Well, for the third time in three years, my PIAA Xtreme White H4 headlight bulb(s) burnt out. I've tried to deal with PIAA before concerning their limited lifetime warrantee etc. and they were not very helpful and basically connected it to poor installation which is very untrue because no contact was made with the bulb with my finger or any other object at all during any of the installations. Anyways, out of principle I just decided to try a different bulb. I've heard mixed opinions from other people on Silverstar and figured I might try that later. I went to a local auto store and saw Nokya Arctic White H4 bulbs (7000k). I know I can get them cheaper online but I got them for $40 and paid $15 for a 2 year warantee no questions asked from the store. To me, this is worth it because I've had awful luck with headlight bulbs (piaa xtreme white fogs have been going forever). My friend has returned his over 3 times this year alone bc he touches the bulb everytime somehow and it blows and they give him no trouble so i figured that's good to have.

Impressions. They are a little more blue than I expected, however, the farther away you are, the more white they become. I can compare colors bc I had PIAA bulb in one headlight and Nokya in the other at first and Nokya is a truly whiter light. The PIAA is actually described as sun colored which I guess is true. I love the look of the new bulbs bc it definitely gives that BMW, Mercedes HID blue/white look. Once I went for a drive, I was very happy that it illuminated the road equally well as my PIAAs have for three years which I didn't expect, and I wasn't even more happy that it actually lit up the road that same bluish white...very very similar to my dad's BMW. At first I wasn't sure what to think about all my lights together (Nokya headlights, PIAA fog lights and Polarg everywhere else bc when i had piaa headlights everything matched pretty well) but now I have to say I really like how the headlights are that bluish white color bc it sets that off and it looks like I have an HID kit. I just figured I'd post my findings and throw another option for headlight bulbs out there.

 

Did you get the Stage I 55W or the Stage II 100W? If latter, I'd be careful since high wattage can burn your harness. And Nokyas are cheap on eBay, if yours happen to burn out and the store won't warranty it, go eBay > only $15.

 

I got Stage II 100W...I think the PIAA Xtreme Whites are higher wattage and burn hotter and I haven't had any issues in 3 years with them, plus most places sell a wiring harness for like $6 if anything ever happened.

 

try luminics bulbs http://www.luminicsbulbs.com/

 

Does anybody know if 100W is ok for the wiring harness or have any experience with that? Thanks.

 

Yah ok that's too much. I'm taking them out and returning them. I'll get somethin with lower wattage.

 

+1 for Luminics, the pics I've seen of them look great, nice and white. But also consider SPP super whites, and Hoen bulbs. Those are favored by BMW guys using them as fogs since they match the HIDs very well.

 

I used nokya bulbs 5 years ago, I didnt have any complaints except the coating on the bulbs started cracking after a year or so.

 

i have used them before, and they looked better than other 'fake' hid bulbs. the reason piaa's and such burn out, is because they are higher wattage than oem. becuase they are constanly on when the headlights are on, the coil inside becomes more brittle from th e heat, and brakes. this is especially bad because we use them for everyday driving, and potholes and all other road imperfections shake the car non stop.
these blue lights are supposed to be for show purposes only, and while we use them for everyday driving, their life shortens tremendously.
i know from experience that stage1 55//65 watt last a lot longer than stage2, 100/110 watt bulbs.
the later may work a lot better because they are higher power, but burn out very fast.
the silverstars are pure white. they don't have the blue coating on the glass. these last forever. one of my friends had them in his car for about 3 years now, and no problems at all.
they are not as cool (bluish) looking as piia or nokya (or others), but they last a lot longer. the light output is very close to pure white.

 

Hey I cant find one place in the oklahoma city area that sells a harness....would any happen to know where i can loacte one online

 

On eBay search "nokya harness", but even with those you hurting your electrical system since you are doubling the wattage on the lines. Not to mention the extra load on the fuse, and extra heat in the headlight housing.

 

I found this site which gives the specs on Nokya bulbs which I just got versus the PIAA Xtreme White I have been using for three years...

PIAA Product Description
Bulb Type: H4
Sold As: Twin Pack [Pair]
Wattage [draw]: 60/55
Wattage [output]: 110/100
Color: Xtreme White
Color Temp: 4000K
Warranty: Yes

Nokya Product Description
Bulb Type: H4
Sold As: Twin Pack [Pair]
Wattage [draw]: 55/60
Wattage [output]: 100/120
Color: Arctic White
Color Temp: 7000K
Warranty: Yes

PIAA link -----> http://www.automotivelightingusa.com...roducts_id=429

Nokya link ------> http://www.automotivelightingusa.com...roducts_id=362

I assume the 100/120 is high/low or is it low/high? Whichever way it goes there is not much of a difference between the two. So now I guess i just have to worry about the legality of them..haha which hasn't stopped me before ----> hyper white everything front and back, blinkers etc...cept these are def more blue at closer ranges bc they are 7000k

 

Just had a low beam bulb burn out and need replacement. I checked this site http://www.luminicsbulbs.com and see they have a "9005 hyper white". Is this pretty much the same as OEM xe bulb?

 

good you're happy, i've had a plethora of bulbs when i had my h4 headlights, now i'm with xenons, but i've played around with my fog lights and now after all the burnt out bulbs, i'm back to stock. silverstars are nice but one side burned out in 4 months, and the bulbs didn't even match wiht each other. stock is safe for me.

 

I guess the real question is, what is OEM on the 5th Gen SE's? H4 bulbs? Xeon bulbs? Just trying to sort out this whole thing sine my last car was an 87 bimmer that took screw-in halogen lamps

 

OEM headlights are H4 bulbs that draw 55 Watts.

 

One more question for you guys...Look at these specs again...

PIAA Product Description
Bulb Type: H4
Sold As: Twin Pack [Pair]
Wattage [draw]: 60/55
Wattage [output]: 110/100
Color: Xtreme White
Color Temp: 4000K
Warranty: Yes

Nokya Product Description
Bulb Type: H4
Sold As: Twin Pack [Pair]
Wattage [draw]: 55/60
Wattage [output]: 100/120
Color: Arctic White
Color Temp: 7000K
Warranty: Yes

Doesn't it seem as though they messed up writing the specs on the Nokya bulb bc it seems like they wrote it low/high when it should be high/low like the PIAA specs unless I'm missing something because high beams are obviously brighter. Thanks.

 

Stock fog bulb is a regular yellow H3 bulb.

 

Kruppa, just look on the box of the Nokyas you have, it should say what wattage it is.

 

Haha, yes I of course looked before I posted. It says nothing about wattage on the box. Just 100/120 so I guess maybe it is correct on the site...anyways

I think i'm going to follow Nissan 6s advice and get Luminics. They are on the same website I've been looking at for $23 and the specs are...

Product Description
Bulb Type: H4
Sold As: Twin Pack [Pair]
Wattage [draw]: 60/55
Wattage [output]: 135/130
Color: Ultra White
Color Temp: 5150K
Warranty: 90 Days

This seems almost perfect bc I want whiter than PIAA Xtremes (4150k) and less blue than the Nokya (7000k) but still a little blue and it seems like this rating (5150k) and the picture are exactly what I'm looking for altho the output of 130 seems a little high (PIAAS are 100) i'm worried about the plastic housing of the headlights altho on their website it says its perfectly safe and no modifications necessary so I'm sure it will be fine. What do you guys think?

 

You do know that those kind of pics are BS right? No way is it really that blue and white in REAL life. But I have seen un-altered pics of Luminics bulbs, and it looks white and bright.

 

I'm trying to decide which to get and keep, the Nokya or Luminics but now I'm thinking about the overall front of my car. I have PIAA Xtreme white fogs and polarg hyper white sidemarkers and corners so its all a white/off white color and then if I get straight white luminics it may look like i tried to match it all but messed up on the headlights bc they are all a white color, but with the Nokyas on it looks like HID headlights and they are totally different and purposely meant to be like that so it contrasts and looks kind of neat bc it stands out..the bulbs when lit definitely look bluish up close but as you back up they look whiter and whiter and when driving at my car they are pretty much straight white..it all depends on the angle you look at them at... Looking at my car you can tell I'm obviously going for a clean look and I feel like the Nokyas look luxury and contrast and stand out, but in a good way and looks classy I guess like the BMW, Mercedes HID. I know it's my car and my ultimate decision but I want other opinions. Thanks guys.

 

First off, take out the 100W Nokyas before it burns out your harness. And if you want the "luxurious" look of MB, BMW....just get REAL HIDs. No halogen bulb can come to the real look of HIDs, stop cheapening out and buying new bulbs when they burn out. Make an investment and get HIDs.

