Hi all.
My car being a 64 plate Insignia Elite with the AFL system I thought I would give it a go and replace my D3S bulbs.
Looking online at Amazon etc I noticed that the general D3S bulb from Philips or Osram can cost up to the same as a full service so I decided to skip that and turn to our friends in the east.
Using Ali express I found a mass of after market bulbs from companies I've never heard of. I thought I would play it safe and skip anything that cost below 15 quid. This ruled out the "super vision" bulbs which are everywhere on Ali express
I noticed a few listing of Philips bulb but with china's copyright once being describe by Jeremy Clarkson as "copyright law doesn't translate that well into mandarin" I thought that these must be fake and avoid.
After comparing reviews (which outside of AliExpress are pretty much none exsistant) I decided to settle with a brand called DMEX.
I was swayed by these as there are several tests on YouTube showed that they actually worked.
I placed my order for my D3S bulbs (5500k) and began my wait. Total delivery time took 5 days from China which must be some sort of record. But due to work commitments I missed the originally delivery and picked the bulbs up from my local post office on the 2nd.
Fitting was simpler that I thought it would have being. Having owned previous Vauxhalls like a Corsa and a astra H in where you actually have to drop the bumper and remove the lights to fit bulbs as otherwise you need arms like the size of a child.
I simply twisted the cap for the low beam and twisted the bulb out. Removed the holder attached to my new bulb and refitted.
During daylight the light was certainly more whiter than the previous Osram Xenarc which at the time of changing over was 4 years old.
Light output is certainly improved from stock providing a more daylight white light compared to the previous halogen/xenon 4300k mix. I guess the main question is how long will they last? I guess with that only time will tell but I will keep yous updated.
Would certainly recommend these bulbs. I do wish there were a tad brighter. When I say that I mean bright as them xenon powered range rovers but it certainly does the job.
Anyone else tried bulbs of Ali express?
My car being a 64 plate Insignia Elite with the AFL system I thought I would give it a go and replace my D3S bulbs.
Looking online at Amazon etc I noticed that the general D3S bulb from Philips or Osram can cost up to the same as a full service so I decided to skip that and turn to our friends in the east.
Using Ali express I found a mass of after market bulbs from companies I've never heard of. I thought I would play it safe and skip anything that cost below 15 quid. This ruled out the "super vision" bulbs which are everywhere on Ali express
I noticed a few listing of Philips bulb but with china's copyright once being describe by Jeremy Clarkson as "copyright law doesn't translate that well into mandarin" I thought that these must be fake and avoid.
After comparing reviews (which outside of AliExpress are pretty much none exsistant) I decided to settle with a brand called DMEX.
I was swayed by these as there are several tests on YouTube showed that they actually worked.
I placed my order for my D3S bulbs (5500k) and began my wait. Total delivery time took 5 days from China which must be some sort of record. But due to work commitments I missed the originally delivery and picked the bulbs up from my local post office on the 2nd.
Fitting was simpler that I thought it would have being. Having owned previous Vauxhalls like a Corsa and a astra H in where you actually have to drop the bumper and remove the lights to fit bulbs as otherwise you need arms like the size of a child.
I simply twisted the cap for the low beam and twisted the bulb out. Removed the holder attached to my new bulb and refitted.
During daylight the light was certainly more whiter than the previous Osram Xenarc which at the time of changing over was 4 years old.
Light output is certainly improved from stock providing a more daylight white light compared to the previous halogen/xenon 4300k mix. I guess the main question is how long will they last? I guess with that only time will tell but I will keep yous updated.
Would certainly recommend these bulbs. I do wish there were a tad brighter. When I say that I mean bright as them xenon powered range rovers but it certainly does the job.
Anyone else tried bulbs of Ali express?
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