Learn me about Headlight Bulbs...

I'm looking into new headlight bulbs for the MX-3 as I do a considerable amount of time driving in the dark... I like HID's, but in a new OEM Headlight I know that is not the best solution... Any recommendations for a really good bulb?

I've got Silverstars in the F150. Love them.

I've installed LED headlights with HID brights. They were super easy and I believe my friend got them for a similar price as the Silverstars. You can pick his lights out of a crowd.

LED replacements? Tell me more!

No colored bulbs. You want full spectrum color.

Get the highest wattage bulbs you can for the stock housings and add a relay driving each headlight with battery power, control the relays with the stock switch. Some find that buying E-code or European housings help quite a bit, but they are usually illegal to run and can blind oncoming drivers if they aren't adjusted properly.

Make sure the stock housings are properly clear and not scratched or clouded, especially if plastic.

Now, most important is properly aiming the lights so that the added light is aimed where you want it and not in other people's eyes.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

If your car uses standard 7" round headlights, you can use GE Nighthawk LED lights/housings and skip the relay and enjoy less electrical load and excellent color and clarity. It isn't cheap, but its a great drop-in solution.

If you like HID's just do it right. http://www.theretrofitsource.com/complete-retrofit-kits/bi-xenon-morimoto-mini-stage-3-kit-h1.html

Please don't slap a cheap HID kit in a reflector housing. You will be barfing light all over the place and pissing off every oncoming car.

Don't be that guy.

I put Phillips X-treme Power bulbs (basically, their version of Silverstar) in my truck. Quite frankly, I didn't notice much of a difference.

Pretty sure that the light output of any bulb diminishes over time, so any new bulb will likely seem (and in fact be) brighter than the ones you replace. I think I've got the Silverstars. They work fine.

I was looking for some kind of scientific discussion of light output vs. age of bulbs, but all I could find was this. Pretty much a commercial, but it seems legitimate:

http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/innovation/videos/Pages/truth-sleuths-episode-1.aspx

mad_machine wrote: LED replacements? Tell me more!

I'll have to ask. I believe it was blue hue LEDs and white HIDs.

1988RedT2 wrote: Pretty sure that the light output of any bulb diminishes over time, so any new bulb will likely seem (and in fact be) brighter than the ones you replace. I think I've got the Silverstars. They work fine. I was looking for some kind of scientific discussion of light output vs. age of bulbs, but all I could find was this. Pretty much a commercial, but it seems legitimate: http://www.sylvania.com/en-us/innovation/videos/Pages/truth-sleuths-episode-1.aspx

lamps due diminish over time. The older they are, the faster they diminish. I have seen 750w HPL lamps that are down below the output of a 375w right before they blow

+1 for silverstars, i put them in my mr2 when i had it not expecting much of a difference and i was suprised by how much brighter they were

I've tried Silverstars …. but it finally dawned on me that the amt. of light put out is just that … it's the configuration of the lenses that will give me the light down the road that I want/need

making the crappy illuminated area that is the OEM F150 ('97) brighter really isn't much of an improvement

In reply to wbjones:

I disagree. The Silverstars are in my 95 F150 and the difference made was fantastic. I can see further wan wider.

I do understand your point on lenses, but I think just the bulbs made a good enough improvement.

Depends if you have parabola reflector or if you have a projector lens setup. It also depends how intricate you want to go or if you feel like you can disassemble your headlight and put it back together after hacking some things up. Otherwise just bulb replacement nothing wrong with silverstars. If you put an H9 in an HB3 slot it will work and be brighter but it will also burnout quicker.

there is a forum for this: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?87-Automotive-Motorcycles-Included

a couple things that can make a huge difference: new OEM housings. over time the reflector inside can become burned and corroded. If they are plastic housings the yellow haze will also hurt output. OEM housings because ALL aftermarket units are garbage. Another thing that can make a huge difference is putting the bulbs on a new relay harness system. Old and undersized OEM wiring can drop voltage to the bulbs. Even small drops in voltage can have a huge impact on light output.

ask this question on the candlepower forum, you should get some good advice.

turboswede wrote: Some find that buying E-code or European housings help quite a bit, but they are usually illegal to run and can blind oncoming drivers if they aren't adjusted properly.

If you are blinding oncoming traffic with E-code headlights, you either bought them from the UK or you need to get back on the right side of the road . That said, they tend to have a similar pattern to a DOT motorcycle headlight with the beam "kicked up" to the RHS and if the aim isn't adjusted correctly, it might well annoy the driver in front of you.

Here are my headlight housings, They are new OEM Mazda units.

I have e-code units in my 924s and even with a standard bulb they are the best headlight I have ever had.

I tried silverstars in several of my cars and the service life is so short.

Honestly, MX3 headlights are not their strong point.

I think the best you can hope to do is a set of Osram Silverstars or re-wire to handle 100w Hellas or something.

N Sperlo wrote: In reply to wbjones: I disagree. The Silverstars are in my 95 F150 and the difference made was fantastic. I can see further wan wider. I do understand your point on lenses, but I think just the bulbs made a good enough improvement.

glad for you … all I get is brighter … there's zero improvement in reach … and the only difference in low beam and high beam is how wide the pattern is … highs don't give any additional reach either …

time to look into some projector beam units … assuming I can find some that actually provide more depth as opposed to just bling bling

wbjones wrote:

N Sperlo wrote: In reply to wbjones: I disagree. The Silverstars are in my 95 F150 and the difference made was fantastic. I can see further wan wider. I do understand your point on lenses, but I think just the bulbs made a good enough improvement.

glad for you … all I get is brighter … there's zero improvement in reach … and the only difference in low beam and high beam is how wide the pattern is … highs don't give any additional reach either … time to look into some projector beam units … assuming I can find some that actually provide more depth as opposed to just bling bling

Did you see the ones I linked? They're the real deal. Not as good as the acura ones but a metric berkeley ton easier to fit into most headlight housings.

dean1484 wrote: I tried silverstars in several of my cars and the service life is so short.

I have had Silverstars in two cars for the past four years without a problem. They were a HUGE upgrade in my situation, too.

I personally like PIAAIntense White halogens. I prefer them to the Silverstars.

Count me in for Silverstars. Regular ones, in the silver-blue package, not the Ultras, in the red-orange package. I didn't notice any better light from the Ultras, for $10 more.