A little naive of me no doubt but I just hopped on ebay and looked around for a set of 9005 Xenon Plasma Blue high beam lights. They were cheap so I figured "why not?" I got the bulbs and put them in but then thought twice about it. They're wattage is 100W. The Max manual says to replace with 60W. Am I right to assume that the 100W are too high and they may likely burn out my harness? I've spent some time searching threads but can't find a clear cut answer. Can you exceed your car's speced wattage?

 

Any time you exceed the specified wattage you run the risk of damage. Nissans do not like higher wattage bulbs at all, stay within the spec and you will not have any problems.

 

don't get 100W especially cheap ones. i bought some for my accord and they blew in less than 30 seconds after i turned it on to take a pic

 

wait, arent 9005 High Beam OEM bulbs usually 85w? I DO know that PIAA and Phillips offer high performance bulbs that are specified 55w (OEM wattage on low beam typically) but they perform the equivalent of 85-110w. I guess the concept is that their bulbs adhere to the legal H3 ratings for bulb intensity but are more efficient at producing light. What we really need around here is some kind of Lumens or Candlepower test to assist more people with these lighting questions.

 

any bulb with a tint or coating is NOT more efficient at producing light.

this includes "supeR plazma JDM hyper white!!1!" bulbs.

 

9006 is usually rated at 55w. this is for your low beams. 9005 is high beams, it is rated at 65w. i have ran 85w high beam without a problem but i do have the rewire kit from nissan after you get your headlights stolen. i believe they are slightly thicker though

 

i've tried 4 different brands of 9005s and all were either 60w or 65w and none of them worked...they lit up, but were extremely dim...i just gave up, so the stockers are staying in

 

Its a shame because the cheap 100W bulbs I had in there looked fantastic. They matched the HIDs almost perfectly (i suppose its no surprise that extra power supplies a brighter, whiter burn). I bought some Silver Stars from Autozone for $20 each and was very dissapointed with how they burned by contrast. I ended up returning them. I'll likely go back to stock myself. I don't use the high beams too often anyway, I did like the look of the blue glint though. Next up is the fogs for me, because those are seen more often.

 

I bought 100w replacement bulbs for my 4th gen, and loved the way they lit up the road. Definitely worth it. No problems with overloading the wiring.

However, the same bulbs in my 5.5 don't seem to be working very well at all. They look to be aimed too high. Too bad, since the low (HID) beams are at the correct height, and raising the high beams would raise them as well.

 

If you want something bright, last long, and match your HIDs, just throw a set of matching 4300k HID kit. Kits are so cheap now and days....

 

last post date...

 

hids or go home

 

ive tried damn near everything for my high beams, on my 2k2 headlights.....i just went back too Silverstars....whitest you can get honestly with no problems

 

If you have any type of premium sound system or even just a subwoofer, do not install higher wattage bulbs in your car...

 

Wow, people steal headlights?

 

no wait, seriously?

 

oh yea, you'd be f'kin surprised...its never happend to be before.......(wait) or any one i personally know for that matter

ive heard about it a few times here, and on several other forums that i admin and moderate for

 

wow holy thread bump..yes they steal headlights. 2years ago they did and even now they still do. not as much though

 

IMO silverstars suck!

 

They work pretty well for me as high beams. Don't match the HIDs too well but throw out a lot more light than the stock high beams did. The light is whiter too.

 

I had some 90w Piaa's that those Silverstars didn't come close too as far as light output

 

I had 90W PIAA's that the silverstar didn't come close too equaling on the amount of light output!