Best Car headlight bulbs

Candle Power Flashlight Forum

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if you can find them get the Osram Silverstars with the clear glass envelope. I put them in a late 90s Camry owned by the family and the output increase was remarkable, with excellent beam distribution and clear cut off.
 
I run PIAA's in my '06 Toyota Tundra. I LOVE them! They are nice and white.
 
TKC said:
I run PIAA's in my '06 Toyota Tundra. I LOVE them! They are nice and white.
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...yeah, yeah, "extra white" and all that babble. Fact is, those PIAAs, like all other blue-glass bulbs, put out significantly less light than a clear-glass bulb. You may think it's keen that your headlights look "whiter", but you've totally screwed yourself as far as actually seeing well at night.
 
Agreed, blue filter makes it whiter, but less useful specially when the road is wet.

getting myself a pair of philips xtreme power soon. My existing Osram Silver star +50% has served me for more than 3 years now.
(Osram Silver star is different than Slyvania Silver Star). check the bulbs at www.powerbulbs.com
 
Norm said:
I'd be checking for Voltage drop first, check the Voltage at the back of the headlight with the engine running and the lights on. You may find a new relay and heavier wiring will make a big difference without doing anything else.
headlight voltage drop - Google Search
Norm
Click to expand...
+1.

My headlights are only getting 10V at the bulb with the stock setup, so relays, which will lift the voltage to 13V or more, whic will more than double the output.

When I get around to finishing the job...
 
Hi. Is the Danielstern lighting guy here? Is he a CPF member? Does anyone know how to get a hold of him? I've sent two inquries, right from his website, according to his instructions, and have not heard anything back for a long time.
 
I know what I'm seeing and the SilverStar Ultras in my car make a difference.

I drive at night to the rurals of Long Island 4 times a month. Back when i just bought my Accord with stocks, i couldn't see much of anything when there isn't a single source of light but your headlights. Done much research and went with the SilverStars. Now I light up roads signs farther away, and with a better color rendition.
 
nismotor said:
I know what I'm seeing and the SilverStar Ultras in my car make a difference.

I drive at night to the rurals of Long Island 4 times a month. Back when i just bought my Accord with stocks, i couldn't see much of anything when there isn't a single source of light but your headlights. Done much research and went with the SilverStars. Now I light up roads signs farther away, and with a better color rendition.
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The difference is negative. Basically, what's happening is blue light is getting through the filter mostly unimpeded, while the other colors are blocked to some degree. The eye is very sensitive to blue at night and this relatively large percentage of blue light is reflected better than other colors.

Don't kid yourself, filtering light is never good. Less light of a cooler color temp is never better than or even equal to more light of a warmer color temp.
 
The problem is Honda's, and by extension, yours.
Small gauge wiring and obsolete bulbs [the new accord uses 9006/9005, except for the coupe, it uses H11 in the low beam projectors]
 
MichaelW said:
The problem is Honda's, and by extension, yours.
Small gauge wiring and obsolete bulbs [the new accord uses 9006/9005, except for the coupe, it uses H11 in the low beam projectors]
Click to expand...

FYI
Honda have used the 9006/9005 setup since 1990 on the Accord.
And mine is an '03
 
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LukeA said:
Don't kid yourself, filtering light is never good. Less light of a cooler color temp is never better than or even equal to more light of a warmer color temp.
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It occurred to me that most of the stuff you need to see at night, such as dirt, trees and small animals, exist at the reddish-brown edge of the visible spectrum, which is the opposite end of where those blue bulbs operate at. So you might be seeing more apparent light reflected back to your eyes, but you might be seeing less of what you're trying to avoid hitting.
 
I will reiterate:

The laws of physics do not allow a colored filter that removes light to increase brightness. Yes, it's really that simple.

:buddies:
 
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I run Sylvania XtraVisions in my vehicles. They're just the right price and a little better than what most would have stock. I also have a homemade relay harness as well; the original headlight wiring now "turns on" a 30 amp Bosch relay that sends power through some 12 gauge cable to a pair of heavy duty 9006 connectors. I used the wiring diagram included with the Sylvania Xenarc HID kits.

harness.jpg


You'll want the relay harness later anyway when you do upgrade to an HID retrofit. Many HID ballasts draw a large amount of current upon startup in order to ignite and warm up the bulbs quickly (A Toyota ballast I have hits 16 amps during igniting then about 8 amps while warming up and finally slowly dropping to about 3.5 amps as the lamps reach full brightness) The initial high current draw is usually too much for stock wiring to deliver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCqjSLUIkjk
 
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yuandrew,

do you know if plasticX just thins out the lens to removed the top yellowed layer or what? I've seen the ads but was hesitant to use it.
 
