Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
03-15-2009, 06:44 PM
#26
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
You still lack knowledge on how lights work.
Do you know why japanese or German cars put halogen projectors with a wide-beam area on their tall cars and HID projectors with afs and autoleveling on their midsize and sedans/coupes?
I always get glare from the stupid cadillacs which mind you are still trying to catch up to HID technology and they don't even have any autoleveling function.
That's why people with a retrofit, who do not have the autoleveling function aim them lower than stock, or else when there are heavy things on the back, the front-end will be lifted and that will cause glare. That's what american cars don't understand.
Same happens with the old generation cars with Xenon projectors such as the tsx, TL, SC430, Gti, etc.
These cars will not blind you as blatantly as those pnp kits with their purple lights going straight at your eyes.
Do you know why japanese or German cars put halogen projectors with a wide-beam area on their tall cars and HID projectors with afs and autoleveling on their midsize and sedans/coupes?
I always get glare from the stupid cadillacs which mind you are still trying to catch up to HID technology and they don't even have any autoleveling function.
That's why people with a retrofit, who do not have the autoleveling function aim them lower than stock, or else when there are heavy things on the back, the front-end will be lifted and that will cause glare. That's what american cars don't understand.
Same happens with the old generation cars with Xenon projectors such as the tsx, TL, SC430, Gti, etc.
These cars will not blind you as blatantly as those pnp kits with their purple lights going straight at your eyes.
03-16-2009, 04:30 AM
#27
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
It's funny how people assume my comment is due to lack of intelligence, all this tells me each and everytime is the person posting ASSUMES they're smarter than everybody around them.
I know how the lights work, I know how the technology works, I own 4 sets of OE hid projectors and this has NO RELATION TOWARDS MY QUESTION.
You post the comment about cutting off people with PNP kits to cause them to crash, so once again I ask, Do you cut off cars with mis-aimed headlights, people running their highbeams, prius's or other mis-aimed factor HID's (yes I know most people with mis-aimed headlights have no clue it's happening)? These are all types of situations that can lead to people being blinded as well, so why not cause them vehicular harm?
I see this on now two forums that people believe that it's okay/funny to cause an accident or distruction simply because of a person is using a pnp kit, I'm glad that you think this is an acceptable action and find it funny you think it's okay since this is the same logic you're yelling at people for having with kits, "I'm more important so it's okay"....
I know how the lights work, I know how the technology works, I own 4 sets of OE hid projectors and this has NO RELATION TOWARDS MY QUESTION.
You post the comment about cutting off people with PNP kits to cause them to crash, so once again I ask, Do you cut off cars with mis-aimed headlights, people running their highbeams, prius's or other mis-aimed factor HID's (yes I know most people with mis-aimed headlights have no clue it's happening)? These are all types of situations that can lead to people being blinded as well, so why not cause them vehicular harm?
I see this on now two forums that people believe that it's okay/funny to cause an accident or distruction simply because of a person is using a pnp kit, I'm glad that you think this is an acceptable action and find it funny you think it's okay since this is the same logic you're yelling at people for having with kits, "I'm more important so it's okay"....
03-16-2009, 06:32 PM
#28
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
you were making an irrelevant point then cause op was asking for a good set of lights and you wanted to show him some sh** just to prove a point. yes, there are cheap *** lights out there but he is not looking to put crap into his car (i assume)
03-18-2009, 03:23 PM
#29
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
best light output i've found for that fitment is the Osram hypers, this is in terms of lumens. They pretty much smoke alot of the mass market stuff. the light isn't like some super crisp white, but it's a ton of light @ 2400/1750 lumens (i forget the voltage that was gathered at, but it's legit). do you want something that looks cool or something that really puts out a bunch of light? that's the problem most of the time.
i've always heard good things about the night breakers but i am unsure of the actual lumen output or bulb life. EDIT: ok, found it -1895/1150 lumens
for mass market bulbs, i am pretty hot on the performance and quality of the Hella high performance bulbs (the high wattage if H4), however, i don't like how they leave a blue reflection in the reflector when the light is off. they are called xenon blue but they in fact are not a blue light at all. The cool thing about Hella **** is it's put together so well. they tout them as having perfect filament placement, etc.
i've always heard good things about the night breakers but i am unsure of the actual lumen output or bulb life. EDIT: ok, found it -1895/1150 lumens
for mass market bulbs, i am pretty hot on the performance and quality of the Hella high performance bulbs (the high wattage if H4), however, i don't like how they leave a blue reflection in the reflector when the light is off. they are called xenon blue but they in fact are not a blue light at all. The cool thing about Hella **** is it's put together so well. they tout them as having perfect filament placement, etc.
