| Lucas |
Rating: 
Price: £6.60 (RRP)
Type: Standard
Beam: 60
Despite its long-life stablemate's excellent result, the
standard Lucas bulb had problems with glare and only just achieved the
required limit. This took its toll on the beam, for which all the
measurements were low. |
|
| Hella |
Rating: 
Price: £5.53 (factor)
Type: Standard
Beam: 74.2
A solid performance from Hella's bulb. It produced the best
result in class at 75m, which even beat some of the plus 30 versions.
The pay-off, however, was a darker foreground, and there was some
patchiness in the beam close to the car. |
|
| Osram |
Rating:
Price: £12.38 (mail order)
Type: Standard
Beam: 73.8
We had expected more from a top producer, but there is nothing
to be ashamed of here. A good, even spread of light, free from dark
patches, showed its class. But the light values were a bit less than
the best across the carriageway. |
|
|
| |
| Vauxhall VRB472 |
Rating:
Price: £6.72 (main dealer)
Type: Standard
Beam: 73.4
Going to your main dealer need not always be the costly option,
and this Vauxhall product easily undercuts high street prices. The
bulb, built by Philips' Narva subsidiary, has a well shaped pattern and
sharp cut-off, preventing glare. |
|
| Osram PRC |
Rating:
Price: N/A
Type: Standard
Beam: 70.4
Sourced from an industry contact, this unit proves not all
bulbs from the Far East are poorly made. Built in the People's Republic
of China for Osram, the PRC produced a good, even beam - but a little
too much light close to the car. |
|
| Elta |
Rating:
Price: £8.99 (shop)
Type: Standard
Beam: 69.7
Elta is a wholesaler, and its German-built bulb put in a
reasonable set of results. The light on the carriageway was a little
less than some rivals, but the beam was a good shape with a decent
cut-off to prevent glare affecting oncoming road users. |
|
|
| |
| Peugeot 6216.55 |
Rating:
Price: £8.78 (main dealer)
Type: Standard
Beam: 65.8
Made by General Electric in Hungary, Peugeot's offering gave a
pretty similar performance to that of the Unipart GLB472. Light output
was lower, but less well controlled, and it only just scraped through
the legal glare requirements. |
|
| Unipart GLB472 |
Rating:
Price: £9.59 (main dealer)
Type: Standard
Beam: 67.9
Another from GE's Hungarian operation, Tungsram, the pack
boasts it is recommended by Rover - but there are better standard bulbs
on offer. Light output was on the low side, and the beam rating proved
disappointing. |
|
| Motaquip |
Rating: 
Price: £7.59 (main dealer)
Type: Standard
Beam: 76.8
Picked up from a Peugeot dealer, our Recommended standard bulb
comes a very close second. Indeed it beat the winning Lucas at 50m, but
lost out at 75m. The beam was clean and consistent, with good
foreground illumination. |
|
|
| |
| Li-TECH P43t-38 |
Rating: 
Price: £7 (shop)
Type: Standard
Beam: N/R
Driving towards a car fitted with these would be unpleasant, as
it throws out a massive amount of glare, thanks to serious geometry
problems. There's plenty of light on the road, but it is so
uncontrolled that it's a real hazard to other drivers. |
|
| Carlex Autobulb |
Rating:
Price: £9.98 (shop)
Type: Standard
Beam: N/R
We soon discovered that this one was extremely hard to measure.
Either it produced horrendous amounts of glare or emitted a beam so
weak, it failed to meet legal requirements. A bulb that will do its
buyer no favours at night. |
|
| Direct Components |
Rating:
Price: £1.62 (factor)
Type: Standard
Beam: N/R
Initially, these looked like a real bargain - a pack of 10 cost
less than some individual bulbs elsewhere on this test. How wrong we
were. A serious build problem meant massive glare for oncoming drivers
- almost twice the permitted figure. |
|
|
| |
| Ring Autobulb |
Rating:
Price: £4.65 (factor)
Type: Standard
Beam: N/R
Not a good result for the brand found in many small accessory
shops. The KX-stamped bulb has significant build problems, which meant
excessive glare. Trouble is, the buyer would probably not know, as beam
figures were about right for this class. |
|
| Elta ELBX472 |
Rating:
Price: £8.99 (shop)
Type: Standard
Beam: 54
Another standard lamp offering from Elta, but nowhere near as
good as its stablemate. Geometry problems were at the heart of this
disappointing performance, but the beam was within legal requirements. |
|
| Halfords |
Rating:
Price: £11.98 (shop)
Type: Standard
Beam: 51.1
AS with the Elta ELBX, this unit suffered significant geometry
problems, although the beam would not pose a danger to other road
users. That noted, it would not be much use to the buyer, as all the
levels were so low as to be a long way behind the best here. |
|
|
| |
| Jagan |
Rating:
Price: N/A
Type: Standard
Beam: N/R
As it has performed poorly in previous tests, we were keen to
see if matters had improved for Jagan. We sourced this from an industry
contact - so can't quote a price - but at any money, it would be
extremely poor value. A wayward build gave massive glare and a very
weak beam. |
|
| Lucas Premium LL |
Rating: 
Price: £7.54 (RRP)
Type: Standard
Beam: 76.9
only does this outperform standard rivals, but our Best Buy
should also last longer. The LL stands for long life and Lucas claims a
