Brightest 9007 bulb

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Bdr1783

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About 3 months ago i bought a set of silver star ultra's and they seemed to be bright compared to the oem bulb. I replaced my headlights and my fog lights (h3) with silver star bulbs. Well, I just bought a set of the 65/70 9003 osram bulbs for my girl friends car and I was shocked at how bright they were. Now i understand the normal watts for a 9003 is like 10 watts less, but wow. They are rated at 1350/2000 lumens and the silver star ultra are like 1000/1350. Just wanted to see if someone made a brighter bulb for the 9007. I read some where at the ge nighthawk's are 1000/1630 or something close. Also if anyone makes a h3 bulb in something brighter. I dont want to do the 100/110 bulbs due to the being illegal and heat/haveing to upgrade everything. I just wasn't sure if there was a company out that made something comperable to the osram 65/70 bulb for the 9007. Thanks for any help
 

rushnrockt

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Philips Xtreme Power. They are more yellow than Silverstar Ultra and definitely brighter.
 

blasterman

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Yup, Philips Xtreme Power is the highest-intensity, best-focused 9007 on the market.

Have links / proof of this?

There's only a couple legal variables a conventional 55-watt automotive bulb can use to produce more lumens than another 55-watt bulb, and I can't imagine the jacket reflector being that significant among them. This would put reliance on the optical collimation of the main lamp reflector being optimized for the supposedly superior Philips Jacket reflector, which is doubtful. The car maker would have to spec this....not Philips marketing division in china.

Otherwise, the only way one "55-watt" H7 would emit more lumens than another cheaper brand "55-watt" H7 is if the brighter one were running lower than 12-volts, which means it's *not* 55-watt and hence would have less longevity (and be out of spec).

Sylvania Silver Star = scam

Yep....which goes to my prior claim in which I insist anybody who thinks coating a bulb with neodymium will increase it's out put because it emits less yellow should be denied a drivers licence. :tinfoil: I think we'd both agree.

However, claiming on 55-watt bulb is *brigher* than another 55-watt bulb without some serious technical explanation bears the same absurdity.
 

-Virgil-

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There's only a couple legal variables a conventional 55-watt automotive bulb can use to produce more lumens than another 55-watt bulb

As written, this isn't so. There are automotive headlamp bulbs with nominal 12v 55w ratings that produce 1000 lumens (nominal) at 13.2v —H4 low beam filament, for example — and there are automotive headlamp bulbs with nominal 12v 55w ratings that produce 1800 lumens (nominal) at 13.2v — H2, for example. The design decisions that go into a headlight bulb are many, and they are variable enough to create a very wide range of flux, lifespan, luminance, and other characteristics even if we disregard ancillaries like IR-reflective coatings.

I think you know this, though; I think what you meant is that each type of headlight bulb is regulated with regard to its luminous flux. Quite true. The allowable range is larger than you might suspect; for HB5 (9007) the spec is 1350/1000 lumens (high/low beam) @ 12.8v ±15%. That means the low beam filament can legally emit between 850 and 1150 lumens, a range of thirty percent. That's significantly and substantially greater than the threshold above which flux differences make material differences in seeing performance when driving by headlamp light at night.

The allowable range is different for each bulb type, but it's similarly large. So despite Sylvania's weasel behavior (citing the regulation nominal value for all their different bulb variants...pffft!), there's actually a large difference in flux and lifespan across all the major makers' product lineups for any given bulb type. (I should advise you at this point that some of what I'm posting here has been floating around this board and elsewhere on the internet for quite awhile; I've checked and confirmed enough of the data that I'm comfortable reposting it.)

Here's manufacturer data for output and lifespan at 13.2v for standard-wattage H1 bulbs. The numbers here are a composite of values applicable to the products of the big three makers (Osram-Sylvania, Philips-Narva, Tungsram-GE). Each manufacturer's product in each category is slightly different but not significantly so. I picked H1-type bulbs for this comparison, and while the absolute numbers differ with different bulb types, the relative comparison patterns hold good for whatever filament bulb type we consider (H4, 9006, 9007, whatever). Lifespan is given as Tc.

