Headlight bulbs

[chuckster57]

Ok guys, I work on cars and RV's but I don't know that much about the different headlight bulbs and what's the brightest without being TOO obnoxious. I am looking for help in how they are rated please.

[jasin1]

I stay with stock…from what I’ve heard you can have a lot of electrical gremlins pop up if you try and run high intensity or bulbs that are out of the design parameters of the electrical system..
A good set of driving lights are a nice upgrade if you don’t already have them

[sourdough]

Chuck what are you trying to replace, led, halogen, sealed beam? When I worked on my older vehicles I would always replace the sealed beams with GE SilverStar sealed beam lamps - worked great. I've done others but they're not all plug and play.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Chuck what are you trying to replace, led, halogen, sealed beam? When I worked on my older vehicles I would always replace the sealed beams with GE SilverStar sealed beam lamps - worked great. I've done others but they're not all plug and play.

I’m not sure what is stock, I just know they aren’t that bright. They aren’t sealed beam like my old truck.

[snoobler]

HID and LED bulbs are also rated in K.

https://gmundcars.com/headlights-col...erature-guide/

On one of my cars, I upgraded the HID from the ~4500K lights to 6000K lights and WOW... they are brighter at the same wattage.

[flybouy]

Probably 9006 or similar halogen lamps. The Sylvania Silver Star seems work well. All the OEM lamps are typicall the same wattage. Sylvania and Phillips both use some schemes to make them brighter with coatings and raising the heat which can shorten their life.

I bought aftermarket lights for each truck years ago so my experience is limited on OEM lamps. On the F250 I added an LEd light bar in the grill and wired it into the highbeam circuit via a relay. It makes quite the difference when I have the occasion to use them.

[hankpage]

Chuck, I've always used Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. The ultra level is pricey but gives best light down the road and to the sides, Your Ford takes a 9007 bulb and there are several levels of brightness available. The brighter, the more costly and shorter life span but you will think you are in a different truck. Good luck, Hank

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by hankpage

Chuck, I've always used Sylvania Silverstar bulbs. The ultra level is pricey but gives best light down the road and to the sides, Your Ford takes a 9007 bulb and there are several levels of brightness available. The brighter, the more costly and shorter life span but you will think you are in a different truck. Good luck, Hank

Thanks but Im working on my '16 Kia soul.

I am out in the garage now taking a lowbeam apart to see if I can see any numbers

OK: passenger low beam says 6A27 Phillips H7 12V 55W DOT 12972 HPLL

[flybouy]

Here you go... SYLVANIA H7XV.BP2 XtraVision Halogen Headlight Bulb, (Contains 2 Bulbs) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B9SL50...ing=UTF8&psc=1

[flybouy]

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...ubp2/5080138-P
Expensive for the best. Whatever you do don't touch the glass with your bare hands. The oil from your fingerprint left behind will shatter the bulb when it gets hot.

[chuckster57]

Thanks, I’ll have to look at getting those local.

[sourdough]

Correction to post #3: That should be Sylvania SilverStar not GE. The picture of the box they came in playing in my head was.....wrong. Sorry Chuck.

[chuckster57]

No sweat, I appreciate all the responses. This weekend I had to buy 5 new TPMS sensors for the DW’s 2009 Lexus RX 350. She needs tires and one sensor is bad, so going to replace all due to age. Tire store wants $65.00/ea. I got them from RockAuto for $28.00/ea. tires are $600.00

[xrated]

Originally Posted by snoobler

HID and LED bulbs are also rated in K.

https://gmundcars.com/headlights-col...erature-guide/

On one of my cars, I upgraded the HID from the ~4500K lights to 6000K lights and WOW... they are brighter at the same wattage.

The "K" is simply the rating for color temperature. The closer the K number is to around 3800-3900, it is more like natural sunlight. The 6000K bulb will produce a whiter light and as you keep going up that scale, the hue of the light will become bluish.

It's also possible, maybe likely, that when you did the switch over you went from bulbs that were a few to maybe more years old, to of course brand new. HID lights will continue to lose brightness over time and I usually see about 3-4 years before I replace them. They still function, but they have lost some of their brightness. My Dually is a different story, the HID's that I installed on it (vs. the OEM Halogen bulbs) are still very bright, but I don't drive the truck that often, and even less at night.

[jasin1]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

Thanks but Im working on my '16 Kia soul.

I am out in the garage now taking a lowbeam apart to see if I can see any numbers

OK: passenger low beam says 6A27 Phillips H7 12V 55W DOT 12972 HPLL

I thought you were talking about for your 94 Ford.. new bulbs are a pain..I have a Ram pro master van that eats headlight bulbs…it’s the most finicky snap in, janky bulb holder..I even had it pop out internally and stay lit and melt a hole in the inner light housing….I always wear clean nitril gloves when installing and I always install in pairs

[rs1718]

Go to headlight revolution.com

[chuckster57]

Thanks, I went to the local Auto Zone and got the Xtravision bulbs, much better than the factory ones.

[Army Paladin]

I have tried the led and have had issues with them. Seems like a dead spot or dark spot because of the way they are made. I have the projector headlamps and you aren’t able to make much of a change to the since GM has everything tied to the computer too. I went back to a slightly brighter hid and it works better than the old style.
You also want to read the labels on the lamps you are buying. Almost all of the aftermarket lights say they are NOT for highway use or off road use only. So many are putting the ultra super blinding lights in their vehicle and it may be great for them but it is blinding to oncoming traffic. And yes, I may be getting older and the lights bug me but many are overdoing it.

[Terryj]

Sometimes the fix for poor light is a proper aiming. Just adding brighter lights to a poorly aimed system may help you see better at the expense of having people you meet being blinded.

I would start out with an aiming, that may fix you poor light condition with out buying any parts.

However if you change headlite bulbs or light assembles, please have them checked for aim and pattern by a knowledgeable person with a quality optical aimer or even a wall chart if the operator is experienced and knowledgeable of beam patterns after the install.

The kind of aimer that just sticks on the light lens is not a good option is it is only checking the aim of the outside covering, not the complete system or pattern.

The some of the reasons I suggest aiming after changing a headlite component is,
1 there is some real junk out there and manufacturing defects
2 even replacing the bulb may affect the aim due to bulb vs reflector position
3 just removing and replacing the headlite assembly to install a bulb can affect aim.
4 I have seen European lighting installed which dips to the left instead of the right on low beam.
5 do you want the person you are meeting at combined rate of approximately 200 feet per second to be able to see or is it ok if they are blinded by your lights

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by Terryj

Sometimes the fix for poor light is a proper aiming. Just adding brighter lights to a poorly aimed system may help you see better at the expense of having people you meet being blinded.

I would start out with an aiming, that may fix you poor light condition with out buying any parts.

However if you change headlite bulbs or light assembles, please have them checked for aim and pattern by a knowledgeable person with a quality optical aimer or even a wall chart if the operator is experienced and knowledgeable of beam patterns after the install.

The kind of aimer that just sticks on the light lens is not a good option is it is only checking the aim of the outside covering, not the complete system or pattern.

The some of the reasons I suggest aiming after changing a headlite component is,
1 there is some real junk out there and manufacturing defects
2 even replacing the bulb may affect the aim due to bulb vs reflector position
3 just removing and replacing the headlite assembly to install a bulb can affect aim.
4 I have seen European lighting installed which dips to the left instead of the right on low beam.
5 do you want the person you are meeting at combined rate of approximately 200 feet per second to be able to see or is it ok if they are blinded by your lights

The problem is with the newer vehicles is they are not adjustable.