As promised, here is my review of the new deAutoKey H15 replacement bulbs. Before I start, a little background.
My wife and I live in a rural area that's home to a colossal deer population. Strong high beams on any car we own are a must. Before my GTI, I owned a 2006 Mini Cooper S, into which I installed a pair of Osram 65W H7 "Rallye" bulbs. Even though the difference was only 10 watts, the increase in lumens was from ~1600 to 2100. The bulbs made a huge difference, and they've been my standard for comparison ever since. (unfortunately, these bulbs are no longer available)
My original plan was to order a pair of Ed's HID replica lights, and install those same H7 bulbs in them, but when I saw the deAutoKey bulbs hit the forum, I decided it would be worth it to try them out. After all, 80 bucks is a lot better than $480 (plus the new H7s if I found something comparable to the Rallyes).
Installation of the new bulbs wasn't bad, once I realized that they can withstand a bit of manhandling. They have a bundle of braiding connected to them that's used for cooling, and you sort of have to grip them by the braiding to get them twisted into the socket. Once you do, you need to open up the braiding and spread it out so the bulb cools properly.
Before I continue, I need to explain how I came up with the pics below. In the past, I've had problems doing before/after pics at night, because I think that cell phone cameras will adjust to different levels of light, and I think that may affect the before/after results. So this time I took my Canon out and set it on full manual mode. My goal was to get as close to apples to apples as I could. Unfortunately, I still don't think the photos really do the bulbs justice, so I've added some additional ones farther down. Camera settings are above each pic.
Sorry about the blurry pics. I was resting the cam on the dash.
Stock low beams against the garage door. F4.0 @ 1/25th second.
Stock high beams. F4.0 @ 1/25
Stock high beams, country road. F4.0 1/4 sec
Stock high beam (left), deAutoKey LED (right), F4.0, 1/25
Both deAutoKey, F4.0, 1/25
deAutoKey, country road. F4.0 1/4 sec (this looked a lot more impressive in person for some reason)
DRL, deAutoKey (left), stock (right).
Before I go on, I want to point out that the results to the eye were noticeable better than how it looks to the camera. Because of that, I went out and took some cell phone pics. I should probably put the stocks back in and take the same pics, but they were a bit of a pain to install, and it's 1am. If you guys want me to take these same pics with the stockers, I'll do it tomorrow night.
DRLs + Fogs against garage door:
Final thoughts
These bulbs will take some getting used to. They're brighter, but the beam pattern is quite different than stock. You get this faceted effect, for lack of a better term. It's like when you shine a flashlight against a wall, you see darker and lighter areas because of how the reflector facets are. These bulbs have a similar effect, and you can see in the two cellphone pics.
What I like:
- The color (5000k) is perfect for me. I won't buy anything over 5500k because it's too "blue".
- They're definitely brighter.
- The beam spread is fantastic. They have white a wide, tall beam. When you're going downhill, you can see quite a ways up the other side of the upcoming hill.
- The DRL and fog light color are VERY close. When I run my DRLs + fogs (Euro switch), the car looks pretty badass. I used to hate the H15 DRLs because they seemed like such an afterthought. Now I don't mind them at all.
- The DRLs are bright enough to add some extra low beam light.
What I don't totally like:
- The faceted beam pattern will take a while to get used to.
Verdict:
After driving around the backroads for 15 minutes, I think I'm going to like these bulbs, and I really like the price. So, thumbs up from me. If you're thinking about getting a pair, I hope this review helps you out, whichever way you decide to go.
