The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

so what would stock bulbs or like a silverstar zxe see improvement wise here. i have zxes in heads and fogs but im getting ready to do a 12 swap and want to update my wiring. i like the rally lights harness just wonder if doing this and maybe nightbreakers 55w or even keeping the zxes would do anything. dont really wanna go to the 80w ones. but if it was worth it i would.

 

The only reason I see not to go to 85w is bulb life. If you wanted something with longer life, but more output over stock I would use the Osram 70w bulbs. These have substantially longer bulb life than the 85w, but lower light output. They will be brighter than bulbs at stock wattage.

I just went to Rallylights sight and see the 70w bulbs have been discontinued.
http://www.rallylights.com/h4-12v-osram-hyper-bulb-not-legal-for-highway-use.html

Looks like Candle power isnt carrying them anymore and has a suggested replacement:
http://store.candlepower.com/64205.html

 

so if i go with the vosla bulbs (70w) and the harness i should be alot better than stock? i mean i know it wont be the 85w but still pretty close? if i go that route what should i do for fogs then to match? (i have h10 but will be converting to h11 with adapters)

 

Those Vosla blubs are rated at standard wattage 60/55, but apparently draw more and candlepower claims they are within 4% of the light output of the 70w Osram. I have no experience with those bulbs. Using the harness will reduce voltage drop which results in brighter lights regardless of the bulb used. You are likely looking at about a 25% difference using those vs the 85w bulbs, so I wouldn't call it "pretty close" but it will be an improvement over stock.

As for what to do about the fogs, I did the same mod to my fogs, but if you don't like the 85s I think this will be a bit much for your liking:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-foglight-upgrade-not-led-or-hid.435419/

I don't know that you can expect to run an H11 in your H10 fogs though. The bulb tabs to lock it into place are likely different, so you will need more than a wiring adapter. The bulb optics may be different as well. To upgrade the fogs and stay with H10 I would suggest running the 65w H10 Optilux and a TRS standalone H10 harness. The TRS harness is not as beefy as the Rallylights one, however on your H10 circuit the TRS harness should still be an upgrade. The drawback is the fogs bulbs are coated and will be whiter than your headlights (depending on the headlight bulb).

 

well im doing a 2012 conversion so my 2007 fogs wont fit when i do my conversion. the bulbs for the new one will be h11 that i plan to run these adapters on the trucks wiring to the new fogs. i guess i could have rally lights make me some adapters too and have a more quality part. http://www.cjponyparts.com/starkey-fog-light-converters-h11-to-h10-set-v6-2005-2013/p/3411/

hmm i guess ill just have to try it and see what works best for me. i do like both this and the fog light upgrade but again worry about it being legal/getting flashed.

 

Got it on the conversion. If you do go with the high wattage fogs, see if you can get a harness in that configuration. Would be a shame to use all the heavy gauge wiring and neck down to small wires like that on the adapters.

This upgrade is better than HID and LED retrofits because the beam pattern and cut off is the same as stock, meaning other oncoming drivers will not notice your brighter lights as they will be above the cut off horizon. You won't blind or cause glare to other drivers and it looks stock. You won't get flashed.

 

I'm curious if anyone has tried the 85/80W Osram H4 part #64206ALL which appears to be exactly the same as the CP64206 but instead of saying 'Super Bright' on the box it says 'All Season' in the same spot. The difference is about $5 per bulb ($20 if I'm buying four) and once I saw that the online vendor the OP used for his bulbs and harness wants $18 to ship four headlight bulbs and a wiring harness that will weight less than a pound I decided to find better prices. I determined that I'm conventionally switched & was all set to order up parts but was taken back once I get all the items in the cart. It's not enough to get $100 for a wiring harness and $20 per bulb but then $20 for $4 worth of shipping? Pass. Who knows, maybe this bulb will last longer since it's All Season? My guess is it's not quite as white for better winter/snow/whiteout conditions which may not be a bad idea since I live in Colorado.

Thoughts?

 

$4 shipping? maybe if it fits in an envelope and weighs under 1/2 lb, but USPS Priority is $10 or 12 for a medium box, and $18 or so for a large box, UPS and FedEx are considerably more.

 

I ship regularly via all the major carriers & have done so for a couple of decades so I'm not just guessing here.

The CHEAPEST delivery method they offer is $18 & change. They go up from there.

So we're not talking UPS Overnight or FedEx 2nd or anything expedited here. While I may have exaggerated w/the $4 statement I may have only been a couple bucks off. First class w/delivery confirmation would probably run around $4 total. You quoted the Priority boxes that are closer to the estimated shipping amount but they have flat rate boxes that start at $5ish. I'm not saying four bulbs & a harness can fit into one of those but I even tried checking just the bulbs & just the harness & it only affected shipping estimate around a buck.

If you're trying to tell me they're going to pay nearly $20 to shipment four H4 bulbs & a small wire harness & then argue that point I think I'd have to ask if they sign your paycheck.

I'd rather not turn this useful thread into a shipping extortion debate so we'll just agree that these five items can be shipped for less than $18 & not argue over just how much. You're welcome to pay that if you see the added value but I don't & won't.

My post was more about the All Season versionof the bulb in the OP.

 

I do agree the shipping charges are a bit high, but lets not get derailed on that.

Another vendor that creates quality 12 gauge H4 wiring harnesses to check out is:
http://www.headlightservices.com/Wiring.html

Interesting find on the Osram All Seasons, I had not heard of them before. I'm curious if they are a new product, they did just discontinue the 70w version (not all season). Using google image search it looks like your inclination is correct, as they have a yellow coating of some sort.



