OSRAM Cool Blue Intense HID bulbs (5000K)

[NuVega]

Bought some Osram D1S bulbs, decided to go with the Cool Blue Intense ones this time since I hear so much about them on other forums. They are 5000K, and put out about 3200 lumens, give or take, which is the same as OEM 4300K from also Osram and Philips. Currently have approx. 6 hours on them, and they started at 4600K and now read 5000K-5200K, my camera can't decide. On a clear night, just as bright as my old bulbs, but just white in color, no yellow tint. Cool upgrade if your looking for whiter light output, but not the aftermarket blue that you sometimes see. Pictures/video below:

The bulbs, if you get the OEM version, the return rod looks brown in color, if you buy them aftermarket they are blue, same bulb/performance otherwise



OEM 4300K...( or 4100K, as what my camera read )



Cool Blue Intense...(this is when they were turned on for the first time, they got whiter since)



And short clip of them being turned on...goes from Cyan to Purple to White.

[NuVega]

Bought them from Amazon in case someone was curious, seller was Motive Mods.

[Operator]

Yep, I've been running mine since about May. The output gets better as you put more hours on them.

[BlueHiddenSun]

Bought them from Amazon in case someone was curious, seller was Motive Mods.

I really hope you didn't pay $175/bulb for those.

TheRetrofitSource.com sells them for $185/pair shipped, you just have to call and ask them because they don't have it on their website.

Either way, they are amazing lights. I have had them for a couple of months now and they still impress me. Sharp white light, without sacrificing any lumens.

[Operator]

Yeh, I grabbed mine from TRS.



And with the STi clear lens swap, they really shine (no pun intended)

[BlueHiddenSun]

Operator, you got any night time pics of output/cutoff??

I debated whether or not I wanted to do the STi lens swap, but didn't feel like tearing apart the headlights. I guess it would give me a good reason to do the CC mod as well.

[AudiMat]

I'm going to look into these, thanks for posting. You basically answered my question. I just put new e-code housings on my 01 S4 because my lights were REALLY dim and I figured my projectors were badly scorched. Amazing difference in beam pattern on the road and much better light output (obviously) but I was really disappointed to discover that my xenon bulbs seem REALLY yellowy. I pulled up next to my roommates '05 GTi and the difference between the color was very obvious... and he swears that he has stock bulbs in there. I don't buy it, but even if he has some aftermarket bulbs, my Xenons seem way less than even 4300K. Do these bulbs get better over time?

[BlueHiddenSun]

What exactly do you mean by "better"?

They are as bright as the 4300k OEM bulbs I replaced. The major difference with OEM and the CBI's is the color.

They give off an almost perfect white color. No blue, no yellow, no purple... PURE white.

[AudiMat]

What exactly do you mean by "better"?

They give off an almost perfect white color. No blue, no yellow, no purple... PURE white.

Thats what I mean by "better"!

[NuVega]

You may notice a slight yellow color when you fire them up for the first time, but after about 6-7hrs, they reach 5000-5200K, they start out at 4500-4600K. I also think the LED equipped Audis produce 5000K light too.

[Operator]

Operator, you got any night time pics of output/cutoff??

I debated whether or not I wanted to do the STi lens swap, but didn't feel like tearing apart the headlights. I guess it would give me a good reason to do the CC mod as well.

I don't have any with the STi/CBI combo, but Fly300kts has pics with either OEM of 6000k bulbs. I'll see if I can take some, but with it being winter and about 20 degrees or cooler at night I can't promise anything But the combo makes driving at night more enjoyable for me, that's for sure.

[ChrisGS4]

I just changed to 6000 k bulbs, nice color just a nice clean white light.

[NuVega]

After about a month or so, these bulbs still impress me. Drove in buddies BMW 335i w/ xenons, 4300K, and it's crazy because now they just look like bright halogens to my eyes...guess I'm just used to the CBIs now.

[wildcat333]

And with the STi clear lens swap, they really shine (no pun intended)

wtf does this mean?

[schulrog]

I really hope you didn't pay $175/bulb for those.

TheRetrofitSource.com sells them for $185/pair shipped, you just have to call and ask them because they don't have it on their website.

Either way, they are amazing lights. I have had them for a couple of months now and they still impress me. Sharp white light, without sacrificing any lumens.

The 190 price was for a pair of D2S not D1S which are considerably more expensive:)

[leezarae88]

very nice. thanks for posting the pics. awesome color choice.

[Operator]

wtf does this mean?

I don't have the OEM audi lenses anymore, I'm running a clear lens (STI replica) from theretrofitsource. Check out their site, and you'll see what I mean.

[BlueHiddenSun]

The 190 price was for a pair of D2S not D1S which are considerably more expensive:)

Weird, because I got a pair of D1S bulbs for $185 shipped from TRS.com.

Maybe somebody messed up on their end and thought I was asking for D2S bulbs and got that price, but sent D1S bulbs.

Either way, they are totally worth the price.

[diagnosticator]

I am running the D2S Osram CBI With OEM B5 S4 clear lenses in my B6 housings. No comparison.

[jeffrey146]

I can tell you right now they are not legit bulbs. 95% of the bulbs on amazon and ebay are not legit.

[NuVega]

I can tell you right now they are not legit bulbs. 95% of the bulbs on amazon and ebay are not legit.

How do you know? I saw your other post where you posted a PDF file that shows fake/real bulbs, however from what I could tell all those bulbs it was comparing were made by Philips...CBIs are made by Osram, so chances are the bulbs are made differently.

[Uk_b7]

I work at the retrofit source and just threw a set in my b7 a4 last weekend and love them

[freeloader700]

thanks for this post. I just ordered the same bulbs from eBay for $134. Hopefully they turn out well.

[robsilvr85]

+1

[AngeloB5.5]

I just swapped out last night from Phillips 6k's. I didn't like the blue tint and the light output wasn't very good at all. Now I can see!

[DaSkorpion]

Nice and awesome - where are folks buying these bulbs from these days?

[AngeloB5.5]

The retrofit store. Fast shipping, fair pricing.

[NuVega]

Making the switch to Osram SVS bulbs next weekend, going to give them a try, had to import them from a seller in Germany as they are not readily available here in the USA. Curious how they perform in comparison to my current CBI bulbs.

[freeloader700]

How are the SVS bulbs? Lets see some shots

[NuVega]

Haven't had the chance to install the SVS bulbs yet, thanks to Hurricane Sandy my flight home has been pushed back, I'll post pics when I get a chance.

[NuVega]

Finally back, putting in the SVS bulbs in tonight

[freeloader700]

awesome! Can't wait to see them

[NuVega]

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...28PIC-heavy%29

I posted pics and few light output...I'm going to wait until the bulbs are fully burned in before showing actual results.

[imnuts]

Just installed new bulbs and ballasts today, and put in CBIs rather than the OEM Philips bulbs. They are much brighter than my old bulbs, and it even looks like the cutoff is better. Now if only I could fix my auto level error, I'd be happy with my headlights.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2