Thread: Light output???

I recently installed new headlight units, I thought that would solve my problem with not having much light output. It definately helped but I still feel as if I do not get very good lighting, especially in the dark areas I live in. I have to use the brights all the time.

I installed the Euro Dezign bulbs, could those be the issue? are they just not a high enough output? I want some bulbs that have that slight blue tint rather than the yellow. Any suggesstions for better bulbs that may help with light output? Eventually I want to do HID's, but cannot afford that now.

Any suggesstions would be great!

Blue bulbs are going to reduce your output.

ORIGINAL = Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

In fact, you get less usable light from such a bulb than from a regular clear bulb, and here's why: A blue filter removes nonblue components of the light passing through it. Halogen bulbs produce very little light in the blue frequency range. When you put a blue filter on the bulb or lamp, you are reducing the amount of usable light that gets from the glowing filament to the reflector, to the lens and from there to the road. If a bulb's sales material focuses on the color of the light rather than the amount of light, you should ask critical questions about the amount of light the bulb produces before choosing to use it.

Probably the best 9007 bulb you're going to find is the Philips X-treme Power +80. It puts out slightly more light than a regular bulb, and uses a smaller filament (closer to a point source) and more precise arrangement to improve the beam pattern and direct the light down the road. They're slightly whiter than regular bulbs, but nowhere close to HID color.

Even with high efficacy bulbs, you'll still be limited by the 9007 housing. The two filaments in the bulb interfere with the beam pattern, scattering the light and reducing the usable output. If you have the money, your best bet would be the Spyder Auto projectors. Even with halogen bulbs, the projectors put out a lot more usable light than the 9007 housing is capable of.

Don't waste your money on Silverstars, Ultra, GE Nighthawks, etc.... All are a complete waste of money and only help out so much. The only way I found any benefit from brighter blubs is running an upgraded harness too. By the time you spend (waste) the money on a harness and blubs your 1/2 to 3/4 away from an HID kit pending brands. You do know you can easily find good HID kits for $100, right?

Moral of the story, don't waste your money anymore and just get an HID kit. You'll be better off in the long run and you'll wish you never wasted the money on blubs like I did.

Get an HID kit, and thank me later....

HIDs are great, if they are aimed properly and the right color temp. I just installed some 4300k HIDs for my fogs... and I am pleased.

Originally Posted by Iron Indian

Don't waste your money on Silverstars, Ultra, GE Nighthawks, etc.... All are a complete waste of money and only help out so much. The only way I found any benefit from brighter blubs is running an upgraded harness too. By the time you spend (waste) the money on a harness and blubs your 1/2 to 3/4 away from an HID kit pending brands. You do know you can easily find good HID kits for $100, right?

Moral of the story, don't waste your money anymore and just get an HID kit. You'll be better off in the long run and you'll wish you never wasted the money on blubs like I did.

Get an HID kit, and thank me later....

^^ Agreed.. Once you drive with HID's its hard to switch to anything else.

you do all know that the projectors that you buy arent HID projectors, right? they are halogen projectors. i have halogen projectors on my subbie and they work fine, but if i wanted to go true HID id have to do a retrofit with a TSX/s2000 projector that was meant for HIDs.

either you need to hack up and re-seal a housing with true HID projectors or you have to pay someone an arm and a leg to do it. for retrofit headlights to be done for me by someone else will cost me $700+ including the assembly, coloring the housings like i want, removing reflectors, etc. REAL HID setups are NOT cheap.