H1 (plain, standard):
1550 lumens, 650 hours

Long Life:
1460 lumens, 1200 hours

Ultra Long Life (e.g. Osram "Light@Day"):
1430 lumens, 3000 hours

Plus-30 High Efficacy (Osram Super, Sylvania Xtravision, Narva Rangepower+30, Tungsram High Output, Philips Premium or High Visibility):
1700 lumens, 350 hours

Plus-50 Ultra High Efficacy (Philips VisionPlus, Osram Silverstar, Narva Rangepower+50, Tungsram Megalicht, but not Sylvania Silver Star):
1750 lumens, 350 hours

Plus-80/90 Mega High Efficacy (Philips Xtreme Power, Osram Night Breaker):
1780 lumens, 340 hours

Blue coated 'extra white' (Osram CoolBlue, Narva Rangepower Blue, Philips BlueVision or CrystalVision, Tungsram Super Blue or EuroBlue, Sylvania Silver Star or Silver Star Ultra, Wagner TruView, also PIAA, Hoen, Nokya, Polarg, and all the rest of the blue-glass junk):
1380 lumens, 250 hours

So that's the pattern for how lifespan and flux are generally related. BUT, the lumen differences are not the extent of the performance differences. The filament changes required to make a long-life filament (larger mandrel, wider pitch) tend to reduce luminance and beam focus, which shortens seeing distance and makes the light color brownish. But lifespan is lengthened! The opposite filament changes are made to create the "Plus" (+30, +50, +80, +90) or Osram "Hyper" type bulbs: Lifespan is reduced, but the beam focus is better (smaller, tighter-pitch filament) so seeing distance is longer. Luminance is higher, so light color is whiter (literally less brown, not blue-tinted phony-white). These same changes can be rejiggered to hold flux constant with the standard-bulb baseline, but reduce power consumption (Osram and Philips are marketing such bulbs as an eco-friendly option). The takeaway message here is that even if all the filaments put out exactly the same flux, the beam photometry with the long-life bulb would still be inferior compared to the same headlamp equipped with a standard, +30, or +50, or +80/+90 bulb.

I can't imagine the jacket reflector being that significant among them. This would put reliance on the optical collimation of the main lamp reflector being optimized for the supposedly superior Philips Jacket reflector

Uh..."jacket reflector"? Not a standard term. What do you refer to here, please?


Philips marketing division in china.

Philips has operations in China, but that's not where their global marketing division is located.

Otherwise, the only way one "55-watt" H7 would emit more lumens than another cheaper brand "55-watt" H7 is if the brighter one were running lower than 12-volts

Not correct, see above.

Yep....which goes to my prior claim in which I insist anybody who thinks coating a bulb with neodymium will increase it's out put because it emits less yellow should be denied a drivers licence. :tinfoil: I think we'd both agree.

We certainly would!
 
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speedster

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Yup, Philips Xtreme Power is the highest-intensity, best-focused 9007 on the market.

Best H3 is either the Osram Night Breaker (w/some blue & some clear glass) or the Narva Rangepower+50 (w/all-clear glass).

Sylvania Silver Star = scam.

I belong to a car forum, and many of the members there who work heavily with cars highly recommend the Osram Night Breakers, GE Nighthawk.

I personally have some type of Philips bulbs. I can't see to remember if they are the xtreme power like mentioned above or something like Philips 80%.

Remember, just because the light is white, it seems like you see better at night, May be you do. In the case of harsh weather (rain, wet blacktop, etc), the white light is absorded more than yellow. Meaning you can see better with yellow bulbs in the rain/wet roads than you can with white light.
 

