"Hello" From the new guy with an H4 bulb recommendation

Hi folks!
Been a lurker and reader and now a member!
I have a quick quest about a bulb recommendation for my particular application. I recently upgraded the housings and wiring in my 1990 Toyota 4x4 pickup. I installed Hella "E" code glass housings (6054's) and redid all of the wiring with 10ga feeders & 40A relays.
I do not want boutique blue POS or HID/LED " blind the living s**t out of oncoming drivers" crap. I've been well versed on "true" light output and have read numerous publications. Before you all flame me for running ece lenses on the street I have taken the time to properly aim them and I love the very distinct and sharp low cutoff these disperse. Now, that being said, I want to consult the resident "experts" here for a good bulb compromise. I initially had the "Korean" Hella 80/100 H4's in it and the beam was impressive! Unfortunately, one of them started to crap out after maybe 6hrs of use! I thing it was defective to begin with. I get a good, solid 13.4VDC at the lamps with only .27v voltage drop. These are firing nicely. I've been looking at offerings from Flösser, Osram & Phillips in similar "Rallye" configurations. Expectedly, the bulb life is quite shortened due to the obvious wattage increase. I've also Peres into some of the DOT offerings in the +50 to +120 increased efficacy types and although they are longer life because of the lower 60/55 wattage I am unsure how these will play out in the long run.

What can you guys quantitatively recommend? Looking for the best "down the road" brightness with the benefit of better longevity.

Thanx again!

Bud

Pics of the '69 Bee!

69sixpackbee said:

Looking for the best "down the road" brightness with the benefit of better longevity.

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Pick one or the other.

The Philips X-Treme Power is an excellent choice-- beam focus extremely important in a bulb and this offers that. Higher-wattage bulbs have reduced filament luminance and poorer focus-- the extra lumens from them isn't extremely helpful.

Well, I've seen two offerings. One from here in the states at an "80% +" packaging and ones from Europe that say (and not to be confused with the former) "130+" on the package.
Then I read this post:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...lips-X-treme-Vision-100-vs-X-treme-Vision-130

Kind of summarizes it for me.
Thanx!

Thanx!

Xtreme Vision (new style) or Xtreme Power??
Aren't they one in the same?

Welcome to the board. See this thread. The Xtreme Power is the older version of what is now sold as the Xtreme Vision, and remains the top pick. Be sure your lamps are aimed correctly -- it is best to use the "VOL" dimensions when using European headlamps in North America.

(Also, if your screen name refers to a car you presently have, not just one you had in the past, you should go talk to Daniel Stern about a set of Hella Bifocal H1 headlamps for it -- WAY better than H4s)

"Hello" From the new guy with an H4 bulb recommendation

Thanx for the clarification! I have been a fan of Daniel Sterns writings and admire the plethora of knowledge he shares with everyone. That is a valuable resource to say the least!
I have read the suggested links that you had provided beforehand but it is good to reread them once again.

Thanx again!
If it wasn't for the fact that I have four NOS "T3 Guide" headlamps in my car now I would surely consider the bifocals. Gotta keep it period correct ya know.

I also want to ask..I notice the Xtreme Vision 9003's that I am finding DO have a slight blue band near the top. These are the originals and not bogus I hope.
Thanks

Re: "Hello" From the new guy with an H4 bulb recommendation

69sixpackbee said:

If it wasn't for the fact that I have four NOS "T3 Guide" headlamps in my car now I would surely consider the bifocals. Gotta keep it period correct ya know.

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But Guide T3s are General Motors headlamps...they are not correct on a Chrysler product or any other non-GM marque. Chrysler used mostly Tung-Sol and General Electric sealed beams.

I notice the Xtreme Vision 9003's that I am finding DO have a slight blue band near the top. These are the originals and not bogus I hope.

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Assuming you're buying the legitimate ones, yes, they have a blue band, but the low beam filament has an uncolored "window" to look out of.

Re: "Hello" From the new guy with an H4 bulb recommendation

69sixpackbee said:

I have four NOS "T3 Guide" headlamps in my car now I would surely consider the bifocals. Gotta keep it period correct ya know.

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Period-correct, sure-- but not brand-correct!

Re: "Hello" From the new guy with an H4 bulb recommendation

That's okay,,, that's what I got
Thanx again for all of the help. I ordered up the new X-tremes. I'll post back with my results.

Bud

"Hello" From the new guy with an H4 bulb recommendation

Update...
I put in the Xtreme Vision 9003's and they are impressive!
And considering I am firing them at full battery voltage now by advent of 40A relays through 10ga wire to the sockets and an 8ga feeder, these light up the night sky probably as well if not better than the 80/100 H4 bulbs I had. And with the added benefit of a bit cooler running housings and I'm sure, lengthened bulb life to boot. These ECE housings which I have properly aimed, have excellent dispersion IMHO and the added "wink" up and to the right help tremendously with signage.
Thanx again for everyone's help!

Bud

Re: "Hello" from the new guy with an H4 bulb recommendation

69sixpackbee said:

Update...
I put in the Xtreme Vision 9003's and they are impressive!

Click to expand...

Glad you enjoy them!

And considering I am firing them at full battery voltage now by advent of 40A relays through 10ga wire to the sockets and an 8ga feeder, these light up the night sky probably as well if not better than the 80/100 H4 bulbs I had. And with the added benefit of a bit cooler running housings and I'm sure, lengthened bulb life to boot.

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Those XTreme Vision bulbs aren't going to have their life shortened or lengthened by much at all despite "cooler running housings". Voltage and vibration, particularly voltage, are their #1 enemy. The wiring you propose is surely overkill for the task (that's some extremely heavy guage) with diminishing returns over 12 or even 14ga. And remember bulb life changes to the power of -13 with changes in voltage. Keep the voltage right around 13.8 so you're not out there every couple of months changing bulbs.

Thanx, Alaric!
I do realize the heft in the wiring is a bit much but when I initiated this whole project I was preparing for hi-wattage filaments so I had plenty of this size conductor in my stash so, I figured, what the hell.
Definitely working well. And I have simplified the whole Toyota scheme of things when they were using a "switched ground" scenario. I just had to rewire the hi beam indicator from the dash to the relay feeder. As you know, this was originally a "not low beam" setup where the bulb took the least path of resistance to ground when the hi beams were applied.
All in all I am very happy now with these bulbs and thank you all again for your valuable input!