When it comes to headlights, technology gives you no room for the promise but instead, it offers you plenty of options to explore. To those that enjoy driving at night, your vehicle’s headlights are essential add-ons that illuminate the road ahead of you while making you visible to other motorists. But, with the modern advancement in headlight technology, most motorists have faced extreme pressure when choosing the perfect headlights. One such situation is picking between Philips Xtreme Vision vs. Sylvania Ultra.
When it comes to such a debate, one question you’ll find yourself asking is which headlight set is best for your vehicle. While still asking yourself this question, some of the requirements you have to consider include the distance, lifespan, spread, and color of the headlight you’re buying.
Just as you’ve already guessed out of the title, this guide will walk you through Philips vs. Sylvania headlight bulbs. Although most customers have mentioned there isn’t much of a difference between them, we’ll still walk you through the features, specs, benefits, and any pros and cons that set these headlight bulbs apart.
Philips Extreme Vision Headlight Bulbs
Now, Philips is a Dutch manufacturer that’s hailed for producing some of the best headlight bulbs in the automotive business. The Philips Extreme Vision bulbs are believed to be the safest and some of the highest-performing bulbs in the market.
In fact, these bulbs are some of the highly-rated headlight bulbs when compared to most premium bulbs in their category. Now, what makes the Philips Extreme Vision bulbs rank among the best?
- DOT Compliance
When choosing headlights, it’s good to note that not all bulbs are road legal. Since safety is the first priority when driving, the DOT, or rather the Department of Transportation has set strict rules, which every motorist should abide by when it comes to headlights. One of those is installing DOT compliant headlights.
The best thing about Philips Extreme Vision bulbs is that they’re DOT compliant meaning they’re legal to use on public roads. These bulbs are extremely bright thus allowing them to provide sufficient illumination. On the other hand, these bulbs are not too bright to blind oncoming pedestrians and motorists.
- Sufficient Brightness
When it comes to night driving, there’s nothing as critical as having sufficient brightness while on the road. If you’re an aged driver, or simply someone that has issues with his/her vision, improved beam performance is one major factor you must consider. Thankfully, Philips Extreme Vision is among those headlight bulbs that offer this advantage.
With these bulbs, motorists are guaranteed up to 130% more brightness as compared to contemporary or generic bulbs. These bulbs offer immense visibility that allows you to view those dark spots while on the road. If you’re a driver that enjoys those thrilling mid-night excursions, Philips Extreme Vision bulbs give you better visibility that improves your reaction time in case you’re in a dire situation.
If you’re driving in foggy or dark winter conditions, high beam performance is extremely essential as it allows you to see further and more clearly. This will help you identify potentially dangerous situations that can cause serious accidents.
- Quick Wiring Process
When it comes to installation, Philips Extreme Vision headlight bulbs are very easy to install. In fact, the wiring process doesn’t demand any special skills or knowledge on wiring. All you need is to follow the manual and the rest of the process will be fluid and very simple. By installing these bulbs by yourself, you’ll end up saving funds that would have been used if you hired a professional.
- Color Temperature
When it comes to color temperature, Philips Extreme Vision bulbs glow with a bright white light that appears to be crispier, detailed, and higher in the definition. This white beam has a color temperature of 3400-3700 kelvin allowing it to mimic the light of day.
Whiter headlight bulbs provide a more detailed light that makes reflective road signs, pedestrians, potholes, and other obstructions more noticeable when driving. Therefore, if you’re searching for headlight bulbs that offer a perfect upgrade in terms of style and appearance, then Philips Extreme Vision bulbs are the best alternatives to consider.
- Longer Life Expectancy
Speaking of life expectancy, Philips Extreme Vision bulbs boast of having a life expectancy of approximately 450 hours. Comparing this lifespan with most contemporary bulbs, you’ll notice that these bulbs are longer lasting hence the best if you’re looking to save more on headlight bulbs.
However, you need to note that the life expectancy of these bulbs differs a lot depending on several factors such as the amount of voltage running in your vehicle and your driving conditions.
Pros of Philips Extreme Vision Bulbs
- Very Affordable: The best thing about Philips Extreme Vision bulbs is that they’re very affordable. The price range is decent and the power consumption is very low at 50-60 watts.
- Illumination: When driving at night, these bulbs distribute light efficiently making it easier for you to view the road ahead.
- Visibility: Unlike most generic bulbs, Philips Extreme Vision bulbs offer a huge upgrade on visibility as they produce a whiter light that mimics the light of day. This is a huge advantage for drivers who drive at night.
- Superb Color Temperature: Unlike most generic bulbs, Philips Extreme Vision provides you with an improved color temperature that gives you a crisp and clear view of the road ahead. This is a safety feature that lowers the probability of causing an accident when driving in the middle of the night.
- Good Quality: About the quality, most Philips Extreme Vision bulbs are built and manufactured to the highest standards that make them road legal.
Cons
- Shorter Lifespan: Due to their extremely high brightness, Philips Extreme Vision bulbs have a shorter lifespan than most lower-performing bulbs. As a result, this makes them a bit expensive to procure, as you have to keep replacing them.
- Quite Delicate: Although Philips boasts of using the highest technology, these bulbs are both fragile and delicate making them susceptible to damage if proper care is not observed.
