The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

I don't actually think the 100/90w Osrams will be discontinued. Unfortunately the 85/80w bulbs that were discontinued offered better low beam performance with a higher efficiency filament than the 100/90w and seem to have disappeared overnight. I've been actively looking for the next best high efficiency performance bulb.

 

So I ordered a lux meter off Amazon. The 130/90 bulbs are interesting. The low beam peaked at 618 lux at 12" whereas the highbeam was low 300s. Probably because it doesn't focus the beam as much?

 

Ironic timing as I was just having this conversation with @Unchained 5150. Yes, testing should ideally be done on low beam to measure the concentrated hotspot. High beam is going to be far more distributed, more light but over much greater area, and lux is a measure of light/area. Since the high beams are distributed the reading will likely be lower than the focused low beam. I wrote the thread quite a while back and recently realized I posted high beam readings in the thread, better would have been to post low beam. So a lux meter only tells you the lux value of a single spot in the beam, it does not measure overall output from the light source.

 

Yeah, I read through where you posted original bulb high beam was something and the new bulb was a % increase. Figured post both numbers to keep with the spirit of research purposes. The 618 was the hot spot. Lots of stuff to try and hold onto or I'd have gotten a picture

 

Having an assistant makes it easier. I just used my LED rack as mine. For curiosity I just tried my 85/80w Osram lows using my standard paint stick. Depending on your lux meter you can also lock the reading with a hold function, or set it to hold the peak number.




Now the high beam numbers measured in the thread are 100/90w. So not the same bulb.

 

You got 946 with which bulb? When I come over we can cross check to see how accurate the one ingot was. For $20 I figure there's a bit of a margin for error. I was at a measured 12" using a tape measure

 

Using the discontinued Osram 85/80w Hypers, which are a high efficancy high wattage bulb and going to outperform standard high wattage low beam bulbs.

Just measured my paint stick, is nearly 12” exact.

Don’t get caught up in comparing numbers with others as it is going to be extremely difficult to determine if you are both following the exact same procedure, and using different insturments adds another undetermined variable. The value in a lux meter is relative comparison. Running the same test, the same way, with the same meter on 2 different bulbs will give a good relative comparison between the 2.

 

I've still got the 85/80s. I'll check it against these when I get a chance

 

Now that the 85/80's are discontinued (not that I was impressed [burned out in 30hrs]) what are you guys running now(HW bulbs)?

 

If your bulb burnt out after 30 hours, you either touched the glass with your skin, it had other surface contamination or was defective.

For high wattage the 100/90w have the best balance between life and output IMO. However they are not a high efficiency bulb so the hot spot will be less focused compared to the 85/80w meaning less distance projection.

 

What is the distance difference is it noticeably a difference?

 

Excellent question, to which I don’t have a way to quantify the answer. High efficiency bulbs get their +1xx rating by using a more precise filament to generate a brighter more focused hot spot which projects further. The 85/80w bulbs combined this plus high wattage. The 100/90w bulbs are just high wattage.

 

Yeah, definitely didn't touch the bulb. I guess I'll run the passenger side and see how long that one lasts...

Thanks, I'll look into the 90/100. Those osrams also?

 

Yep.

There does seem to be a surplus of German 85/80w Hypers in countries around Russia where the currency is worth nothing. I may be exploring my Russian contacts for a bulk export. Only half joking...

 

I mean I do know that you could go out and test where the lux meter starts dropping off but is the drop off at x distance really noticeable to the human eye? Also if the 100/90 give a wider arc that may be more desirable. I know in my area I want effectively almost a 180* arc in front of my truck going as far as it can go without any dark spots. Lots of dense tree lined roads and deer. I know this may be a little bit of a stretch but it would be the most ideal.

 

The beam pattern is the same for both, just the 100/90w have a more diffused hot spot compared to the 85/80w. It does seem the 85/80w offer better distance visibility having recently switched back, but bulbs dim ~20% over their lifespan so it is not a good comparison. You can see side-by-side wall shots here of the 2 bulbs at end of life in post #912:
The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

If you want significant peripheral lighting, check out this lighting mod:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-h10-to-9011-hir-foglight-upgrade-better-than-led.528143/

 

I know your lighting threads well already read the fog light mod.

 

Updated the thread with recommendations for current best stock wattage bulbs.
Added Philips Racing Vision +150 thanks to @Unchained 5150 and GE Megalight/Tungsram +120 thanks to Daniel Stern. Dropped Volsas as a recommendation as their +100 rating is far lower than other bulbs in the group and their side-by-side performance to the Philips +130s was not impressive.

• Philips Racing Vision +150
• Philips Xtreme +130
• Osram Nightbreaker Laser +130
• GE MegaLight Ultra +120 (Tungsram +120)

Which bulb is best? Depends on your needs. Philips Racing Vision +150 is going to provide the best low beam performance, but is only rated at 200hrs. The +130 bulbs have a slightly lower low beam performance but a longer life at around 400hrs. Both the +150 and +130 bulbs have blue coating over the high beam causing reduced high beam performance. The GE Megalight (Tungsrams) have a blue coating on the tip but leave both the low and high beam uncoated giving superior high beam performance with a slightly lower low beam performance over the other bulbs. All are significant upgrades over the stock bulbs.

Also noted the Osram Hypers are now discontinued and put comparison notes about hot spot focus in the Osram 100/90w Super Brights section with a link comparing the wall shots of the two.

 

Just curious anyone ever try the harness with hid/led plugged in for “research” purposes not to actually drive? Or is the bulb regulated by the ballast.

 

Like this?
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/why-leds-should-not-be-run-in-halogen-reflectors.454371/

LEDs consume less power than halogen and dont need a harness. HIDs draw high power at startup but then draw less, they would benifit from a harness to protect the OEM circuit but they don’t need a harness nearly this robust as the intent of this harness used for high powered halogens is to reduce voltage drop with heavy gauge wiring so halogen bulbs burn brighter.