My Opinion: Philips X-treme Ultinon LED H4 Headlight Bulb Review

Introduction

I recently had the opportunity to review the new Philips H4 LED Headlight bulbs that Xenon Depot sells. I briefly want to cover a few things to help manage expectations of these bulbs. Philips did not design them to be the brightest solution on the market. They were not designed to provide the clean cut off line a full Projector Retrofit would provide. Philips designed them to have an increase in light output versus the OEM Halogen bulbs, which maintain the factory beam pattern produced by OEM Halogen reflectors, and being a plug and play replace and forget OEM “style” solution.

Link to bulb: http://www.xenondepot.com/h4-philips-12953BWX2-LED-Bulb-p/12953bwx2.htm



In the past I have replaced my stock OEM Halogens with cheap Ebay Kydo bulbs (a cheap HID “equivalent” knockoff) that were popular on here in the early years of the 2nd Gen trucks. I did not have good luck with them. They would only last a few weeks before a bulb would fail. I eventually switched back to the OEM halogens, which I have been running for the majority of the eight years I have owned my truck.

I also briefly ran an HID kit for several weeks, which I removed after being pulled over for “blinding” oncoming traffic due to the HID failing to maintain the factory beam pattern as well as constantly being flashed by oncoming traffic. Since that time, one of my biggest pet peeves has been improperly retrofitted OEM housings with cheap Chinese HID kits. So, to make a long story short, if these do not maintain the factory beam pattern, they won’t stay in my vehicle.

My truck currently has 100% factory OEM housings and reflectors. I had the headlights replaced by my dealership about a year ago due to the warranty extension caused by melting/bubbling lenses on the DTRL’s. The installation of the Philips LED H4 bulbs did lead me to discover my passenger side lamp is severely mis-aimed, however, I made no adjustments to it during the course of my review to maintain the integrity of my light output comparison shots. (Which drove me crazy!)

Install

Installation was relatively straight forward. I did struggle a little bit to get the LED into the stock housing, but it had nothing to do with the quality/fitment of the Philips bulbs. The LED bulbs are a bit longer than the stock halogens, and in my haste (and laziness, if I am being completely honest), I did not remove my battery or windshield washer fluid reservoir to give myself adequate room to access the rear of my housings. Had I done so, the install would have been a breeze. However, even in the tight space, I was able to get the Philips bulbs installed in the housing with relative ease. Installation was very similar to swapping out and reinstalling of the OEM Halogens, aside from the few extra connections required for the driver of the LEDs.

05Moose did an excellent write up on installation with pictures as well as highlighting the differences between the OEM Halogens and these bulbs, which can be found here. So I felt no need to duplicate efforts.



Color/Kelvin

Philips rates these bulbs at 6200k. I can tell you, they are not 6200k…they do not have the “ricey” blue color what so ever. They are a bright white, similar to the color of light produced by newer import vehicles such as Acura and Lexus. Real life, I’d say they are somewhere in the realm of 4500-5000k. I personally think Philips hit the nail on the head with the color/kelvin, even though it is IMO incorrectly stated on the packaging. My wife runs 5000K HID’s in her Camry and they are very similar in color/kelvin to what the Philips LED’s produce. The Philips LEDs are hands down superior in the color/Kelvin to the OEM Halogens.

Pattern/Cutoff/Glare

This is a big section for me, due to the fact that if the Philips LEDS failed to maintain factory beam pattern/cutoff, or produced glare which blinded oncoming traffic, it would be a deal breaker for me and they would be removed from my vehicle.

I have happy to report I found Philips claim of maintaining factory beam pattern/cutoff to be accurate. I have been running them for nearly a month, and have not been flashed or had any negative reactions from drivers around me. I have also driven behind my wife when she was is in her Camry (which sits lower than my truck) and she had no complaints regarding the lights being blinding, causing glare, etc. I have also noticed as I drive through dips/gutters, in the distance, I can clearly see a sharp, distinct cutoff line produced with these bulbs. Unfortunately, I was unable to capture this in a photo.

To be honest, I did however initially struggle with the splotchiness off the LEDS, especially up near the truck at the bottom of the beam pattern. In my research I found that this splotchiness is caused by having multiple diodes producing the light, rather than one long filament like the OEM Halogen use. I will say, I only really noticed this for the first night, while parked stationary in my driveway. It no longer bothers me, nor do I really even notice it when driving down the road. In fairness, I cannot say whether or not this splotchiness was present with the stock Halogens and I just didn’t notice it due to always running my fogs and the fact that the halogen output was significantly less than LED and as such the LED exaggerated it due to the increased output.

