Questions about Philips Xtreme Vision bulbs

[jaycee88]

Ordered a pair of +100's from Amazon, marked 'Made in Poland'. Here's one of the bulbs:

The low beam filament is tilted slightly. Is this anything to be concerned about? The other bulb is perfect.

I wonder why Philips didn't simply black out the band at the tip completely, instead of using blue tint. Styling? My headlight assembly doesn't have a glare cap, so I can see the lit filament change color slightly if I view it from the right angle.

That said, I'm impressed with the performance of these bulbs. A noticeable improvement over stock (my bike came with a Philips 60/55W), and it may sound strange, but while the low beam on the XV doesn't have as much total light output as that of the Osram 85/80, my ability to see hasn't been reduced. If anything, I can see slightly better. Maybe the Osram 85/80 put out too much light for the low beam portion of the headlight assembly to handle effectively. I did miss the Osram's extra output on high beam, though.

 

[-Virgil-]

The low beam filament is tilted slightly. Is this anything to be concerned about? The other bulb is perfect.

No, it's fine.

I wonder why Philips didn't simply black out the band at the tip completely, instead of using blue tint.

That would have exceeded the allowable dimension for the opaque "blacktop" cap.

That said, I'm impressed with the performance of these bulbs. A noticeable improvement over stock (my bike came with a Philips 60/55W), and it may sound strange, but while the low beam on the XV doesn't have as much total light output as that of the Osram 85/80, my ability to see hasn't been reduced.

See here.

 

[jaycee88]

Thanks Virgil.

Slightly different question - how does the manufacturer determine whether or not to implement a glare shield (if that's the correct term) in the headlight assembly?

 

[Alaric Darconville]

Slightly different question - how does the manufacturer determine whether or not to implement a glare shield (if that's the correct term) in the headlight assembly?

Consider that there are regulations on the amount of glare permitted in a low beam headlamp, and the answer should come easily.

 

[-Virgil-]

how does the manufacturer determine whether or not to implement a glare shield (if that's the correct term) in the headlight assembly?

Factors include:

-Whether or not it's possible for a particular headlamp design to meet the stringent US or lax ECE limits on upward stray light without a bulb shield,

-Whether or not it's possible for a particular headlamp design to meet the automaker's own internal standards for upward stray light without a bulb shield,

-Design/styling preferences and requirements for the vehicle and/or lamp,

-Cost targets and limits for the vehicle and/or lamp.

 

[jpredeu]

See here.

If I understood correctly reading HERE and in this post it means the Osram rallye produces more lumen / total light output. But this extra output from the Osram is more noticeable / brighter at close proximity of the car or maybe part of it is even wasted as glare above cut off. I also read many posts about driving with fog lights on all the time which is at the detriment of seeing further. So, please correct me if I am wrong, and I am talking about low beams only, it is my understanding that going with the XV instead of the Osram rallye would bring better results for night vision since the minimal loss in proximity brightness will be better compensated by the ability to see much more of the road ahead and / or sides. Also been regular wattage no more worry about extra heat in housings or safety issues. Am I correct?

 

[-Virgil-]

No, I don't think that's a coherent reading of the linked article. I think you confused the proximity brightness discussion surrounding bulb D (the 100/90w item) with the two you should have been comparing, B and C. The take-home message is that B (Osram 70/65w) and C (Philips Xtreme) are practically identical in just about every respect, except you get a little more total light output with the Osram.

 

[jaycee88]

So, please correct me if I am wrong, and I am talking about low beams only, it is my understanding that going with the XV instead of the Osram rallye would bring better results for night vision since the minimal loss in proximity brightness will be better compensated by the ability to see much more of the road ahead and / or sides.

As Virgil said, there's not much between the two bulbs in terms of performance. The Philips is road legal and has the appropriate markings, in case the vehicle inspections in your jurisdiction check for that.

One thing I didn't mention in my first post, when comparing my stock bulb (Philips 60/55) to the Xtreme Vision, is that I found myself not flipping to the high beams as often with the Xtreme Vision. I'm not saying that the XV low beams make the high beams unnecessary, but rather that in a few situations where I would normally flip to the high beams with the stock bulb, I found myself not needing to do so with the XV's simply because it wasn't necessary.

I'm fairly confident that in a blind test (you know what I mean) between the stock bulb and the Xtreme Vision, I'd be able to pick out the XV every single time - the difference was that noticeable. In my particular headlight assembly, at least.

 

[jpredeu]

Thank you both for the clarification! Virgil was right: in this thread the proximity brightness Jaycee88 was referring to was for the Osram 85/80 (first post). The comparison between XV and Osram Rallye was in a H7 thread (Osram Rallye 65W versus the XV). The person in the H7 thread stated to have a clearer vision (easier on the eyes, better detail/contrast with the XV even if brightness seemed the same. This is the thread
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?329508-Just-tried-Philips-Extreme-vision-100-!
The person who started the thread was also very active to defend his opinion in another forum, so I believe he had his reason. Here is his main post
http://www.hіdрlаnеt.com/forumѕ/ѕho...mе-vіѕіon-130s&p=763122&vіewfull=1#post763122
Maybe too much reading...
Any newer input with the XV +130 for low beams? Wholesale of the clear +100 seems to have been simply replaced by Philips by their +130 with blue coating for the high beam (which I do not care since I am kind of never using the high's)

 

[-Virgil-]

The comparison between XV and Osram Rallye was in a H7 thread (Osram Rallye 65W versus the XV). The person in the H7 thread stated to have a clearer vision (easier on the eyes, better detail/contrast with the XV even if brightness seemed the same. This is the thread
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?329508-Just-tried-Philips-Extreme-vision-100-

Yeah...there's no data there, just subjective opinion and supposition and guesses and some buzzwords thrown in for the appearance of knowledge and authority.

