Replacing xenon bulbs can be a pricey business, so you want to get it right first time. Two of the biggest names on the market are Philips and Lumro, one budget, one premium. Let’s take a look at the differences between each of the brand’s offerings.
Philips D3S Bulbs
Known as XenStart or XenEcoStart the Philips are a direct OEM replacement. They can be fitted in Audi, Ford, VW, SEAT, Skoda, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover and even Tesla, hence the colour temperature of 4300K, which is around the same as daylight. The Philips D3S bulb has an average lifespan of 2,500 hours, which equals to more than 1,000 days switched on. Just in case, they come with a 1-year warranty anyway.
These bulbs can be used as either single beam, or as a bi-xenon configuration, it depends on the spec of the car, but these can be used for both.
Prices start around the £65 mark per bulb so you can see they’re a premium offering.
Lumro D3S Bulbs
Lumro differs from Philips in that you can choose what colour you’d like, they range from the standard 4300K as the Philips but then go to 6000k, 8000K and 10000K.
The higher the Kelvin rating, the bluer the light, which can give you car a classier look. 6000K is a cool white, 8000k shines as aqua blue while 10000k is more sapphire blue.
This xenon D3S bulb has a lifespan of around 2,400 hours, however the higher the Kelvin number, the shorter the lifespan. This is due to the increased heat the bulbs have to deal with, most sellers will still offer a 1-year warranty though. It’s recommended to stick with either 4300k or 6000k.
Again, the bulbs can be used in bi-xenon configuration when needed and can be used as an OEM replacement for the same brands we mentioned above.
You can pick up a set of two Lumro bulbs for roughly £40, far cheaper than the Philips.
Both brands have great reviews, while you’re paying for the world-renowned name and German engineering in the Philips D3S bulbs, can they really be worth over three times as much as the Lumro set?
For the price of two Philips bulbs, you could have six Lumro ones. They may or may not last as long, but from all the reviews we’ve seen they seem to last just fine.
The choice is yours.
