What Headlight Wattage do you Recommend?

[vesnyder]

I am in the process of replacing my H4 headlight bulbs - already added another relay - What wattage do you recommend? I have the 60/55W currently and was considering replacing them with the PIAA Super White that have an output at 135/115W.

That is quite a wattage jump? Just wondering what everyone's experience has been before I burn somebody's retina!

[BER]

You will probably get several opinions on this topic.

I have H1's on my two 911's and use 55W lo bulbs and 100W hi bulbs. I find this is adequate for my night driving needs. I also have headlight relays for added protection.

Bruce

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

100-watt high beams are the most you need. They are quite bright.

Stephan

[rlane]

I agree,,,converted to 55/100's. I doubt you will "outdrive" the 100watters at night and given our cars low stance they only irritate other drivers if you have a lot of elevation changes...on the Interstate I can leave them on (by accident..as my hibeam indicator is as weak as all other Porsche indicator lights!) and get no "flashes".

[Early_S_Man]

Vance,

I doubt that those are the 'true' Wattages of the bulbs ... as there seems to be an 'Output Wattage' claims war going on currently ... like the 'Music Power' claims of audio equipment mfrs of the past ... ad nauseum!!!

There are 55 Watt H3 bulbs that claim to have the output of an 85 Watt bulb, for example ... and 85 Watt H3 bulbs that claim to have 'higher efficiency' and the output of a 100 Watt bulb!

So, unless you have a clamp-on DC ammeter, and can measure the 135 Watt bulbs drawing 9.6 Amps at 14 Volts ... you can bet it is advertising hype that got you!

Be sure to install relays ... whatever bulbs you decide to use!

[RoninLB]

I'm w/Warren on this on...the marketing claim is for the high light output of a 100w bulb with the current draw of a 55w bulb...to my understanding the primitive test of light output allows the manufacturer to wind the filiment to give a high reading..that doesn't mean you have high light bulbs..PIAA is the best at this marketing BS..I use real 130/100 bulbs manuf. by Narva[sic] which is a German company..the problem w/adding real high power bulbs is 911 stock wireing can't handle the current draw..and the stock bulb sockets will melt or catch fire..
......Therefore, if you are serious, you can run real 130/100w bulbs if you rewire and use a high watt Bosch bulb sockets..of course relays are always a MUST, even on stock light bulbs...What I did was use 12ga. wire for low and 10ga. wire for high and bulb ground..100w for low is doable on a 911 because it's relatively low to ground..Also, I use Euro Cibie lens..DOT lens don't perform for me...I want to see everything with my low beam on a black/no street lights road at 70 mph...................Ron

[Brian Cameron]

What a timely post - I just got back from test driving my new bulbs. With some skepticism, I put in a couple of those bulbs that have low wattage consumption but claim to put out light equivalent to a higher wattage bulb. They are Hella 60/55 +30's (ie, 30% brighter so roughly equivalent to a 80/70 bulb).

And what do you know, I'm pretty impressed - they are WAY better than the 60/55 (driver's side) and better on dim (and roughly equal on bright) compared to the 100/55 (passenger side) that the PO had put in.

I didn't have to swap out wiring and nothing runs hot (it looks to me like the stock wiring is 16 gauge, and I thought felt a bit warm on that 100W bright previously on the passenger side). A while back I did put in relays for bright & dim circuits, but this was more to reduce resistance & save headlight switch.

On a dark road I felt comfortable cruising at 70mph and I won't tell you how fast my brights let me go without feeling like I was over-driving them, but it was a "go to jail, directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200" kind of velocity.

For what they cost, I'd suggest giving them a try - no rewiring needed, and if they don't work out, try something else and keep 'em as emergency spares.

That's my bright idea, for watt it's worth.

[RoninLB]

Brian...you may be impressed w/the "hot spot" of your bulbs..your bulbs probably lack lateral/left & right lighting..unless there is some way to create more bulb power with less current usage and you found it.......Ron

[Rick Lee]

So where might one find these Hella bulbs and about what do they cost?

[Brian Cameron]

Ron - during my test drive I was checking out the lateral lighting - we get a lot of deer in the countryside around here and they kind of sneak up on you from the side of the road, so you want to be able to watch for this.

At one point the road has trees on both sides, arching over the top of the road, so it's easy to see where the light is and isn't going. The lighting was very good to the right and left, and well lit up on the upper right (for good signage visibility). Although the road we well light on the left hand side, the trees weren't overly bright, ie, the "v" shaped light pattern was working properly to protect the oncoming driver. I'm not sure to what extent this is a function of the lens vs the bulb, however.

I did have a small dim patch on the right side of the road but I was expecting this because one of the right side headlight adjusters is broken and I couldn't get it to align quite right (it insists on pointing too far right). Once I get this fixed, it should look darn near perfect.

The Hella website claims they get brighter output by making the filament thinner while protecting it from burnout by exotic gas mixes including xenon. Or something like that. All I know is, it's WAY better than the original 60/55's and better than whatever my wife's Volvo 850 uses (my previous benchmark for good lighting).

Richard - I got these at a local supplier here in Calgary, Canada (Auto-Marine Specialties). They cost me right around $25 CDN each (about US$15). You could probably find them at a local supplier by phoning around, or on the web - maybe these are even what Wayne is stocking as his 60/55's for all I know.

Hope this sheds some light on the matter.

cheers/bc

[RoninLB]

Brian...good reply..and yes, the lens does significantly affect the beam pattern...that's why I think DOT lens are caa caa/doo doo...easy to tell if it's DOT lens. DOT lens have the tits on them for mechanical lens adjustment...Ron

[FlaCarrera]

I have 55/100 in my H4s..Love em! Relays installed.
Ted in So Fla
86 Carrera