D3Audi

It was most certainly time to replace my D1S bulbs on my 2008 Q7, so I ordered Osram Cool Blue 5500K bulbs to replace the stock Philips bulbs that were 8 years old. These bulbs are extraordinarily bright. When searching for bulbs I compared many different bulbs as HID bulbs are around $150-$200/Pair, so I wanted to make sure I'd like the bulb before buying. I also looked at 6000k bulbs too. I originally was going to go with 6000k because I personally like the hint of blue, but then I read that the Osram Cool Blue have a "gorgeous blue hue to them at 5500k and they aren't ricer like at all" which looking like ricer lights was my main concern as I really detest people who have super blue headlights.. So that's why I went with the 5500k bulbs.. The install was rather easy, there are videos on YouTube to help, I'd suggest checking those out if you're looking for a guide. The bulbs are bright enough to the point where I can actually tell I have AFS now, Haha! Anyway, here are the pictures:

Comparison:
Left=OEM Q7 Bulbs (8 years old)
Right=Osram Cool Blue



Headlights Close-Up






Headlight View with high beams (after being on for 5 minutes)



Old OEM Bulb=Top
New Osram Bulb = Bottom



Close up on Garage Door (they're yellow, I'll get to that)



Low Beam



High Beam



Road View High Beam




Ive had these bulbs in for about 3-4 weeks now, and to be completely honest.. I don't like them.. And it's because they have a yellow hue to them.. I was expecting a blue hue.. They are pure white, with a yellow hue, still not as yellow as my old bulbs, but it is still noticible when looking at the vehicle from the outside. When driving though, the bulbs appear to reflect a pure white beam pattern. I was really hoping for "cool blue". Though I have read many places that HIDs have about a 20 hour "Break In" period in which they will turn blue. I really hope that this is what happens. Overall light quality on the motorway is a 10/10 but my own personal satisfaction is about a 5/10... Unless they become more blue. What does everyone think? I will update this thread if/when they color shift.


***EDIT***

So it has been about a month and a half since I've done this bulb change, and the bulbs have now color shifted. I'm now 100% satisfied with the bulbs.

See my later post in this thread. (Post #14)

iconoclast

i am curious if it is the projector creating this effect or if it is the bulb itself.
in other photos of CBI bulbs they appear blue especially 5500k. 7000k would yield more noticeable blue tone but the further you get away from 4300k the less lumens you will have and that is more important than color. (IMO)

D3Audi

I agree with you 100% and that's the exact reason I went with the CBI, I've seen people who have done HID kits of 8000k and 10000k and it really reduced light, overall, the lights function perfectly, they light up the road perfectly, extremely bright. I never really realized how dim my old lights were until I installed these, after some research I think it's a good idea to replace HID bulbs every 4-5 years depending on how much night driving is done. I was also slightly curious about the projector, I was thinking I need to track down someone with a car that takes D1S to see, kind of a weird thing to ask a favor for, haha! Or I could order cheap eBay 8000k bulbs and see how much different they look.. Overall, I can live with them, I recently ordered that cheap eBay V12 style LED bar for my turn signal and parking light, I'm going to do a write up on that sometime in the future once I see the quality of it. unfortunately the light bar is "xenon white LED" so it has a slight blue hue, so that's why I'm hoping the CBI bulbs color shift to match them somewhat.. That's if I keep the LEDs. Not quite sure I like them yet. Next on my list of modifications is to track down some used E-Codes on eBay.de ;-) I think the CBI bulbs would work extraordinarily well in the euro projector.

flynavy

I don't get the "blue" concept. I buy headlights to see in the dark and it looks to me that those are twice as good as stock.

D3Audi

I guess it's just preference. The light output at night is substantially better than any other vehicle I've ever driven. The light is crisp, and I can actually see my AFS feature work now even at dawn when the road is half lit up by the sun. Those new Toyota Corollas have super blue LED headlights, way to blue for my liking. Looks ricerish. I guess maybe I associate the crisp white with a small touch of blue to more of a luxurious/classy feel. Where I live, no one has vehicles with stock Xenon lights. It seems like everyone has Subaru Outbacks with halogens. Lol. It's kind of nice to be a little different I guess, but not ricerish.

iconoclast

i agree, which is why i purchase e-codes for every car i own and the best possible bulbs in terms of light output/lumens. the color and look are a bonus not the main objective for me.

Clues

I'm with iconoclast and flynavy on this one. The holy grail of headlight bulbs is pure white with max llumens without overtaxing your electrical system. In my opinion, the CBIs are about as close to that as you can get. I guess it's all about priorities. For me seeing down the dark road is my priority... probably because i'm getting old and drive too fast! But I understand the whole aesthetics thing (my wife still laughs at me when I remove the amber front corners of every cars I own) but I generally would not sacrifice form over function.

D3Audi

Yes, I'm not a fan of the pure blue either, it looks too ricerish. I like the white/crystal blue because it gives a classy, different apeal then other vehicles on the roadway. I was just annoyed because they were yellow, they have since become a pure white, with a crystal blue/white look in oncoming traffic. My opinion has totally changed on these bulbs, now that they have color shifted, they are even more brighter and pure white then when I created this thread. I highly recommend these bulbs, going to edit this thread when I get time. They are unbelievable when driving at night. Very bright. These bulbs are now the exact color I was hoping for :-)

iconoclast

that's the whole thing... you don't want to be in a situation where you are driving faster than your headlights/light output. llumens first temperature second. in my opinion the philips xv 50+ are the best bulbs out there that meet form and function otherwise just leave the stock ones in.

on the lighting forums the popular opinion is that after about 2hrs they bulbs are broken in. the color changes the longer you use them. the other possibility is if you got them for a really good price you may have purchased knock-off/replica bulbs and that is why they are not like other CBI bulbs.

D3Audi

I paid $179 for the pair, going to try to find a link. I sure hope they're real! the bulb was extremely high quality and so were the box's.