Sylvania Ultra Headlight Bulbs
Sylvania is another headlight bulb company that manufactures some of the best bulbs for automotive use. If you’re in the United States, then you’re aware of this brand quite well. If you’re in Europe, or any other part of the globe, then you’re aware of Osram. Osram is the mother company that owns Sylvania. In fact, this brand has owned Sylvania for nearly 20 years making it a major brand in the automotive business.
Now, when buying headlight bulbs, why go for halogen bulbs when there’s a huge improvement in the HID and LED technology? Well, the answer is simple. Halogen bulbs are far much cheaper and easy to install than most HID and LED bulbs.
When it comes to Sylvania Ultra, these halogen bulbs are manufactured using the latest lighting technology. The majority of these bulbs are manufactured and sold as OEM replacement parts for most modern vehicles. This is a huge advantage to most car owners as replacing these bulbs will not tamper with your car’s halogen setup.
In fact, this is far much better than dealing with HIDs and LEDs as you have to think of extra wiring, ballast, and dealing with compatibility issues. So, with that said, why go for Sylvania Ultra over most of its close competitors?
- DOT Compliance
One major advantage of buying headlight bulbs from a company such as Sylvania is that you don’t have to worry about compliance. That’s because their bulbs are designed to meet all the needed requirements such as SAE and DOT requirements. Furthermore, these bulbs come as a pair to ensure symmetrical lighting when driving on dark roads.
- Whiter Light
If you inspect most Sylvania Ultra headlight bulbs, you’ll notice that most of them have a bluish tint on the glass. This special coating is mostly combined with a proprietary gas mixture to deliver a bright whitish light that’s rated at around 4100K.
With such a whiter light, these bulbs can improve the contrast of objects ahead of you making it easier for you to distinguish objects when driving. This gives you a comfortable and safer driving experience.
- Advanced Brightness
When it comes to headlight technology, most people admire the looks of HID and LED bulbs over halogen bulbs. The main challenge, however, comes in when installing, as you have to cope with complex wiring when fixing HIDs and LEDs on halogen sockets. Another challenge is dealing with DOT compliance as most of the LED bulbs are not road legal.
So, to avoid all these hectic costs, most car owners prefer to take the halogen route by picking Sylvania Ultra bulbs. Although these bulbs produce a slight yellow tinge, most of the light you’ll see is whiter and intense. These bulbs have a higher light output that provides a wider viewing angle.
- Easy Installation Process
When it comes to installation, Sylvania Ultra bulbs have the simplest installation process. The best thing about these bulbs is that they’re halogen bulbs. This alone eliminates the tedious wiring process that comes along when installing HIDs and LEDs. You also don’t have to buy any installation kits when installing these bulbs as you only need to plug them on the headlight sockets and you’re done.
However, to guarantee safety, it’s important that you wear gloves when installing Sylvania Ultra bulbs to avoid touching the glass. Remember, touching the glass with oily or greasy hands can leave deposits on the bulb’s glass, which can lead to premature wear.
Pros of Sylvania Ultra Headlight Bulbs
- Easy Installation Process: Just as we’ve mentioned earlier, Sylvania Ultra bulbs are designed to offer the simplest installation process. Here, you won’t need any conversion kits nor will you need to employ a professional to perform complex wiring. All you need is to plug the bulbs and that’s it.
- Brighter and Whiter: When it comes to brightness and clarity, Sylvania Ultra boasts of being the brightest bulbs in the halogen category. These bulbs glow with a whiter light that illuminates a wider side angle to enhance the contrast of objects when driving down a dark road. In fact, these bulbs are 50% brighter and whiter than their lower-grade counterparts.
- Perfect Color Temperature: While most halogen bulbs are known to produce a yellowish hue, Sylvania Ultra headlight bulbs have a bluish tint in their glass and a proprietary gas mixture that removes the yellow tinge from the bulb to make the light produced much whiter and brighter. This is a huge advantage for night driving, as drivers will have better clarity when driving.
Cons
- Shorter Lifespan: One of the major setbacks of Sylvania Ultra bulbs is that they have a shorter lifespan than most of their counterparts. They have a lifespan of 200 hours and a failure rate of about 23%. However, Sylvania has mentioned that one of the reasons that lower the lifespan of these bulbs is the physical conditions they’re exposed to, which sometimes can surpass their capability.
So, Which Headlight Bulb is the Best?
Now, when you compare Philips Extreme Vision vs. Sylvania Ultra, you’ll realize that both of these bulbs are brighter and bolder. However, there are slight differences that set both apart. One of those is the lifespan. For Philips Extreme Vision bulbs, these ones have a lifespan of approximately 300 to 450 hours. This is quite different from Sylvania Ultra bulbs, which have a lifespan of just 200 hours.
When it comes to illumination, both of these bulbs are brighter and whiter. However, the Sylvania Ultra bulbs are slightly brighter than the Philips Extreme Vision bulbs making them a better alternative. When it comes to producing whiter light, Philips Extreme Vision bulbs are the best. The reason for this is that Sylvania Ultra bulbs have a slight yellow tinge that makes their glowing hue less white.
Conclusion
When buying headlights, proper visibility is the biggest concern you need to address. Remember, your car’s headlights are the eyes that let you view the road ahead. Therefore, with extremely bright headlights, you’ll enjoy great illumination that will help you distinguish objects on the road.
So, with that said, we believe that this guide has shaded some light when it comes to the heated debate between Philips Extreme Vision vs. Sylvania Ultra.
