bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

I really wish I had a digicam to illustrate this....

I noticed over the Thanksgiving weekend when driving the 99 that while the PIAA headlights light up the road nicely, the actual light pattern stinks. I mean, it must be a good 25 to 30 feet before ANYTHING on the road is lit up by the headlights. WTF?

Meanwhile, my 94 (which also uses 9004 headlights, although they are stockers) actually lights up the road a lot better. The beam pattern starts about 15 ft in front of the car and just seems to light the entire road a lot better. Why?

Granted, this is only on low beams. Once the PIAAs are on high in the 99 then everything is pretty well lit up. However, people really get pissed at you when the PIAAs are on high beam. Heck, some blink their lights at me if they're on low beam.

I'm really pissed that I'm going to have to buy a $200 foglight kit and keep them on all the time (and not even get yellow bulbs which are the real purpose of fog lights) just to adequately light the road up in front of me when driving at night.

Am I off base here? Does anyone else think the light pattern of the 4th gens suck. Are 5th gens any better with the H4 light types......

Shingles

Well those "fogs" on the 4th gen is really meant as driving lights. They fill in that blank spot you are referring to. You can "fix" this by aiming the lights lower but then you won't see much anymore. The problem is that the HB1/9004 housing does not focus the light where it needs to be too well, lots of scatter.

my suggest to you is to get a set of Hella Micro DE. They cost less than the OEM "fog" ($130 a pair) lights yet are much more effective.

Check out:
http://www.hella.com/shop/nebel/indexe.htm
here are some comparison if you don't wanna click.

Hella CometFF 100
<img src="http://www.hella.com/shop/pic/kanal/neb/cff100neb.jpg">

Hella CometFF 200
<img src="http://www.hella.com/shop/pic/kanal/neb/cff200neb.jpg">

Hella 75
<img src="http://www.hella.com/shop/pic/kanal/neb/ff75neb.jpg">

And the best for last:
Hella Micro DE
<img src="http://www.hella.com/shop/pic/kanal/neb/mdeneb.jpg">

Remember this is all in the same testing room... amazing... ofcourse if you wanna shell out the dollar... there is always this:

Hella Micro DE Xenon:
<img src="http://www.hella.com/shop/pic/kanal/xen/dexen.jpg">



-Shing

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

do you mount these things? I can't really tell from their pics....

I really would prefer the OEM fogs.......which pic do your factory fogs emulate best in terms of light coverage?

Shingles

Here's how I would go about it...

install the fogs in the OEM position... if it exists, use the OEM harness that way it can be controlled by the OEM switch. But if not, that's ok... but I would mount it in the OEM openings... to get a wider spread.

OEM fogs are OK.. their only saving grace is the fact that H3s are great bulbs and bright as hell. Their coverage is not that uniform... there are some hotspots... but I'd say it's just about the first 15feet of the car is where it lights things up.

-Shing

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

that I've got.......I doubt if the wire harness is there. I guess I should check......also I guess I need to know what to look for and where.....

I could probably get the Hellas and PIAA H3s from carparts.com for $75 or $80 as opposed to the $200 for the OEM kit. But then when you add buying the new headlight stalk and wiring harness it may not matter....

Decisions, decisions.

got rice?

iTrader: (2)

the H3s should be around $50/pr or less. I have a few 55 watt H3 SW in stock if you're interested (not as cheap as carparts, but you'll have it in a few days! lol)

Shingles

that's only if you want to use the stock stalk... you could just use the supplied switch?

-Shing

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

She's not real big on non-OEM looking stuff.....

She prefers things to say "Nissan" on them or it shouldn't be on the car.....

Thought she was going to go nuts while trying to find those 16" SE wheels....

I guess I shouldn't bother having this discussion. The boss has already spoken.

Shingles

well i suppose she's got two options:

1) spend money(more) on Nissan OEM and not see so well but it's nissan

or

2) spend money(less) on Hella and see well but it's not nissan.

OEM doesn't = better... you should tell her that.

BTW did you ever get those rings?

-Shing

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Who knows......maybe I'll just do nothing and buy the F-150 SuperCrew for her in a year anyway.....

Now there's a decision.....spend $25k to save $200.....

Logic! What logic?



I did get the rings on Monday....I guess that's, what, 5 days late!?!

Gotta love the post office during the holiday season!

Thanks!

In my spare time, I'll see how they fit in the Borbets. The three I have appear to be more molded to these wheels.

I'll let ya know how it goes.

Guest

for 200? I went to our buddies at Courtesy, and they were gonna cost 200 PER SIDE. That equals 400 plus tax. You might want to mention the savings of 250 to 2.0 I know abou the boss thing....

Albertt

The HB1 housings are indeed...garbage. The 5th Gen H4 headlights are 10 time better.

As for auxiliary lighting...Shing's on point. H3 bulbs can be had from

http://www.rallylights.com

or

http://www.autooptiks.com

for a lot less than $50 a pair.

Shingles

Hey Albert:

did you know that the 9004 bulb has a 700/1200(45/65 watts at 12.8v) lumens rating and the H3 bulb has a 1290 lumens rating(55 watts at 12.8v).

Crazy... btw philips blue vision has a lumens rating for 9004 of about 1068/1735 (9004 wattage), so it should be pretty good.

There also exist over wattage H3s that are over 3500 lumens. those aer 130watts... crazy!

Oh, proof that blue coating is bad... the Astra 9004 Ultrawhite has a temp rating of 3800K and the Philip Blue vision 3600K. To get that extra whiteness = more blue coating... at the same wattage... the philips are rated at 1068/1735 lumens and the astras 854/1143.

