Headlight lens
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,706
Likes: 743
This whole plastic headlight thing is a scam. Recently I've noticed a lot of high-end late model cars with headlights completely hazed. Bring back the old days when the headlight was the bulb, which cost about 2 bucks to replace.
Interesting that Canadian cars seem to have the problem more often, probably due to DSL's on all of the time. I might leave the Silverstars for the high beams since I only use them for short intervals.
Interesting that Canadian cars seem to have the problem more often, probably due to DSL's on all of the time. I might leave the Silverstars for the high beams since I only use them for short intervals.
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,706
Likes: 743
I found this on a science website: http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasc...9/eng99475.htm
"The power rating of a bulb (wattage) is the total amount of power consumed. In an inefficient light bulb, most of the power will be turned into heat, and a small amount will be turned into light. In an efficient light bulb, some of the power will be turned into heat, and a lot will be turned into light. In a perfect bulb, all of the power will be turned into light, and none into heat. "
This seems to indicate that a brighter 55 watt bulb will produce less heat than a standard 55 watt bulb.
Update: I received this note from Osram Sylvania:
"In order to comply with government regulations, the lumen output and wattage draw of a headlamp must remain within a set range. It is the gas mixture, color temperature and filament design that will make a difference in the product's performance. We use a different gas mixture and a smaller more focused filament in our high performance lamps which helps them to create more luminance. For automotive headlights, luminance is most often used to report brightness since it is a measure of light density (lumens per emitted filament area). In general, a higher luminance lamp will produce light that is captured more effectively by the reflector and aimed where you want it on the road. The SilverStar product is designed to replace the standard bulbs and they shouldn't give off more heat."
Do we have any physicists here who can decipher whether this means that these bulbs are more likely to cause heat damage to the interior lens based on "more focused filament"?
"The power rating of a bulb (wattage) is the total amount of power consumed. In an inefficient light bulb, most of the power will be turned into heat, and a small amount will be turned into light. In an efficient light bulb, some of the power will be turned into heat, and a lot will be turned into light. In a perfect bulb, all of the power will be turned into light, and none into heat. "
This seems to indicate that a brighter 55 watt bulb will produce less heat than a standard 55 watt bulb.
Update: I received this note from Osram Sylvania:
"In order to comply with government regulations, the lumen output and wattage draw of a headlamp must remain within a set range. It is the gas mixture, color temperature and filament design that will make a difference in the product's performance. We use a different gas mixture and a smaller more focused filament in our high performance lamps which helps them to create more luminance. For automotive headlights, luminance is most often used to report brightness since it is a measure of light density (lumens per emitted filament area). In general, a higher luminance lamp will produce light that is captured more effectively by the reflector and aimed where you want it on the road. The SilverStar product is designed to replace the standard bulbs and they shouldn't give off more heat."
Do we have any physicists here who can decipher whether this means that these bulbs are more likely to cause heat damage to the interior lens based on "more focused filament"?
Last edited by wyovino; Oct 5, 2011 at 06:03 PM.
4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: Vallejo California
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 193
Likes: 102
15psi hasn't logged in since 2013, the retrofit labs kit is probably the best bet.
https://www.adriantaillights.com/sto...986-c114018836
https://www.adriantaillights.com/sto...986-c114018836
Instructor
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 208
Likes: 181
From: Denver, CO
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