 

They are not 100W...that is the OUTPUT all that matters is wattage drawn and like i posted many times above they draw 55W which is exactly what stock is. i called Courtesy Nissan to make sure and they said that it's perfectly fine and will not harm the harness at all. The PIAAS i've had for 3 years with the exact same wattage as the Nokyas (output of 100W) have not done anything at all to my headlight housing or the harness which are both in perfect condition, so that is not an issue. I'd rather spend $25 a year for 3 years until I get rid of the Maxima and upgrade and look darn close than drop hundreds for HIDs. I just wanted an opinion on what i posted above.

 

they bs people about color temperature.
you cannot control color temp with this sort of bulb. the only way to get diff color temp is in an ACTUAL HID bulb. this is done by mixing different gases together in a bulb capsule.
they "say" that fake hid lights are diff color temp, but this is just coating on the glass. they are all filled with the same or simiar gases as OEM bulbs.
hid bulbs have different colors (from blue to purple to white) because of different color temps, and mixture of gases.
fake hids coat the bulb light blue and call it 5000k temp; coat it purple and call it 8000k temp. its all bs marketing. ricers look at the lable and see 10,000k, and think: "hmm its 3 times of 3500k, this is an awsome product."
that's completely incorrect, the bulb is exacly the same (actual wattage maybe slightly different from one manufacturer to the next).
besides, the higher you go in color temp in real HID bulbs the worse your light output. it is brighter and whiter, but does not penetrate darkness as well.

 

Thank you, that is what I've been saying in multiple threads. Any "xenon" bulb is just a halogen bulb with a blue coating or blue tinted glass. There is rarely a difference between $80 Piaas and $10 eBay bulbs.

 

Sounds pretty familiar to me. I had paid $60 for a pair of PIAA super plasma H4's. They looked awesome, but I couldnt believe one was out after only one month. I was very pissed and definately will never buy PIAA again. I bought Nokya Hyper yellow for a change and have to say they look great and have been in the car for months, and oh yeah...they were $20 for the pair on Ebay!

 

Well i have the Nokya Artic purples had them for going on 5 months in my 2k... i got the stage 2 100/110 watters and i even run with my lights on in the day light, so they are on all the time and i havnt had a problem with them or the wiring harnesses at all. I love them, and alot better than cheap ebay bulbs or cheap store bought HID look alike bulbs, no questions there.... they must use some nice paint/tint on the bulb. i picked mine up on ebay, i think it was 22 bucks i payed shipped.... but a great bulb, and i love the blue/purple tint too them....it does give the HID feel.......least too me and thats all that matters .....

 

Yah with PIAA you are definitely paying mostly for the name. I can see just as well with the $20 Nokya as the $60 or $70 PIAA however the brightness and color definitely is different. These Nokya bulbs DO look like HIDs (not like Max's more like Mercedes etc) and I can see everything I really need to see plus more. I parked next to my friends 03 Max and I like the way these bulbs look ever better and they seemed to light up the garage door we aimed them at from about 25 yards back just as well...it lights up the road a little more of an iceberg blue/white color than straight white which is pretty cool and for $25 why not

 

Do you have any real pictures of these bulbs? I returned the old ones i spent more money on ...they had no idea i used them for 2 days :-) ...and i'm going to buy new Nokyas online and i want to see what the purple ones look like as well.

 

Humm i can try and take you some pictures 2night... so u can get a feel..... any pointers on taking night time pictures??? but yea if u want i can definaly 2night take some, let me know...but thats great on the return...theyll have no idea hehehehe

 

I know this is kinda off topic. But just wondering what the kelvin rating was on the 5.5gen stock HID's?? Just wanted to get this info to find the best matching foglight bulb.

 

Nokya Stage II below

http://cl.acurazine.com/forums/showt...ighlight=nokya

And OEM HID is 4300K.

 

cool, that would have been my guess. Just wanted to be sure. thanks

 

I don't know why those people are saying the light output isn't great. I had one in with one PIAA Xtreme which I think has great visibility and they went just as far and bright they were the exact same...maybe the Acuras have better OEM headlights than our 5th gens

 

IMO yes actually, my roomie's 99 CL has really nice output for an OEM headlight housing...even if it is a halogen design.

 

Am I the only one who finds it very funny that these bulbs draw in 55 Watts but are able to output 100 Watts? Did they manage to suspend the law of physics?

- Vikas

 

Almost every company that makes this kind of bulbs say that. Take it with a grain of salt....

 

Before you spend a dime on new headlight bulb, read danielsternlighting.com This guy knows what he is talking about. Physics is pretty straightforward. I am into flashlights, so I like white light produced by LED's too. But the bottomline is that putting blue coating on bulb will *always* reduce its output. If you want brighter, you want clear bulbs.

- Vikas