Osram Night Breaker Unlimited vs Philips X-Treme Vision

[RByers91]

Just wondering which bulb you would recommend over the other and why? Trying to replace my H11 low beams and 9005 highs. Thanks.

 

[-Virgil-]

These are both good bulbs, but the Philips would be the preferable one. Its blue glass area is smaller than the blue glass area on the Osram bulb, which means the Philips bulb's uncolored glass area is larger, which means more light reaches the road (blue glass blocks light).

Depending on what kind of car you have, though, other upgrades might give you better bang for the buck. What kind of car are you working on?

 

[RByers91]

Its a 2012 Dodge Charger.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

PRETTY!

The HIR (9011) would be good for the high beams, and aren't super pricy. Same electrical requirements as the 9005 they replace, so no worries there.

 

[-Virgil-]

Yeah, go with the Philips Xtreme H11 for the low beam. The Philips HIR1 (9011) would be the best swap for the high beams.

 

[RByers91]

Where would I find these 9011 HIR bulbs? I've found some normal 9011's on amazon, but no where does it say HIR. Is there any difference between these two?

 

[Alaric Darconville]

Where would I find these 9011 HIR bulbs? I've found some normal 9011's on amazon, but no where does it say HIR. Is there any difference between these two?

HIR1 and HIR2 are their designations, but don't necessarily describe the technology used to meet the geometric, photometric, and electrical requirements of those designations. The Philips 9011s meet the HIR1 specifications.

 

[RByers91]

Alright thanks for the info. Now although I am looking to upgrade my lights with the best possible, I would also like them to be whiter, will these bulbs do that for me?

 

[Alaric Darconville]

I would also like them to be whiter, will these bulbs do that for me?

White light is white. Light described as "whiter" or "crisper" or "cheesier" are none of those things. The color temperature of the HIR1 is about 3450K, if it gets the proper voltage. Anything "whiter" than white probably has blue filtering, which removes some yellow light-- but what you might see as "whiter" is a trick of the eye.

 

[RByers91]

Interesting... Well i'll stick to what you guys recommended. I'm sure I will be happy. I just need to get rid of these horrible stock bulbs. I was also wondering if you had any recommendations on new fog light bulbs. I live in a foggy and rainy area and would love for my fogs to be somewhat useful. It looks like the bulb number is PSX24W.

Edit: I also just read up on changing the bulbs from h11 to h9 in the low beams. Is this beneficial or legal? Would i be able to do the same setup?

 

[-Virgil-]

Your car's "fog lamps" are purely cosmetic. There is nothing you can do/no bulb to install that will change this.

Do not install an H9 bulb in your low beams -- it's not safe to do in low beams like yours; they'll produce way too much glare.

 

[RByers91]

Thats to bad about the fog lamps, and thats what i was assuming would happen with the H9's. Thanks for the info.

 

[RByers91]

I figured I'd just ask you guys this question instead of starting a new thread. My mother-in-law has an 07 camry with stock halogen projectors. Would the h9 bulb (instead of the stock h11) be safe to use in this situation? Her headlights are absolutely horrid.

Also I've read somewhere that since my car has a bulb shield it would be fine to run h9's. Is this incorrect? I know you said not to, but I'm just simply exploring all alternatives.

 

[-Virgil-]

I figured I'd just ask you guys this question instead of starting a new thread. My mother-in-law has an 07 camry with stock halogen projectors. Would the h9 bulb (instead of the stock h11) be safe to use in this situation?

Yes.

Her headlights are absolutely horrid.

Only if there's something wrong with them -- degraded lenses, improperly aimed, replaced with aftermarket headlamps, etc. The genuine Toyota lamps, in good shape and correctly aimed, are actually pretty efficient.

Also I've read somewhere that since my car has a bulb shield it would be fine to run h9's.

That's wrong.