20 per cent extension over the regular alternatives. It carries
wholesaler Elta's stamp, and is our choice among standard units. |
|
| Pro-light |
Rating:
Price: £7 (shop)
Type: Standard
Beam: N/R
Producer Linzhi needs to rethink its manufacturing process. A
host of build failures were compounded by a beam so far out, it was
almost impossible to measure. The choice was either a massive glare or
a barely visible beam. |
|
|
| |
| Autobar Mega White |
Rating:
Price: £24.99 (shop)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: N/R
Dawoo, the Korean parts specialist which makes Autobar, should
look at its production line. The heavily blue-tinted bulb was so far
out of true that the beam was very tricky to measure at all. The glare
was massive and light on the road was minimal. |
|
| White Prism Orange |
Rating:
Price: £14.99 (shop)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: 65.3
Despite geometry problems for White Prism, it just managed to
produce a beam within the legal requirements. Glare was a problem,
though, and was measured very near the limit. But the amount of light
on the road was poor, and looked more grubby than orange. |
|
| Bosch Blue |
Rating:
Price: £11.98 (shop)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: N/R
Serious faults for this Gerlux-produced lamp included excessive
power draw and too much light production. It was loose in the lamp
holder, making beam measurements difficult. Not what we would expect
from Bosch, given its performance elsewhere. |
|
|
| |
| PIAA Super White |
Rating:
Price: £48.15 (mail order)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: 75.8
We saw little evidence in the light tunnel of the pack's claim
to raise output from the standard 60/55W to 110/100W. Nor was there
much evidence to justify the outrageous price, but PIAA has to pay for
its motorsport sponsorship somehow. |
|
| Ring Ice Blue |
Rating:
Price: £15.93 (mail order)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: 74.8
Ring claims this is the 'next generation in car styling'.
That's a little ambitious, and Ice Blue's white beam is not
particularly bright. The coating really gobbles light, making the bulb
less effective than many considerably cheaper standard units. |
|
| Halfords Laser Blue |
Rating:
Price: £18.98 (shop)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: 71.1
As with Ring, Halfords went to Alite for its blue version, and
the results were pretty similar with a good white colour but a
relatively low intensity beam. The coating robbed even more light at
75m than on Ring's, and there was a sizeable dark spot close to the
car. |
|
|
| |
| PIAA Platinum |
Rating:
Price: £86.95 (mail order)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: N/A
These Japanese imports promise to up power from 60/55W to
130/120W. Yet, like its stablemate, its beam in the tunnel was a long
way behind the best blue. For competition cars only, though, and
illegal to use on the road, as it has no E mark. |
|
| White Prism Green |
Rating:
Price: £14.99 (shop)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: 69.8
A couple of minor geometry problems appeared, but did not
affect the beam too much. However, the levels were pretty low and
considerably cheaper standard bulbs did better. And if you want a green
beam, you will be disappointed, as there was no more than a slight
tint. |
|
| Autobar Hi Tints |
Rating:
Price: £18.99 (shop)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: N/R
The 'ultimate legal upgrade', claims the pack. But not
according to our tests, as they produced excessive glare, and the beam
was way behind the best. And the colour was a mess, producing different
shades including red and green. |
|
|
| |
| Philips BlueVision |
Rating:
Price: £24.99 (mail order)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: 78
Above the blue bulbs, Philips' BlueVision does well, as it uses
the Premium's plus 30 per cent technology. Despite a lower light output
than the winning Lucas Blue Lightning, it was a shade better at 75m.
Pack includes blue sidelights. |
|
| Racing Blue |
Rating:
Price: £14.99 (shop)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: N/R
If you plan on racing with a pair of these, we hope your car is
better put together. You'll be unable to see much as all the values
were low, with excessive glare for oncoming drivers. They can also
expect to see red and green as well as blue. It should be
black-flagged... |
|
| Osram Cool Blue |
Rating:
Price: £18.02 (mail order)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: 77.9
Good 50m results kept Osram's blue bulb on a par with rival
Philips, which was stronger further down the road. Osram uses plus 50
per cent technology here, which shows how much light the coating robs.
But the beam is noticeably white. |
|
|
| |
| Lucas Blue Lightning |
Rating:
Price: £27.68 (RRP)
Type: Blue bulbs
Beam: 80.2
A light output close to the upper limit is the key here, with
consistently high figures from the Osram-built unit. It's comfortably
the best blue bulb, beating Osram's own contender, but performance is a
long way behind the Premium bulbs. |
|
|
|
|
| |
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)