Upgrading Headlight Bulbs

AlanD

The current thread about the bi-xenon lights got me thinking about upgrading the bulbs in my own car.

When I was changing car, I was definitely going to add xenon's if I bought new regardless of the cost. I've driven a couple of cars with xenon's and in some cases it's like the sun came out again. One or two cars had disappointing xenon's, but they were still better than normal headlights.

So I didn't buy new in the end and have regular headlights which I don't find that good.

If I was to upgrade the bulbs, what would I upgrade to so that I'd get better light and not just a gimmicky bulb that gives "the blue hue" or something ridiculous like that. If it gave me more light and a blue hue, then grand.

I had a look online and there's lots of bulbs, so who has tried them out and what's good and what's bad?

exactiv

I'd be kinda worried about putting higher ouput bulbs in standard fittings.
I presume it'd be the same as putting a 150w bulb to a standard household 60w fitting, it'd melt.

Alun

You can get bulbs that are still 55W that have a higher light output and don't run any hotter. Philips Vision Plus and Osram Silver Star are two examples. Not that cheap, and certainly not xenon's but noticeabley brighter IMO. I got mine online from www.powerbulbs.co.uk.

drdre

hi have the Osram Silver Star (white) in my vw golf. its such a big difference to the standard bulbs with the car.But now im thinking of getting a xenon kit to change the power output.but im still doing some research on it.

cargrouch

Okay, just previewed and saw Alun beat me to it. Here's my two cent:

Osram silverstars come out as the best "50% extra light" for the same 55Watts, if you look through reviews. Phillips do a rival bulb. The silverstars are pricey, especially if you need 4! In that case maybe just get silverstars for the main beams.

I tried them, found them good. They are road legal and as they are the same wattage they shouldn't produce more heat. I presume they use some kinda expensive variation on the normal filament to produce more light out for the same power in.

I had intended to get them online but got em in Maplin, just because I saw them as I was passing. 25yoyo for 2x H1? Been a while.

AlanD

good stuff lads.....I think I'll get a set. I just need to verify what bulb my car has first.

All I want is that extra bit of light to make night driving easier. I do quite a bit of night time driving, although with the longer evenings that will reduce....

Any one else have good or bad experiences with them?

alias no.9

cargrouch wrote:

The silverstars are pricey, especially if you need 4! In that case maybe just get silverstars for the main beams.

I'd go with putting them in the dip's if you're only getting 2, it's usually when you're on dips that you have the lowest visibility and need the extra illumunation. Standard main beams tend to be OK.

AlanD

... and can you replace both low and high beam bulbs with Osrams or Phillips or whatever I choose?

Alun

Well, I've got the Philips ones. I only got them over the Osram's because I'd had Philips bulbs before and was happy with them. The Osram's would be just as good if not maybe slightly better, I'd think.

€25 for a pair of the Osram Silverstar seems like a good price. Actually slightly cheaper than the online source I gave!

AlanD

alias no.9 wrote:

I'd go with putting them in the dip's if you're only getting 2, it's usually when you're on dips that you have the lowest visibility and need the extra illumunation. Standard main beams tend to be OK.

Yeah it's the low beams you'd be on most of the time anyway cos the roads are so busy these days and it's on low beams I have most difficulty seeing the road.

AlanD

think I'll pop down to Halfords for a look.....

price them there before I go online.

drdre

i have 2 fitted in the main headlight in my vw golf o5 model.i just want to find out where can i get the model required for the 2 side lights.i know the main lights are h7 as i have the white lights fitted but i need the lights beside the main lights(i donot even know the name of them)

hope you guys can help

AlanD

drdre wrote:

i have 2 fitted in the main headlight in my vw golf o5 model.i just want to find out where can i get the model required for the 2 side lights.i know the main lights are h7 as i have the white lights fitted but i need the lights beside the main lights(i donot even know the name of them)

hope you guys can help

does it not tell you in your handbook for the car?

blastman

Most cars that use H7s also use H1s, so it's quite possible that's what they are. Check the handbook, though.

drdre

AlanD wrote:

does it not tell you in your handbook for the car?

i actually did not check the handbook i forgot.i will check it tonight and see what it says thanks guys.

AMurphy

cargrouch wrote:

....

Osram silverstars come out as the best "50% extra light" for the same 55Watts, if you look through reviews. Phillips do a rival bulb. The silverstars are pricey, especially if you need 4! In that case maybe just get silverstars for the main beams.

... They are road legal and as they are the same wattage they shouldn't produce more heat. I presume they use some kinda expensive variation on the normal filament to produce more light out for the same power in.

....

