I've been considering adding 2-4 auxiliary lights which will have to be 100W-130W halogens because every LED bar I've seen on the market is hideous 6500K crap. I could go 4300K HID on the auxiliaries but I don't want a warm up wait on auxiliaries.
130w bulbs for aux lights
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"130w halogens"
Just a bit overkill. And likely too big/low intensity a filament to be worthwhile. There are some LED options you could consider. One of the few "small exceptions" to the 5500+k LED lamps you may want to look at is Diode Dynamics. The SS1/3/5 Spot and Pro Pods with the selective yellow lenses use 4000k led's. Buying the yellow lensed pods and then a separate set of clear lenses gives you a slight boost in performance, and 4000k neutral white output. No warmup time, no filaments to burn out. Several beam patterns available, including a J583 compliant fog pattern, and a J581 aux. Driving light beam pattern.
According to the chart on Stern's site the 130W H3's are significantly brighter than the 100W H3's.
Alaric Darconville
Flashlight Enthusiast
The filaments in these overwattage H3s are grossly oversize, reducing beam focus (a much larger reflector assembly may help slightly) and resulting in lower filament luminance (in cd/m2, or "candela per square meter"). Filament luminance will also suffer from the reduced voltage such bulbs will receive unless fed with heavy gauge wires using relays. It's filament luminance that gives light real long-distance 'punch'.
Another potential issue can be driving with the overwattage lamps turned on and hot and then getting hit with water (such as from a sudden rainstorm). Nice way to shatter the lens of a lamp (or the lamp entirely if the reflector and lens are both glass and bonded together).
You're putting way too many eggs (or lumens) in one basket. Higher luminous flux does not translate directly to better seeing, and in fact it can easily be opposite. A high-wattage filament is physically larger, which does two bad things. It de-focuses the beam because the larger the filament the less it approximates a point source. This loss of focus means the proportion of close-range and distant lighting is degraded. Basically you get too much close-range light, which your eyes react to by constricting the pupils. This strongly degrades your distance visual acuity (ability to see what needs seeing out at relevant distances). All of that is number one. Number two, the larger filament has much lower surface luminance, which has the same negative effect on beam effectiveness as it does when the lower luminance is a result of a standard-wattage bulb optimized for long life instead of maximum seeing.
All of those words mean NO, high-wattage bulbs aren't necessarily better for seeing and you shouldn't just go "More lumens therefore superior", because that's wrong.
The fixtures I'd be using are designed for 100W H3's. They come with them. So the increase would be 100 to 130 not 55 to 130. The lens is tempered glass and the reflector is metal. and of course I'd be installing a relay.
Alaric Darconville
Flashlight Enthusiast
Were they designed for them, or do they just come with them? Is the lamp particularly large compared to other H3 lamps? Is it really designed for the "not nearly as close to a point source as it oughta be" bulb?
Again, there's still that risk that the lens will get particularly hot and then a surprise blast of water could shatter it. More likely with 130W than 100W, but the risk still exists.
And, remember, the filament luminance will be lower with the 100W or 130W H3 compare to a 55W H3. As we've pointed out already, the luminance is what really gives the downrange 'punch' to a beam.
I'm trying to not beat a dead horse here, but...probably not. I don't doubt it when you say they came with 100w H3s, but that doesn't imply they were designed (optically engineered) for them; most are not. And the difference in filament size/luminance for 130w versus 100w is very significant. What kind of lamps are you using, anyway?
Taking a gander at available photos of the 130w and 100w h3 bulb filaments out there. "Ooofff," is all I want to say about the 130's. Like a coil of 20ga wire. Filament intensity like an old carbon thread.
Also curious about the lamps you're using.
Also curious about the lamps you're using.
Alaric Darconville
Flashlight Enthusiast
So you know how bad they are but insist on using them anyway. Huh.
LOL indeed. You don't seriously think any "lamps" from Harbor Freight are actually engineered...do you really? You can form complete, coherent sentences, which implies a certain level of intelligence, but are you really going to sit there and claim to be arguing about optical factors here? There's a time and place for cheap/nasty/disposable lights -- beater farm trucks and lo-budget dune buggies and LeMons entries come to mind. But let's be clear: there is nothing even remotely optical about them, and they weren't "designed" for 100w or 130w bulbs...or 55w bulbs, for that matter. Do what you want (we can't stop you even if we wanted to), but let's not pretend there's any technical legitimacy to your argument, beyond "I do what I want", because there just isn't.
From what I can see here they have WAY more spot to them than my factory high beams which are basically useless flood lights. (3rd gen Explorer).
If I were to get them, my question is should I use the 100W that comes with them (probably a brand-less made in china so that'd be a no) or use Hella 100W or Hella 130W or Sylvania 100W? (Those are the only brands that make overwatt H3's IIRC).
On another subject. Should I look into reconfiguring my factory wiring so that my low beams turn off when I turn the high beams on? I would have to do this if I added the spots as additional high beams to remain at the 4 lamps on at a time limit.
If I were to get them, my question is should I use the 100W that comes with them (probably a brand-less made in china so that'd be a no) or use Hella 100W or Hella 130W or Sylvania 100W? (Those are the only brands that make overwatt H3's IIRC).
On another subject. Should I look into reconfiguring my factory wiring so that my low beams turn off when I turn the high beams on? I would have to do this if I added the spots as additional high beams to remain at the 4 lamps on at a time limit.
kerneldrop
Flashlight Enthusiast
Be honest here…you're a ghost writer in the romance genre aren't you?
On the list of lamps that would be worth buying... harbor freight ones are going to be pretty much not on the list homie.
I can send you a link for a thread on tacomaworld where there's some tests and real-world pics of (mainly) LED and some halogen driving lamps, if you wanted to see some comparisons of whats out there. They're all going to be worth the extra coin over those ones.
I can send you a link for a thread on tacomaworld where there's some tests and real-world pics of (mainly) LED and some halogen driving lamps, if you wanted to see some comparisons of whats out there. They're all going to be worth the extra coin over those ones.
OK, so you're looking to put more light far down the road, that's reasonable. But you want to do it with cheap-aѕѕ junk that doesn't even come close to meeting technical or legal standards for a roadgoing vehicle. That's not reasonable.
Hella bulbs are not all that much better than no-brand junk. If you insist on using these pretend-lights you have your eye on, put in 100w H3 bulbs from Narva, Philips, Osram/Sylvania, Tungsram, or Vosla.
It looks like you answered your own question here, from the standpoint of complying with state laws about how many lamps may be lit at the same time, but it raises another important point: it is likely the high beams by themselves don't provide enough mid-field lighting or beam width for anything but a long, straight road with high walls on both sides to block animals, pedestrians, etc. Adding spot lights would only exacerbate this lack.
You would be well advised to think more carefully about what you're doing, because your present ideas really aren't good.
Well, given then OP's vehicle and desires, my first pointer would be to this tried-and-true unit, but since the OP has an apparent hatred for LEDs based on putting way more weight on light color than it actually merits, I guess that's out of the question. That so, I'd probably do more or less like this.
Hilldweller
Enlightened
No school like old school. Scott's headlight really rocked.
But if I'm spending someone else's money, I'm spending with abandon.
Freakin' sharks with freakin' lasers.
