ps2cho

I'll have my new DEPO headlights in today so I'll need some bulbs.

Any recommendations? Can I get it local such as Pepboys? I'm dieing to get real light coming out LOL

STLe320

Halogens?
I'd go with Silverstars!!

Thats what I have, and not at a bad price either

2PHAST

Since you brought up the topic, I will chime in and give you my .02

I have tried most all H4 bulbs on the market. Silverstars are bright, but not white, more like yellow.

So if your looking for;

1. Bright white
2. Standard wattage
3. Inexpensive
4. Good warranty
5. Reliability

Here is the winner. Mtec. These are inexpensive, about $32, lifetime warranty and are bright white. These are a little bit better than the expensive Piaa's and just as white.

The Eurotech's and Silverstars are way too yellow. The rest of the generics are of low quality and not worth wasting your time with. I have tried at least five different makes of H4 bulbs, plus the others mentioned here.

I have also compared all of them to each other and to the HID's in my 500e, the Mtec's are very close in color to real 4300k HID.

The below auction shows which Mtecs I use in my Depo euro headlights.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MTEC-...QQcmdZViewItem

ps2cho

I decided that I didn't want to wait and bought some Silverstars at Pepboys. Two sets and fog lights totaled me $76.

I figure...anything is going to be a huge difference from my US spec lights so I'm sure the Silverstars will work great.

Thanks for the input guys!

STLe320

My silverstars have a nice bright white light

2PHAST

White compared to your stock halogens I am sure, but they are yellow when compared to the Mtec's.

I just finished testing all these bulbs against each other and also against my 4300k HID's last week, so all the info is fresh in my mind at this point.

Since I was pulling out my projector HID's, I wanted the brighest, whitest light that is most comparable to the stock HID's. The JDM Piaa's are also a good choice, but they are over $100, not worth it in my opinion.

RBYCC

The German made Narva ( Phillips ) H4 Range Power 50 60/55W is an excellent high output lamp that exceeds the lumen output of similar wattage lamps by about 50%.
Not that expensive, about $27.00 per lamp

I use them in Cibie's in my W113, and in my Tyc's in my W124.

2PHAST

Kelvin=color and/or hue
lumins=brightness or light intensity

Mtec claims their 60/55 watt bulbs puts out equilivant lumins to a 130/110watt bulb. Hard to verify that fact, but I can verify that they are brighter than the Silverstars and the Eurotech's.

4300k HID put out 3200 lumins. The Mtec's are not that bright, close though.

I heard that the euro Silverstars are much better than the crap that is sold in the US, but I have never tried them.

RBYCC

"Kelvin" actually is a temperature measurement.
Lower number leans toward the infrared spectrum, higher toward ultraviolet.
Daylight is in the temp range of 5500-6500K.

2PHAST

For the purposes of this discussion, Kelvin refers to the color range of the HID burners. Technically speaking, Kelvin is a measurement of temperture, your correct, but its best to refer to it for this purpose to indicate color, as the Kelvin goes up, the color intensivies and the lumins goes down. So we start out in the yellow spectrum and as we move up the Kelvin scale, the color changes to white, then blue then purple. You will see this reference when searching for HID's, with the common Kelvin ratings of 4300, 5000, 6000, 8000 and 12000

Referring to Kelvin as temperature says nothing nor helps anyone understand the ratings for HID burners.

STLe320

Okay...so now to answer many people's question that don't want to put HID's in the stock headlights..

What's the best halogen out there that looks the closest to HIDs? I'm in the market for new headlights, and I really want something bright bright white or bright blue.

And I have another question (2phast?)

I've seen many ford 500's around here with headlights that are actually BLUE. Not like HIDs...but actually blue! Any idea what this could be? I was thinking HIDs but I cant tell

RBYCC

You always seem to speak in absolutes....and it's not necessarily so.

The inverse relationship to kelvin and lumens that you state is not correct as lumens are a product of the light source.
Higher efficacy sources, regardless of degrees kelvin will emit more light be it measured in lumens or candelas, then a lower efficacy source.

A HID source has a higher kelvin rating then a tungsten halogen source, but produces more lumens per watt.

Even the highest efficacy light source is only as good as the optics that control it.

The cones in the eye detect the lightwave which is measured in nanometers and the result is the color that one will see.

2PHAST

As for whitest halogen bulb, I believe I already mentioned that in this thread, at least that is my opinion based on all the bulbs I have tested so far and the ones I mention (Mtec) are what I use in my 500e now.

As for the Kelvin rating, here are some well known facts;

1. Kelvin is a measure of colour temperature and NOT the actual lighting power or output

2. It is generally accepted that the best Kelvin rating for optimal human night vision is between 3800 and 5500 K

3. Anything over 5750 K and human vision and depth perception is significantly reduced

4. Anything over 6000 K and the actual lighting output/power reduces exponentially


So furthermore, Kelvin (K)

"A basic unit of thermodynamic temperature (color temperature) used to measure the whiteness of the light output. The higher the number is, the whiter the light is. When over 5000K the light begins to turn to blue as daylight and then into the purple end of the spectrum".