Conclusion

Having driven with the Philips H4 LED bulbs for nearly a month, I feel I have had adequate time to evaluate them, as well as drive with them in several different weather conditions (Dry, Rain, Snow, Fog, etc).

With the expectations I mentioned in my introductions, I feel these bulbs more than live up to the claims made by Philips. They are significantly brighter that the OEM Halogens, and really do provide a plug and play replace and forget solution for those seeking higher light output without sacrificing longevity of the bulb or modification of the housing to achieve it!

Now for what everyone wants to see….

The comparison shots…

For some reason, my camera picked up a significant green hue when taking pictures through the windshield, for this reason I also have included photos taken from the bed of the truck over the cab, IMO these photos provide the most accurate rendering of the light output and color of each bulb. I have some beam pattern comparison pics on a block wall that for some reason did not make it onto my computer. I will upload them and add them later.

Lo’s






Hi’s

 

Great write up! I have been looking at getting these for a few weeks. I am assuming the ones linked will fit an 05 headlight? Did you have any problem with them in the fog? I know at times leds are not the best idea in foggy weather.

 

Yes, the linked bulbs will fit an 05, or any vehicle that uses an H4 bulb for that matter.

I had zero issues with them in any of the weather I drove in. I experienced increased visibility over the OEM Halogens regardless of the weather.

 

Good deal! Thanks for the informative write up!

 

My pleasure!

 

269.00 do they last a lifetime? I use Sylvania ZXE Bulbs and have always loved them. Wonder how these would compare?

 

Are he ones you are running led?

 

No was thinking of going LED as these bulbs I use generally last a year or a little more

 

They come with a 3 year warranty..and I would imagine, given the lifespan of LED's, I could see them having a similar rating of 20-50,000 hrs. I will get in contact with the distributor to see if Philips has provided them with any numbers.

Xenondepot pretty consistently runs coupons for 20% off...right now you can use XMAS20.

 

Dear Lord that is pricey.

My fear would be the run around on a warranty claim. Cuz at the price of a loan payment, i would want several working years out of them...

 

Good write up OP.

Philips is a quality name brand. Other LED setups have had serious quality issues, just see the Lifetime LED thread. Pretty much trash but 'covered under warranty', you just need to send in your headlights for a warranty claim every 2 months - year. Quality products will cost more, and this is the first LED by a quality name brand designed to give a properly formatted beam without glare. And on top of that it isn't designed with common failure points like circuit cooling fans of other LED kits.

Note that on the tech specs page in the link by the OP the lights lumen rating:
Lumens [lm]: 1000+/-15% Low Beam, 1250+/-15% High Beam

The rating is similar to standard halogens, as the OPs pictures show you gain a bit more light, much higher kelvin lighting color and lower current draw.

 

I understand and would have some confidence in Phillips as a brand. And perhaps I am confusing information, but I thought I read from someone that xenondepot ships direct from China? If thats the case, i maintain that a warranty claim would be a borderline trainwreck.

 

My shipment came from across the north border from Windsor Ontario, Canada....that is a long way from China...

 

So you are implying i may be recalling incorrectly that someone said they were shipped straight from China?

 

Just sharing the facts of my order...I have seen a member on here who had an issue with a flicker driver, he was taken care of promptly, and to knowledge without issue.

 

Ah. Ok. I was distracted by your geography lesson.

 

One MAJOR difference between LED, HIDs, and standard Halogen can be seen in your photos (as I've seen in other online reviews). The Halogen bulbs don't "appear as bright" but they do through light out to the sides better. You'll notice you CANNOT see the chain link fence in ANY of the LED photos. However, you see it in all the Halogen photos. If you're worried about animals/game on the road side factory Halogen is the way to go.

One of the things I noticed when I got my Tacoma was how bright the factory headlamps were compared to my old Camry. Personally, I think the truck throws out a good amount of light with the factory setup so far.

 

The LEDs are a compromised design, though this is the best one for an LED. The reflector is specifically designed for halogen, not an LED, even though these attemp to simulate a halogen.

Factory halogen is not the best way, high powered halogens are. These Philips LEDs are 1250 lumens, my halogens are a nuclear 2400 lumens. Not even remotely in the same class.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

I saw your write up not long ago.

I was just pointing out that "brighter" doesn't always mean you actually see more. Even the "dimmer" factory halogen actually illuminated a larger area. That was my point. It's a trade off when you swap out.

 

Right, just like brighter HIDs actually don't help you see more because the beam is Fubared. And kelvin temp should not be confused with light output.

For those wanting to switch to LED and have a whiter light I think this is the best option. It is the only one I know of that is attempted to match the correct optics. However, it is not the best option for superior visibility and light lumen output.