Sorry to hear that, but glad to see you got away

 

I noticed the Philips Xtreme +130 seem rather white compared to Philips Xtreme +100 I had before. The +130 has been fine so far because I've only driven on dry nights. However, I know from past experience that I hate white lights on foggy or rainy nights. That's a concern because I live in a rainforest climate where it's rainy or foggy 2 out of 3 days of the year.

Now I'm worried. I didn't research the +130 because I assumed they were the same (but brighter) as the +100 that I liked before, and I was trusting Stearn's judgment. Normally I research every detail before buying things, but this time I did not.

Are the +100 still offered? What is the difference in their colors K numbers? I can Google it, but I thought you might know since you seem to know a lot of details about things.

Just out of curiosity what are the various bulbs you recommend and why? Since I have a wiring harness, I'm no longer limited to stock wattage. How about Philips Rally bulbs?

 

I wouldn't go out and buy Phil +100's if you have 130's. Color-wise, the low beams are basically identical. I think it's like 3400k vs 3700k.

My fav's are Phil 100's (yes, they are still available) and Vosla 100's. Why? Quality: lots of good light where you want it and reasonable lifespan. I'm steering away from recommending things that aren't legal like higher wattage bulbs. In this case, I consider them unnecessary especially given the shorter lifespans of high wattage bulbs, and I really don't want to be knowingly passing out illegal advice especially if there's no compelling reason to do so.

 

Here you go.

 

mschi772, have you by chance seen mudderroy's resistor mod to his LED headlights? He basically wired a manually controlled dimmer to them to "tone it down" in town but "crank it up" once offroad.

 

They are amazing! Get a set. I was honestly disappointed when I first lit them off in the garage but as soon as I pulled out on to the street, I was blown away. I will see if I can post the video from last nights test.

 

I have not heard of this before now. I'll look it up. My initial thoughts are that bad optics casting light into oncoming drivers' eyes can not be solved by dimming the light source.

 

The Cibie ECE housings and Philips 100+ are legal in Europe, but illegal in USA. So really you're limiting yourself to what's legal in Europe. Though I see you point of view. European standards are better than DOT standards.

Do you think Philips Rally bulbs Cibie ECE housings on low beams would blind oncoming traffic? My lights are aimed rather low and Cibie ECE low beams have a low cutoff.

 

I just heard of Philips RacingVision. I want to compare those to XtremeVision and Rally. I'll research it myself, but I wanted to mention it here. https://www.powerbulbs.com/us/blog/2...eme-vision-130

Main differences I've learned so far:

Philips XtremeVision (+100)
Brightness +100%
3350K (Ideal color on rainy nights, IMO)
? hours

Philips XtremeVision +130
Brightness +130%
3700K (Good color, IMO)
450 hours

Philips RacingVision +150
Brightness +150% (with suitable relay harness)
3550K (Ideal Color for all weather, IMO)
200 hours (This seems short, but I don't drive much. So they'd last me 2.5 years)

Color is important to me due to lots of rain and fog. Yellower is better for me see through rain and fog better. Based on past experiences, I prefer 3400K on rainy nights. I despise 4000K on rainy nights (lights up the rain instead of the road). I don't have enough experience with 3700K to have a fully formed opinion of them on rainy nights, but so far they seem OK on rainy nights and excellent on dry nights. I think 3550K will be a good all purpose color, but I haven't tried it yet. I might buy some RacingVision +150 and try 3550K light.

 

Now on my 93 XJ Country, I have these H4 conversion housings and a Putco H4 harness.
http://www.morris4x4center.com/halog...le-hc2000.html

Now I had a set of Basic H4 Sylvania bulbs in them and they were great. When one went out, I had to go into the closest Wal-Mart (10pm, parts stores are closed. Lol) and all they had left in H4 was the Sylvania Ultras. All I can say is, I can't justify why they are that much more expensive than regular H4's. The low beam was no better than the regular bulbs. Now the only difference I did notice was the high beam had more of a white color than the low beams which were normal color.

What's your thoughts on these mschi?

 

I just learned that Phililps RacingVision +150 bulbs are the brightest bulbs that are ECE approved and street-legal in Europe. One thing I like about them is they are more yellow than XtremeVision +130.