Here are some Kelvin vs. Lumen examples

Kelvin (K) and Lumen (lm) chart :

3500K Gold Yellow 3,600 (lm)

6000K Pure White - Blueish 3,200 (lm)

8000K Purple White 2,600 (lm)

10000K Pure Blue 2,400 (lm)


This is only a partial list, but like previously mentioned, as you increase the Kelvin rating, the light output decreases.

Optics do not in anyway, increase Lumen output, whether it be a D2R reflector design or a D2S projector, the function of the optics is to focus or concentrate the light into a usable pattern. Consider that a "absolute"

RBYCC

You can Google facts all you want, but you need to know what they mean !!!!

I never stated that optics increase lumen output...I stated that the light source is only as good as the optics that CONTROL it....

There is no relationship between lumens and the Kelvin scale....
I'm not sure where you found that "Kelvin vs Lumen" chart.

Do you know what a lumen or a candela is?
Do you understand efficacy?

Take an ordinary filament lamp which is in the warm area of the Kelvin scale and compare it with a fluorescent lamp which has a cool output.
The fluorescent has a much higher efficacy as it produces more lumens per watt then a tungsten filament lamp.

A quartz lamp is warmer then a pulsed arc xenon lamp, but again the xenon lamp has a much higher efficacy.

The light source determines the lumen output and the type or shape of the source determines the design of the optical assembly...

The typical H4 lamp shifts colors in the kelvin scale depending on the gas that is excited by the arc.

On a modern car what has the higher light output a high intensity discharge headlamp or a xenon lamp and which is cooler on the Kelvin scale?

ZorroAMG

The Professor has spoken, it seems!

What about Kelvin as a regular temperature? Absolute zero, 0ºK where nothing moves, lives or functions, AKA -273.15ºC...forget about Farenheit, the real world doesn't use it.

RBYCC

At my age if I don't state it now, I'll probably forget it..

Life's a beach and then you die...

2PHAST

I suggest visiting hidplanet.com and doing a bit of research, or just doing some googling yourself, as this information is plentiful and easy to find.

I really don't see the what your point is, a debate? Pissing contest? I am not sure. There is validity in your statements, but you seem to ignore the obivous facts I post, rather you prefer to insult me, when my only intent is to educate and share my knowledge.

There is direct corellation between Kelvin and Lumens, a quick 30 second search yields many hits, this just one of them

http://www.sharphid.com/hidinfo.htm

RBYCC

For some reason you are "insulted" when another comments on your "absolute" statements.

Their is no inverse relationship of lumen to color as you keep on trying to prove.
It all depends on the light source and it's efficacy.

I cut and pasted an excerpt from the link your referenced.

If your theory were to hold true, then why is the light output equal toward the highlighted infrared and the ultraviolet ends of the light spectrum

" Bulb Temperature 35 watt lumens 55 watt lumens Colour
3000K 2950 3700 Yellow
4300K 3200 4100 White with slight yellow
5000K 3150 4050 White
6000K 3140 4030 White starting to look blue
8000K 3100 3600 Blue with a hint of purple
10,000K 2950 3300 Blue to Purple
12,000K 2920 3300 Purple "

Same link stated:
"We sell up to 30000K bulbs and at that point the light will look almost pink. "


Don't know how you can get pink when you're well into the ultraviolet range, like the light that the sun produces and burns your skin


I don't need to Google on lighting matters as I was educated many, many years ago at Nela Park.
Don't depend on the internet for my responses as you do....

No pissing war, no insults, just trying to be accurate in a technical matter.
Most young people want white to blue or any strange color because it is trendy, but yet it produces less visible light output then a warmer light source...

Less visible light..... the easier it is to drive beyond your headlights

Without getting too technical....

Kelvin is only the temp measurement of the light has nothing to do with efficacy.
The Kelvin measurement is a result of the type of light source and the additives used to achieve a higher efficacy.
A lamp is rated in watts, watts are converted to BTUs as the heat measurement.
A higher efficacy lamp converts more watts to light with the remainder heat, compared to a lower efficacy lamp.
It has nothing to do with the surface temp of the lamp, only the method in which the light is produced, i.e filament or arc.

....the actual color depends on the wave length of the light which is an inverse relationship to the color temp.
Warmer color, cooler temp....cooler color, warmer temp.

e.g red = 780-622 nm and somewhere around 1700-2000K
The human eye does not react well to cold sources....

So if you think you are being insulted...then it's on you !!!

STLe320

I don't even have the patience to read that..lol

berti_00

nexxt time i get my bulbs for my fogs am gone get 8000k cuz i thought the higher the number the bluer so i got 12000k lol so they are kinda purple but i wanted blue
blahh

Saijin_Naib

5700 for driving, 3000 for fogs, thats my future setup.