blue coated color halogen beam doesn't throw far ?

[picard]

I got the mechanic to install the new halogen H4 blue color light for my accord 93.

The bulbs are made by Putco.

My lights look whiter than yellowish halogen but it doesn't seem to throw far at all.

Is this common problem with blue coated color bulb ?

 

[bshanahan14rulz]

Very typical, and quite expected. Think about it. Why should a bulb with a filter put out *more* light than a bulb without a filter?

 

[clint357]

Was it advertised anywhere that they are suposed to be brighter or throw further? Also, blue is very hard on the human eye and actually appears less bright even with the same lumens. Yellow actually looks the brightest to the human eye. Think about those glasses with yellow lenses that are made for easier visibility while driving or biking or fishing or.....

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

Not only common, but the ONLY POSSIBLE OUTCOME. A filter that removes light can not make a bulb brighter.

I can not understand why anyone thinks this is the case, and have serious concerns about the intelligence of those that do.

Sorry buddy, you got taken. :buddies:

 

[Superdave]

i made the same mistake several years ago, the blueish ones are even worse in wet weather.

I went back to stock bulbs and never looked back.

 

[mrb]

Generally best avoid blue bulbs. Here in UK AutoExpress recently did another big bulb test, 30 different bulbs were tested.
The blue coated ones were of course measured to be lower in output. Philips X-treme power had the highest overall output, though the article does reveal the tests were done at Philips' own test facility.
Article is here.

 

[TorchBoy]

Also, blue is very hard on the human eye and actually appears less bright even with the same lumens. Yellow actually looks the brightest to the human eye.

The lumen is an apparent-intensity unit. Blue light and yellow light of the same lumens look just as bright (by definition). The difference is that more power is required to produce the blue light and our eyes find it harder to focus.

Not only common, but the ONLY POSSIBLE OUTCOME. A filter that removes light can not make a bulb brighter.

I can not understand why anyone thinks this is the case, and have serious concerns about the intelligence of those that do.

+1.

 

[-Virgil-]

I got the mechanic to install the new halogen H4 blue color light for my accord 93.

That was a waste of money, time, and effort. Blue bulbs are not better than clear bulbs. They're worse.

The bulbs are made by Putco.

Buy bulbs from real bulb makers (Osram, Philips, Narva are the best bets). "Putco" is not a bulb maker, they are a marketer of the same garbage all the other off-brand marketing companies sell.

Is this common problem with blue coated color bulb ?

Yes. Colored glass blocks light that would otherwise reach the road, and off-brand bulbs are poorly made.

 

[-Virgil-]

Blue light and yellow light of the same lumens look just as bright (by definition).

Actually, the bluer the light of any given intensity, the greater the discomfort glare it causes (see here, PDF); i.e., the brighter it appears to the human visual system when viewed directly, as when oncoming headlights enter a driver's visual field -- but without giving a benefit in seeing performance when the driver is behind bluer headlamps.

more power is required to produce the blue light

That wholly depends on the light source.

and our eyes find it harder to focus.

Yes. Human eyes have a hard time focusing on blue light.

 

[-Virgil-]

I can not understand why anyone thinks this is the case, and have serious concerns about the intelligence of those that do.

Well, keep in mind, people love to claim they're not influenced by advertising and marketing, but the fact remains, advertising and marketing work; they rake in piles of money for whoever is doing the marketing and advertising, and that money gets gladly handed over by dumb people and smart people alike. That's all these blue bulbs are, is just another successful application of marketing psychology.

 

[TorchBoy]

Actually, the bluer the light of any given intensity, the greater the discomfort glare it causes (see here, PDF); i.e., the brighter it appears to the human visual system when viewed directly, ...

I really don't think you should be using the word "brighter" there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumen_(unit)

The lumen (symbol: lm) is the SI unit of luminous flux, a measure of the power of light perceived by the human eye. Luminous flux differs from radiant flux, the measure of the total power of light emitted, in that luminous flux is adjusted to reflect the varying sensitivity of the human eye to different wavelengths of light.

So as I said, the same lumens produces the same brightness by definition regardless of the colour.

That wholly depends on the light source.

Of course. The efficiency of different light production methods can vary hugely.