Last edited by builthatch; 03-18-2009 at 03:31 PM.
03-19-2009, 06:25 PM
#32
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
you must mean wattage. and, most if not all honda wiring is pretty robust when it comes to handling higher wattage bulbs, as long as there is not anything to cause extreme resistance, like corroded connectors, terminals, frayed wires, etc.
if you are scared, you can wire in a relay.
http://www.rallylights.net/useful_in...amp_wiring.htm
03-20-2009, 02:55 AM
#36
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
No, the higher wattage of the Osram 70/65 will be fine with your stock wiring and housing. I have had them in my car through 2 winters already, and everything is fine. My wiring has not melted and my housing has not turned yellow nor melted. I had the same concerns with the higher wattage, but Daniel Stern of DanielSternLighting Consultancy and Supply answered all my questions. He is extremely knowledgeable and has a really informative website and I e-mailed him questions and got these answers. Here is my e-mail exchange with him from Nov. 2007.
> The bulbs you recommended are 70/65W while stock is 60/55W. Wouldn't
> that draw too much current and overheat the stock wiring harness and
> cause the headlight housing to yellow because of too much heat?
No.
Wattages are a little more difficult to compare than it might seen,
because there are *nominal* wattages and *actual* wattages.
The 60/55w rating of a stock H4 bulb (found on the bulb package and in the
owner's manual) is a *nominal* rating at 12.0 volts. The regulation
governing car headlamp bulbs in North America lists maximum ratings at
12.8 volts, while the regulation in Europe (used throughout the rest of
the world) gives nominal 12v and maximum 13.2v wattage ratings. Because
wattage increases with voltage, all of these numbers are different. Here
are all of the specs on the H4 bulb used in your car (called HB2/9003 in
the US regulation):
European regulation says:
60/55w at 12.0v, nominal wattage
75/68w at 13.2v, maximum wattage
US regulation says:
72/65w at 12.8v, maximum wattage
Keep in mind, this is not three different bulbs, it is the permissible
specifications of ONE bulb at three different voltages!
The Osram 70/65w bulb consumes those 70/65 watts at 13.2v, making it
electrically and thermally compatible with cars designed for regular
bulbs.
I had already ordered Osram Nightbreakers. I had read a bit about the
> Phillips X-treme and the Nightbreakers and decided to go with the
> Osrams. What do you think about those bulbs?
Xtreme Power is a little better than Night Breaker, but the Osram 70/65w
is considerably better (brighter, longer life) than either. Are you sure
you don't want to add a pair of them to your order?
> Just for clarity. Do the 70/65W bulbs compared to the 60/55W bulbs
> produce more heat because of the higher current?
Very slightly more.
> and might affect the housing being too hot in there?
No.
> It is brighter because of the higher wattage, right?
There is no direct link between wattage and intensity. "Brightness" is
like "loudness", they are both subjective terms with no direct link to the
quantities involved (intensity and sound pressure level, respectively).
> Also, how do you measure which one is brighter and better?
Bulb intensity is measured in a device called an integrating sphere. Beam
intensity is measured on a device called a goniophotometer.
> I am just a little confused how something can appear bright, but is not
> actually brighter. I currently have the Sylvania Silverstars, and though
> I think they look a little better than OEM, I've read they actually
> produce worse light output. I know and I have read about the blue tint
> on bulbs making the color of brighter light, but not actually brighter.
> Well, isn't brightness measured by one's eyes? If it looks bright,
> isn't it?