The person who started the thread was also very active to defend his opinion in another forum

Opinions are like that. Especially in forums (such as the one you linked) full of ignorant, mis-led people desperate to believe stuff that isn't actually true.

Any newer input with the XV +130 for low beams?

Slightly better performance, somewhat shorter lifespan.

 

[jaycee88]

Thank you both for the clarification! Virgil was right: in this thread the proximity brightness Jaycee88 was referring to was for the Osram 85/80 (first post).

Correct. The Osram 85/80 low beam throws out substantially more light than the XV does, but I couldn't actually see any better, as most of the additional light ended up in the foreground. The XV distributed its light in a more useful way - the beam was a bit wider and put more of its light further down the road, rather than overwhelming the foreground. So even though it put out less light overall, I was actually able to see better.

The XV's high beam was very well focused with a strong central hot spot putting the light very far down the road, but here I would have appreciated a bit more light outside of that central cone. I ride a lot at night in mostly wooded areas rather than wide open roads, so having additional illumination on the environment I find is useful. Also, a motorcycle leans and the suspension compresses when it turns which means the headlight ends up pointing down and towards the outside of the turn, so having some stray light is helpful.

A bulb combining the XV's low beam with the Osram Rallye 85/80's high beam for me would be ideal. But then it's likely it would not be legal.

Also, with the 85/80's there's this. The bulb is really meant for off-road intermittent use (motorcycles have their low beams on all the time - in many states it's the law). Virgil says this is unique to the 85/80's and shouldn't happen with the 70/65's.

Any newer input with the XV +130 for low beams? Wholesale of the clear +100 seems to have been simply replaced by Philips by their +130 with blue coating for the high beam (which I do not care since I am kind of never using the high's)

I bought my XV +100's off Amazon recently, they're still available. Also on Ebay as well.

I wonder if they tweaked the +130's high beam output to compensate for the loss of light due to the tint?

 

[jpredeu]

Once again Thank you both!

So bottom line is (regarding low beam only)

- If one already uses a brand new pair of Osram 70/55W (H4) or Osram 65W (H7) there is strictly no advantage to change for a set of Philips XV +100/+130 except to be legal.

- There is also no advantage to change a brand new set of Philips +100 / +130 for a set of Osram 70/55W (H4) or Osram 65W (H7) if one is changing his bulbs once a year

- At that point only cost and / or local availability should dictate what one should purchase ?

 

[KXA]

The Osram lamps are still the best, especially when you consider the blue coating that Philips is now incorporating in their high performance XV line.

 

[-Virgil-]

- If one already uses a brand new pair of Osram 70/55W (H4) or Osram 65W (H7) there is strictly no advantage to change for a set of Philips XV +100/+130 except to be legal. There is also no advantage to change a brand new set of Philips +100 / +130 for a set of Osram 70/55W (H4) or Osram 65W (H7) if one is changing his bulbs once a year

That's true in the case of the Osram 70/65w H4 vs. the Philips +100 or +130. Whether or not it's true for the H7 comparison is not established by data, and can't be assumed from the H4 test results.

 

[-Virgil-]

The Osram lamps are still the best

Not necessarily.

 

[jpredeu]

That's true in the case of the Osram 70/65w H4 vs. the Philips +100 or +130. Whether or not it's true for the H7 comparison is not established by data, and can't be assumed from the H4 test results.

Thank you Virgil!

The Osram lamps are still the best, especially when you consider the blue coating that Philips is now incorporating in their high performance XV line.

As I pointed out several times we do not use high beams at all. As far as everything I was able to read / understand the blue coating on the +130 was not impacting at all low beams since the low beam filament was not covered. Only highs is. I drive a VW Golf (H7 for lows) and my wife drives a Hyundai accent (H4). I just placed a set of Osram 65W for my VW which was replacing a 9 months old set of Sylvania Ultra. It indeed makes a huge difference to lid the foreground but also seems to generate more heat in the headlamps. But I was not able to drive enough at night to comment about how is light further down the road. Been in Atlantic Canada with constant weather changes and winter here is just few months we want the best we can get. I would not even bother to change my brand new Osram 65W H7's for a set of XV +130 if I am convinced the XV in +130 will bring the same results since I start to be worry about this potential extra heat in the polycarbonate headlamps and on a VW the lows are used full intensity for DRL. My headlamps are currently perfect and I would like to have those remaining as such for at least few years.
Now my wife has currently three years old H4's GE Night Hawks +90. Her headlamps are also in very good condition. The H4 XV +130 are very easy to find locally and just a bit more than the +100. The +100 are the cheapest but will take longer to arrive. The Osram's are the most expensive and would take even longer to arrive. So you can understand why a minimal difference is just that for some of us.