# General > Motoring >  Advice on replacement headlights

## Anfield

I need to replace the dipped beam on my car.
It takes H7 bulbs and wondering if anyone can recommend a good replacement.
I have looked online at Ring & Osram bulbs but both of  them seem to have a problem of failing after a few weeks/months

Any suggestions?

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## theone

I use Philips Xtreme's without any problems but I think a lot is down to luck.

Manufacturers recommend replacing them in pairs but I'm not sure if that's for technical reasons or those of greed!

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## mi16

> I use Philips Xtreme's without any problems but I think a lot is down to luck.
> 
> Manufacturers recommend replacing them in pairs but I'm not sure if that's for technical reasons or those of greed!


Assuming that you installed your lamps at the same time and they are both rated for similar hours of use then it stands to reason that when one fails the other will not be far behind it.
Also the lamp may have degraded over time therefore if you change only one then there is the possibility of having one headlight brighter than the other.

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## XR2

I find it odd that supposedly Ring and Osram H7 bulbs are failing so quickly both are reputable brands.  I am running Ring H7 bulbs and not had any issue with them.  Not meaning to teach the proverbial granny to suck eggs but its important to remember never to handle the glass part of a halogen lamp as this does lead to premature failure.

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## Anfield

> Assuming that you installed your lamps at the same time and they are both rated for similar hours of use then it stands to reason that when one fails the other will not be far behind it.
> Also the lamp may have degraded over time therefore if you change only one then there is the possibility of having one headlight brighter than the other.


In a perfect world ( same materials, manufacturing process etc) pairs of bulbs would last the same length of time But, as we all know we do not live in a perfect world.

I would have thought that new products would come with a 12 month/mileage  guarantee but seems that car parts are exempt from this

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## mi16

Doesn't really compute for things like lamps.
if you do all your driving at night then clearly your lamps will burn out sooner than a mainly daytime driver
plus our potholed roads will rattle the life out of a lamp whereas a smoother motorway driver will maybe last longer
and also as XR2 states, a hamfisted installation will dramatically reduce lamp life

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