There is an old joke about how many environmentalists it takes to change a light bulb ... the answer is two; one to understand the difference between regular, long-life, rural, quartz, mercury, compact fluorescent ... then the other to change it. Well, car headlights seem to be getting as bad!

Anyway, skipping plain-filament lights, there seem to be three main options now: sealed-beam quartz-iodine, non-sealed-beam quartz-iodine, or these new arc lamps (xenon). And, the former two come in various wattages and makes.

The problem is this: the maximum light intensity in any one direction permitted in North America is fixed (225,000 candlepower, in Canada by Transport Canada TSD 108), so the only thing you can legally do with a system that puts out more total light (lumens) is to light up a wider angle of the road. Yet, of course, all the hype shows photos purporting to let you see further down the road - i.e. more candlepower :-(

Unlike many on this list, I drive entirely on normal roads, including at night in deer country. I've a very direct interest in seeing as much of the road ahead as I can. So, can anyone point me to real data (lumens and candlepower, not just doctored photos) that compare the options for 100% street-legal 7" round headlights 24" above the road?

 

You are in the Great White North and can run E-Code lenses legally. So get some Cibies or Hella Supers. And rewire to get the juice down to the bulbs. Then, if you feel naughty, you step up to 100/90 bulbs. The aforementioned lenses have such a sharp and precise horizontal cutoff that you will not bother other drivers.

The good lens alone is going to make a big difference, go to <a href="http://www.gururacing.net" target="_blank">http://www.gururacing.net</a> and you can see what happens without a rewire. Rewire with a package similar to mine and low beam will be well up over 2,000 lumens. 1,000 +/- 15% is the legal standard in North America for filament bulbs. I think most 944s with OEM equipment are under 500 lumens.

Search under my user name and you can read about lighting for half a day. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />

 

I have also noticed that after a while my bulbs became dinged and weathered from road debris, old age, whatever it may be. This defracts the light from where it's supposed to go and further reduces visibility, IMO from just changing the bulbs out with OEM you will notice the difference. IceShark do you have a website?

 

2013 posts - half a day? Not with my old eyes, IceShark! Let alone a dialup connection! Anyway, thanks. I checked out some of them, including the link to the Stern site.

What I've got are marked Sylvania H6024 54 1T on the rear, Halogen 2D1 on the front. Since they are no longer listed at the Sylvania site, I have to assume they are the usual 60/55 watt running 3400K at 13.5V

With engine idling, I get 14.0V at the battery (-20C today), 13.1V at the lights (low beam). Could be worse but a harness upgrade to get 13.5V should still add ~12% lumens. I gather from what you say though that a Cibie or HellaSuper frame with H4 bulbs should give me more improvement in seeing for less money. I'll check them out locally.

Then, of course there's the hype about different H4 bulbs. I know enough physics to stay clear (groan) of blue-tinted bulbs. But, as an example of the hype, Sylvania claims on their site that they run their SilverStar bulbs at 4000K. Then, they claim only a 15% increase in lumens! (If they are really running at 4000K instead of 3400K, it should be more like 90% - Planck's law & all that.) Do you know anyone honest who makes H4 bulbs?

PS: I have to drive in New York & Pennsylvania - family in P. - are E-code OK there too?

 

Guys, I have stock old old nasty ugly Sylvania's in my car now, they suck.

I just got some Bosch H4's. Are the Cibie's or Hella's more expensive or brighter?? How much do they run for? I paid $100 cdn for the Bosch H4 set.

Was that decent, or should I take em back and get something else?

 

I wrote a detailed explanation. Rennlist lost it & I'm not going to retype. Just buy one of my kits and if you are unsure, ask prior customers. They are the best salesmen. <img border="0" alt="[byebye]" title="" src="graemlins/wave.gif" />

 

" But, as an example of the hype, Sylvania claims on their site that they run their SilverStar bulbs at 4000K. Then, they claim only a 15% increase in lumens! (If they are really running at 4000K instead of 3400K, it should be more like 90% - Planck's law & all that.) Do you know anyone honest who makes H4 bulbs?"

Uh, there's a difference between color-temperature and light output in lumens. One is just a shade or a spectrum profile, while the other is the intensity of that shade.

There's also a difference between power-consumption and power output in lumens.

