General: XC90 2008 xenon bulb

[na13zz]

So it’s not bi-xenon...I see on one site that the socket is d1s, the other website said D2R. I am not able to find the socket for my car in the manual on the internet. Anyone able to help with the socket?

[SwissXC90]

In the Owner's Manual under Lamps it tells you what lamps are fitted.

A 2008 is D1S (I have a 2009 and changed my Xenons 2 years ago)

Don't buy cheap crap. A lot of fake Xenons exist on the Internet
You can now buy proper Osram that you can authenticate for good prices.

[Tannaton]

Lamps that end in R are for reflector based fittings, lamps that end in S are for projector types. If you have a “glass eye” in your headlamps then it’s projector I.e. S.

[na13zz]

Cheers for the help. Any suggestions on the bulb that may be the brightest and have a nice looking color too.

[SwissXC90]

Originally Posted by na13zz

Cheers for the help. Any suggestions on the bulb that may be the brightest and have a nice looking color too.

OSRAM Xenarc are the OEM bulbs and really good:
https://www.osram.com/am/ecat/XENARC...ctv=&etcc_plc=

Standard is 4300K colour temperature (daylight)

They do a range of different types, including the Night Breaker, which is brighter (and as a consequence has a shorter lifespan):
https://www.osram.com/am/ecat/XENARC...t/ZMP_4058323/

As for what "nice looking" means to you: well, that is entirely a personal preference that only you can answer.

For me: I was totally happy with the OSRAM Xenarc OEM bulbs i my XC90, and fitted the same type on replacement.

[na13zz]

Originally Posted by SwissXC90

OSRAM Xenarc are the OEM bulbs and really good:
https://www.osram.com/am/ecat/XENARC...ctv=&etcc_plc=

Standard is 4300K colour temperature (daylight)

They do a range of different types, including the Night Breaker, which is brighter (and as a consequence has a shorter lifespan):
https://www.osram.com/am/ecat/XENARC...t/ZMP_4058323/

As for what "nice looking" means to you: well, that is entirely a personal preference that only you can answer.

For me: I was totally happy with the OSRAM Xenarc OEM bulbs i my XC90, and fitted the same type on replacement.

any comments on the brightness of Cool blue intense? I like the whiter color but i am scared that a lot of light will be lost

[SwissXC90]

Originally Posted by na13zz

any comments on the brightness of Cool blue intense? I like the whiter color but i am scared that a lot of light will be lost

They are all super bright, and around the same.
Night Breaker is a bit brighter.
For A/B comparisons, check out these videos:

Standard Osram
https://youtu.be/Tp4Yagtu54U

Night Breaker
https://youtu.be/-lKt77Sk35I

Measured brightness in LUX is different to perceived brightness by humans.
A person takes colour temp more into account than a light meter does.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by SwissXC90

Measured brightness in LUX is different to perceived brightness by humans.
A person takes colour temp more into account than a light meter does.

This is a very good point - the human eye is generally more sensitive to colour temperatures lower down the spectrum - so "daylight" temperatures (5000 - 5500k) are likely to give better results for the human driver than higher output lamps of a higher colour temperature (6500k and above). The higher temperature lamps often have very poor green colour rendering meaning dark nights down country roads can need more care. Also the higher the colour temperature - the greater the degradation through fog.

This also is the irony of the drive to replace street lighting in the UK with LED. The old yellow low pressure sodium lights whilst not a great colour to look at pictures by, were not only the most efficient light source commercially available but the colour temperature of their light was at the spectrum where the human eye is the most sensitive and also their light is least impacted by fog.

The other point is that as the electrical power through a HID lamp is electronically limited by the ballast, there is no scope for "higher wattage" lamps like there is in some applications of halogen lamps. There are some designs which give marginally more light, but in invariably at the expense of shorter lamp life.