goldspanners - just bought a set from xenons.biz - they are based in the Channel Isles so no VAT and £18.90 includes p&p.

goldspanners

fatbelly wrote: »

I agree with you, Goldspanners - just bought a set from xenons.biz - they are based in the Channel Isles so no VAT and £18.90 includes p&p.

thats a good price, my last set that i bought (that are still sitting here waiting on my first philips bulbs to blow) cost me about £25 and that was last year.

i bought them last year thinking the winter would see an end to them but it didnt,so we are on winter number 2 with this set.

photome

goldspanners wrote: »

thats a good price, my last set that i bought (that are still sitting here waiting on my first philips bulbs to blow) cost me about £25 and that was last year.

i bought them last year thinking the winter would see an end to them but it didnt,so we are on winter number 2 with this set.

Do others buy spare headlight lamps? I cant remember the last time i changed any and I have had cars for a long time, the last one was 4 years and about 120000 miles

I also had a Toyota carina from new for 8 years and that never needed any, have I just been lucky

AdrianHi

My car has Phillips X-Tremes and my wifes car (Mazda 6) Osram Nightbreakers.
They are both very similar in performance and a lot brighter and whiter than standard bulbs. I'm finding that with both of these bulb types they are only lasting about 18-21 months though. My car has the X-tremes on the high beam too which is not used as often and neither of those bulbs has blown for over 24 months now.
Good option, shame about bulb life though. Price depends on fitment (H4, H7 etc.) but expect to pay in the region of £20-£25 ebay cheapest source I found.

vikingaero

I do too much night driving to switch to higher power H7's with the lower life expectancy. The hassle of fitting them isn't worth it. I now have HID on both my cars so can probably expect to shell out £200 each time a bulb blows.

goldspanners

photome wrote: »

Do others buy spare headlight lamps? I cant remember the last time i changed any and I have had cars for a long time, the last one was 4 years and about 120000 miles

I also had a Toyota carina from new for 8 years and that never needed any, have I just been lucky

i don't know,but i would rather have a set here when i need them rather than having to buy them in a rush at a higher price.

thats a good mileage from the original headlight bulbs. ive never had to change any other bulbs in 5 1/2 years and 65k miles only headlight bulbs.