Hella headlight bulbs

[Torn Mind]

I bought a pair of their lowest grade 9006 bulbs in October of 2017, and the one that is still alive (damaged headlight prematurely killed the other one) is still chugging along two and a half years later and shows no sign of stopping. A rare quality bulb manufacturer that is surprising affordable as well($7.17 after shipping), especially since one 9006 bulb at Walmart costs 8-9 dollars locally.

The bulbs are hella good, haha.

 

[EXCellR8]

I try not to buy incandescent automotive bulbs at all anymore if I can avoid it. OE makers like Sylvania-Osram are the best overall quality, and tend to last the longest, but I find that the actual emitted light leaves much to be desired. Good filament HID kits aren't that expensive anymore and there isn't a better solution for projector lenses. Older reflector style lamps are super annoying with HID's though...

That being said, some applications can be a bit of a nuisance to upgrade so if you can get good long-lasting halogen bulbs at that price, and you're happy with the lighting at night, I say just do it.

 

[herm0016]

I try not to buy incandescent automotive bulbs at all anymore if I can avoid it. OE makers like Sylvania-Osram are the best overall quality, and tend to last the longest, but I find that the actual emitted light leaves much to be desired. Good filament HID kits aren't that expensive anymore and there isn't a better solution for projector lenses. Older reflector style lamps are super annoying with HID's though...

That being said, some applications can be a bit of a nuisance to upgrade so if you can get good long-lasting halogen bulbs at that price, and you're happy with the lighting at night, I say just do it.

dont buy the cheap stuff and dont buy anything that is not DOT approved.

everyone else on the road can be blinded by shitty conversions. every post about aftermarket headlights/ bulbs should some with a warning.

also, Hella is an OE for lots of lighting products,a lot of BMW stuff.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Maybe I posted it in a separate thread a while ago.

I converted my old Trooper from incandescent to LED. Replacement of the headlights was the next-to-last step.

I bought these "Alla" lights -- about 6,000 lumens per lamp:

ALLA LED headlight Bulbs Dual Lo/Hi 90W Extreme Super-Bright . .

Someone here came at me to charge I was being "irresponsible" and likely to cause an accident because of the high lumens. But the lights are DOT-compliant. Aimed properly, there's no problem of that kind. The critic also argued that the parabolic reflector in my headlight housing "wasn't made for LEDs". Wrong again -- the LEDs in an LED lamp unit direct light in the same directions as a Halogen bulb.

What I like about these -- in addition to the LED sidemarker, backup, signal/hazard and taillight LEDs -- they draw a lot less power and reduce the strain on the alternator.

But I have one, single mystery to solve. I was warned by the O'Reilly's man that eventually -- LED replacement for the sidemarker/hazard/etc. would lead to a situation in which the fuse for that circuit would just burn out. It happened when I attempted to replace my license-plate light with an LED equivalent. I think it has something to do with a lack of resistance for the entire circuit. Something requires at least one parallel-wired light to either be incandescent or have a Sylvania resistor installed.

I can live with an incandescent license-light. For that matter, I can wire two more of them in parallel to make up for not having an LED . . .

 

[Torn Mind]

Aug 2020, I "warrantied"( the part was still good but damage to the left fender caused a bulb to explode) with Rock Auto(in hindsight, pointless because the cost of new bulbs isn't different) and got new Hella bulbs. Still chugging along up to the present with no failure.

Goes to show an long lasting incandescent can be manufactured, but they just don't want to.

 

[WilliamM2]

Aug 2020, I "warrantied"( the part was still good but damage to the left fender caused a bulb to explode) with Rock Auto(in hindsight, pointless because the cost of new bulbs isn't different) and got new Hella bulbs. Still chugging along up to the present with no failure.

Goes to show an long lasting incandescent can be manufactured, but they just don't want to.

Wife and I both have 2009 Camry's. Neither has needed any bulbs replaced yet. Of course mine only has 79K on it, hers is at 140K.

 

[Torn Mind]

Wife and I both have 2009 Camry's. Neither has needed any bulbs replaced yet. Of course mine only has 79K on it, hers is at 140K.

Seems about right for Toyotas. It's been a long time now but the OEM lights probably did last 7-8 years for my mother's Matrix(the car the current Hellas are installed on) because the "headlamp" carousel began somewhere between 2013-2014, with constant periodic Ebaying of the Chinese wholesale headlamps on Ebay. There was also a quickly dead Sylvania extra bright...
Got sick of that dance and the constant worry of getting a cop repair order...and that eventually led to the Hella in 2017.

I haven't bought them, but the Hella Long-Lifes might be the OEM equivalent at a fraction of the dealership cost.

 

[WilliamM2]

Seems about right for Toyotas. It's been a long time now but the OEM lights probably did last 7-8 years for my mother's Matrix(the car the current Hellas are installed on) because the "headlamp" carousel began somewhere between 2013-2014, with constant periodic Ebaying of the Chinese wholesale headlamps on Ebay. There was also a quickly dead Sylvania extra bright...
Got sick of that dance and the constant worry of getting a cop repair order...and that eventually led to the Hella in 2017.

I haven't bought them, but the Hella Long-Lifes might be the OEM equivalent at a fraction of the dealership cost.

Sylvania makes great bulbs if you just buy the standard basic model. The extra bright "Silverstars" burn up quickly, as they run hotter. They have a shorter warranty and life expectancy according to the package.

 

[IronWing]

I bought a pair of their lowest grade 9006 bulbs in October of 2017, and the one that is still alive (damaged headlight prematurely killed the other one) is still chugging along two and a half years later and shows no sign of stopping. A rare quality bulb manufacturer that is surprising affordable as well($7.17 after shipping), especially since one 9006 bulb at Walmart costs 8-9 dollars locally.

The bulbs are hella good, haha.

I’ve replaced a single bulb in my FJ in sixteen years and thousands of miles of off-road driving.

 

[herm0016]

My chevy trucks original bulbs lasted 7 or 8 years also. OEM bulbs last longer because they are not as bright. The only way to get more lumens out of a halogen is to get them to a higher temperature and this reduces longevity.

I use Hella in my vehicles as well.