H4 headlight bulbs

[hughc]

There was a posting a few months back where the writer complained (for lack of a better word) that after adding headlight auxilliary relays and 100w (high beam) bulbs he didn't find a significant improvement in lighting. I am in the same situation.
I'm using Hella bulbs and I'm now wondering if different bulb manufacturers produce better quality high wattage bulbs than others.
Comments??
Thank you,
hughc

[darrin]

Hughc -- H4 headlight lenses have a sharp cutoff and a rather precisely-aimed beam pattern. If not properly/carefully set-up and aimed, the lenses will not be focusing the light on the road ahead where you need it. What steps have you taken to get your h4s aimed/setup?

Directly addressing your bulb question -- increasing bulb wattage can make the area of the road ahead of you that's illuminated by the h4 lenses appear brighter but won't otherwise affect the pattern/throw of the headlights themselves.

[Cloggie]

Originally Posted by darrin

Hughc -- H4 headlight lenses have a sharp cutoff and a rather precisely-aimed beam pattern. If not properly/carefully set-up and aimed, the lenses will not be focusing the light on the road ahead where you need it. What steps have you taken to get your h4s aimed/setup?

Directly addressing your bulb question -- increasing bulb wattage can make the area of the road ahead of you that's illuminated by the h4 lenses appear brighter but won't otherwise affect the pattern/throw of the headlights themselves.

Yes, this is my experience as well. I believe some have had very good experience with the GE (Tungsram) Megalight Ultra +120 which apparently gives greater brightness while retaining the 60 watt power consumption.

I will try these next as it is critical for me to not give too much glare to oncoming traffic, partly as my eyes are very glare sensitive and also the local police will give you a fine if your lights are out of spec.

Note I also have the 911 headlight adjusters in my car, so I can lower them if needed with just a flip of a switch.

D.

[HarryD]

Make sure they are aimed correctly. This may be helpful: https://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

[hughc]

Thanks guys. It looks as though a proper headlight alignment will be my first priority once I get back on the road.

Thank you Harry for that link. Now to find someone that is equipped to do a proper job.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by hughc

Thanks guys. It looks as though a proper headlight alignment will be my first priority once I get back on the road.

Thank you Harry for that link. Now to find someone that is equipped to do a proper job.

If you can measure and operate a screwdriver, you are equipped to do this job.

All you need is a flat wall to point the headlights at, a flat surface in front of the wall that is flat for about 40 feet. You make the measurements shown in Daniels's Article, mark them on the wall (painters tape will do), and adjust as needed.

[spuggy]

Originally Posted by Cloggie

I believe some have had very good experience with the GE (Tungsram) Megalight Ultra +120 which apparently gives greater brightness while retaining the 60 watt power consumption

Also the Philips X-treme Vision +130%. The Bosch headlight in my Ducati M900 was atrocious on unlit roads, for some reason (very likely an old bulb). It was very dim indeed. The +130% bulb was a massive improvement.

Philips also do +150% and a +200% versions, but you're trading off bulb life for brightness (as the filament is made thinner to glow brighter). So I use a "bright white" LED in the city light socket so at least you've got /something/ if the H4 blows when out and about.

That said, still running stock 14+ YO H4s in the 911 (whatever they came with in the box), partly because they're kind of a pain to change (I can do one side in 10-15 minutes, but the driver's side takes a minimum of 40 minutes of frustration to re-fit).

The CR fuse panel with built-in relays made a huge difference to both brightness and the color of the headlights (much whiter); very noticeable. It's all about voltage drop.