New headlights for Old Car

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Wife commented how dim the low beams are on my 15+ year old Toyota Avalon. I figured she was just used to the super bright xenon lights on her 2010 MDX. Her comment motivated me to do some research and it appears new lights could make a noticeable improvement over 15 year old factory lights. I am looking for 9006 HB4's. Can I go with any name brand or do I need something to match the lens in my Avalon? Thanks.

PS. What about these Hella's on special from Tirerack? Factory bulbs are halogen. Will these xenon's work?
http://www.tirerack.com/lighting/detail.jsp?ID=1013
 
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Check the lenses for cloudiness. You should be able to see the reflector and its creases clearly. This'll eat light and cause glare with new bulbs.

Check rockauto for new fixtures if you can't polish your old ones.
 
9006's are a standard size, any brand will do. Most people will recommend to stay away from blue colored bulbs like those Hella bulbs, I don't have any experience with them so I can't say directly.

Any incandescent bulb will dim over time. If the ones you have are original you will certainly see an improvement with any bulb, even just standard Sylvania bulbs from Wal Mart.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Check the lenses for cloudiness. You should be able to see the reflector and its creases clearly. This'll eat light and cause glare with new bulbs.

Check rockauto for new fixtures if you can't polish your old ones.


Lenses are crystal clear.
 
Originally Posted By: bepperb
9006's are a standard size, any brand will do. Most people will recommend to stay away from blue colored bulbs like those Hella bulbs, I don't have any experience with them so I can't say directly.

Any incandescent bulb will dim over time. If the ones you have are original you will certainly see an improvement with any bulb, even just standard Sylvania bulbs from Wal Mart.


I have read that halogen will lose no more than 5% over their life. Is that possible?
 
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Originally Posted By: artbuc
Originally Posted By: bepperb
9006's are a standard size, any brand will do. Most people will recommend to stay away from blue colored bulbs like those Hella bulbs, I don't have any experience with them so I can't say directly.

Any incandescent bulb will dim over time. If the ones you have are original you will certainly see an improvement with any bulb, even just standard Sylvania bulbs from Wal Mart.


I have read that halogen will lose no more than 5% over their life. Is that possible?


I don't know in a car. In residential a halogen MR16 would be at 95% a little less than halfway through the rated life of the lamp and get considerably worse from there. Keep in mind the rated life might not be until it's totally burnt out, it might be a number of hours the lamp is rated for. I'm just not sure for automotive applications how they rate the life of the bulb.
 
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You might consider Sylvania Silverstar or Silverstar Ultra bulbs. They are brighter and whiter. It gives the car a fresher look than the standard yellow-ish bulbs, plus they are noticeably brighter. Your old bulbs have probably dimmed with age.

Downsides, the Silverstars don't last as long as standard bulbs. Higher cost too.

Remember to never touch the glass part with your fingers. Handle them with clean gloves. Skin oil will cause them to burn out very quickly.
 
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If the lenses are clear, no obvious damage is apparent to the reflector, they are aimed correctly and have a glare shield, I would look at the Philips 9012 bulb.
That bulb is a drop in for the 9006 once a simple modification is done to a tab and the results can be phenomenal...
Check out the posts here about the 9012.
That would be my recommendation.

Cheers.
 
If you MUST buy new fixtures, try to fine GENUINE OEM!!! The aftermarkets from the East look nice, but often the optics are sh!t.
 
Originally Posted By: cbear
Has she driven other cars at night recently? She may be night vision issues.


Maybe. We are both getting up there (65 & 62) but I must admit visibility with my low beams does suck. I am just used to it.
 
Originally Posted By: Roob
If the lenses are clear, no obvious damage is apparent to the reflector, they are aimed correctly and have a glare shield, I would look at the Philips 9012 bulb.
That bulb is a drop in for the 9006 once a simple modification is done to a tab and the results can be phenomenal...
Check out the posts here about the 9012.
That would be my recommendation.

Cheers.


Thanks. I checked out the Philip's 9012 and they look like the ticket for me. Candlepower has a great description of the required tab mod. Will let you know how they work out.
 