No. So-called "whiter" (lightly blue-tinted) light does not help you see
better. Silver Stars and the bulbs like them from other makers rely on the
fact that the human visual system is a very poor judge of its own
performance. It's very easy to create situations in which we feel our
ability to see is much better or much poorer than it actually is. Within a
certain range of intensity, artificially increasing the apparent CCT of a
light source is a simple and cheap way of making it appear "brighter".
However, "bright" is like "loud": both are subjective judgements with
little correlation to the underlying quantities, which are intensity and
sound pressure, respectively.
> I am asuming that the amount of lumens are measured for brightness?
Intensity.
> What is the output of the various bulbs of the Osram Nightbreakers,
> Phillips X-treme
Both of these are in the close neighbourhood of 1895 (high) / 1148 (low)
at 13.2 volts.
> and the Osram 70/65?
2000 (high) / 1350 (low) at 13.2 volts
> What makes the X-treme better than the Nightbreakrs?
Smaller area of coloured glass = greater overall light transmission.
> that draw too much current and overheat the stock wiring harness and
> cause the headlight housing to yellow because of too much heat?
No.
Wattages are a little more difficult to compare than it might seen,
because there are *nominal* wattages and *actual* wattages.
The 60/55w rating of a stock H4 bulb (found on the bulb package and in the
owner's manual) is a *nominal* rating at 12.0 volts. The regulation
governing car headlamp bulbs in North America lists maximum ratings at
12.8 volts, while the regulation in Europe (used throughout the rest of
the world) gives nominal 12v and maximum 13.2v wattage ratings. Because
wattage increases with voltage, all of these numbers are different. Here
are all of the specs on the H4 bulb used in your car (called HB2/9003 in
the US regulation):
European regulation says:
60/55w at 12.0v, nominal wattage
75/68w at 13.2v, maximum wattage
US regulation says:
72/65w at 12.8v, maximum wattage
Keep in mind, this is not three different bulbs, it is the permissible
specifications of ONE bulb at three different voltages!
The Osram 70/65w bulb consumes those 70/65 watts at 13.2v, making it
electrically and thermally compatible with cars designed for regular
bulbs.
I had already ordered Osram Nightbreakers. I had read a bit about the
> Phillips X-treme and the Nightbreakers and decided to go with the
> Osrams. What do you think about those bulbs?
Xtreme Power is a little better than Night Breaker, but the Osram 70/65w
is considerably better (brighter, longer life) than either. Are you sure
you don't want to add a pair of them to your order?
> Just for clarity. Do the 70/65W bulbs compared to the 60/55W bulbs
> produce more heat because of the higher current?
Very slightly more.
> and might affect the housing being too hot in there?
No.
> It is brighter because of the higher wattage, right?
There is no direct link between wattage and intensity. "Brightness" is
like "loudness", they are both subjective terms with no direct link to the
quantities involved (intensity and sound pressure level, respectively).
> Also, how do you measure which one is brighter and better?
Bulb intensity is measured in a device called an integrating sphere. Beam
intensity is measured on a device called a goniophotometer.
> I am just a little confused how something can appear bright, but is not
> actually brighter. I currently have the Sylvania Silverstars, and though
> I think they look a little better than OEM, I've read they actually
> produce worse light output. I know and I have read about the blue tint
> on bulbs making the color of brighter light, but not actually brighter.
> Well, isn't brightness measured by one's eyes? If it looks bright,
> isn't it?
No. So-called "whiter" (lightly blue-tinted) light does not help you see
better. Silver Stars and the bulbs like them from other makers rely on the
fact that the human visual system is a very poor judge of its own
performance. It's very easy to create situations in which we feel our
ability to see is much better or much poorer than it actually is. Within a
certain range of intensity, artificially increasing the apparent CCT of a
light source is a simple and cheap way of making it appear "brighter".
However, "bright" is like "loud": both are subjective judgements with
little correlation to the underlying quantities, which are intensity and
sound pressure, respectively.
> I am asuming that the amount of lumens are measured for brightness?
Intensity.
> What is the output of the various bulbs of the Osram Nightbreakers,
> Phillips X-treme
Both of these are in the close neighbourhood of 1895 (high) / 1148 (low)
at 13.2 volts.
> and the Osram 70/65?
2000 (high) / 1350 (low) at 13.2 volts
> What makes the X-treme better than the Nightbreakrs?
