Halogen H7 replacement suggestions and questions
 

I searched back to 2008 and could not really find an answer because everyone except me has xenon. Lol

I want to replace the stock low ran halogen h7 and found some brighter h7 that are 3400 and 4000 heat signature. I believe they are still 55watt but the higher heat signature the brighter they are. Is this correct?

Will a brighter bulb cause any undue stress on the electrical system? I really don't want to get into electrical issues.

Stock oem lights are maybe ten bucks each so to upgrade to about fifty amour for a brighter bulb is inexpensive enough.

Anyone have a recommendation? The bulbs are old and I just relaxed a turn signal so it got me thinking which is dangerous enough. Not interested in converting to xenon.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Actually, brightness is a perception, not an actual quantifiable thing. " "brightness" should now be used only for non-quantitative references to physiological sensations and perceptions of light." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightness

The higher the light temperature the "whiter" the light. If you want more light you need more lumens. This usually equates to higher wattage. Replacing a 55w, 3000K bulb with a 55w, 5000K bulb may increase the perception of more light, but it generally doesn't provide more lumens.

Thank you for your reply and please excuse the iPhone autcorrect of some of the words.

So by replacing the bulbs to a higher "rating" so to speak will make the light whiter. I get that. Will these higher rated bulbs run "hotter" or cause any potential malfunction. I understand they wont last as long, but as long as there is no harm, there is no problem.

thanks.

You probably want to avoid using higher wattage bulbs if you can. They run hotter and draw more power, so you put the headlight fitting, the wiring and the lighting control module (LCM) at risk.

And a higher colour temperature isn't "brighter" - in fact lower colour temperatures have often been shown to provide better road illumination.

I've use the Halogen "plus" type bulbs (in my motorcycle) and they do provide a small gain in light output over a standard bulb but not as much as advertised (i.e. a 100 Plus isn't twice as bright as a standard bulb - the laws of physics dictate this to some degree!).

The only sure way to get more light on the road is to upgrade the headlights to Xenon. :cool:

BTW, as you don't want to go to Xenon, then maybe something like this is worth trying...

Philips X-treme Vision +130% H7 | Replacement Headlight Bulbs | PowerBulbs

I fitted this HID kit to my low beams, and a H1 kit to replace my highs. I did not have factory xenons. All straight forward using existing and provided hardware. I have double stacked ballasts each side.

Interesting... How did it work out, Neil? Much better lighting?

Such conversions aren't legal here in NZ (HID in a halogen reflector) but if the wallabies that are taking over the South Island high country get much closer to the main cities, I think we'll see a lot of folk fitting these. :D

Not strictly legal here either, though difficult to get the regulations in black and white and some variation state to state. They are extremely bright, especially the high beam, but haven't seen much use. The flash to pass function is seldom (never) used, so any delay for lights to ignite is not an issue, and in reality it is practically instant anyway. Trying to ensure the kits are authentic Philips is always in play. If they are cheap and on eBay, they are sure to be fakes.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try and locate those halogen bulbs here in the USA

If they are not a higher wattage and only a higher light temperature they won't run any hotter. If they are 55 watt 4000 Kelvin, they will run at the same temperature as 55 watt 3000 Kelvin bulbs. If you move to higher watt bulbs they will run hotter and that is not recommended.