Truth about 'HID Look' xenon bulbs

[jinijazz]

Confused with all the H7 bulbs out there, I decided to purchase some and see the difference in person. (Cheap experiment as Henry sugguested)

I didn't bother with non-55w bulbs due to the horrible melting problems.

Here are some info I found with a little research;

1. Sylvania is whiter/brighter than Phillips.

2. Sylvania(US spec) is whiter than Osram(Euro spec), but Osram is brighter.

So, Sylvania SilverStar is the whitest/brightest bulb out there?

The picture below shows one with SilverStar, and the other with one of many ebay bulb that sounds promising(?).

1. Which is brighter? Honestly I can't tell. I belive they look almost same to human eyes.

2. Which is whiter? the ebay bulbs win hands down. (The picture isn't very helpful, but you can tell the difference in person.) More blue coating means whiter of course, but with almost same brightness I'd go by half priced ebay bulbs.

3. Something I cannot verify - Lifetime of these bulbs. Some say all these bulbs don't last long, others say no problem in 3 yrs. I want to hear from people who had them for some time.

Overall they look much better look than ambish stock bulbs, but no comparison to HID.

Edited November 16, 2004 by jinijazz

[LVDell]

The only problem is the bulbs that are blue coated look very "ricer" in a porsche when they are not illuminated and are reflecting blue inside the housing during the daytime. Not very attractive on a car of this stature. Also, for saftey sake, the blue coating diminishes the "throw" abilities of the bulb. Very dangerous (and illegal).

[jinijazz]

The only problem is the bulbs that are blue coated look very "ricer" in a porsche when they are not illuminated and are reflecting blue inside the housing during the daytime.  Not very attractive on a car of this stature.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This picture shows what LVDell is talking about.

(But you cannot avoid this unless you go by real HID)

Also, for saftey sake, the blue coating diminishes the "throw" abilities of the bulb.  Very dangerous (and illegal).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can you tell me more about this 'dangerous' part?

Something I shouldn't ignore! thanks.

[PorscheFan]

I personally tried blue-coated bulb and Sylvania SS bulb. The difference is: Blue-coated bulbs may look like HID from a distance, but the visibility and brightness is not as good as Sylvania's SS. Sylvania's bulb is not as white as HID, but the visibility and brightness is much better than aftermarket bulb. It is really up to you. I used blue-coated bulbs for about 3 months then I changed to Sylvania's. The reason is for brightness and visibility.

Hopefully, this can answer some of your question.

[Guest topdaytrader]

You can check out http://www.motionr.com

They'll look awesome on your car.

[Jinster]

jinijazz:

I have had blue coated bulbs on my Mazda for a while. Two sets of cheap ones (Made in China/TW) like the ones you get from the Internet - each lasted a few month. 1 set of good ones from Autobarn (Made in Australia) and it's now 2 years and no problems.

Visibility? Poor with either brand.

White? Yeah, but not very bright.

Looks? Passable until you realise they are not very bright.

Verdict? Not safe at all.

[Fletcher]

I have the Eurodezigns in my Porsche and they look very HID to me. Supposedly 6000k temperature 55w fairly inexpensive and made in usa. I am very happy so far!

[medtech]

I am told by the dealer that the ballasts aren't strong enough to power HID bulbs. In order to do this you would have to use the ballast from a Litronics headlight.

[jinijazz]

Stock, blue bulbs, and Sylvania all look same to me for city driving (and in bay area highways). Blue bulbs looks more white hands down. As LVDell said, they look ricer when off (reflecting blue too much - Sylvania doesn't, but looks yellowish almost same as stock).

Now I upgraded to Litronic, and can't be happier. I don't know why it took me so long to upgrade. :king: