High output headlight bulbs

the bear · Post by **the bear** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 4:17 pm

Greetings from a newbie MX5'er!

I'd like to beef up headlight performance a bit on my 1999 NB. I've seen H4 bulbs rated at 100/55watts, and this seems to be an easy way of getting more light. My concern, however, is that the higher output bulb might generate too much heat for either the plastic reflector, or the plastic headlight lense.

Anyone got any info on this??

Cheers!

Shermio · Post by **Shermio** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 4:42 pm

Yay this is right down my alley! LIGHTS!

You could give Philips Blue vision H4 a try they sell them at repco nowadays...

The problem with the 99 headlight is that they don't have a very sharp cut off so by using higher output lights they may blind or cause glare for on-coming traffic but this can be cured by re-adjusting the beam...

I don't believe heat would be a major problem, stock bulbs generate a lot of heat as well, I would however, suggest you check your wiring harness if you do run higher wattage bulbs as they can burn out.

Another way is to try some of the 'Ricer' blue bulbs, but only if they are from a good brand (not the ones that sell for $7 on trademe!)

poison · Post by **poison** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 6:30 pm

Actually flagging all the pretty blue one's completely, if you just want better light then try in at Repco and ask for the "Narva plus 50" versions, they are zenon filled giving you 50% more light with out changing the wattage and stressing the relays and switches. I got some for my NB and they made a good difference although I am dubious about the 50%. Perhaps it's like sound measurment, double the wattage isn't double the volume.

Gazza
"PO1SON" & "TURB05"

Shermio · Post by **Shermio** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 7:19 pm

I replaced the set of headlight in my Old A-class with Narva Plus 50s I had changed one side and decided to switch my lights on to compare... they were the same... same brightness same cut off no real advantage... The Philips Blue vision are also xenon filled but do not have the blue tinting! and are a better choice than the Narva in my opinion...

Im not saying all blue bulbs are good, but Im saying that some brands like the ones Im using at the moment are good... But then again the MK2.5 NB have projectors and they make a fair bit of difference over the MK2 NB...

At the end of the day it's up to personal choice and what makes you feel happy, I'll stick to my 5800K Xenon filled bulbs from XD5

and it's been 2 years since I have put them on and they still shine bright as ever and if I do have to replace them soon it will be worth it...

Ben.Nakagawa · Post by **Ben.Nakagawa** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 9:47 pm

Use one of those 50 plus rating (Navara or Philips).
I think 100/55watts is not streat leagal, so it may not pass WOF.

the bear · Post by **the bear** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 10:55 pm

Wow! Thanks folks for all the great info. I think in view of the advice you've given that I'll head for Repco and fit a pair of the +50 Xenon bulbs. I'd certainly hate to fry my wiring or switchgear!!

I'll report back on subjective assessment of improvement.

Cheers.

DBM58 · Post by **DBM58** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 7:43 pm

I was under the impression that the (Arctic) blue lights and their generic variants were more directional, with little side scatter. The alternative, whilst not lighting up as far ahead, gave more light in the usable area in front of the car. If that is true, then where you usually drive might have a bearing on your choice, long and straight compared to those with lots of corners.

the bear · Post by **the bear** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 7:48 am

Thanks Doug, I'll report back once I've obtained the bulbs. The roads hereabouts are a mixture, but where there's a long straight bit, it tends to be a very looonng straight bit!

the bear · Post by **the bear** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 3:53 pm

Got me a pair of Xenon blue bulbs, same wattage as OEM, and fitted them today. I did a "highly scientific" check on performance, by fitting just one, then shining the high beams on the inside of my garage door. The Xenon bulb was a much higher colour temp, and appeared very white, whilst the conventional bulb was quite yellow by comparison. I then got out my trusty old Weston light meter, and found that the light intensity reading for the Xenon bulb was only slightly higher than the standard bulb. Certainly nowhere near 30% brighter, let alone 50%!! So much for advertising hype! I'm now looking forwrd to my first nocturnal excursion to get a subjective idea of improvement.......or not!

m ex 5 · Post by **m ex 5** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 5:28 pm

what sort of lamp exactly, as in brand and where did you buy?, I was looking at getting some of the cheapie repco Phillips ones

-----Original Message-----
From: the bear [mailto:electrical@mx5forum.co.nz]
Sent: Wednesday, 27 September 2006 3:54 p.m.
To: electrical@mx5forum.co.nz
Subject: [MX5Elect] Re: High output headlight bulbs

Got me a pair of Xenon blue bulbs, same wattage as OEM, and fitted them today. I did a "highly scientific" check on performance, by fitting just one, then shining the high beams on the inside of my garage door. The Xenon bulb was a much higher colour temp, and appeared very white, whilst the conventional bulb was quite yellow by comparison. I then got out my trusty old Weston light meter, and found that the light intensity reading for the Xenon bulb was only slightly higher than the standard bulb. Certainly nowhere near 30% brighter, let alone 50%!! So much for advertising hype! I'm now looking forwrd to my first nocturnal excursion to get a subjective idea of improvement.......or not!

---------------------------------------------
Sent from an mx5forum.co.nz topic here:
http://www.mx5forum.co.nz/viewtopic.php?p=13609#13609
---------------------------------------------

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:22 pm

Oops. Managed to post this 3 times so edited the contents out. Would delete if I could!

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:22 pm

See above! Normally post by email (don't like posting on line) but xtra has been blocked by spamcop! I must learn to be patient when posting in the forums!

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 11:23 pm

Most blue bulbs (i.e. the ones with blue coloured glass) will appear to be whiter than the standard ones because of the blue filter altering the colour
balance. This makes our brain interpret the colour as very white which we also think is brighter. The unfiltered bulb is yellow looking in comparison, but as you have found with the light meter is in fact brighter. Get an unfiltered plus 50 bulb and it will measure brighter than the standard one.
It will still look yellow though!
There is a lot of information on these bulbs on the 'net. Makes for interesting reading. Some makes of high output bulbs have a shorter life as well. Buy quality bulbs such as Hella, Philips, Bosch, Narva etc. and you will be ok. They cost a little more but last a lot longer.
The blue colour making us think things look whiter is used in washing powders as well. Makes you whites whiter than white by making them slightly blue.

the bear · Post by **the bear** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 8:20 am

Thanks Grant, all good info! Just shows how the ad men lead us by the nose. The bulbs I fitted are (gulp)

el-cheapo Supercheap ones, as I was a little hesitant to lash out 45 to 50 bucks for something I wasn't sure was going to fulfil its promises. Well known skinflint, me.

The brand is "Calibre", and the bulbs are marked as being manufactured by BriLite.

Paul Murray · Post by **Paul Murray** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:07 am

I found this thread really helpful and replaced the bulbs in my NA with the
60/55w H4 Philips plus 50 and was impressed with their ouput, distance and in particular their pattern on dip, certainly would rate them as an improvement on the old standard H4's that were fitted when the sealed beams were replaced.