Originally Posted By: howie2092
You might consider Sylvania Silverstar or Silverstar Ultra bulbs. They are brighter and whiter. It gives the car a fresher look than the standard yellow-ish bulbs, plus they are noticeably brighter. Your old bulbs have probably dimmed with age.

Downsides, the Silverstars don't last as long as standard bulbs. Higher cost too.

Remember to never touch the glass part with your fingers. Handle them with clean gloves. Skin oil will cause them to burn out very quickly.


Sylvania just had to pay out 30 Million in fines for false advertising related to their claims as to more light with their silverstar line

Their Silverstar's "Whiter" light is from blue glass on the bulbs which actually reduces output so they overdrive the filaments to meet the minimum required output and thus the shorter lifespan.

So no blue glass, no overdriven filament, more light, longer life.

So they are not brighter, just whiter, but humans tend to think whiter is brighter even when their visual acuity is reduced by inferior lighting products with effective marketing strategies.

Most who complain of bad lights, could benefit from a proper re aiming of their headlamps, and most who try and DIY this procedure fail miserably and are a likely a night time driving menace who will tell you how great their white/blue lights are.
 
If bulbs are the problem, Osram are your best choice, either nightbreakers or fog breakers depending on the conditions you drive in.

What is the supply voltage at the bulb? A relay'd loom from the battery, using the headlight switch as a trigger to the LT side of the relay, will I prove your lighting more than you realise.
 
Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
Originally Posted By: howie2092
You might consider Sylvania Silverstar or Silverstar Ultra bulbs. They are brighter and whiter. It gives the car a fresher look than the standard yellow-ish bulbs, plus they are noticeably brighter. Your old bulbs have probably dimmed with age.

Downsides, the Silverstars don't last as long as standard bulbs. Higher cost too.

Remember to never touch the glass part with your fingers. Handle them with clean gloves. Skin oil will cause them to burn out very quickly.


Sylvania just had to pay out 30 Million in fines for false advertising related to their claims as to more light with their silverstar line

Their Silverstar's "Whiter" light is from blue glass on the bulbs which actually reduces output so they overdrive the filaments to meet the minimum required output and thus the shorter lifespan.

So no blue glass, no overdriven filament, more light, longer life.

So they are not brighter, just whiter, but humans tend to think whiter is brighter even when their visual acuity is reduced by inferior lighting products with effective marketing strategies.

Most who complain of bad lights, could benefit from a proper re aiming of their headlamps, and most who try and DIY this procedure fail miserably and are a likely a night time driving menace who will tell you how great their white/blue lights are.


Ooops - sorry about the bad advice RE: silverstars. I thought they were good stuff but was sorely mistaken. I read up on the topic here and see there are other, much better options. Thanks wrcsixeight.
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
If bulbs are the problem, Osram are your best choice, either nightbreakers or fog breakers depending on the conditions you drive in.

What is the supply voltage at the bulb? A relay'd loom from the battery, using the headlight switch as a trigger to the LT side of the relay, will I prove your lighting more than you realise.
Wiring, plugs, and relays will degrade with age. Check your alternator and battery grounds. A heavy duty replacement headlamp harness might be a good replacement.
 
Originally Posted By: Olas
If bulbs are the problem, Osram are your best choice, either nightbreakers or fog breakers depending on the conditions you drive in.

What is the supply voltage at the bulb? A relay'd loom from the battery, using the headlight switch as a trigger to the LT side of the relay, will I prove your lighting more than you realise.


Thanks for the tip. I am losing 0.7 volts on the supply and 0.4 volts on the return. I directly wired one bulb to my battery and compared it side by side with the farthest bulb at the end of the factory loom. I could not see any difference. Rigging with some heavy wire and a relay as you suggest would be easy and cheap but I do not think it would give me much improvement compared to going with a 9012 which has 75-80% more lumens.
 
Bite the bullet and add some aftermarket lights. Dan Stern.com has good info. Some cars are just not that good from the factory. I miss the days when one could just replace a 7 inch or 5.75 with a Hella or Cibe H4 E Code and be done with it, and cars had some structure in the front to add fog or "driving" lamps.
 
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