Alternative Headlight bulbs

ok, shut up and quit worring,remember you asked for it,lol

 

Hey guys.. Just wanted to post this URL for you. I have purchased bulbs from this site several times, always fast to ship, and he has genuine Hella bulbs in various wattages. I use them in my Miata with the Hella E-Code replacament lenses running 90W/130W bulbs, they are great.. and with the E-Code lens you don't blind anybody.

In the bikes I would NOT recomend going over the stock watts rating, something will melt for sure... But I can tell you that the standard 55/60 Hella bulbs are brighter, and whiter than most... no blue crap... just clean white light at a great price.. like $4.00 And they seem to last longer than the aftermarket stuff.

http://www.rallylights.com/hella/bulbs.asp

Ken

 

I'm sure you got them from PowerBulbs.com
that's wehre I got mine,


I like the Osram silverstars better than the Sylvania ones too.
the osrams aren't tinted blue

 

You should be ok.

I put 55/60 watt H4's in when I had the '94, had no problems.

 

hey guys - just replaced my stock ones with the philips gt-150's. Reason - price - for a pair it was AUD $50 compared with the US $120 for the PIAA. 100 times better then stock and are 55/60w. For price would recommend if on a budget - road legal with blue tinge close to bike, but nice bright white after that first 2 metres

 

Anyone try installing Bi-Xenons?

I think the ultimate lighting upgrade would have to be a set of true Bi-Xenons. The light output difference would be dramatically brighter. BiXenons have a single HID capsule that gets modified by an electric (solenoid actuated) shield for the low beam. The lower current demand (35 Watts) would be great for extending life on R&Rs.

I found a place online (in Canada) to get a dual bulb (auto) 5000k H4 BiXenon conversion kit for $289. The single bulb motorcycle kits are only $179, but for the VFRs (having two bulbs) you would need the dual bulb car kit for the full effect. I suppose the only trick would be finding a place to hide 2 Balasts and ignitors in the bodywork.

http://www.cqlight.ca/catalog/index.php?cPath=69

I might be tempted to try one of the motorcycle kits on my BMW first, since that only requires one bulb and the headlight is actually worse than the Veefer...

 

I just ordered a set of Osram Silver Stars from California Sport Touring. They were 27.80 for a 2 pack. Much cheaper than I could find localy. If I get them by this weekend I'll change out one and take a picture of the new one vs the stock headlight.

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keep in mind too, that the SilverStars will not last as long as the ruglar bulb, and no bulb will change the beam pattern too much, that is dependant on the reflector (although it can be changed a little, by the bulb's placement in the reflector).

 

Why would the Sliver Stars not last as long? When I researched them they had a comparable bulb life rating to standard H4 and H7 bulbs and had a better color temperature rating. I've had mine since last Aug and would expect them to last for a while longer. I did make sure to get the European spec (Osram) bulbs which from what I've read are brighter. I didn't expect the beam pattern to change but with a brighter bulb it is easier to see at night. I made sure they were aimed correctly and I don't have any problems with on coming traffic thinking I have my hi-beams on. I work all kinds of strange hours and it really made a difference riding home in the middle of the night.

Edit - Osram Silverstars are brighter than the Sylvania ones (1500 lumens vs 1350), since they have different standards in Europe (Sylvania = US branch of Osram).

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Maybe a silly question, but are there brighter lights than OEM that you can use for brake lights in the stock reflector? Another recent thread discussed the LED Hyper-Lites. However, I would like avoid the wiring.

 

D - Here you go - Osram Silver Stars


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For a little more cash (think EBAY like 100 bucks) you can get an HID setup with dual ballasts and H4 bulbs and they arent too hard to install and the system is easily brighter than ANY simple replacement bulb by a long shot.
Plus they use less juice after startup (or so I am told, no problems yet!!!) and man do they look bitchin.

Get a set made for a car, the ballasts are a tiny bit larger, but you get two instead of one for 1/3 THE COST!!! you can find room for the ballasts, I did. I have some install pics but need to get them off parents computer.

I will try and find the brand of mine, but they came from china, but work sweet. try it, you will be souped.

 

For running lights I have PIAA H4 Super Plasma bulbs in my 04 VFR. They look like H.I.D lights. I came across these for free, when I helped clear out the motorcycle shop next to the one I work at. They were left behind, so I put them in my bike and like the way they look. I still run the stock bulbs in the high beams, only because I dont want to buy the PIAA's yet.

 

I have the stock ones in there for now, I am going to try the Piaa what is it, "extreme ultra whites." Ran the Silver Stars in my '98 VFR. Still toying with just doing the HID conversion too....

 

Don't know why exactly, but they used to say it on the package and under the FAQ section of their website. I also noticed they just came out with an updated version called Ultra or Extreme SilverStar. That specifically is supposed to last longer.

For me, when I ran them in the '98, and my cars then, it was a trade off. Like anything in life. The cons were that they were more expensive, and didn't last as long. The Pros were a whiter, seemingly brighter light.

Beam pattern won't really change, as that is more determined by the reflector. And, to a certain extent where the bulb filament sits in the reflector (since that can change by bulb).

I don't recall ever having a problem with them with oncoming traffic either.

 

You can go with the LED lights, but may have problems with your blinker lights, or PIAA does make brighter incandesant bulbs that you can use. Called their something like Ultra bright white bulbs??

 

Spike, thanks for the reply. I had heard that some people had problems with short bulb life with the Phillips (US) brand. From what I was able to read they have made some changes that are "supposed" to increase filament life. If I get another year out of mine (16 months currently) I'll be happy.

I'm thinking of replacing my stock High Beams with PIAA bulbs. I would go the HID route but to be honest I don't think the hassle would be worth the gain. A guy I used to work with converted his Busa to HID and it seemed he was always having problems with one light not coming on. It could have been he used a cheaper kit, or didn't have it set up right, but it kind of turned me off to the HID conversion. YMMV.

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