why so many headlight bulb sizes?

[friendly_jacek]

I used to have cars that used 9006 for low beams and I kept a couple spares that worked for both.
I added/changed cars, and even though are all fairly recent Toyotas, they use 9006, H11, and H4 bulbs.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Too many. I wish everything just had the square sealed beams. Would be much cheaper.

 

[friendly_jacek]

you're funny.

 

[dparm]

I think it's a valid question. I understand the need for single- and dual-filament, and 35w and 55w (for low and high beams, respectively), but all of the bizarre connector and mounting styles seem unnecessary.

Fog lamps can be equally as dumb. There are all of the 8xx sizes, plus many are starting to use the 90xx or Hxx.

I wonder if the complexity started with the different headlamp laws in Europe versus the US.

 

[SilverC6]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Too many. I wish everything just had the square sealed beams. Would be much cheaper.


That was the rule in the US forever.

You got sealed beams round or square, one per side or two per side.

The requirement drove US auto design to flat, unaerodynamic front ends and fuel inefficiency.

Wonder what those bureaucrats think about their contribution to the world now?

 

[friendly_jacek]

For the record, halogen low beam is 55W, high beam is 60W.

I researched the difference between H11 and 9006 and apparently it's the same bulb, but different fitting.

I guess it could be US vs foreign standards thing.

 

[opus1]

And then you have Hyundai's contribution...ordinary H11 bulbs aren't good enough for my Sonata, I have to get the H11B.

 

[Rick in PA]

Heck, I remember when your headlamps were just round. You either had 2 big round ones or 4 smaller round ones. Sealed beam headlamps, two sizes, period!

My understanding is that this was a result of difficulties with non-sealed headlamps from the pre-war period. I will say that with those sealed beams, as long as they weren't burnt out, all you had to do was wipe off the glass lens (if it was dirty) and you were good-to-go. Very reliable.

I wonder what type of fancy (and expensive) bulb is in my wife's KIA. Before that, with the Ford van (which was a good vehicle), I was always struggling with the headlights, interior condensation and hazing on the lens.

 

[edwardh1]

how about batteries?
and oil filters?
too many sizes

 

[friendly_jacek]

Not sure about batteries, but too many different oil/air filters for sure. What a waste.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Too many. I wish everything just had the square sealed beams. Would be much cheaper.

No, you're not being funny, you're correct!

Current headlamps might be superior when new. A few years down the road, they look and perform terribly. And no one wants to spend large dollars to replace a headlamp assembly on an old vehicle. A new sealed beam, however, always has like new performance for around $10.

The only thing I don't miss about sealed beams is the fact that people would always mess with the aiming screws instead of the retaining screws.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Too many. I wish everything just had the square sealed beams. Would be much cheaper.

No, you're not being funny, you're correct!

Current headlamps might be superior when new. A few years down the road, they look and perform terribly. And no one wants to spend large dollars to replace a headlamp assembly on an old vehicle. A new sealed beam, however, always has like new performance for around $10.

The only thing I don't miss about sealed beams is the fact that people would always mess with the aiming screws instead of the retaining screws.


I'm glad someone agrees with me. I blew a headlight in my Cherokee. I stopped at walmart and $7 and 20 minutes later I had the headlight changed. That includes going in the store to buy the headlight and fumbling around for the correct screw driver.

 

[Garak]

Sure, I'd agree the old styles aren't as pretty or as aerodynamic. They're not as effective, either, all things being equal, when compared to a new style assembly when new. If a rock goes through the headlight on my F-150, it costs me $10, though. Good luck when that happens to my G. Or, when the old Audi's reflective paint on the inside of the assemblies flaked off, it was a few hundred dollars for brand new ones.

As it was, I had seriously diminished headlight performance for a significant period of time. Even if I wanted to fix it "right now," that wasn't an option. The dealer didn't have them in stock, and they wanted more money and would have taken more time to get them in than Shokan Coach Works from the States. And it's not like I could go to Walmart or Canadian Tire or any parts store and just buy them, like I can with the F-150.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
I researched the difference between H11 and 9006 and apparently it's the same bulb, but different fitting.


H11 is the "new" HB4 (US trade number 9006). There are more differences besides that, though. The H11 is improved in many ways, including longer life and fewer internal reflections. Look closely at the "base" of the filament holder inside the glass envelope. The H11 has fewer reflective surfaces compared with the HB4. That translates into less glare and headlamp optics that are easier to design.

Toyota doesn't use H4; they use HB2 (US trade number 9003). They look the same, but the specifications really are not. Here is a great link that lists the differences between them:

http://candlepowerinc.com/pdfs/H4_9003.pdf

HB2 certainly isn't the only dual filament bulb out there. "Foreign" auto makers tend to prefer the HB2. "Domestic" automakers have long preferred the now-obsolete HB1, the HB5 (US trade number 9007), or the HB5's "replacement", the H13. Each "new" iteration of bulb design brings improvements in efficacy (different from efficiency) and structural design (such as the reflective nature mentioned before).

Lighting products are no different than any other technological product...improvements continue to be made and newer specifications flood the market. There will continue to be provisions for older technologies as those vehicles are still on the road.

 

[friendly_jacek]

Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd

H11 is the "new" HB4 (US trade number 9006).


Thanks for the good info. BTW, I remembered I had some spare halogen bulbs left after my old RIP cars. I checked them and they were 9004. Worthless for my current cars.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
9004. Worthless for my current cars.


Fixed THAT for ya...

The HB1 was a very poor headlamp bulb. It had two transverse filaments, with a low beam output of 700 lumens and a high beam output of 1200 lumens. As I recall, this one was driven by Ford as a very inexpensive bulb used to introduce the then-new composite headlamps back in the 1980s. Europe was using the H4, and this made it into our regulations as the HB2 (Headlamp Bulb 2, as in the second one to be written into our regs).

Anyway, you can see that the high beam output of an HB1 is about the same as an H11, commonly used for low beams. Obviously, there's much more to lamp performance than bulb output, but early composite headlamp design in North America really was rudimentary.

You can probably toss those bulbs; you'll very likely never own a vehicle that takes an HB1. The last ones, to my knowledge, were the GM minivans (Pontiac Transport, Chevy Venture, etc). Even when they were used there, that lamp was WAY obsolete. GM should have been using, in my opinion, the better-in-every-day HB5 (9007), but they liked the HB1 for some reason.