The RV's color is midway between XV100 and XV130. Philips claims their color is ideal for good vision and seeing contrast to better see obstacles at a distance.

The RV are BRIGHT on high beams. On low beams, the RV's brightness appears to me to be about same as XV+130 (in comparison test video I watched). So mainly it's the high-beam that's increased.

The RV are stock wattage too. As you know, I have a relay harness, but even so, I like a bulb that doesn't get overly hot. I'm not sure how much heat the Cibie H4 housings can withstand. I assume a lot, but I don't know.

So I'm liking the specs of Philips Racing Vision +150, except for the 200 hrs lifespan, but I don't drive much. So they'd probably last me 2.5 years. I'm OK with that.

Also, I'm still intrigued by Philips Rally 90/100, but those clearly are not road-legal anywhere. Though as you know, a lot of people on forums use them anyway. I'm considering them because they are bright and yellowish (ideal for rainy highways), but they might run rather hot. I'm not sure if that matters. They also might blind oncoming drivers, though maybe not with properly aimed Cibie housings. Not sure.

I'm under the impression that the Philips Rally bulbs are obsolete tech because all posts and reviews about them are OLD. Like from 2010 or earlier, that I've seen anyway. Are Philips Rally bulbs obsolete?

 

Obviously I'm not Mschi, but I'd like to share my thoughts. I used to use Sylvania before I discovered Philips. Philips products are much better, IME.

However, I try to avoid the "whiter" (less yellow) bulbs in any brand because white light reflects off water. White light (4000K and above) reflects off rain or fog, which makes it difficult to see the road. I suspect this starts happening around 3700K, or maybe 3750K, and probably by 3800K. I'm not sure about 3700K bulbs because I never owned any until recently, and I don't yet have experience with it on rainy nights.

Yellow light passes through water more easily - so there's less reflections off rain drops and fog. Yellower light allows you to (mostly) see through the rain or fog so you can see the road better.

3350K is ideal, IMO. i.e. - Philips XtremeVision (+100)

3550K-ish is good, IMO. Philips RacingVision +150

3700 is probably OK, but I haven't tried this enough yet to know for sure. Philips XtremeVision +130

4000+ is terrible on rainy nights, IMO. Philps WhiteVision and DiamondVision (horrible IMO) and all the whitish or blueish Sylvania products that I've seen in recent years.

The best I've found online and in some autostores are Philips products. The next best I've found was Borg Warner. Sylvania is the worst brand of lights I've ever used because locally the only Sylvania products they sell are 4000K. I don't know about Osram (Euro version of Sylvania) because I haven't tried them.

However, I'm open to learning and trying brands that I haven't tried before.

 

Do stock wattage bulbs last longer when run off a relay harness? I'm wondering because the Philips RacingVision +150 is stock wattage with only 200 hrs rated lifespan when run on stock wiring, which would be around 2.5 years for me. I wonder if it might last longer since I have a relay harness?

I already have a harness made by Stern, but interestingly I just learned that Philips sells relay harness upgrade kits. Philips 12003XM H4 Heavy Duty

 

This (me recommending ECE-only housings) is an example of a situation compelling enough for me to recommend something technically illegal because it is my educated assessment that Cibie's ECE housings meet or exceed DOT standards. Sidenote: my advice around here is in the context of XJ lighting. For other vehicles, for other products, you might not find me making such a blanket statement as "ECE is superior to DOT."

I assume you're referring to the 130/100W (not to be confused with bulbs labeled as +100 or +130) bulb? I'm not comfortable recommending illegal wattages. I do not believe they are necessary. I also vehemently oppose altering the aim of headlights to compensate for any shortcomings or dangers. Quality housings, aimed correctly with quality, legal bulbs should be MORE than adequate for any driver.

No. The projected lifespans of these bulbs assumes 100% power. A relay harness doesn't increase power to the bulbs so much as eliminate the terrible losses we have without the relay harness.

So if anything, stock wiring without a relay harness might lengthen the lifespan of the bulb, but anyone who forgoes a relay harness to lengthen bulb life is not thinking straight. If bulb life is important to you, use a relay harness and a bulb made for longer life (this usually means a lower-wattage bulb). Or switch to HID or LED.

 

Bulb life is not much of a concern to me since I don't drive at night much. So even 200 hr bulbs will last me 2.5 years. I was just curious.