Headlight replacement

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kizashigal
Posts: 116
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:48 am
Location: Colorado

I was driving down the road and noticed I didn't seem to have enough light from my headlight, and sure enough my low beam went out. I picked up a new bulb for about $16 and began to tackle the project. I was able to change the bulb without removing the bumper, but what a PITA! Luckily I don't have large hands and was able to do it per the manual instructions. I had to undo a few things to get more wiggle room, but was successful. Anyone else lose a headlight? I have never had a bulb go out in other vehicles before, and my car has 45000 miles on it.
2011 Kizzy SE AWD Deep Sea Blue

*drive it like you stole it*
Firefly
Posts: 317
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:45 pm
Location: Northern New Jersey, USA

The right side gives a little more wiggle room than the left. I had to change the left bulb at around 20,000 miles, which required removing the bumper cover.

Bulbs do go, in the northeast its usually after a couple of years, and usually at Winter's first cold snap.

I had a VW Passat which blew headlamp bulbs around every 4,000 miles. All replaced under warranty.
Former driver of a 2011 SLS AWD Platinum
~tc~
Posts: 999
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:33 am
Location: Houston, TX USA

That's why I put in HIDs when it went out - don't want to go through that again.
2011 Sport SLS with nav Black Pearl Metallic
murcod
Posts: 2279
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:03 pm
Location: Australia

~tc~ wrote:That's why I put in HIDs when it went out - don't want to go through that again.
Fingers crossed you just haven't jinxed yourself! :lol:

For the halogen users, something like this might be worthwhile trying for longer bulb life:
http://www.philips.com.au/c/car-lamps/l ... ecos2/prd/
http://www.osram.com/osram_com/products ... MP_1013616
David
~tc~
Posts: 999
Joined: Tue Mar 29, 2011 3:33 am
Location: Houston, TX USA

I notice neither of those pages talks about the brightness ... Only the life LOL
2011 Sport SLS with nav Black Pearl Metallic
bootymac
Posts: 1602
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:04 am

~tc~ wrote:I notice neither of those pages talks about the brightness ... Only the life LOL
Probably because they're actually dimmer than standard halogen bulbs. It's a small compromise for a longer lifespan IMO. I run the same Philips LL bulbs on cars that I don't want to service as often (friends, family members, etc). People don't notice the reduced brightness and they're happy that the bulbs last longer.

These figures are from Daniel Stern and they're for H1 bulbs, but you can see the brightness and lifespan between bulb types:
H1 (regular): 1550 lumens, 650 hours
Long Life: 1460 lumens, 1200 hours
Ultra Long Life: 1430 lumens, 3000 hours
Plus-30: 1700 lumens, 350 hours
Plus-50 : 1750 lumens, 340 hours
Plus-80/90: 1780 lumens, 275 hours
Blue coated 'extra white': 1380 lumens, 225 hours

Sources:
http://store.candlepower.com/osnibr.html
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech ... /good.html
Nothing can compare to HIDs though. 3200 lumens and 2500 hours!
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5264
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Just keep in mind that's for quality HID components. Junk HID kits can be a bigger headache than normal halogens. More to go wrong: Harnesses, ballasts, and bulbs.
This is why I'm big on spending more for a better kit than going for cheap ebay junk like what's in my car from the previous owner (and what do you know? A bulb went out!)
I need to order my Morimotos tonight.
2025 Mazda CX-50 Preferred Hybrid
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Sold)
bootymac
Posts: 1602
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2013 1:04 am

murcod wrote:
~tc~ wrote:That's why I put in HIDs when it went out - don't want to go through that again.
Fingers crossed you just haven't jinxed yourself! :lol:

For the halogen users, something like this might be worthwhile trying for longer bulb life:
http://www.philips.com.au/c/car-lamps/l ... ecos2/prd/
http://www.osram.com/osram_com/products ... MP_1013616
Just confirming that the factory bulbs on my Kizashi were the Philips Long Life bulbs.
murcod
Posts: 2279
Joined: Fri Aug 03, 2012 12:03 pm
Location: Australia

I wonder if that's what they all come fitted with?
David
SamirD
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Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:07 pm
Location: HSV and SFO
Contact:

I've got a driver's side that I'll need to change, so I'll check the factory one on mine. I'm guessing it will be the same since the cars were all made in Japan.
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