The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

Bulbs should always be replaced in pairs. Halogens dim over their lifespan, an end of life bulb may be 30% lower output than a new bulb. Your end of life bulb will also very likely fail in the immediate future, so it is better to preemptively replace it.

 

Almost lasted a year I think, and they were used when I bough them. Should I clean the new bulbs with alcohol?

 

I always do, just out of an abundance of caution, but shouldn’t be required on new bulbs as long as you don’t touch the glass.

 

I do the same thing. I keep the still working one in the truck so if one goes out I have one with me if needed.

 

Just bought a pack of alcohol wipes, looking forward to what a brand new set of bulbs perform like!

 

Question for you. Where did you purchase those bulbs from? They're a bit hard to come by it seems.

 

Can't you buy those on Amazon?

 

FWIW, I've never had any problems ordering from PowerBulbs, where they run frequent sales, like the current 20% off one.

 

It is the 85/80w Hypers that are impossible to find. The Osram 100/90w Super Brights are readily available:
https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/product/osram-super-bright-premium-h4

If the confusion is around 'Super Rallye' pictured below, those are not German Osram bulbs, that is Osram's Chinese line I believe. I would recommend the German Super Bright ones. You'll notice the Super Brights box will clearly state 'Made in Germany' whereas the others will say things like 'German lighting technology' or 'German Technology' or something to that affect.

 

Are the German made ones better performing?

 

I have not tested the Chinese made Osram bulbs. Osram is a major manufacture, so it is highly unlikely the Chinese made product would be poor, unlike off brand Chinese bulbs. However I would expect more consistent better precision built bulbs from Germany. When I tested Philips German H9s against Philips Chinese H9 bulbs, the results were comparable, though the German bulbs were slightly better. But Philips does not distinguish in their supply line for H9 bulbs a difference between the German and Chinese products, they have the same part number meaning Philips believes they are equivalent and when ordering you may receive either. Osram on the other hand has specifically labeled their Chinese made version with a different product name branding than their German product.

 

Here is a Amazon link to those bulbs:

$15 OSRAM 62204SBP Premium Off-Road Super Bright H4 Headlight Bulb Vibration-Proof Technology, Yellow

https://www.amazon.com/Osram-Premiu...+Headlight+Bulb+9003+H4&qid=1583585973&sr=8-1

Made in Germany, and <$10 per bulb (with shipping).

 

One word of caution buying the bulbs on Amazon is they often don’t package them well. It isn’t uncommon to have the bulb boxes loose in an oversized box with minimal or no padding in the package to keep them safe.

 

This is so much good info. Forgive me, I’m just a little confused... what is the best bulb (Osram) to maximize brightness without changing/adding OEM wiring harness? If I was just to switch out bulbs, what would be good to swap out without producing too much heat and still lasting a long time?

 

See the info below copy/pasted from the original thread post:



Stock wattage performance bulbs
These are currently the highest performing stock wattage bulbs on the market:

• Philips Racing Vision +150 - Best low beam, reduced high beam output
• 
  GE Lighting H4 NHX/BP2 Nighthawk Xenon Replacement Bulb, 2-Pack
  GE Nighthawk Xenon +120 - Full performance high beam

Which bulb is best? Depends on your needs. The +150 bulbs are going to provide excellent low beam performance, but coat the high beam reducing performance. The Philips are rated at 200hrs. The GE +120s 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. You can compare lux performance over stock in the above charts.

 

I'll second the above motion. I ordered bulbs through Amazon twice, and both times they came in padded envelopes - with the boxes crushed inside. Yes, the bulbs did (somehow) actually work, but I now order almost everything through PowerBulbs. They actually put things in real, live boxes.

 

Thanks to the OP for this awesome write up! The Osram's have changed my life! Well... Maybe not quite changed my life, but they are way brighter and I'm glad I did it. Got it knocked out in less than 30 minutes, 10 of which were spent trying to get that damn clip back on the passenger headlight assembly!

P.S. don't screw around, just order from power bulbs.

 

As usual the OP knows his shit.
Just ordered the wiring harness and lamps yesterday.
Sure wish those OSRAM all season were available at a reasonable price. They seem perfect for the PNW.