True, but there is a price; lets take a quick look at bulbs in general, You 55W is dissipated as Heat and Light. you could set up a "bulb" where you get very little light, lots of heat and still dissipate 55W, such bulbs exist, they are called "Long Life", Osram has them. And the Silverstars take the equation the other extreme. Lots of light, less % heat for your 55W.
LED's for example are extremely efficient by comparison. As are HID or Arc lamps.
However, these variations are achieved at the expense of the filiment. To get long life you use a filiment, which glows to the red end of the spectrum and does not get the filiment as close to the melting point.
For the other extreme, they take it more to the whiter end of the spectrum. Hotter for sure. Closer the melting point and because of that they tend to be weaker so shock can break them easier and burn out faster. If you check Osram's site you will see the life in hours is less for a high brightness one than a LL one, at the same wattage. And if they do not break prematurely, the filiment evaporates faster, this in turn causes dimming.

If you want to see the effects of running a bulb hotter, take any bulb and increase the voltage & current.

So you get more light, higher temperatures, shorter life and pay more.

MercMad

If you use the website that Alun mentioned it will tell you what bulbs are in your car !

www.powerbulbs.co.uk

They are doing special deals now buy a pair & get a pair free !

Alun

MercMad wrote:

www.powerbulbs.co.uk

They are doing special deals now buy a pair & get a pair free !

That's only for their "own brand" bulbs. You do get a free pair of Philips 'blue' sidelights with every order though.

_Kaiser_

My Mirage import came with very poor standard bulbs so after trying two sets from Halfords without much improvement, I ordered a set of Philips GT150 Power2Night bulbs through ebay and it was definitely the right choice.

cargrouch

AMurphy wrote:

True, but there is a price; lets take a quick look at bulbs in general, You 55W is dissipated as Heat and Light. you could set up a "bulb" where you get very little light, lots of heat and still dissipate 55W, such bulbs exist, they are called "Long Life", Osram has them. And the Silverstars take the equation the other extreme. Lots of light, less % heat for your 55W.
LED's for example are extremely efficient by comparison. As are HID or Arc lamps.
However, these variations are achieved at the expense of the filiment. To get long life you use a filiment, which glows to the red end of the spectrum and does not get the filiment as close to the melting point.
For the other extreme, they take it more to the whiter end of the spectrum. Hotter for sure. Closer the melting point and because of that they tend to be weaker so shock can break them easier and burn out faster. If you check Osram's site you will see the life in hours is less for a high brightness one than a LL one, at the same wattage. And if they do not break prematurely, the filiment evaporates faster, this in turn causes dimming.

If you want to see the effects of running a bulb hotter, take any bulb and increase the voltage & current.

So you get more light, higher temperatures, shorter life and pay more.

Hiya,
I've been scratching my head on this one myself. My brain is a bit mushy after 11 hours at work, so I need someone to confirm if I'm thinking this through right:

P=VxI, P=heat + light.
More light means burning a "harder" filament brighter, so they are using a type of filament that will be closer to its own "white hot" point at the same temperature?

Yes, I would expect the bulb life is shorter, but still cheaper than HID etc!

AMurphy

cargrouch wrote:

Hiya,
...
P=VxI, P=heat + light.
More light means burning a "harder" filament brighter, so they are using a type of filament that will be closer to its own "white hot" point at the same temperature?

......!

(55W)= VxI, P=heat + light.

; Right, and not all the "light" is visible light either, so if you want to extent that further P=heat+Vis Light + other invisible radiation, eg IR. and don't ask me the break of each, I have no idea.

I don't know if the filiment alloy is different or not, it may be doped with something to make it stronger or tougher, not necessarily harder, at the operating temp.

Howver, I'd suspect the filiment diameter and length is adjusted to change the resistance and glow temperature.

The closer to the melting point you take the temp of the filiment the whiter it will glow, and if you stick it in a glass envelope with a vacuum, it will evaporate at those temperatures and simply coat the glass. (You can do this with a cheap torch lamp 6V bulb and drive it with 9 or 12v.)
So add some rare element gas to control the evaporation (but it does not illiminate it completely).

sure, still cheaper than HID. However, in this HID kit you can see that 35W of pure light is equating to 55W of Light + Heat.
http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/hidxenon.html

I might be tempted to fit a set to the van, were they not for export only....

C_Breeze

Ok , so anyone know which bulbs are best for reproducing that HID look then?? not really interested in how bright they are , i just want a nice blue hue on them!
Anybody got any recommendations? - and maybe where i could get them?

AMurphy

PIAA are your most expensive rip off.

KELTICKNIGHTT

drdre wrote:

hi have the Osram Silver Star (white) in my vw golf. its such a big difference to the standard bulbs with the car.But now im thinking of getting a xenon kit to change the power output.but im still doing some research on it.

USE these and are good also used standard 90/110 watt and not much difference between both
have a 4x4 which low beam is poor and the osram silver star works great
recommend them to any for any type of car

drdre

KELTICKNIGHTT wrote:

USE these and are good also used standard 90/110 watt and not much difference between both
have a 4x4 which low beam is poor and the osram silver star works great
recommend them to any for any type of car

thanks

AMurphy

Not sure I'd recommend 90W dims, you'll pess off other drivers instantly. Also depending on how puny the wiring, fuse panel and switch contacts in your car, you may melt several expensive components. and these days the wiring is as thin as possible, with little headroom for abuse.
100W will do the same, but at least you would not be blinding people all the time.