Shingles

Good news bad news....

First the bad news... if you are going for looks, ie for someone else to look at your blubs, these arn't the bulbs for you.

Now the good news... well on a scale of 1 to 10 of good news, 10 being you won 10,000,000 dollars, and one being a good hair day, this is a 3-4.

I took pictures... of the beam pattern and the cast area. On the ground, that cast area is the same(for the most part), the "brightness" is the same(on the ground)... BUT, and this is a big BUT, there are more usable light once you are behind the wheel, look out. The light is actually spread wider, not really a good thing. The only thing I can say is that there isn't much hope with the 9004 housing in the 97+ maximas.

Here's the conclusion:
IF you want to see and do not wish to spend $60+, get them, they are good.

Are they better than PIAAs? Yes, in the sense of visibility, but not leads and bounds.

Are they whiter than PIAAs? Depends. If you are stand 4 feet away from the car, no. If you are standing 8 feet away from the car, yes. Frankly, when you are 10 feet away, PIAA or not, they look the same.

I would get these if you want to see at night over the PIAAs.

I'm kinda bummed. They are better in the visibility department, but was not what I expected. I think I've given up on the search for good bulbs. The housing is simply pathetic. Did you know that 9004 was strictly "designed" for the US market? For some stupid reason, DOT thought that we need to be able to reflect the signs over head. To put things in persepective, 45watts is about the average wattage of your desklamp. If you concentrate your 45watts on where it needs to be(the road and infront of you, NOT ABOVE), you will see better, but instead, DOT decided that those precious little 45watts need to be spread all over the place. STUPID. It's good to see that the US is starting to use better bulbs though. Seems like H-4s are becoming popular. I also wished that there was more usage of 9006/9005 combination. It is simply that much better. Useing 9004 is easier and cheaper.... but damn, I'd like to see a little.

I suspect that one "fix" to this issue would be aftermarket driving/fog lights. I think I will go for the hella micro DEs.

Anyways... taht's all for tonight. Let me know if you have questions.

-Shing

Zprime

so is it worthed to change from cool blues to philips?
it seems that not too much can be achieved from the bulb...I guess I was not weird when I have to use my fogs to drive in the darkness...umm...probably an extra pair of fogs would be of good use rather than getting more bulbs?
they cost about the same..well...sort of...
I think they have a group buy in groupbuycenter..
anyhow...

focker2889

I don't get it. Isn't the bulb supposed to have the same spec in terms of the shape of the glass. Seems like Philips changed the tip of the bulb. Have to see the pictures to get a better understanding.

Shingles

I guess technically it's a bad thing... but there appears to be more light spread with the BV. one thing that you will notice when you compare the bulb is that the glass porting of the BV is much larger when compared to the CB or the PIAAs for example. I suspect that may be something to do with it.

Zprime: nah, if you have CBs I'd say use it till it burns out, then go for them. But I wouldn't just because.

-Shing

Empz

Would be doing what CHESTON did ... since the STOCK setup of 9004 does Blow!!!!

Get a APC Wire Harness ... and get Crazy OVERWATTAGE bulbs that would otherwise FRY the Stock Harnesses in a matter of seconds!!

Eric L.

Thanks Shing for taking the initiative on this and testing out these bulbs. Looks like I'm going to keep my cool blues right now.

Man, why did we have to get stuck with crappy 9004's....argh!!!!

Carl

Hmm, that japanese market Cefiro headlmap conversion seems like a better idea all the time...even though it requires a little modification...but maybe the h-4s they use would be better...plus they have city-lights in the reflectors too.

Albertt

A gentleman who goes by the screenname SY did this. It cost thousands. THe Japanese Cefiro is the same body as the Infiniti I30. This means new fenders, bumper cover and hood. All that on top of the price of the actual H4 headlamp units...about $350 if you have connections in the East. His lights are awesome, but it cost him a pretty penny.

humaras

stack up in this? It doesn't seem that the Piaa is worth all that much money, other than getting the Name of Piaa. wheww--anyone seen their marketing staff? it is huge--and I guess they need to make their money back somewhere.

For the 9004 bulbs, does the piaa's have a blue tint to it? I did notice the different shapes of the bulbs between the stock bulbs and the piaas--and if that makes a difference.

I think the next pair of lights after these babies blow out is the phllips--less money and same visibility...

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

give those a try....

Got to be an improvement over my stockers in the 94.....

Dany

iTrader: (1)

One of mine PIAA SW H4 bulbs burned out, so I am driving with one headlight right now

I was thinking of getting one PIAA SW H4 to replace mine, but I may give a try to these Philips bulbs.

Thanks.

Albertt

They are avalible in all convential types, including 9003, 9005, 9006 H4, H1, 9004 and 9007.