-Shing

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

Just curious...

humaras

I have the piaas' and they aren't that great--but I have said that a million times, so I ought to stop whining.

the piaas have less lumens I think than the phllips. I think the next bulbs I get--when I need them are going to be the phllips...it seems that they would be brighter..

and I just bought a set of OEM fogs from our friends at courtesy--total with shipping is 174...they provided me with the discount and that came with EVERYTHING--stalk, lights, and etc.

Brian

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

You hit the nail on the head with these 4th Gen lights. They suck something cronic. I've put NARVA's in mine and now I'm presently running Wagners. I realize now that no matter what bulb I put in my baby, I can't escape the stupid pattern. Hi beams are fine, but how often can you use them?? We need lo beams to be good as well.

From what I've picked up from this board is that everyone likes the Gen 4 lights in the 97-99 models, the clear plastic lenses make the car look really cool. But the early 4th gens had the better lights. The standard etched glass on the 95-96 maximas are better performers with the same bulb. I get the feeling that the feds relaxed their lighting spec in 96 and manufacturer's took advantage of the cost savings and put these cheaper, less performance worthy plastic stuff in our cars.

I notice that newer Mercedes lights are made out of plastic as well, but it is still etched plastic, as opposed to clear like the later Gen 4 Maximas.

I do seriously poneder buying a set of 96 lights for my car.


DW

Shingles

Well it'd have to have atleast 700 lumens... but probably not much more. Inorder to be SAE and DOT complient they have to be 700 or more.

-Shing

Shingles

I doubt the fed laxed any... they are always getting more ****.

The diference in the two housing is this:
the 95-96 glass actually help create the beam pattern. In the later 97-99, it is all in the reflectors. It is a lot easier I suspect to create a certain patern using the glass because they can do what they want to with the way they cut it. With the clear plastic, it's used because it's cheap... but since it's clear, the housing has to look "good" you know marketable. So the pattern now sucks.

-Shing

Albertt

Whatever the Lumens value of the PIAAs, IMO it's not worth the extra $35 for a pair of PIAAs. Get a pair of BlueVisions and you'll get an improvement. I just installed them in my Dad's C280...and they do make a difference, even in the lamps that have prismatic lenses...like the 3rd Gens and '95/'96 4th Gens.

I had to yank my 80/100W bulbs out...due to my alternator problems...so I might get a pair of BlueVisions too.

Albertt

Though I agree about the quality of the beam pattern on the '97-'99 4th Gens, I've also noticed that cars using the H4 bulb seem to have a more intense and sharp pattern when equipped with the clear/multi-reflector type of housing. For example, the older Subaru Imprezas vs. the '99/'00...the newer lamps use the clear lenses...and they have much more distinct patterns. If you look at Altimas between the '93 and '97 model year...they use H4s, but with the etched lenses...I almost didn't recognize them as H4s...the light actually sucks.

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

So then maybe its just bad design about my lenses. Driving at night when my only source of light is my headlamps, the abrupt falloff way ahead really reduces my confidence in night driving. The etched lenses system is way better on the 95-96 Maxes, the falloff of light way ahead is more gradual and better.

Enjoy the ride

DW

bill99gxe

iTrader: (1)

I didn't really understand the difference between using the 'reflector' versus the etched designs.

Well, that explains why my 94 has a better beam pattern....

Also, why do we recommend PIAA superwhites here then? I am generalizing for the group, but with a lumens rating of 1068 just on low beam you would think we would all be praising the Phillips Blue Visions???? Is there too much blue in these bulbs? What's the deal?

Shingles

Looking at and seeing from behind is very different. in the 98 maxima for example, a 80watt bulb is bright as hell when you look into it... but behind the wheel, it doesn't do that much... I suspect if you step behind the wheel, it would be better. However, I am not saying that what you said isn't true. Mearly that it may be kind of deceptive to observe from the outside.

-Shing

Shingles

In actuality what you are describing is proof that the later housing is better. E code head lamps are designed with sharp cut-off... this is so people don't get blinded. in the 95-96 housing, it appears that there isn't as big of a cut off as the 97-99. That's why there's more light further out In acutality, the 97-99 housing are better at cutting of lighting according to your exprience.

-Shing

Shingles

Well I think the reason we say piaa's is because that's being compared to crap like Hyper duper ultra xenon xtra super white bulbs. Piaas simple outperfs *those* particular bulbs. I've been doing a lot of reading and research on lights cause well I drive my maxima to and from dallas mostly at night and I can see a damn thing. In my search, I've come across Philis blue vision which appears to be a good choice. They are along the lines of the Osram/Sylvania Cool blues... but I think maybe infact be brighter.. I am going to order a pair of those blue visions shortly... I think. I'll let you know if I do.

Regarding the etched glass vs clear... witht the etched glass, they help define the beam pattern... with the clear + reflector, only the reflector is used to control beam pattern.

-shing

dwapenyi

iTrader: (3)

I never thought of it that way. I think you're right. So my lights are "better" because they can more strictly adhere to Fed specs with their sharper cut-off, which stinks. I'll still take the 95-96 lights

DW

FYI

Since this thread has alot of talk of ligths, you guys should all vist this site. Daniel Stern is extremely informative on the subject;

http://lighting.mbz.org/

Mike S.

Do you think you could swap the PIAA's and put em in the 3rd gen to see if they make a difference still even with the better beam pattern you say they have.

Mike S.