-Virgil-

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GE Night Hawk or Philips VisionPlus were the top picks in HB5 (9007) bulbs until the Philips Xtreme Power came along. The Night Breaker line does not include 9007.
 

-Virgil-

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Osram Night Breaker is a Europe/rest-of-world product line consisting of bulbs that conform to ECE Regulation 37. HB5/9007 is not an R37 bulb; it's used only in the NAFTA market in headlamps built to comply with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108. Osram's North American operation, Osram-Sylvania Inc., has decided to focus on long-life and "performance appearance" products (Silver Star, Silver Star Ultra, etc.) products rather than products that actually produce more light.

In contrast, the Philips Xtreme Power line includes ECE R37 bulbs (such as H4), US-spec bulbs (such as 9007/HB5), and bulbs approved under both regulations (such as 9006/HB4).
 

AlexLED

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I can fully comfirm everything what Scheinwerfermann said !

A few years ago, there was a test of the H4 bulbs in a german car-magazine. The latest bulbs are not included, but is still pretty enlighting !

http://www.autobild.de/artikel/lichttest-2004-folge-3_47341.html

(The colums of the table are: lumens, lux at 75m at right road boarder, glare, lifetime.)

I used to buy the power2night, which are really brighter than standard, now I use the Phillips Xtreme, which are indeed even brighter. After about 2.5 years one of them died in my daily-driver, so lifetime is sufficient to me.
 

Ted11

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I have used Silverstar headlights in my 1998 MB E320 since spring 2009. While they are quite bright and "Xenon-like" they burn out in approximately 10 months. The regular halogen headlights in my other 3 cars all last for years! Has anyone else experienced this short life problem?
 

-Virgil-

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I have used Silverstar headlights in my 1998 MB E320 since spring 2009. While they are quite bright

They aren't. They produce less light than a regular plain bulb.

they burn out in approximately 10 months.

That too. They're a ripoff: less light, short life, high price. Lose, lose, lose.
 

Hilldweller

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If you want a brighter bulb without going to HID try this websitehttp://www.automotivelightingusa.com/ They have bulbs going from 3000 to 5000 and 7000 with no mods.
These bulbs are very popular with the tuner and motorcycle crowd. But, if you look at what Scheinwerfermann posted about bulbs previously, something just doesn't fit with their claims.
And the color temps certainly don't fit regarding human sight...
 

Alaric Darconville

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If you want a brighter bulb without going to HID try this websitehttp://www.automotivelightingusa.com/ They have bulbs going from 3000 to 5000 and 7000 with no mods.

Where to start? Here's one place: Outright impossible claims made for their products, such as:
Bulb Type: 9007
Wattage [draw]: 65/55
Wattage [output]: 140/120

Aside from a light bulb's output is never described in watts (watts are the INPUT, the output is measured in lumens), the claim is that you put 65W into it and somehow get 140W out of it. Impossible! If this WERE possible, there would be no energy crisis! You cannot change the laws of physics!

Additionally, the "fatboy" envelopes prevent rapid activation of the halogen cycle and the effective continuation of it, as the bulb walls do not heat up fast enough nor do they get hot enough. This results in shorter filament lifespan.

Also-- the tinting on the bulb removes the reds and yellows from the light output, which does not mean whiter light, and certainly does not mean *brighter* light.
 
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AnAppleSnail

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They aren't. They produce less light than a regular plain bulb.
There's a reason you think they're brighter, Ted11. The human eye is a terrible judge of how well it can see. If two identical cars with identical bulbs are set up - one giving the foreground a solid dose of light and the other putting the light where you actually want it, most drivers feel more confident in their ability to see in the wrong car.
 

jsdragonsoul333

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Oh man, the colored bulbs..... They really suck for quality, longevity and serving a purpose. Please, please no.
 

-Virgil-

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Uhmm, could that be a disgruntled expert using a new account to show what sort of contribution passes?

Oh, for god's sake…

No, I'm still reading but I am done posting here under this or any other name. Have fun.
 
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