2018 Infiniti QX30 H9 Bulb questions.

alarsen77

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Hi guys, I just got a 2018 Infiniti QX30 Premium and it has the halogen projector headlights. But the Fogs are LED and there is an LED strip around the outer area of the lenses as well. So I was wondering if there is a good H9 bulb that would give me a whiter light output that would match the LED closer and not have as much of a contrast but still give me good visibility at night? It seems H9 bulbs aren't as easy to come by for some reason. I had Osram night breakers in my BMW and loved those but they don't make them in H9.
 

Alaric Darconville

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Hi guys, I just got a 2018 Infiniti QX30 Premium and it has the halogen projector headlights. But the Fogs are LED and there is an LED strip around the outer area of the lenses as well. So I was wondering if there is a good H9 bulb that would give me a whiter light output that would match the LED closer and not have as much of a contrast but still give me good visibility at night?
Why do you want your halogen headlamps to match your fog lamps? The fog lamps should only be lit in fog conditions, which not only include a very limited seeing distance, but very low speeds (25mph or lower). In those conditions, noöne will care whether your lights match each other, because they'll be too busy trying to drive carefully.

Also, with the high CCTs of most LED light sources, you're not going to be able to approximate a match without having excessive blue coating on the halogen bulb, which greatly reduces its performance. A CCT of about 3450 K is very high for a filament; LEDs for automotive lighting can be 5000 K or higher. Only by extreme tinting to remove red/orange/yellow light will the CCT be brought upwards, sacrificing a *lot* of light output. The filament will also have to be severely overdriven to bring the total output back into the legally-required range, shortening the bulb life significantly.

Much more useful than front fog lamps is a rear fog lamp (also only to be used when appropriate, not at all times). Your QX30 might even come with them (or just one) as standard equipment.

As far as H9 bulbs go, there are no upgrades (but there are a lot of downgrades). Stick with Philips, Vosla, Narva, Osram, or GE (in no real order).
 
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alarsen77

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Much more useful than front fog lamps is a rear fog lamp (also only to be used when appropriate, not at all times). Your QX30 might even come with them (or just one) as standard equipment.

My car actually does have both front and rear fog lamps. I wasn't sure if there was any better performing H9 that would be a closer match to the LED's I guess I just like the aesthetic look of it all matching. It really isn't a big deal and I understand that usually when you change the tint of a bulb you lose light output that's why I wasn't sure if there was something better out there but I guess I will just stick with what is in there and replace when necessary.
 
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Alaric Darconville

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I guess I just like the aesthetic look of it all matching.
Still, matching your headlamps to your fog lamps means that people won't even know they match because the amount of times you genuinely need to use front fog lamps are incredibly rare. Just leave them off unless needed and most of your aesthetic concerns are addressed.

It's possible you got "long life" H9s in your new car-- it might not be a bad idea to replace them right away with the standard type. Long life headlamp bulbs start "meh" and go downhill from there, lighting up long after their actual usefulness is over. Keep one of the old ones as a spare to tide you over until you get a new pair of bulbs to put in.
 

alarsen77

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Still, matching your headlamps to your fog lamps means that people won't even know they match because the amount of times you genuinely need to use front fog lamps are incredibly rare. Just leave them off unless needed and most of your aesthetic concerns are addressed.

It's possible you got "long life" H9s in your new car-- it might not be a bad idea to replace them right away with the standard type. Long life headlamp bulbs start "meh" and go downhill from there, lighting up long after their actual usefulness is over. Keep one of the old ones as a spare to tide you over until you get a new pair of bulbs to put in.

It's not just the fogs per say but the car has those LED eyebrow style lights that are always on and those are what you see on top of the yellower halogens. So that is more what bugs me.
 

-Virgil-

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There is no legitimate upgrade for H9, no. And any bulb that shifts the color in the direction you want (you say "whiter" but it's actually bluer) will sharply reduce the amount and usefulness of light coming from the headlamps. I'm afraid that realistically you're going to have to live with the different light colors...any attempt to change it will either not give you what you want, or make the headlights less safe, or make them dangerous and illegal (or more than one of those things at the same time).
 

alarsen77

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There is no legitimate upgrade for H9, no. And any bulb that shifts the color in the direction you want (you say "whiter" but it's actually bluer) will sharply reduce the amount and usefulness of light coming from the headlamps. I'm afraid that realistically you're going to have to live with the different light colors...any attempt to change it will either not give you what you want, or make the headlights less safe, or make them dangerous and illegal (or more than one of those things at the same time).

I had a feeling that was going to be the case but wasn't 100% sure which is why I wanted to ask here. But I thank you guys for the info.
 
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