They take a couple hours to replace. You either need to remove the diagonal braces and airboxes (V8 has 2, V6 may only have one), or remove the bumper cover to remove the headlamp assemblies. I removed the airboxes, and it was still very difficult to reach back there to replace the bulbs. There's not a lot of room to use a screwdriver to unscrew the bracket that holds the bulb in place. If I had to do it again, I would remove the bumper cover.
HID bulbs gradually dim and turn bluer as they age, so if you're on your original bulbs almost anything will likely be an upgrade. I went with the Osram Night Breaker Laser because I prefer a slightly warmer color temperature, but if you're looking for cooler I have heard great things about the Philips X-tremeVision (
Philips Xenon X-tremeVision gen2 D1S HID Lamp | PowerBulbs US). The color temperature won't be as high as LED (i.e., they won't be as blue), but they'll be whiter than stock. Many higher color temperature (cooler/bluer) bulbs have lower output (in lumens) than stock color, but the X-tremeVision are the same output as stock or slightly brighter (the specs for legitimate bulbs are strictly controlled, so they can't be much brighter and still be legal).
For comparison (higher numbers are more blue): Halogen are 3000K, Osram Night Breaker Lasers are 4200K, stock HID bulbs (when new) are 4300K, the Philips X-tremeVisions are 4800K, and LEDs are usually around 6000K. Stock HID bulbs are 3200 lumens (brightness). 6000K HID bulbs are usually around 2800 lumens (12.5% less), but there can be a lot of variation.
Whatever you buy, watch out for fakes. Osram has a way to validate the bulbs on their website, and I believe Philips does as well. I have had good results ordering from PowerBulbs.com, but I'm sure there are other reliable retailers.
Lastly, make sure you check the aim after replacing the bulbs (it's a good idea after 8-9 years anyway). There are good instructions here:
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply (visual aiming instructions start about halfway through the text, after the section on optical aiming machines). It's not too difficult, you just find a flat spot (commercial parking garages work well), measure and mark the wall with tape or chalk, then adjust the headlights. You'll need a long, thin screwdriver to reach the adjustment screw.