If you are having trouble finding them in H4, remember that the 9003 type is the same exact thing. H-series coding denotes the European specifications, while the AISI9000-series number adheres to the FMVSS-108 codes.

I purchased the H4/9003 bulbs in BlueVisions for my Dad's car...so I know they are out there.

Albertt

Recently, these bulbs have acquired E-code status. Look at all new 9006 and 9005 bulbs sold by Sylvania and Phillips, the little circle with the E inside are stamped/printed on the base of the bulbs as well as the standard DOT markings. I noticed that when I was installing some 9006 CoolBlues on a friends Diamante.

Shingles

I think I saw some H4's... actually, I am pertty sure they make em in H4s, whether Kmart has it or not maybe differen't.

Bill yes they are going to be an improvement over stock. And if you have a costco around you, for $6, they are a steal.

PIAA is great for the name and for the sig on forum posts. "PIAA Plasma Ultra Doooper white". But interms of the 3 times more expensive cost, they are not worth a damn. PIAAs are good, but they are not 3 times better than the blue vision or the cool blues. There's no reason to pay 3 times more for them.

-Shing

Empz

So good luck findin' them in the States!!! Ghetto CANADA!

I CAN confirm they make em in H4, but my ACCESSORY shop friend sells em for like $50!!! Different PACKAGING too! Seems like they don't have H4 in North America!

Only ****e we got is 9004,9005,9006!!! Doesn't seem like the H series bulbs are sold Anywhere except AFTERMARKET stores!!!

In regards to PIAA, their SUPER PLASMA looks AMAZING, but the output is DEFINITELY reduced!!! Still debating on whether or not to keep em!!!

Albertt

Dany

iTrader: (1)

I want to see how they look.

Thanks again.

Shingles

The actual bulb? Yeah, it's at home... will upload tonight.

-Shing

Albertt

Same as the PIAA...a light tint to the bulb glass...the PIAA appear to be a bit more purplish, rather than light blueish.

Dany

iTrader: (1)

Or maybe I am wrong..

Anyways, thanks.

Shingles

Yup I have both for piaas and BV. The problem is that they both look exactly the same on the camera. there's some slight difference in person. I'll post those tonight.

-Shing

Vic

i could have told you about the bluevisions...
i had them on my minivan.. =)
it was so bad it wasn't worth mentioning on forum..hehe
Vic

RussMaxManiac

Ugggg Does Phillips not make a 9007?! My car takes that and I just went to kmart on my break they have everything except 9007 and about 100 9004's hanging! Whats up with that?! LOL.

Albertt

9007 in any specialty bulb is hard to find. You'll have to go here:

http://www.autooptiks.com/matrix.html

A bit pricey, but I've never seen (in person) the Phillips BV in 9007. You're other option is the Sylvania CoolBlues in 9007, I've seen these at my local Pep Boys.

Settle down boss, you'll pop a forehead vein if you're not careful.

Shingles

blue visions are not bad bulbs, as a matter of a fact, if you consider the cost, it's better than piaas. they are worth every penny of the $13 that one would pay for them.

BTW my statment is in comparison to piaas.

-Shing

theMax

are you comparing the philips to the piaa SW or Plasma?

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

superwhites.....

Nine7Max

So shing I guess you had luck at kmart? Thats where I got mine from. They were like $20 a pair. Heres what I noticed

1. They are the same as PIAA bulbs as far as tinting goes. They look clear, but when you hold them up to the light you can see a very light blue tinting to the bulb, the same as the PIAA 9004's.
So.. same wattage, same color bulb... they've got to be close. They are a lot whiter than stock, highly noticible. I always get commented on them by my friends about how bright my lights are (yea same stock wattage, but not the stock dull yellow color) So for about $20 at kmart you can't go wrong. Like I said i've had them for over 5 months and they run fine, no problems at all. I don't have a digital camera, but I have pics I could scan I took a while back. Anyone care to buy me a digital camera for X-Mas?? Later ~Jeff

Shingles

are you comparing to superwhites or plasma?

My PIAA SW has a purple thing where as the BV has a light blue tint to it, much like the cool blues.

-Shing

josh95se

and my headlights are always on...seem to last/be decent quality. Got them for like $9 Canadian each at Walmart.

95Max

If you are looking for more output and better vision go with the Sylvania ExtraVision. I have them in my max and they are great.

focker2889

went down to the local friendly K-mart last night & picked up a pair of BV.
1st impression: good improvement over stock.
2nd impression: does not have the blueish white like the APCs.
Verdict: BV offers the best bang for the bucks @ 13.59 ea.

Nine7Max

The PIAA's might be better (I dont have them) But they're like 5 times the price. Shing.. could you possibly post pics of BV vs. Stock, and BV vs. PIAA?? Thanks.