No need to re-invent the wheel. Just check out the "Light Upgrades" section on <a href="http://www.gururacing.net" target="_blank">http://www.gururacing.net</a> and refer to the Rennlist threads listed for more than you'll ever want to know about light upgrades.

 

I believe the Silver Star also wound the filiment a bit different like PIAA. Steal light from other places and claim great output. It is a legal bulb Boyz, so can't be above 1000 lumens + 15%.

At the end of the day the marketing claims are all bull****. You need to lay your lenses and bulbs side by side and take a look-see. I can tell you what will win, but may as well see it for yourself.

 

You're right, Danno - I did confuse constant area vs. lumens with constant power vs. lumens. 15% is probably right.

Curiously, I can't find a thing about a 1000 lumen limit in the Canadian regs, just the candlepower limit ...

 

What is the best light upgrade I can get without rewiring?

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Porsh-uh dammit:
<strong>What is the best light upgrade I can get without rewiring?</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">That is a very good question. I'd say forget it and eat a gun. Stock solutions are so bad that if you are not willing to rewire ....

But a Cibie and a tweeked bulb does do wonders on light output. You will never be in the "bigs" unless you rewire.

 

I've been checking with local Porsche owners here re Cibies, Bosche and Hella H4 headlamp kits. Most use Bosche.

All three are available from the local independent Porsche specialist store. They say they are all good lights, and rate them in the order given above. Bosche are considerably cheaper here because of their distribution network of official dealers in Canada and the quantity of parts they sell.

Along the way have been told (unofficially) that there is no lumens limit in Canada, just a 55 W limit on low beam per lamp. So, HID seems legal in Canada even though they hit 3000 lumens per lamp (and the Cheyenne Turbo comes with 4 of them ! - but it's legally a truck here ...)

Anyway, given the bucks, I've ordered the Bosche H4 kit. But, my mechanic has asked me to find out how to get those Sylvania "4000K" H4 bulbs, so he can try them out vs. Bosche H4.

I'll let you know of progress or non-progress. I've still got the option to rewire ...

 

"What is the best light upgrade I can get without rewiring?"

That's part of the problem with the dim stock lighting, bad wiring! Simply re-wiring the stock lights can give you close to double the output!

 

I believe Bosch sold off the lighting biz. I know they did for the long dual fog/driving lens on the turbo/S2.

I was never that impressed with their 7" round.

Get real halogen bulbs rather than the blue BS and rewire. 100/90 watt and you are walking with the HID arc boys.

I think Danno likes to run 130/100 H4s. With a rewire that is fine but better have a screw driver and spare bulb handy as that 100 watt low beam filament isn't going to last long. And 40 hours on the 130 watter. <img border="0" alt="[hiha]" title="" src="graemlins/roflmao.gif" />

That is why I use 100/90 watt H4s. It is a nice compromise on light output and filament life. But if you guys want 130/100, up to you and I can buy them.

When Paris/Dakar gets run again I can probably pick up some H4s in the 180 watt area. Those are one off killer bulbs. Only last a night, though.

 

I got the Bosch E-code light kit. I used a photographic light meter to compare intensities with the USA DOT sealed-beam unit I had.

When aimed according to Canadian (Transport Canada) instructions, the Bosch provides over eight times (3 stops) the light intensity on the road at maximum lighting distance for the same dazzle to oncoming drivers as the USA DOT sealed-beam unit I had. And, instead of being a fuzzy blob, it shows a graduated intensity of light such that the illumination on the road immediately in front of the car is within a factor of four the same as at the edge of the cutoff. And, is that cutoff sharp!

The blurp of light up to the right of the Bosch allows signs to be seen at roughly four times the distance (sixteen times the intensity) as the sealed-beam unit. However, it is obviously designed for viewing signs, not deer! The light on the shoulder 50 yards down the road is much less than the light aimed up at signs 50 yards distant.

Anyway, $102.50 Canadian; an hour and a half to install (being very fussy with respect to alignment). A Best Buy as far as I'm concerned.

FWIW, I am told that Bosch didn't sell their light bulb division, they bought Osram-Sylvania (British), which is now a division of Bosch. The lens assembly is still made by the Bosch plant that has made them for years. The 4000K 'Sylvania' SilverStar bulbs are part of that restructuring - I've one on order to compare with the bulb that came with the Bosch kit.

BTW, IceShark, I am not interested in being a scofflaw. I'd respect your advice more if you respected the measures that enable all of us to live together as best we can.