"None of the yellow bulbs on the market are any good" -- -Virgil-

-Virgil- said:

Also, none of the yellow bulbs on the market are any good -- especially not ones like those Narva units you must have seen somewhere.

Click to expand...

An otherwise quite brilliant friend of mine (get it? brilliant!!!), despite my best efforts, got some Hella*​ Optilux XY (sounds MANLY, but means "eXtreme Yellow") 9006s for his RX300. Got some good pics I should post up-- the yellow is more of a lemonady-blur than a perfectly clear color, so I'm sure it defocuses the beam slightly. I did note that the filament seemed quite well-aligned in the envelope (see pics in this thread starting with this post to see what I'm talking about as far as filament placement), but I can't get over the semi-cloudy look of the envelope. Technically, I own the copyright on the pics I took of his bulbs, but I'll ask him before posting them in here.

Aesthetically, the yellow isn't so bad, and there're much, much worse bulbs to put in, and fog lamps should be left OFF, anyway. I hope that if he ever really NEEDS them he didn't make things worse, but in fog like that, pulling way off the road and using the hazard lights, unmoving, may be a better bet. There's always some jerk with fog lamps driving too fast for conditions...

*​-Virgil- and many of this subforum's regulars know (but newer members may not): Hella do not make their own bulbs. The Hella brand is generally reliable, and they've also made some really, really good products, but they do proffer more than a few items aimed at the "tuner" crowd, with quality at "workmanlike" or below. Their Optilux lamps are among them, and DEFINITELY their Optilux bulbs. They'll put out the same gimmicks as PIAA and Nokya, with lots of marketing and little performance. My own friend knows this, and again, he's pretty sharp, but I suppose even he fell sway to "aesthetics" for lamps he'll never really turn on.

I talked to my friend, who graciously gave me permission to post the photos that *I took* (thereby being the de jure copyright owner). They're not the greatest pics, but show how the envelope is not entirely optically transparent-- whatever method they use to tint the bulb leaves it looking a very slightly cloudy (I suppose something mixed in with the glass, but whatever it is it doesn't work as well as cadmium).



Edit: I need to find and replace these files since they're not in the folder they oughta be in.

Those pics are good enough. The yellow color itself is reasonably good, but as you point out, it's not transparent. There's actually significant cloud/haze to bulbs like this, and it does exactly what you'd think: it causes the bulb envelope (capsule) to "glow", which not only throws significant light outside the boundaries of the beam (such as above the cutoff) but also illuminnates the internal parts of the bulb burner. The crossbar, the filament supports, etc. These, in turn, create more stray light.

The color and haze are not in the glass; the glass is plain clear. The yellow color is a coating on the surface of the glass. Also, silver paint does not substitute for real blacktop; the paint will flake off in fairly short order, and before it does that it will tend to outgas and fog the lamp's internal optics.

Overall, these are toys. They are not serious items that actually improve anything about the performance of the lamp they're installed in. Unfortunately.

-Virgil- said:

Those pics are good enough. The yellow color itself is reasonably good, but as you point out, it's not transparent. There's actually significant cloud/haze to bulbs like this. It's not in the glass; the glass is plain clear.

Click to expand...

Interesting... I thought the glass was doped with something, rather than the sprayed/dipped/drooled on.

Also, silver paint does not substitute for real blacktop; the paint will flake off in fairly short order, and before it does that it will tend to outgas and fog the lamp's internal optics.

Click to expand...

I've seen some other bulbs with silvery or golden tips (I'd have to search these forums, but I think one of those was an Osram in some kind of "commemorative" version) that had a golden yellow tip.

Unfortunately.

Click to expand...

I'll let him know if he hasn't already read this.

Alaric Darconville said:

I've seen some other bulbs with silvery or golden tips (I'd have to search these forums, but I think one of those was an Osram in some kind of "commemorative" version) that had a golden yellow tip.

Click to expand...

Yes, blacktop isn't necessarily black. It can be almost any color. But it's not paint. One dead-giveaway clue you're holding a bulb not worth using, aside from the lack of a reputable name on it, is paint (thin, easily flaked) where blacktop (thick, very hard to flake) should be.

-Virgil- said:

One dead-giveaway clue you're holding a bulb not worth using, aside from the lack of a reputable name on it, is paint (thin, easily flaked) where blacktop (thick, very hard to flake) should be.

Click to expand...

I'll add that to my arsenal of knowledge!

Interesting fact about this thread (true until a moment ago): number of posters: 2, number of views: 135.

Lots of people are reading and learning from your conversation. Thanks!

DIWdiver said:

Lots of people are reading and learning from your conversation. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Or, they're going "man, they're a buncha h8ers, my EYES tell me that I can see better and Hella makes the best bulbs since their (sic) German!". Depends on who's viewing, I suppose

In a couple weeks I will be picking up a new/vintage car that uses H3 bulbs for the factory fogs. I thought it might be neat to get yellow bulbs. Then I read this:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?297671-Best-Selective-Yellow-55W-H3

Clear bulbs will do nicely, thankyouverymuch.