Best afternmarket H4 bulb upgrade

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Dec 23, 2009
Messages
5,653
Location
Central IA
So my ride, like many bikes takes an H4 bulb. I have a 5 3/4 bucket on my ride and I was wondering what bulbs you all have tried out that really seem to make a difference at night and still last somewhat(I realize brighter ones do burn out faster).
 
I have a Silverstar in my Wing, it has been in use for over 4 years. Night illumination is brighter white than standard halogen, reflective signs seem to be visible further down the road. I also use them in our family cars and truck. The Cirrus has less than stellar headlights, Silverstars really improve night driving. In the cars I usually end up replacing Silverstars within 2 years of install, they do not last as long.
 
This is the only bulb I run in my bikes that take the H4 bulb

http://www.rallylights.com/h-412xo-h4-9003-hb2-12v-osram-hyper-each.html

I run the 85/80w bulb and it lights up the road and last a long time. I've yet to burn one out in the 10 or more years I've run them, I do change them out after 5 years because all bulbs will lose some of their brightness over time.

It's been plug & play for the six bikes I've used these bulbs in and I can't tell you how many of the guys I ride with that use this bulb, but most do.

Best $20 I spent for lighting for any of my bikes.

ROD
 
Like with everyone... avoid the 100% tinted bulbs. That leaves you with the 30% or 50%+ bulbs with the same wattage. They get brighter by tweaking either the filament or the air inside.

You can go with a higher wattage bulb, but like you mentioned depending on the quality it can burn out faster or melt/wear your plastic headlight housing faster.

I have tried both 50% bulbs and higher wattage. If I were to blind test myself, I would have honestly not noticed much difference with the light it put on the road. I think you are better off ensuring the aiming your headlights or changing your bulbs more often since they do dim over time.
 
Have you measured the voltage drop at tbe bulb? Sometimes the stock bulbs are perfectly good but they aren't getting enough voltage - this was the issue in my Scirocco so I made up a relay'd loom using the original h4 connector to switch the relays and give me 14.4 at tbe bulb.
It made tbe biggest difference to my night time driving, you feel so much more confident when you can see further.

As an experiment, i brought some osram nightbreakers which i fitted using the factory loom, they were noticeably dimmer than the stock bulbs & relayed loom. Nightbreakers on relays are INSANELY bright
wink.gif
 
+1 on a relay harness. I did one for my Cruze, and it made a nice difference in how bright the lights are. It eats bulbs every year, but that's a small (IMO) price to pay for better lighting.
 
With PIAA H4 60/55 watt Xenon gas Super White bulbs that glow in
the 4200 Kelin range. You'll be riding so bright you got to wear shades...
RC45WhiteHeadlights.JPG


kelvinchart.gif

He63_He92_He99_168_Display.jpg


300.jpg


71HghWohMxL.jpg
 
I'm also a fan of the PIAA Super White bulbs. They seem to outperform and last much longer than the bulbs (Sylvania Silvertstars, etc.) you'll find at the run of the mill auto parts stores.
 
I'd forgotten about GE Nighthawks, as Bourne has mentioned. They'd be my #2 pick, almost a dead-even tie with Philips XtremeVision. The nice thing about both of those is the quality and consistency- they're OEM or better build, nothing fancy, no tricks like blue tint(except the little band of tint next to the opaque mask on the Philips, which is a clever way to beat the test by selectively dimming a part of the pattern that would be too bright to be legal otherwise), no overwattage filaments, nothing like that. Just solid design and QA.
 
Thanks all... the wiring is kosher on the bike which is relatively new. The bulb is just a standard sylvania/osram and while the high beam is really good the low just doesn't do it for me.
 
Originally Posted By: rrounds
This is the only bulb I run in my bikes that take the H4 bulb

http://www.rallylights.com/h-412xo-h4-9003-hb2-12v-osram-hyper-each.html

I run the 85/80w bulb and it lights up the road and last a long time. I've yet to burn one out in the 10 or more years I've run them, I do change them out after 5 years because all bulbs will lose some of their brightness over time.

It's been plug & play for the six bikes I've used these bulbs in and I can't tell you how many of the guys I ride with that use this bulb, but most do.

Best $20 I spent for lighting for any of my bikes.

ROD


Ditto. These bulbs kick butt and they last.
 
Just a regular PIAA H4 60/55w

It's pretty far from exceptional but it is noticeably better than the nearly 30 year old H4 that was in there.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top