Upgrading your halogen bulb headlights

[Silverbolt]

Heres an article I read and thought was really informative.

HALOGEN · upgrading your halogen bulb headlights... ·


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many automotive enthusiasts are quick to spend money on products labelled as an "upgrade" without spending the time to research the technology before purchasing it. Halogen lighting may not be the newest and greatest thing, but its low cost and simplicity still has good potential. Using higher wattage bulbs, Halogen/Xenon blended bulbs, or HIR bulbs are options and should be considered when wanting to upgrade your lights.

HIR> There have been some recent technological advancements with halogen lighting, the most impressive has been the introduction of HIR (Halogen Infrared Reflecting) light bulbs. While a standard halogen bulb emits a broad spectrum of light (including infrared light), HIR bulbs use a special reflective coating to selectively reflect and transmit the light it creates. The special coating takes the infrared light/energy and reflects it back onto the filament. This design reduces the amount of power needed to keep the filament hot thereby, increasing light output, life span and efficiency. Because only few production cars come with this technology, the bulbs are quite expensive and good quality alternatives are not easily available in the aftermarket.


Fake-HID> There has been quite a bit of confusion over true-HID and what we call fake-ID bulbs. Typically, the worst fake-ID bulbs are mass-produced over-seas in Taiwan/China. Many of these bulbs are poorly made, mis-labeled and falsely advertised. These bulbs are often referred to as hyper white and are coated with a transparent blue paint. The blue coating hinders light output, reduces efficiency and retains heat which can cause premature bulb failure.

With a low manufacturing cost and high profit margin, the motive behind these products is simple: mimic the true-HID appearance. Many of these bulbs do not use tempered glass and are known to explode. We have also seen higher wattage bulbs mis-labeled or mis-marketed as lower-watage bulbs. The excess heat generated from these bulbs can cause damage to your wiring, headlight assembly, and is a serious fire hazard.


MORE Fake-HID> At one point, fake-HID bulbs were so popular they were even being marketed as HID kits. Companies were taking Fake-HID bulbs and combining them with a relay/inverter kit. Optimally, most automotive bulbs are designed to operate at approximately 13.5V. The inverters (sometimes falsely referred to as ballasts) would basically step-up the DC voltage to ~16V. Providing more current is good, up to a certain point. Retailing at $100-$200 a kit, it is silly to spend that type of money on a system that will over-heat the bulb and cause pre-mature bulb failure. Besides, building or purchasing a high quality wiring harness is a much wiser low-cost alternative. Installing a high-quality wiring harness is always a good idea; not only do you increase the performance of your halogen bulbs but, the harness can also be carried over should you ever decide to upgrade to HID.


Halogen/Xenon Blended> Since the demand for alternative lighting has increased since the introduction of HID, larger lighting companies such as Philips/Narva, Sylvania/Osram and Hella started manufacturing bulbs targetted for the car enthusiast looking for something more unique. We now offer an array of specialty bulbs which we refer to as Halogen/Xenon blended. These bulbs are filled with halogen and xenon gas which allows the filament to burn hotter thus, creating more light (whiter light). There are basically two types of specialty bulbs that we prefer working with:

- High Output Bulbs: These bulbs are advertised as "high output" and claim to emit more light than the run-of-the-mill halogen bulb (identical design and wattage, of course). Our review? These bulbs are no nonsense and do exactly as they claim, emit more light without drawing more current. We put these bulbs to the test with our light meter and were very pleased with the results. If these bulbs fall within your budget, we strongly suggest using this technology -- we have nothing but good things to say about these bulbs!

- Appearance Bulbs: The purpose behind these bulbs is to satisfy the consumer who is seeking a certain color from their bulbs. The two most common colors available are white/blue and yellow/amber, both of which have their place in the aftermarket. The white/blue bulbs are desired by enthusiasts who want whiter light and are trying to get that HID-look -- the yellow/amber bulbs are for enthusiasts who want a bulb that performs well in poor weather situations. Both bulbs use tempered quartz glass tube to filter the light created by the halogen bulb to achieve their fancy color.


Higher-Wattage> For most street-car owners, we do not recommend using high-wattage bulbs for various reasons. High-wattage bulbs draw more current and create more heat. This requires a strong charging system, a thicker gauge wiring/relay harness to support the additional current draw, and a high-quality headlamp assembly that is designed to withstand the high amounts of heat generated by these bulbs. In addition, the lifespan of these bulbs is much shorter than that of the OEM bulb -- you'll need to have spare bulbs handy, plus time and patience to change them everytime one fails. So, who are these bulbs for? Race-car enthusiasts.


CONCLUSION · pick you're weapon of choice to battle the night with... ·