I found after my annual ABS fluid change I had an extra $45 burning a hole in my pocket. Always on the lookout for bright things I bought a PIAA SuperWhite H4 headlight bulb to replace the stock one when I got home. Being ethnically Techish I decided to check out how much my expenditure bought me ...Soooo...I set up a light meter on a stand about 10 feet from the headlight. (no need for precision because this is a comparitive measurement not absolute.) The bike was on it's center stand. Turning on the headlight in lo beam got me a measurement of 200 (once again what the units are is unimportant since it is a relative thing I'm interested in.) Running only on the battery and battery tender.
I did the changeout and took the reading again. (Not having moved either the meter or the bike) Got a reading of 201. Wow...An increase of 0.5% I must admit that I'm underwhelmed! I know the color spectrum is supposed to be closer to what evolution designed our retnas for, but $45 for .5 percent. Wish I'd of bought a steak dinner...
I know the color spectrum is supposed to be closer to what evolution designed our retnas for,
To be fair, give it a ride test. Tell us what you think using your eyeballs as the guage, they are the guage that really matters after all.
I have never used PIAA's bulbs, so I can't say. But I put some Sylvania "super whites" in my car. They burned out so fast, I was a little peeved at the "premium" that they charge. I went back to standard halogens, and they are still burning (couple of years, commercial vehicle, daytime running). With the "super whites", I did seem to have better vision while they lasted.
I was dreaming when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray...
I always replace stock headlites, kind of an anal thing I suppose. Anyway, I used to use the Sylvanias, but got a deal on the PIAA when I bought my Rockster. Not a notable difference lighting the road at light, but when I replaced my 06 Scion XA bulbs with the same PIAA superwhites, it was a much better outcome, noticably better on the car than the bike
I hate to tell you this, but for the same $45 you could have installed an Eastern Beaver H4 headlight relay, which would have sent more current to your stock bulb and protected the circuitry that goes through the high/low switch. In theory, you would have gotten more light output from your stock bulb.
Then for a few more bucks, you could install a 90/100 w bulb, which is what I have. It makes a huge difference in lighting output, but you should have a relay handle the current draw on this.
There is a lot of confusion about bulbs that people don't realize.
The PIAA Super White and Sylvania Silverstar bulbs all have a blue-ish coating over the bulb to give it a "whiter" light. However, and coating decreases the useable light produced by the bulb. I definitely don't recommend this, especially for a motorcycle.
If you want a brighter light, you need to look at the Osram Silverstar (this is different from the Sylvania version), Philips Vision Plus, or the Narva Rangemaster. They are true +50% and +20m bulbs.
I just ordered a set of Osram Silverstar H1's for the Rockster. I should have them in the next couple of days and will report back.
I have replaced my headlight bulb with a Phillips X-treme power H4 from Nippy Normans. It really does make a difference to my night time riding. The beam is longer, has a wider spread and is much brighter than the +50 it replaced.
I also replaced the stop / tail lamp at the same time with a Phillips Vision Plus which makes my tail and brake light much brighter than stock.
hank wrote:I have replaced my headlight bulb with a Phillips X-treme power H4 from Nippy Normans. It really does make a difference to my night time riding. The beam is longer, has a wider spread and is much brighter than the +50 it replaced.
I'm jealous - I looked into that, but they don't make the X-treme in an H1 fitment.
Good idea on the vision plus for the brake lights.
rdsmith3 wrote:I hate to tell you this, but for the same $45 you could have installed an Eastern Beaver H4 headlight relay, which would have sent more current to your stock bulb and protected the circuitry that goes through the high/low switch. In theory, you would have gotten more light output from your stock bulb.
Then for a few more bucks, you could install a 90/100 w bulb, which is what I have. It makes a huge difference in lighting output, but you should have a relay handle the current draw on this.
Your not sending more current. Your using more current. Ohm's law and all that stuff. A watt is a measurement of heat dispersed by the utilizing device.
100 watts @ 12 volts = 8.3333333 amps. That is the current it takes to produce 100 watts @ 12volts. Most relays on our bikes are rated for 10 amps. I have driving lights I run on a relay tied to the highbeam relay on the bike. Draws 17 amps with 2- 100 watt lamps @ 12 volts. A watt is a watt, don't be fooled by claims of 150watts of light from a smaller wattage bulb. Not possible!
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rdsmith3 wrote:I hate to tell you this, but for the same $45 you could have installed an Eastern Beaver H4 headlight relay, which would have sent more current to your stock bulb and protected the circuitry that goes through the high/low switch. In theory, you would have gotten more light output from your stock bulb.
Then for a few more bucks, you could install a 90/100 w bulb, which is what I have. It makes a huge difference in lighting output, but you should have a relay handle the current draw on this.
Your not sending more current. Your using more current. Ohm's law and all that stuff. A watt is a measurement of heat dispersed by the utilizing device.
100 watts @ 12 volts = 8.3333333 amps. That is the current it takes to produce 100 watts @ 12volts. Most relays on our bikes are rated for 10 amps. I have driving lights I run on a relay tied to the highbeam relay on the bike. Draws 17 amps with 2- 100 watt lamps @ 12 volts. A watt is a watt, don't be fooled by claims of 150watts of light from a smaller wattage bulb. Not possible!
I guess I should have clarified. With the relay kit, you would be using much heavier gauge wiring that goes directly from the battery to the headlight. Lower resistance = higher current
V = IR where V is a constant 12 volts so if R goes lower then I (current) must go higher.
BMW does not equip the bike with a headlight relay, do they?
...Soooo...I set up a light meter on a stand about 10 feet from the headlight. (no need for precision because this is a comparitive measurement not absolute.) The bike was on it's center stand. Turning on the headlight in lo beam got me a measurement of 200 (once again what the units are is unimportant since it is a relative thing I'm interested in.) Running only on the battery and battery tender.
