Hi,

Right after buying my WRX, I replaced the stock headlight bulbs with a pair of OSRAM Silverstars. They're pretty good, put out a lot of light, etc. but now, a year later, they both blew out within a month of each other (broken filament). Are these types of bulbs inherently less durable than regular bulbs or did I just run into some bad luck? I always turn the headlights on after I start the car and turn them off before turning it off.

Thanks!

Do you have working DRLs or are they disabled? DRLs will shorten the life of any bulbs.

have you done a DRL mod after you installed them? 'cuz it kinda shortens the life of the bulbs when you have your headlights on all the time...

My DRLs are disabled. During the winter, when days are short, I'll have them on during my commute (2 hours total per day), and I drive maybe three hours a week at night, so I don't think the bulbs have gotten that much use.

I don't know what the rated life is for the Silverstars and how it compares to the OEMs. However most aftermarket bulbs will not last as long as stock ones or equivalents. There is by necessity a life-for-performance tradeoff. At least with the Silverstars you are getting the performance, unlike the blue bulbs that give you less usable light along with shorter life.
You might try contacting the vendor you purchased them from and asking about any warranty, but after a year I wouldn't expect anything.

agree

if you need durability you should consider those so called "double life" or " long life" or "extended life" bulbs which claims to be up to 2X longer life than regular bulbs.

Mulder's right. A year of driving with the lights on is something like 200 hours, right? That's actually a fairly good run for an Osram Silverstar.

High-output bulbs like the Osram Silverstar do have shorter lifespans than their standard-output equivalents.

Conversely, long-life bulbs have very low output.

The tradeoff is a fact of life... So which do you prefer? Seeing better but having to change bulbs more often, or seeing worse but not having to change bulbs as often?

Or not seeing at all when your bulbs burn out at night on a road trip?

Osram Silverstar's last longer then some other high output bulbs but still not as long as OEM's.

Still using the same Philips VisionPlus +50% bulbs I installed in Oct '03. No DRLs.

phantomsr - That's certainly a risk... Bulbs generally burn out at the time that they're turned on, though, so generally it's not likely to happen right in the middle of the road trip. And you always have spare bulbs handy, right?

I actually usually replace my bulbs before they blow out. As they get older their output decreases even if the filament doesn't break.