Brightest "low-beam" headlights?

Only way to advertise bulbs, is to claim that " .."% brighter than OEM or the next brand, in most cases you get a whiter light when new but not necessarily more light. Xliderider is right, even new OEM can have 30% more than your old ones.

If I want more light, I would get the 65w.

 

18% more power going to the bulbs, but not all of that is going to be translated into heat, there's the additional light too.

In addition, the small amount of extra heat in the bulb gets dissipated into the air that's in the projector and headlight housing, etc. So to state that 18% more heat in the wiring harness is just wrong, there may be 18% more current going through the wiring harness, but again, not all of that gets translated into heat.

 

Sylvania H11 Silverstar Ultra: My new PiP - helpful comments appreciated | Page 3 | PriusChat

 

Actually the vision line is pretty cheap. On Amazon, when on sale, 3camels says ~$7 per bulb, ~$9 otherwise. This is in the same range as the 'standard' Philips bulb.

But re: brightness, you're right, they claim that the vision is 30% vs. standard bulb, which is a muddy statement.

 

Are you guys forgetting that power consumed in a fixed resistance is proportional to the square of the current? Therefore 18% more current through the same wire means 1.18² or nearly 1.4 times as much power expended in the wire. (Ignoring the fact that its resistance will increase a bit at the resulting higher temperature.) Nevertheless, that's not necessarily a problem, if the harness designers provided a generous safety margin in wire sizing.

 

Frankly, I'd just go with HID kits if you want "bright."

Here's why....

I've noticed that the brighter the bulb output, the shorter the life. So, you trade one benefit for another drawback. HIDs often will last the lifetime of a car and give brightness no halogen bulb will match.

 

You are correct I oversimplified.

- Alex

 

I also need to replace one of the low beam headlights. I am using the Sylvania Silverstar which I bought at Walmart at $39 16 months ago. The life expectancy stated on their package is correct. The original OE standard bulb lasted 4 years before I had to changed it. Back then, I didn't choose the more expensive Silverstar Ultra because I live in the city and rarely drive on rural roads with no street lights. However, the Silverstar's wider and further illumination range is super when under rainy weather. Even it is about 4 times more than the basic one, but for the extra $2 per month over its life, it is worth my investment. I will stick to the Silverstar for my next purchase.

 

Replace headlights in pairs. Don't just replace the failed bulb.

 

im about to do the same thing.... maybe