Smaller area of coloured glass = greater overall light transmission.
03-20-2009, 01:58 PM
#37
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
PIAA and Nokya are good bulbs, IMO, but since you're broke (married with children??), I loved my Matrix bulbs (Ultimate or Ultra White H4 bulbs). I got them from Summit back in 01 or 02 for my CRX. LOved them so much I moved them over to my daily driver since I don't drive the CRX at night much. Lasted about 7-8 years I suppose, and I drive all day as a field tech. Great white illumination, best part is they are $15-20 from Summit or on Ebay. Great beam pattern, 90/100 watt, not blue output. I'd buy them again but I got some stealth chrome H4s for the CRX and my DD currently has my spare clear H4s in it till I get some spending cash and maybe I'll go Matrix again. STAY AWAY FROM CRAPPY CHEAP CHINESE BULBS ON EBAY. Trust me, I learned the hardway. The Matrix are from Korea so you get that great Kia quality.
03-21-2009, 10:46 AM
#38
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
Another option depending on what car you're using is to upgrade the wiring harness with a relay, it's been shown that on alot of the models of civics they power the headlights dirrect thru the switch with no relay...
03-22-2009, 06:41 PM
#39
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
PIAA and Nokya are good bulbs, IMO, but since you're broke (married with children??), I loved my Matrix bulbs (Ultimate or Ultra White H4 bulbs). I got them from Summit back in 01 or 02 for my CRX. LOved them so much I moved them over to my daily driver since I don't drive the CRX at night much. Lasted about 7-8 years I suppose, and I drive all day as a field tech. Great white illumination, best part is they are $15-20 from Summit or on Ebay. Great beam pattern, 90/100 watt, not blue output. I'd buy them again but I got some stealth chrome H4s for the CRX and my DD currently has my spare clear H4s in it till I get some spending cash and maybe I'll go Matrix again. STAY AWAY FROM CRAPPY CHEAP CHINESE BULBS ON EBAY. Trust me, I learned the hardway. The Matrix are from Korea so you get that great Kia quality.
Again, Osram 70/65 is the best bang for the buck H4/9003 bulb.
03-22-2009, 06:56 PM
#40
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
that said, we also have a relationship with hella and i STILL agree with you re: the osram hypers, however, the most light is yielded from the 85/80s; between 15-20% higher lumen output at the price of about 10% less bulb life. GREAT bulbs.
03-23-2009, 11:08 PM
#41
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
Mis-aligned factory lights is one thing. Most people don't even know their lights are mis-aligned, much less how to fix them. I have a problem with people who knowingly and purposely put ricer HID kits in their car, just for a certain look, with no regard for how it affects their own safety or the safety of other drivers on the road. I'm sure that's what Striker is getting at.
03-25-2009, 07:38 AM
#42
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03-29-2009, 10:46 AM
#43
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
You post the comment about cutting off people with PNP kits to cause them to crash, so once again I ask, Do you cut off cars with mis-aimed headlights, people running their highbeams, prius's or other mis-aimed factor HID's (yes I know most people with mis-aimed headlights have no clue it's happening)? These are all types of situations that can lead to people being blinded as well, so why not cause them vehicular harm?
Mis-aimed headlights are unknown issues by drivers who can't even fix a blown light bulb.
People running their high beams is most known as drivers with a blown low beam who can't see anything on the road.
People with Priuses, condisering the 1st generation base Prius came with halogen bulbs because it was the cheapest hybrid with high mpg, people bought it. Then, if you still don't check the prius forum, most there have halogen headlights with pnp kits. And the cutoff is horrible. If you reply back, I will show you a picture side by side of a Prius with oem hid headlights and a prius with a pnp kit.
Misaligned xenon headlights is rare and what happens is the autoleveling is malfunctioning and/or water-damaged/moisture in the headlight, they take it to the dealership, and we all know the techs there know as much as a guy learning from wikipedia and calling them facts, and don't know how to install them and aim them properly.
But when people knowingly cheap out on their lack of knowledge with regards as to how a different system has bad results on their current headlights AND aim them higher because they complain on the "I can't see the road well" and/or upgrade to a 55w kit without regards to everyone else on the road, I will get upset over it.
Misaligned headlights do not blind you as much as pnp kits. Misaligned headlights, whether it's halogen or xenon, spread the light to its respective luminex they can hold so even if they are hitting your eyes, you're catching a minimal part of it. With a pnp kit, there's no spread but a huge blob which hits your eyes directly with all the lumens they carry.
I see this on now two forums that people believe that it's okay/funny to cause an accident or distruction simply because of a person is using a pnp kit, I'm glad that you think this is an acceptable action and find it funny you think it's okay since this is the same logic you're yelling at people for having with kits, "I'm more important so it's okay"....
If you want to be gullible, then that is not my problem. But gullible and stupidity go hand in hand.
No, you asked a question and I answered it. So, the post was relevant to your question/comment. And i didn't know that when it came to electronics, a lifetime warranty meant "crap".
03-29-2009, 10:46 AM
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03-29-2009, 12:16 PM
#45
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
Wow striker, you win, I so don't know anything about anything and I just make stuff up on forum boards to start fights with people to flex my e-muscles but you've clearly shown me that I and my experiances are no match for your wit....
yer smrt, wissh I wers smert lice yu...
Originally Posted by stirker_18
But gullible and stupidity go hand in hand.
04-02-2009, 04:25 AM
#46
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
Its the fact that you don't know what you're talking about yet you think you do what will make the average person confused without any actual facts. Once you get actual facts, you;re more than welcome to reply back. But speculating will just show your ignorance.
04-02-2009, 07:25 AM
#47
Junior Member
Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
Wow this from a guy who doesn't know that up untill the last few years auto leveling headlights have not been used on MOST to ALL makers that use HIDs reflectors/projectors and the fact that you constantly say that it's less blinding from factory hid lights that are mis-aimed than a pnp kit when you clearly stated that the better optics of the factory hid yeilds better output and cast tells me that regardless of how much work I put into explaining the fact that my point of "Mis-aimed headlight (halogen AND factory HID) and High beams are JUST AS BAD as an unshielded PNP kit" you are clearly set on the idea that YOU are the only correct person and that anybody else around is a drooling idiot.
You have taken a post so pointlessly left field of the usefullness of the OP's question that it's sad, I had actually included comments not in relation toward this pissing match yet YOU drag the whole thing back up AND AGAIN bring up the auto adjusting headlights as reply to mis-aimed headlights. You state I'm uneducated and ignorant, yet despite me trying to let this go you keep picking at it. I hope this waste of a post has made you feel all warm and glowly inside.
And also, there is no such thing as "average person", only people you think you know more than.
04-05-2009, 06:40 AM
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Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
PIAA
lol just to clarify my PIAA's run 4k low beam and 6k high beam optimum range for light output
F1spec makes good cheap HID kits
The pros use PIAA why not shell out the extra 20$ for a ultra pure xenon gas found in PIAA bulbs opposed to a mixture in other brands;
this is the very reason why PIAA is used in professional driving series instead of silver stars or whatever else
They run brighter longer under harsher conditions
lol just to clarify my PIAA's run 4k low beam and 6k high beam optimum range for light output
F1spec makes good cheap HID kits
The pros use PIAA why not shell out the extra 20$ for a ultra pure xenon gas found in PIAA bulbs opposed to a mixture in other brands;
this is the very reason why PIAA is used in professional driving series instead of silver stars or whatever else
They run brighter longer under harsher conditions
Last edited by Elwuudz; 04-05-2009 at 06:49 AM.
04-05-2009, 07:41 AM
#50
Re: Best 'bang for the buck' headlight bulbs?
Don't bother with Silverstars, they will burn out within two months or so. It happened to me and the guy @ Advance Auto said they get returned all the time. And no I did not touch the actual bulb.
The $70 DDMTuning kits are amazing. Highly recommend them. You might have to reverse the + and - but not always. Lifetime warranty, but dont use them if your housing will blind everybody.
The $70 DDMTuning kits are amazing. Highly recommend them. You might have to reverse the + and - but not always. Lifetime warranty, but dont use them if your housing will blind everybody.