Osram Night Breaker Unlimited?

[Hamilton Felix]

I just received a Powerbulbs ad, featuring the "new for October" Osram Night Breaker Unlimited.

Is this a real performer or just another "blue bulb?"

Along with all the hype about more light, greater range, etc. I saw: "The partial cobalt coating of the glass body contributes to up to 20% whiter light"

I also read "colour temperature up to 4000K."

From what I can see in the images, the bulb is partly blue tinted and partly clear. I wonder of the important part remains clear.

Just curious.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

"The partial cobalt coating of the glass body contributes to up to 20% whiter light"

"colour temperature up to 4000K."

From what I can see in the images, the bulb is partly blue tinted and partly clear. I wonder of the important part remains clear.

It appears that the blue coatings are in the right places to leave the actual beam light untinted, and to give that off-axis "hint" of blue for those who care about appearances. The end result is that the bulb's total output is within legal limits. The bulb itself is probably not bad at all, but the marketing is full of the usual hype regarding color temp/"whiter light".

Color temp of the filament will be like usual for a properly built-and-fed bulb.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

I see this is an H3-- would this be a great bulb for the Hella XL aux low beams? (They're still not yet mounted-- it's harder work than I thought.)

 

[Hamilton Felix]

The ad says:

"The new OSRAM NIGHT BREAKER UNLIMITED bulbs are available in H1, H3, H4, H7, H11, HB3 and HB4 fittings and have just landed at PowerBulbs!"

Quite a selection for a new introduction.

Refresh my memory: is HB3 the same as or very close to H4?

 

[N8N]

No, HB2 is the US version of a H4. I don't know that there is an ECE recognized type equivalent to HB3. These sound a lot like the Philips 'limited edition' bulbs someone posted about a while back, which makes the name kind of amusing...

Sent from my XT897 using Tapatalk

 

[Alaric Darconville]

Refresh my memory: is HB3 the same as or very close to H4?

H4 is practically identical to the HB2/9003. There are real differences between them, but probably it will never be of any practical consequence to swap the two.

HB3 is the 9005.

 

[-Virgil-]

The 9000-series numbers are US sales numbers; the "HB" numbers are the actual bulb designators. HB3 ("9005") and HB4 ("9006") are acceptable light sources in UN Regulation 37 and they are also acceptable under the old Japanese regulations; these two bulbs, like various others (H1, H7, etc.) are worldwide headlamp light sources.

 

[-Virgil-]

These probably would be among the better-performing H3 bulbs for a set of Hella XLs, though I'm not big on that "cobalt blue" and "4000K" bologna.

 

[Alaric Darconville]

These probably would be among the better-performing H3 bulbs for a set of Hella XLs, though I'm not big on that "cobalt blue" and "4000K" bologna.

I still think they should have used a selective yellow coloring instead, even if it would have to be pretty deep. This would reduce the overall output for regulatory limits, AND not put horrible blue light in the periphery for the "style".

For now, I'll use the factory bulbs (despite being Hella-branded bulbs, and therefore of really no brand).

 

[Hamilton Felix]

Thanks, I'll make a note of the HB2 and 9003 info.

I do wish the fads would change. I'd be all for these people who have to look "different" going for selective yellow instead of annoying blue...

Funny, my H2 Booster Beams look "white" if I turn them on by themselves and walk in front of the car. But turn on the 4200K HID headlights above them and suddenly they seem a bit yellow. Obviously I suffer from optical delusions...

 

[Alaric Darconville]

Funny, my H2 Booster Beams look "white" if I turn them on by themselves and walk in front of the car. But turn on the 4200K HID headlights above them and suddenly they seem a bit yellow. Obviously I suffer from optical delusions...

Actually, the Booster Beams look like Candlelight and the HID lamps look like Astrowhite. (Just look around a paint store and see how many different "whites" there are to select from...)

 

[Hamilton Felix]

LOL! Point taken. I used to have a white 1958 Cadillac. When I went to a friend who did painting, I got a lesson in how many variations of white are out there.

 

[hokiefyd]

LOL! Point taken. I used to have a white 1958 Cadillac. When I went to a friend who did painting, I got a lesson in how many variations of white are out there.

Indeed. My first car was a 1984 Olds Cutlass, in "white". I lived in Virginia in the early '90s, and it was buried in snow during the so-called "Super Storm '93". Under a bunch of snow, Oldsmobile's white looked more like cream.