Love my GL

My "left low beam" warning light came on today so I will be doing this upgrade. For those of you in the LA area...nish/Jen...I found a great price at 4 Wheel Parts in Van Nuys for the PIAA H7 #17655 for $62 total...they did a price match with the ebay seller in post#1 of this thread...pretty cool.

Regards,
Mel

nantucketsleigh

Paid $120 for 2 sets at local speed shop.

oknish

I have the Xenons, Mel, so I am hoping I don't need a change of bulbs soon

Love my GL

I realized that after I posted.

Love my GL

For those of you contemplating this upgrade, here is a comparison picture of Driver's side PIAA H7 bulb versus passenger OEM bulb on my GL.

Looks great...I will be converting the fogs as well to match.

toothdr

are the fogs h7 also?
fog covers come off easily just grab black plastic with your hand and pull off

fmr

just checking to see if anyone has changed the fogs as well and if so how are the results? also had a question on bulbs -- are they all the same so need 6 for low/high beam and fog lights?

avant

Is it possible to upgrade to active bixenon if you have standard halogen?

BlownV8

Dealer says no but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

avant

I think its about a $900 option, could you not just buy the light housings and plug them in?

fmr

same response from dealer this morning that I could not replace the halogen units with the factory HIDs. I now plan to at least replace bulbs -- might try the philips x-treme.

GL Troll

Thanks for the tip and the recommendations guys. I got my Piaa's a couple days ago - low beams only for now - and they work great. They take the GL one step closer to being a perfect vehicle.

Couldn't find the second adjusting screw. What am I missing here?

BlownV8

One is on the top center of the headlight housing and the other is toward the fender on top of the headlight housing. The owners manual has a good diagram.

Kaumajet

Just to clear up some misconceptions about HID (Xenon), halogen, and colour temperature:

An HID capsule produces 2.5 x lumens/watt more than halogen, so a 35-watt capsule emits the same amount of light as an 87.5-watt halogen bulb.

Colour is pretty much irrelevant. The so-called Ultra- or Super- or Plasma- or Mega- or Whatever-white bulbs are a marketing tool. The Mark I Human Eyeball has evolved to be utterly useless at detecting still objects, and is attracted to movement. The same quantity of light of any colour in the range we're talking about (3000 - 6000ºK) will produce similar, if not identical results. Also, the eye is very adept at 'adjusting' the color of any light in this range to mean 'white'.

The 'brighter' bulbs look that way because at higher colour temps, the light produces more glare. This harshness can leave one with the impression that there's more light, when in fact, there is often less - especially with lamps that use coloured glass to produce a given colour temp. Humans perceive a similar phenomenon with sound - a high-pitched sound at a given decibel level will sound 'louder' than a mid-range sound, because it is more harsh.

Bulbs that offer lumen comparisons often compare quantity of light at a single temp (where they are stronger) rather than a broad-spectrum rating, where they would lose to a standard halogen bulb.

Buyer beware - there is no free lunch.

BlownV8

I hear ya. However, these bulbs made a HUGE difference in the amount of light that the stock headlights put out. The stock bulbs were greatly difficient at interstate speeds. In fact, I'd say it was scary trying to navigate a dark interstate at 70 MPH with the stock bulbs. The new bulbs completely took care of that deficiency.

Don't knock something until you try it. I felt the same way about many of these so called performance bulbs until I read how nice the PIAA's were and what a big difference they make over the stock bulbs. Now that I've installed them I know that what I had read was true.

Kaumajet

I've been intimately involved with PIAA, Cibié and Hella lighting on off-road vehicles and adventure touring motorcycles for 30 years. I've tried them all. Please reread my post carefully.

nantucketsleigh

Read your post a few times. Sounds authoritative, but I know I see better with the PIAA's

GL Troll

The stock GL bulbs simply don’t provide enough light. The Piaa’s do. Now, if you want to tell me that HID’s won’t do any better I believe you – I did, after all, not get them on my GL to begin with. You don’t really believe all 55W bulbs are essentially the same, do you?

