Does your car headlight use a D3S bulb? Then this guide will help you make the right choice among the many bulbs that are on the market.
If you need help choosing a bulb for your car, read our guide to choosing a car lamp, or use the lamp selection for each car model on our website.
D3S Bulbs Guide
Types of bulbs
Bulbs Review
Buying Guide
What is a D3S bulb?
D3S lamps are quite versatile, these lamps are installed in the headlights of high and low beam.
D3S lamps are currently one of the most popular bulbs on the market due to their design and good sealing.
Variety of D3S car bulbs
D3S bulbs are most commonly installed in dipped beam and fog lights. Depending on the light source, D3S dipped-beam bulbs are available in different versions:
- Halogen bulbs
- LED bulbs
- HID Xenon lamps
Best Brightest D3S Bulb

OSRAM D3S XENARC Night Breaker Laser
Product information:
- 4500 Kelvin
- 200% more brightness
- 20% whiter xenon light
- Voltage 42 Volts, Wattage 35 watts
D3S Halogen Bulbs
The halogen D3S bulb is arranged as follows: the filament is located in a bulb, the material of which is carbide or quartz glass.
Halogen D3S bulbs are easy to install, inexpensive, and good performance. Along with these advantages, halogen lamps have a disadvantage. During operation, they heat up to a high temperature.
Halogen D3S bulbs have a good price to quality ratio, which is the reason for their frequent use. Currently, among the manufacturers of D3S bulbs, there are several leaders in terms of brightness. These brands are OSRAM, Philips, SYLVANIA, the brightness of these lamps is 150% higher than the standard lamp.
Halogen D3S bulbs are fully approved for on-road use in all states and are warranted by the manufacturer. We have chosen incandescent bulbs with 150% more light, these D3S halogen bulbs are the brightest on the market.
These bulbs are easy to install because you replace halogen with halogen, and you have no problem installing them. The disadvantage of D3S halogen bulbs is their lifespan.
The brighter the light, the shorter the life of the D3S bulb. This is because there is a filament inside the D3S bulb, which burns out quickly. If you want a long life, use LED bulbs.
Best D3S Halogen Bulb
PHILIPS D3S HID Xenon Bulb
Product information:
- Type of Bulb Halogen
- 4800K
- Up to 150% more light
- UV-Quartz glass
- Wattage 35 watts
Philips D2S Standard Authentic Xenon
Product information:
- Type of Bulb Halogen
- 4200 K
- 85V, 35W
OSRAM D3S Xenon Headlight Bulbs
Product information:
- Halogen Bulb
- 7000K
- Voltage 42V, Wattage 35W
Torchbeam D3S Xenon Headlight Bulbs
Product information:
- Halogen Bulb
- 6000K
- The service life of 3000 hours
- Voltage 12 Volts, Wattage 35 Watts
BEAMTECH D3S HID Bulbs
Product information:
- Halogen Bulb
- 8000K
- The lifetime of 3,000 hours
- Voltage 12V, Wattage 35W
SYLVANIA D3S zXe Headlight Bulb
Product information:
- Halogen Bulb
- Voltage 12V
- Wattage 35W
Best D3S LED Bulbs
LED D3S bulbs are usually brighter than halogen bulbs. They last much longer, use less energy, and are easy to install.
The D3S LED lights are often the perfect choice for those looking for clean, bright, white light. Today, they are considered one of the best. This fact is due to their following advantages:
- Low power consumption
- Large operating term
- Resistance to mechanical vibrations
The lighting device based on diodes is suitable for both low and high beams. In addition to the positives, LED D3S bulbs have a disadvantage – the high cost. LED lamps from halogen lamps differ in that the latter are spotlight sources. LED bulbs consist of a cylinder on which LEDs are installed. The most popular D3S LED bulb manufacturers: OSRAM, Philips, BEAMTECH, HIKARI, Fahren, Cougar Motor, NINEO, Aukee, AUTO ONE, CAR ROVER, and others.
Best D3S LED Headlight Bulbs
VehiCode D3S/D3R LED Headlight Bulb
Product information:
- 6000K
- 8400Lms
- 90% HID beam accuracy
- >30000 Hours
- Voltage 45V, Wattage 35W
DZG D1S/D1R Led Headlight Bulb
Product information:
- 8400LM
- 30,000 hours long life
- 150% brighter
Best D3S Xenon Bulbs
The xenon D3S lamp consists of a bulb containing gases and two electrodes. The D3S headlight shines due to the electric arc that occurs between the electrodes.
