So, what the brightest ?

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I've had H4 lamps in ever year I've owned since 1974 when they first became available and I've never had a high beam filament burn out. Plenty of lows, though.
 
Originally Posted By: OtisBlkR1
Ok, im bringing this post back to life (hopefully) im pulling the aftermarket HID kit out of my car due to a interface electrical issue (error codes for headlights, So im going back to halogen bulbs. I indend to replace the highbeams H-7's the low beams H-11's and the bumper driving lights, also H-11's a lot of positive reviews on the Osram nightbreakers on here, however the Amazon reviews aren't as high as id like to see, Plenty of "4 month burn outs" complaints. Ive had my fair share of aftermarket bulbs and had a set of Silverstars only last about a year, but 4 months is not acceptable for the price of these bulbs.. a point of interest on the car (2006 Mercury Milan) the highbeams are reflectors, the low beams are projectors, the driving lights are projectors.. im going to replace all three sets of lights, I would think sticking with one brand (for color purposes) would be wise.. anyways, after reading a large variety of reviews I like the ONB however id like a few more opinions from those with experience.
Your bulb monitor is being "fooled" either by the lower draw of the HID lamp, which looks like a bulb out OR the higher initial surge at turn on which may trigger a short circuit warning. You can add a resistor in parallel with the lamp to draw (and waste) some additional current to fool the monitor into seeing what looks like a proper current draw, as for the surge current, the bulb ballast is designed to draw more current at turn on.
 
I have the ultra kit, I have the harness, I have the error code eliminators, and I tried the resistors.. still got error codes.. and hitting the reset button upon every startup & every 10 minutes following it stinks. I did some research and I guess the Ford Fusions/Mercury Milan are super finicky.. I wish I had another answer but its not looking good. at this point its not worth leaving the setup in the car.

For the record, all the youtube videos showed installing the resistors jumping across from positive to negative. when I installed the resistors them seemed to work for just a minute then the codes came back. either way.
 
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well, what I am interested in are the new LED headlight bulbs. 2 kinds, with bulb fan or with copper heat sink. 2 kinds, cool white or warm white. 2 kinds, single or dual "filament". 2 kinds, heatsink copper and $25-35 set, or with fan and ballast or v. reg. and $50-100 set. Lumens seems to vary a lot. Thoughts? haven't seen any aftermarket laser headlights yet.
 
Originally Posted By: bmwjohn
well, what I am interested in are the new LED headlight bulbs. 2 kinds, with bulb fan or with copper heat sink. 2 kinds, cool white or warm white. 2 kinds, single or dual "filament". 2 kinds, heatsink copper and $25-35 set, or with fan and ballast or v. reg. and $50-100 set. Lumens seems to vary a lot. Thoughts? haven't seen any aftermarket laser headlights yet.



What is the bulb model and vehicle your trying to upgrade? I can give you a recommendation for a good colorless glass bulb, but LED swaps are not a good idea. See this from a previous post.


Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?393807-H11-projector-bulbs-35w-HID-vs-LED

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?380558-What-s-wrong-with-projector-retrofits

Here is some relevant lighting threads. The first one of is relevant to bulb differences and the second thread is about the facts of swapping in hid projectors. Both have good information for anyone who is new to this stuff.
 
its in the 06 Mercury Milan with factory projectors, factory H11 bulbs. I just want a bright at least 1 year of service dependable bulb.
 
Originally Posted By: OtisBlkR1
its in the 06 Mercury Milan with factory projectors, factory H11 bulbs. I just want a bright at least 1 year of service dependable bulb.


For projector low beams using H11 you can safely swap in a regular H9 bulb which is a lower life bulb but much brighter.
 
Originally Posted By: bmwjohn
well, what I am interested in are the new LED headlight bulbs. 2 kinds, with bulb fan or with copper heat sink. 2 kinds, cool white or warm white. 2 kinds, single or dual "filament". 2 kinds, heatsink copper and $25-35 set, or with fan and ballast or v. reg. and $50-100 set. Lumens seems to vary a lot. Thoughts? haven't seen any aftermarket laser headlights yet.


Those LED pnp kits are [censored]. Current LED chips cannot replicate the light output of a halogen filament or xenon arc. What you'll end up with is a ton of glare, little light on the road where you need it to be, and possibly a melted wiring harness or headlamp.

Take a look at any of the new LED projector units, they are designed much differently than any halogen reflector bowl or HID projector. One of the best (IMO) outputs is from the new Acuras and Prius multi-lamp headlights. These use a combination of projectors and reflectors to "build" a complete beam pattern that is generally much more useful than a single LED projector. Still, the cutoff is not as crisp and light distribution is not as even as a good HID lamp.

In short don't put those in your car. And don't drop HID kits into halogen based units either. Its ineffective for you as the driver and can be dangerous for others on the road. Believe me I used to use HID kits in everything and after doing a LOT of research and comparisons the best (albeit NOT legal) way to upgrade your car's headlights is going to be a retrofit.
 
well, im back on this and shopping again for bright H11's (for the low beam and driving lights.....
 
Yes just look at your old bulb and take off the top tab to make it match. The bottom tab may need a very small trim too I think it varies by socket.
 
Just the top tab needs removing, you won't need to touch the bottom one at all. Sorry for the confusion. Here's a picture

h9_h11_plug_zpsc281ae18.jpg
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Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Just the top tab needs removing, you won't need to touch the bottom one at all. Sorry for the confusion. Here's a picture

You also need to cut the top metal mounting tap by about 2mm to match the mounting of H11.
 
I replaced the bulbs in one of the vehicles with PIAA H4 Style Xtreme White and they are bright white.
I think they were about 4100k rating.

Thinking of ordering another (single) for the motorcycle.
 
Originally Posted By: Errtt
I replaced the bulbs in one of the vehicles with PIAA H4 Style Xtreme White and they are bright white.
I think they were about 4100k rating.

Thinking of ordering another (single) for the motorcycle.


I would recommend staying away from fully blue coated glass such as those bulbs. They are over driven just to reach minimum lumen requirements due to the blue filter reducing light output, plus the blue filter is awful for oncoming traffic as well as your vision.


Please read more here about lighting color.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/bad/bad.html

I would recommend the Phillips Xtreme Vision for the best 9003/H4 upgrade.
 
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