Diesel_Bomber said:
I will reiterate:

The laws of physics do not allow a colored filter that removes light to increase brightness. Yes, it's really that simple.

:buddies:
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Very well said!. Thank you. :thumbsup:

yuandrew, very accurate article in link. http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...ead.php?t=8011

nismotor:
do you know if plasticX just thins out the lens to removed the top yellowed layer or what? I've seen the ads but was hesitant to use it.
Click to expand...
It is an extremely fine polish, and if you lens discolor is minimal it may work. Like taking off 1 layer of thin saran wrap, if the damage is deeper then use link info and remove several layers of saran wrap. Not accurate but good for conveying the procedure.

I have pesonally been using the HIR bulbs for over 2yrs now in my 05 Dodge Magnum, after much research from lxforums.com. Most any of the auto forums, BMW, Corvette, Viper, etc. will have a thread on these.
HIR stands for, "Halogen lamp with Infrared Reflective films". Actually made by Toshiba, HIR-2 & HIR-1, Patent#4500954.

Do yourself a favor and do some serious reading and keep notepad open for pasting your findings into for later. I'm doing this in notepad as I grab info from bookmarks etc.. ')
There is a very slight install mod required but is something most anyone can do. Just don't touch the bulb.
Detailed instructions: http://foohbar.com/light_bulb_saga.cfm

Low Beam (9006): HIR 9012
High Beam (9005): HIR 9011
http://hirheadlights.com
You will notice the ordering info e-addy is: http://finemotoring.com
And for more info: [email protected]
Also may be available from local John Deere dealer as Part# AH211917 for 9012, and 2yrs ago cost 9.95 but oh what demand does to prices. lol

Thanks, and hope you fine this helpful.
X/BillyD..
icon14.gif
 
The HIR bulbs work very well as long as the optic they're used in is reasonably well engineered (if not, you get too much glare and backscatter). The Toshiba-made ones are the only ones worth getting, and they can be had a couple bucks cheaper at Candlepower.
 
Checking back for links to site I bought from and noticed and incorrect post on prices.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4 bulbs from http://store.candlepower.com/ $109.00 Shipped

[/FONT]4 bulbs from http://hirheadlights.com/[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] is $106.20 Shipped[/FONT]
So these are actually $2.80 less from one of and possibly the first to sell these to us auto nuts. ')

Also there is a great deal of info on the HIR bulbs inception, operation and lots of testing etc..
List of links to further info for any and all to view.

I bought 2 sets and have been very pleased after 78,000 miles and only lost one low beam which I already had replacement for.
I drive a Dodge Magnum and the headlights have a top shelf for cutoff. But people still comment on how bright my lights seem to be, yet very rarely get flashed on the highway.

So for any interested be sure and check the info, http://hirheadlights.com

And by all means check the John Deere dealer as Part# AH211917 for 9012.

Good luck and be thoughtful of other drivers.
Thanks
X/BillyD..
 
X_Marine said:
Checking back for links to site I bought from and noticed and incorrect post on prices.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4 bulbs from http://store.candlepower.com/ $109.00 Shipped

[/FONT]4 bulbs from http://hirheadlights.com/[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] is $106.20 Shipped[/FONT]
So these are actually $2.80 less from one of and possibly the first to sell these to us auto nuts. ')

Also there is a great deal of info on the HIR bulbs inception, operation and lots of testing etc..
List of links to further info for any and all to view.

I bought 2 sets and have been very pleased after 78,000 miles and only lost one low beam which I already had replacement for.
I drive a Dodge Magnum and the headlights have a top shelf for cutoff. But people still comment on how bright my lights seem to be, yet very rarely get flashed on the highway.

So for any interested be sure and check the info, http://hirheadlights.com

And by all means check the John Deere dealer as Part# AH211917 for 9012.

Good luck and be thoughtful of other drivers.
Thanks
X/BillyD..
Click to expand...

Those have been superseded by the Philips HIRs
 
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