Genuine D3S Xenon headlights are standard on some vehicles but are often offered as an option when you purchase your car. Xenon D3S headlights work a little differently than standard halogen bulbs, and actually require two main components to work: ballast and bulb. Compared to other car bulbs, xenon bulbs have the following features:
- white color with a tinge of blue, which does not blind oncoming drivers
- high luminous intensity
- immunity to mechanical vibration
Xenon auto lamp D3S is not without disadvantages, namely:
- High price
- When installing it is required to additionally install the ignition unit (ballast)
The disadvantages are the reason why the xenon bulb is used less often than the halogen bulb. The most popular LED bulb manufacturers: OSRAM, Philips, SYLVANIA, Optilux Hella, Xentec, RCP, and others.
Best D3S Hid Xenon Bulbs
Mega Racer D3S/D3C/D3R HID Headlight Bulb
Product information:
- 6000K
- 8000Lm
- Service life up to 5,000 hours
SYLVANIA D3S zXe Headlight Bulb
Product information:
- With 3 times more light output
- Voltage 12V
- Wattage 35w
D3S Bulbs Review
A review of D3S bulbs can boil down to a few parameters
It is the type of D3S bulb: halogen bulbs, LED bulbs, or xenon lamps. The next factors are the brightness of the bulbs and the color of the lamps.
Lamps with a D3S base are used for cars with high mileage, which means that the optics will not be in the best condition: faded reflector, cloudy diffuser. In this case, the most interesting option for purchase is lamps with increased luminous efficacy. Careful when buying bulbs with increased brightness and need to be to their light distribution – if they will start to blow on the oncoming lane, the drivers there will be much more noticeable.
The normal practice among well-known manufacturers to indicate on the packaging that the lamps are designed exclusively for off-road use only (for off-road use): For example, such lamps can be put in the headlight-seeker or headlamp chandelier raid car, but on the road, they really have nothing to do.
As for the color temperature, of course, you can choose any, except that white, going into a bright blue. However, the saturated yellow glow is still better left for the fog lights with transparent diffusers, the main light to make whiter: each color has its own advantages, and here in this combination they are best revealed.
D3S Lamp socket
Make sure you buy the right type of bulb for your car. D3S bulbs are bulbs for a car headlight or for fog light. You can determine what type of bulb you need for your car by checking this information in your owner’s manual. You can also find out what type of bulb you need by using the bulb selection by make and model of your car using our website. On the car bulb finder page, you will find information on what type of bulbs you need to use.
D3S Bulbs Buying Guide
Once you’ve determined that D3S bulbs are what you need, you can start searching for the brightest D3S bulbs. When choosing a D3S bulb, you need to consider the following factors:
- Light distribution on the road
- Power consumption
- Luminous flux
- Compliance with light distribution with established standards
Power of D3S bulbs diode
The power of the LED depends on the brightness of the light it emits, and the higher the quality of the diode, the higher its efficiency will be. We do not recommend that you choose the most powerful and brightest models for your vehicle.
Dependence of power from the cooling system D3S bulbs
An LED generates a lot of heat when it emits light, and the higher the wattage of the lamp, the more heat the lamp produces. Poor cooling or poor quality results in the LED not being able to operate at full power.
The noisiness of the D3S bulbs cooler
If your choice fell on a powerful D3S lamp with active cooling, then note that the cooler’s poor quality lamps are not only more likely to fail but also create a certain noise and vibration, which can be heard in the cabin. Constant monotonous barely audible hum sooner or later will drive even the most sedate driver crazy.
The brightness of D3S bulbs
It is customary to measure the brightness of a lamp in lumens, this value indicates how much light you get from the lamp. Lumens indicate the amount of light distributed by any light source. The more lumens, the brighter the light from the lamp. At the same time, fewer lumens give less light.
Color temperature D3S bulbs
The most popular D3S LED bulbs have a color temperature of 5000-6000K, such a bulb is suitable for most cars. If you prefer the yellow color of the headlights, it is better to choose a D3S lamp with a temperature of 4000K, such a lamp will be less bright, but more natural for the eyes. Brighter light sources with a temperature of 5000-6000K provide better visibility in rainy weather when the lamp is properly focused than similar light sources with a yellow spectrum. Do not raise the color temperature of the lamp too much and choose D3S bulbs with 7000-8000 K, regardless of optics and focus, they will not provide the same quality illumination. Modern D3S LED lamps are capable of producing light with different color temperatures:
- Warm white (up to 3500 K)
- Neutral white (4200 to 5000 K)
- Cold white (temperature 6000 to 10000 K)
How do I install a D3S bulb?
To facilitate installation in cramped conditions, the ring of the base on all the bulbs is made removable. First, the ring of the base is installed, clamped by a locking device, then the D3S diode bulb itself is placed. Sometimes there are problems when installing the light bulb in the headlight, the headlight cover does not close when the cooling system is placed.
Always remember that the choice of automobile lamps D3S for dipped beam – a responsible thing, because they determine the safety of the road.
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