Headlight bulbs

davecl · Post by **davecl** » 05 Aug 2005, 13:56

I know this has been done before and I've read some of the posts and I've seen Philips Vision Plus recommended and Osram Silverstar but some say H1 some say H4 what does this mean and how does it affect my choice??
Thanks

Ross_K · Post by **Ross_K** » 05 Aug 2005, 14:02

They're the type of fitting.
H1 looks like this:

H4 looks like this:

davecl · Post by **davecl** » 05 Aug 2005, 14:18

thanks [:D]

Post by **Peter.N.** » 05 Aug 2005, 14:44

Brilliant way of doing it!

Mandrake · Post by **Mandrake** » 05 Aug 2005, 14:57

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by davecl

I know this has been done before and I've read some of the posts and I've seen Philips Vision Plus recommended and Osram Silverstar but some say H1 some say H4 what does this mean and how does it affect my choice??
Thanks
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Are these the dip bulbs or the high beam bulbs ? On my Xantia the high beam is excellent, the "driving lights" (green switch on the right of the dashboard) are very good but I feel the dip beam is not as bright as it should be.
After adjusting the angle to get the dip cutoff line correct (it was MILES too low to begin with) the pattern is good but at the limits of reach it doesnt seem bright enough and is also slightly yellow compared to the high beam....
Maybe I'm just being a bit fussy, but it doesn't seem as good as other cars I've owned in the past...
Regards,
Simon

BX-Basis · Post by **BX-Basis** » 05 Aug 2005, 16:04

The Xantia has 2 H1 bulbs in each headlight, the outer one for dip and the inner one for high beam. The older H4 type has both combined in one bulb, used on older cars (BX, CX), but also on some actual models (Picasso, C1, C2).

mpr1956 · Post by **mpr1956** » 06 Aug 2005, 05:01

I drive a xant 93 tdsx, and I've been following these discussions on (dip beam) headlight improvement with interest.. I had heard that a yellow bulb gives better vision in poor conditions ( rain and spray etc) so I sent off for some bright yellow H1's. Are they better ? are they heck... but they certainly make the road signs look strange at night. I've tried a few bulbs now to try and join the rest of 'em with lights like mini suns that can melt tarmac, and have finally decided that I'll do what I should have done in the first place, accept that my lights are not that good and just drive within my limits of vision.

Ross_K · Post by **Ross_K** » 06 Aug 2005, 07:28

All this talk of Osram Silver Stars... I've just bought a set off eBay - it'll be interesting to see what the fuss is about.[:p]

NiSk · Post by **NiSk** » 06 Aug 2005, 12:21

The human eye is designed to work best in daylight. Therefore the headlamp that produces the colour temperature closest to daylight will give the driver the best vision. Osram Silverstar and Philips VisionPlus are currently the closest you can get without resorting to HID (which really requires a reflector specially designed for it - even though there are H1 and H7 style adapters to fit standard reflectors).
//NiSk

drpau · Post by **drpau** » 06 Aug 2005, 20:44

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ross_K

All this talk of Osram Silver Stars... I've just bought a set off eBay - it'll be interesting to see what the fuss is about.[:p]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Ive had the Osram silverstars before, in my last motor. Really did make a big difference on pitch black motorways. I picked up a set of cheapy 50% brighter bulbs from lidl the other week -only about £3.50, I plan to put just one bulb in to compare if they are any brighter/whiter but just havent got round to it yet. Even if they arent any good they are still good as a back up...
Paul

wrinklet1 · Post by **wrinklet1** » 06 Aug 2005, 22:10

I will have to learn how to post photo's on here one day.
Paul

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 06 Aug 2005, 23:14

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by NiSk

The human eye is designed to work best in daylight. Therefore the headlamp that produces the colour temperature closest to daylight will give the driver the best vision. Osram Silverstar and Philips VisionPlus are currently the closest you can get without resorting to HID (which really requires a reflector specially designed for it - even though there are H1 and H7 style adapters to fit standard reflectors).
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
That's not entirely true. Human eyes are more sensitive to yellow/orange light, thats part of the reason for french headlights being orange and bad weather bulbs being orange too. The thing is, to get orange light you have to run the filament cooler or put a filter on and both of these things reduce light output. Osram Silver Star and Philips Vision plus run a smaller filament hotter, which means it is more efficient and outputs more light, the fact that the light is whiter is merely a side effect.
HID lights look brighter because they are brighter, HID is vastly more efficient than halogen bulbs, a typical HID bulb will be 35Watts but be putting out more than twice the light of an equivilant 55W halogen bulb.
HID bulbs tend to output a single wavelength of light (or a very narrow range), where as human eyes really need a range of wavelengths to be most effective, and Halogen bulbs output a range.

mpr1956 · Post by **mpr1956** » 07 Aug 2005, 02:14

So in effect, the HID bulbs make the law on maximum headlight bulb wattage obsolete ? I must admit I have been tempted to install 100w bulbs, but have been put off by the ruling on maximum power (not to mention the risk of smouldering wiring!). When I meet some cars -on the brow of a hill for example, it leaves spots in front of my eyes -so I sometimes wonder where this search for ever more effective headlights will end.... Have we reached the point at which road safety starts to be degraded by these headlights?

np · Post by np » 07 Aug 2005, 05:58

Check this out http://www.andyspares.com/discussionfor ... ight,bulbs
Still have the silver stars in,still working great.Very pleased with them.

NiSk · Post by **NiSk** » 07 Aug 2005, 20:08

It seems that the human eye is sesitive to different colours at different ambinet light levels. Colour vision is most sensitive to blue light while B/W vision is most sensitive to yellow/green light.
A very interesting article can be read at:
http://www.photo.net/photo/edscott/vis00010.htm
//NiSk