Lighting - wattage, frequency ... brands
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Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 613
Lighting - wattage, frequency ... brands
I'm finally getting around to looking into upgraded lighting, and this is probably more confusing than anything else because there are so many choices! OK ... I want to stay stock, not convert to HID or rewire for higher wattage (may reconsider the whole proposition when I see what CustomMaxima's projector conversion looks like later).
Meanwhile ... it seems the higher the frequency, the better the lighting. 4100k seems to be what most lights aim for to simulate sunlight. I've heard good things about AIE Eurolites, and they are less expensive than PIAA or Raybrig, though if those are really superior, I'd consider paying the extra $$. Anyhow, there are different styles, and these differences show up in other brands too. There are Xenon, then there are Plasma Xenon. Are those really brighter? Next - some bulbs are 65/55w, but the more expensive ones are 65/45w. That seems strange ... is the 45w brighter in the more upscale bulb? Finally, the foglamps are glass, so how hot can those go? I've seen 35w (the most expensive!) 55w, 70w, 85w ... the stock ones are too dim to do much. How hot can I go on these?
Meanwhile ... it seems the higher the frequency, the better the lighting. 4100k seems to be what most lights aim for to simulate sunlight. I've heard good things about AIE Eurolites, and they are less expensive than PIAA or Raybrig, though if those are really superior, I'd consider paying the extra $$. Anyhow, there are different styles, and these differences show up in other brands too. There are Xenon, then there are Plasma Xenon. Are those really brighter? Next - some bulbs are 65/55w, but the more expensive ones are 65/45w. That seems strange ... is the 45w brighter in the more upscale bulb? Finally, the foglamps are glass, so how hot can those go? I've seen 35w (the most expensive!) 55w, 70w, 85w ... the stock ones are too dim to do much. How hot can I go on these?
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 8,653
polarg makes knice bulbs - sylvania silvers stars look really nice too - stick to 55/65 wattage - anything higher will melt the stock harness - the reason why the 45's cost more is cause there is a greater demand for them
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 46
A multi-D cell Maglight does a better job than a 9004 bulb. My drunk friend tried it in my car as joke. That's what started my bulb upgrade mess. . . when I got made fun of that my headlights were weaker than a Maglight! That teaches me to be a designated driver.
So I just tried all of the following bulbs on my '99 I30 listed in descending order grouped by similar brightness of light on the road used on my daily commute of 30-45 minutes of nighttime city driving of 80% freeway / 20% sidestreets.
Sylvania Xtravision (clear bulb)
Philips Hi-Visibility (clear)
Sylvania Silverstar (very light purple/blue tint)
Sylvania Cool Blue (very light blue tint)
Philips Blue Vision (very light blue tint)
PIAA Xtreme White Plus (light blue tint)
Nam Yung Eaglite overwatt 55/100W (clear)
GE High Output (clear)
2 year old stock lights by ICHIKOH (clear)
Performance wise the 9004 bulb on the '99 I30 HOPELESS. Even an overwatt bulb, doesn't help it much. Well. . . it doesn't help either that the overwatt bulb was probably made in a sweat shop.
Try to resist the placebo effect with the order. There is minimal difference between the 3 brightest bulbs and the GE High Output. I did a quick Xtravision vs. High Output blind test on two non-drunk friends and one said, "What a waste of time." The other, "You need to get laid again." I'll just intrepret those results are no or not much difference between the two bulbs
As a surprize, I tested the 3 brightest bulbs against my ICHIKOH stock bulb right after it rained and the streets were wet and found that my ICHIKOH's did better in that situation! On the other hand, it hardly rains where I live and the streets are well lit and I found that the whiter colored Silverstar bulb did a slightly better job of reflecting road signs and markers, but was it worth it at $40+? Well that's the same answer to the question: Is the PIAA worth it at $55?
Nope!
If I had to do it over again, I'd just stick to any of the three brightest bulbs I have listed that you can find on sale. I know it's embarassing to be at these stores, imagine how my En-fi-nit feels parked in the lot fearing getting dinged by a shopping cartS, but I've seen the GE High Output at Target for about $5 each on sale and a double blister pack at Walmart for less than $10 not on sale I've seen the Hi-Visiblity at K-mart for about $10 each not on sale. Or you can wait for your favorite auto part stores to have sales on for the Sylvania Xtravision or Silverstar.
Again. . . the 9004 is hopeless. The next best things you can do is HID or E-code headlamp conversion. For the more dangerous, jam a 9007 bulb in a 9004 socket (may ruin your beam pattern) or use over overwattage bulbs with good harnesses and wiring, or use two Maglights!
Oh yeah! Now that'll attract the opposite sex!
So I just tried all of the following bulbs on my '99 I30 listed in descending order grouped by similar brightness of light on the road used on my daily commute of 30-45 minutes of nighttime city driving of 80% freeway / 20% sidestreets.
Sylvania Xtravision (clear bulb)
Philips Hi-Visibility (clear)
Sylvania Silverstar (very light purple/blue tint)
Sylvania Cool Blue (very light blue tint)
Philips Blue Vision (very light blue tint)
PIAA Xtreme White Plus (light blue tint)
Nam Yung Eaglite overwatt 55/100W (clear)
GE High Output (clear)
2 year old stock lights by ICHIKOH (clear)
Performance wise the 9004 bulb on the '99 I30 HOPELESS. Even an overwatt bulb, doesn't help it much. Well. . . it doesn't help either that the overwatt bulb was probably made in a sweat shop.
Try to resist the placebo effect with the order. There is minimal difference between the 3 brightest bulbs and the GE High Output. I did a quick Xtravision vs. High Output blind test on two non-drunk friends and one said, "What a waste of time." The other, "You need to get laid again." I'll just intrepret those results are no or not much difference between the two bulbs
As a surprize, I tested the 3 brightest bulbs against my ICHIKOH stock bulb right after it rained and the streets were wet and found that my ICHIKOH's did better in that situation! On the other hand, it hardly rains where I live and the streets are well lit and I found that the whiter colored Silverstar bulb did a slightly better job of reflecting road signs and markers, but was it worth it at $40+? Well that's the same answer to the question: Is the PIAA worth it at $55?
Nope!
If I had to do it over again, I'd just stick to any of the three brightest bulbs I have listed that you can find on sale. I know it's embarassing to be at these stores, imagine how my En-fi-nit feels parked in the lot fearing getting dinged by a shopping cartS, but I've seen the GE High Output at Target for about $5 each on sale and a double blister pack at Walmart for less than $10 not on sale I've seen the Hi-Visiblity at K-mart for about $10 each not on sale. Or you can wait for your favorite auto part stores to have sales on for the Sylvania Xtravision or Silverstar.
Again. . . the 9004 is hopeless. The next best things you can do is HID or E-code headlamp conversion. For the more dangerous, jam a 9007 bulb in a 9004 socket (may ruin your beam pattern) or use over overwattage bulbs with good harnesses and wiring, or use two Maglights!
Oh yeah! Now that'll attract the opposite sex!
Junior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 46
For stock wattage 55w H3 fog lights, the Osram Super is awesome! The Philips VisionPlus is even better! Get the Osram Super at www.powerbulbs.com. Get the VisionPlus H3, if you know someone in Japan at:
http://www.philips.co.jp/shop/lighting/auto/index.html
Good luck.
http://www.philips.co.jp/shop/lighting/auto/index.html
Good luck.
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