Doing some more googling I did find this product description on a UK Amazon page:
"The 64206 ALL SEASON off road bulb gives a yellow appearance and is ideally suited for poor weather conditions where visibility is low."

Interesting the product is cheaper, as it seems adding the coating would cost more vs having none. Unless it is just the demand is high for the non-coated bulbs, or these are new bulbs with introductory pricing.

 

that looks like a 'dichroic' yellow coating, which I've found only work in certain reflector types. I tried the Hella Yellow-star dichroic H3 bulbs in various fog lamps before, they worked quite nicely in the microDE projector fogs, while they were hardly yellow at all in more conventional reflector-diffuser style fogs on a older mercedes. they give a rather pale yellow tint, not as deep as the Optilux 'extreme' yellow. I haven't tried dichroic bulbs in the tacoma yet.

 

It looks like Osram is replacing the 85/80w bulb with a new updated version, that is 100/80w. The last bulb was 2400 lumens, the updated version is 2900 lumens. A non-trivial change to say the least, and one that is easily handled by those running the standalone harness and significantly brighter than the already upgraded bulbs. I've ordered the updated version and will try them out soon.

 

I've used various euro 100/80W H4 bulbs in my bmw motorcycle for years. they run very hot but on my motorcycle it gets enough air to stay adequately cool. they definitely require beefed up wiring (I used a couple 40A relays and 10 gauge power wires, so the factory headlight and dimmer switch just control the relays).. they are stupid bright, but awesome in a really dark place on a dark night. quite often in town, I just use my 2x55W H3 foglamps that have a very sharp clean cutoff because the 80W low beam is so bright.

 

I was conflicted, as I rarely use high beam with how much light I have from the lows plus the fog upgrade.

 

My intent certainly wasn't to derail the thread but more to see about other potential options. It's just weird that this is one of the ONLY places that seem to sell those bulbs. Thanks for another option for the harness. I may use them depending on what I figure out for bulbs. It does seem odd that it can be had for less than another bulb that seemingly is nearly identical with one less step in the manufacturing process.

That's what I was thinking when I saw them. They seem like a similar process that I've seen some fog bulbs done like this and it's probably not the light color I would be looking for for my headlights.

Is it a new part # and have you found them for sale anywhere for a reasonable price yet? I'd be interested in either the new one or even the 85/80w version at a clearance type discount if there's a new version replacing them.

 

Interesting product update. I like the idea of more light and, since I'm already running RallyLights upgraded harness, I'm not worried about it at all. I am, however, a little concerned about the potential for heat damage to the headlight housings. I look forward to your report, @crashnburn80...

 

the stock harness will likely melt down with 100W bulbs (100W /14V is 7 amps vs 5.5 amps for the stock 60W). AND a beefed up harness will make the stock bulbs brighter, as brightness is the 3.5 power of voltage, so going from (say) 13.5V at the bulb to 14V is 15% brighter.

 

It is a new part number. I should mention the box lists them as 100\90w, but their specs say 80w draw at low beam. Interestingly none of the high wattage bulbs are listed on the Osram USA site, which could explain why the 85\80 bulbs are difficult to find elsewhere, they may not be imported to the US by Osram.

The Osram asia site has pretty complete product specs for their headlight line:
http://www.osram.asia/osram_asia/pr...ghting/cars/halogen-headlight-lamps/index.jsp

Also on the above page, the Hyper 85\80ws are missing, which makes me inclined to think they may also have been discontinued with the 70\65w version. But it is the Asia division page, so who knows.

Also, found the spec'd lifetime of the bulbs: 200 hours.

The only US selling place I found them thus far is eBay, but it is well priced at $25 for 2 bulbs shipped. Also I noticed that while ralleylights still sells the 85w bulbs, they removed them from their H4 bulbs listings. The only way you would find them is through a google search or already having the page link.

I'll take some new headlight temp readings after the swap. And I've been meaning to swap in a standard wattage H4 to get some before and after Lux readings to have quantitative numbers like I did with the fog upgrade.

True, I definitely would not advise it. Curiously though each stock headlamp has a 10 amp fuse, so even at 7amps the fuse would hold.

 

You didn't list a part number or link to eBay but I'm going to assume you mean part #62204SPB, right? I see them on eBay for $24.50 shipped for a pair so I assume this is them. When searching I also found a different part number which is 64204 or P45t that looks the same other than the box has some Chinese characters on it and the word 'Premium' is omitted. I wonder if this is the same thing for the Chinese market. The other difference is that they're $12.50 for four bulbs shipped so 1/4 the cost if you're planning on buying 4 to have two spares for when the first ones burn out. The latter also says 'UV Filter' on the box which leads me to believe it would be better for the headlamp lenses.

Thoughts?

 

Apologies for not including the link! Yes the first one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/OSRAM-H4-BI...00-90W-2PCS-62204SPB-/111692984549?rmvSB=true

That one ships from a US seller. The other sellers bulbs ship from China, and could be delivered mid-October? (According to the listing). Also the seller lists them as "Made in China". Osrams are made in Germany. To much grey area for me. Could be legit, and take a couple months to get here, or could be knock-offs. I bought from the one in California and bulbs should be here next week.

Most all high quality bulbs include a UV filter, as otherwise it would be more detrimental to the headlights. It looks like the box redesign, the UV filter listing it is now printed on the side vs the face on the English packaged boxes. (google image search).