Higher intensity headlight bulbs-Your opinions please?

[tpl]

03   and thats because Canada has not been so anal about headlights as the USA.  So some mfrs have put the euro pattern reflectors in cars sold here because they are allowed to and thats great.    I replaced the lights on a Golf gti many years ago to get rid of the usa "blob of light" and get the  horizontal cutoff with a uptick to the riight and the brighter H4 bulbs which were a major no-no in the USA.

The USA is  coming around to the Euro pattern ... some time ago (several months) there was a thread here with a link to a NTHSA/DOT document discussing merging the lighting tsandards and, even better, insisting on auto leveling for HIDs in the USA.

So if they have started to allow the euro pattern then thats great.

[redsun_ty]

I work at a theatrical lighting company I wonder if I can get good discounts on the HID head lamps for my car!!

[initial_D]

Right on, Tpl!

Upgrade the headlights in the E30 325ix with the Euro Ellipsoid Headlight Kit, about $400 with H1 & H4 bulbs. Notice the differences right away, much improved at night, and faulty weather conditions.

Still would love to have an E30 M3, someday.

[Trainman]

The important thing IMHO for auto lights is the pattern.  Easiest done with big, carefully designed reflectors or even more carefully designed projectors.  also IMHO the euro pattern with the sharp cutoff and the extra light on the right hand side is the best but as that is still a no-no in the US you dont find it on may cars in Canada.

My 02 Pathfinder has the euro style of light pattern but the 04 Sienna does not.

[Xmitr]

I ran the Silverstars in my 99 Camry. The improvement was definitely noticeable over the stock lamps, although they were 3 years old at the time. I'm not sure if age has much effect on the halogen bulbs output because the tungsten does not blacken the glass as badly as regular bulbs do. The Silverstars burned out in about a year. The Sylvania Xtravision have a much longer lifetime and apparently give the same intensity. If you look on the Sylvania website you will see some comparative figures. http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/Products/ProductComparison/default.htm

For instance comparing the 9006 bulb:
Siverstar: 150 hours lifetime
Xtravision: 850 hours lifetime
On the other hand, if you compare the brightness specs, the standard halogens have the same lumens/candlepower rating at 1000 lumens and 80 candlepower as the Xtravision and the Siverstars. Explain that one to me???

I have been using GE High Intensity 9007's in my Dodge Caravan. The 2000 Caravan has very small reflectors and the standard light was very poor. With the GE H.I. bulb the difference was very gratifying. The vision improvement is especially noticeable on the highway on low or high beam where it used to be that I didn't have enough light to feel comfortable at anything over 50 mph/80 kph. I just now bought a GE Nighthawk to replace a burned out GE H.I. It looks brighter than the High Intensity bulb although that bulb is about a year old now.

[Craig]

I do know halogen bulbs in our home get progressively dimmer over time.  Replacing an old but working bulb with a fresh bulb has an immediate and noticeable impact.

Whenever I've replaced halogen bulbs in my car, I've replaced them in pairs and kept the old one as a spare.

[Xmitr]

Yup, you're probably right. I should compare new to new.

[Xmitr]

I sent an inquiry to Sylvania. hope the answer clears up some confusion:

To Sylvania Automotive Lighting Divsision: Can you tell me why the MSCD and lumens specs are all the
same for standard halogen, Xtravision and Silverstar, if the Xtravision
an Silverstar are supposed to be so much brighter? For the 9006 for
instance.

Response:
"Good Morning Mr. Whyte,
Thank you for your inquiry.  The lumen output of a part will be the same
no matter what the upgrade is.  For example, the lumen output for all
9006 products will be 1000 lumens--whether it's a 9006 standard, Cool
Blue, Long Life, XtraVision, or Silverstar.   The distance illuminated
by any product upgrade will also be the same as a standard halogen.  It
is the gas mixture, color temperature and filament changes that make the
difference in the products performance--offering a wider, more even
viewing pattern.  It is also the luminance, or perceived brightness,
that differs amongst the product lines.  Luminance is the amount of
usable light coming from the lamp and is directly affected by the color
temperature and filament style of the lamp. 

The SilverStar is the brightest and whitest product that we manufacture
currently in a replacement halogen.  The SilverStars, at 4000 degrees
Kelvin, have the highest street legal color temperature available
through Sylvania and are comparable to HID lighting. The SilverStar's
higher color temperature provides a crisper white appearance and offers
a redesigned coil to direct the light into more usable light in the
foreground.  This whiter light is better at picking up reflective
materials such as animals' eyes, and road signs. And, this does not
translate into a "hotter" bulb, it's the same heat temperature as all
the halogens.  The SilverStars are a performance, premium halogen that
has a shorter life span than the standard version.  The shorter life
span is directly related to the performance nature of the lamps.  The
blue absorption coating on the glass contributes to the crisp white
light emitted, but also traps heat inside the capsule, causing the
filament to burn out more quickly, thus decreasing the life.  As with
most high performance products, there is a trade-off between the higher
performance and the life hours, unfortunately.  The SilverStar product
works harder (not burns hotter, however) to give the whiter, brighter
light and that impacts the life hours.  The SilverStar product is quoted
as "lasting up to a year" (from our FAQ on the website).

The CoolBlue has a blue coating over the bulb that helps to produce a
white light which is rated at 3500K.  This color temperature is higher
than the color temperature offered by the standard halogen but lower
than that offered by the SilverStar; CoolBlue has been on the market for
4-5 years, while the SilverStar technology was just developed in the
last couple of years.

The XtraVision would offer the standard color of light; however, it has
been through a filament redesign which takes the light that would get
lost as it goes up into the darkness and focuses it back downward to the
shoulder and foreground area of the vehicle. The XtraVision emits 15%
more light than the standard halogen.  Please do not hesitate to contact
me if you have any other questions.
 
Sincerely,
Heather
OSRAM Sylvania
Customer Service"