My cynical side tells me, with good reason, that any car company is capable of fitting a deliberately inferior component in order to sell a more expensive option. It makes you feel better about spending the extra $900 on lights. But I think this was more likely a result of cost cutting.

Kaumajet

I'm not saying that the HID isn't better - I said "An HID capsule produces 2.5 x lumens/watt more than halogen, so a 35-watt capsule (like the one in your GL) emits the same amount of light as an 87.5-watt halogen bulb". HID is far better in other ways as well, as they are generally self leveling, and sometimes cornering, like on the GL.

No, but the main difference is colour, not broad-spectrum output. There are also vast differences in build quality, but that doesn't give you much on the optical side.

As I said, the high-temperature bulbs do indeed provide the illusion of more light, and some of the better ones actually produce a few lumens more than a standard halogen bulb. However, your actual ability to detect danger comes with two things and two things only - power and movement. Ask anyone who's used an infrared or NVG searchlight (neither of which is white).

Hey, if it makes you feel better, who am I to judge?

As I said, I do have a fair bit of experience in this field, both professionally and through my hobbies over a 30-year period. However, Daniel Stern, who is a well-respected automotive lighting consultant, explains it better than I.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...uperwhite.html

BlownV8

I read what Daniel wrote about the bulbs. However, in this instance it does not apply to the PIAA's. The PIAA's in the GL's projector housing give off as much or more light my other cars with HID lighting. Not only does it give off as much light, the quality of light is just as good. I was truly astounded at how much more light these put out compared to the stock bulbs. The difference is huge. I've had many different cars with different bulbs, housings, lenses and this, by far, has been the best upgrade for the money.

The PIAA's are not some cheaply made bulbs that are are blue in color. In fact, they don't appear to give off any blue at all. The color is very white and does not produce glare of the blue bulbs.

LEOSOPHIE

I had Piaa's in my Navigator, in an emergency I replaced one with a Sylvania Star something and there was no comparison. The Piaa was far superior. In todays mail I received a pair of H7 high beams and H11 fogs.

Stumblefoot

ReachWest,

I wanted to see if you ever had your dealer adjust the height of your headlamps? If so, do you see a noticeable difference?

I haven't had any other reason to visit our dealer's service department yet, so I haven't taken any action yet on our headlamps.

As cold as what you have been and seeing how cold it is supposed to be in Calgary early next week, I couldn't imagine trying to adjust your headlamps outside at night. It's not often that a negative celsius reading is equal to a fahrenheit reading, but it appears you'll be approaching that delta next week. Stay warm!

fmr

I am considering the replacement as well and came across a very helpful article comparing halogen bulbs -- test done by european auto magazine:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product...of_winter.html

I was initially thinking about the PIAAs but now am looking into the phillips x-treme (not HID/Xenon whit light look) or the Narva or Phillips equivalent to the PIAAs.

HID was only option I really wanted which was not on a fairly loaded GL I purchased from dealer stock. In retrospect should have held out and ordered one given I make frequent trips to vermont during the winter and good lighting is essential on late night trips through rural roads. Has anyone gotten a positive response from a dealer in terms of being able to replace the entire halogen headlight unit with the factory HID unit?

LEOSOPHIE

The Piaa Platinum bulb tested I believe is not as effective as their Extreme White which has 110W versus the Platinum which is rated at 100W.

Kaumajet

If you ever find yourself near Ottawa, let me know. I'll feed you some fine food and drink, and show you what a 100-watt halogen bulb can do.

I know you all think I'm trying to stir the pot here, but that's not true. As I said, I used to be in the auxiliary lighting business, and have been through this time and again. My two largest dealers were Hella and PIAA distributors, so I had access to everything in their catalogue, and still have a pretty good collection of aftermarket bulbs and lighting in my shop. I have run the PIAA Platinum and XTreme White series bulbs side by side with 100-watt bulbs in identical lamps. Once you see the difference, there is no question; there is no substitute for power.

The PIAA Platinum bulbs - don't waste your money. Pure bling.

I'm going to step out of this discussion now, because I don't want to be a pain in the ***. I would, however, encourage you all to read Mr. Stern's article again carefully.

Cheers

Oh, and the invitation is open to everyone