Assistance on headlight bulbs>>>
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The Manual indicates Headlights are H1 & H7. It doesn't indicate which is high and which is low.
If you are getting after market lights, make sure you don't fall for any of the hype about "cool white" or blue color bulbs. There is a lot going on with night vision that doesn't just come down to the "color" of the light. The "Blue" lights seem to be brighter, but in reality produce less usable light on the road. They produce a light that is not optimum for the human eye to see with at night, and the blue coatings on the lens actually reduce the amount of light output.
Check Danial Stern's site for information about lighting. Another site where they test bulbs. And some comments on HIDs.
For my money, I'd buy the higher end Sylvania's - but not the blue tinted ones. I just can't remember their names at the moment.
If you are getting after market lights, make sure you don't fall for any of the hype about "cool white" or blue color bulbs. There is a lot going on with night vision that doesn't just come down to the "color" of the light. The "Blue" lights seem to be brighter, but in reality produce less usable light on the road. They produce a light that is not optimum for the human eye to see with at night, and the blue coatings on the lens actually reduce the amount of light output.
Check Danial Stern's site for information about lighting. Another site where they test bulbs. And some comments on HIDs.
For my money, I'd buy the higher end Sylvania's - but not the blue tinted ones. I just can't remember their names at the moment.
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Sylvania XV (XtraVision). They come in the purple packages. Kragen and Pep Boys carry them, and they're about $12 each. They are very good bulbs; I don't think you can find a brighter bulb that's legal.
Philips HV (High Visibility) should be similar.
Sylvania Silverstars are blue-tinted and cost twice as much. I would avoid those, and I would avoid the PIAAs for similar reasons (price and tinting).
Philips HV (High Visibility) should be similar.
Sylvania Silverstars are blue-tinted and cost twice as much. I would avoid those, and I would avoid the PIAAs for similar reasons (price and tinting).
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That's the ones I was thinking of...John Stimson said:
I have installed them on two of my vehicles (not the Elise yet), and they work very well. Basically, they are manufactured to be at the high end of the legal brightness.
They work very well, but they don't have that "cool" look to them that the ricers want to impress people with...:no:
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But we don't have blue "HID Look" head lights, clear lens on all our signals, no three foot tall triple decker wings on the rear decks, and "Type R" decals on the cars. At least I hope not...:no:jac said:
That's one of my fears it that people might start "ricing" the Elise and we all get a bad reputation...:huh:
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Will the Sylvania XV and Phiillips HV plug directly into the existing sockets with no additions or modifications?John Stimson said:
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Yep, if you get the proper bulbs. They are just high spec replacement bulbs.pianomaniac said:
Check here for a description. Interesting comparison of Sylvania's lights here - note that the XtraVision have the same "brightness" as the SilverStars, but cost half as much and last twice as long. And the reality of the "color" spectrum is that the slightly "yellower" lights actual are better for your eyes to see than the "whiter" lights.
This page shows pictures of the bulbs, and both the H1 and H7 are shown on the page (although the page shows "standard bulbs", they should be available in all types)
The European versions of the SilverStars are supposed to be the best - they left out the "blue" tint and just made better brighter bulbs. I suspect that these are call the XtraVision in the states and the SilverStar name along with the blue tint is used to make money from the people that don't know any better.
I'ved used the Osaram +50s that Daniel Stern Lighting suggests and am quite pleased. They are on my E30 M3 in the Cibie CSR housings that he sells. If you have questions about lighting stuff he carries, email Stern - he's a real guru of auto headlights and such. Here is his bulb chart, note the comment about "overwatt" bulbs: NOT in plastic housings...
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulb_types/bulb_types.html
(Click on products for pricing)
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulb_types/bulb_types.html
(Click on products for pricing)
Some thing I dont see here that needs to be here, have any of you noticed some small burns on the lense of your headlights yet?
When all the mechanics from the dealerships made there way to lcu for the tech session lcu told the mechanics not to ass fancy lighting and or change the bulbs because they will create burns on the lense of the housing causing you to purchase a replacement, which is not cheap.
The local demo already have some burn marks, with limited night time use and this is with the use of only factory bulbs. I suspect aftermarket bulbs will create mucho more problems..
Adam P..
When all the mechanics from the dealerships made there way to lcu for the tech session lcu told the mechanics not to ass fancy lighting and or change the bulbs because they will create burns on the lense of the housing causing you to purchase a replacement, which is not cheap.
The local demo already have some burn marks, with limited night time use and this is with the use of only factory bulbs. I suspect aftermarket bulbs will create mucho more problems..
Adam P..
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What if a bulb burns out? Can they change the bulbs then? I have to assume that they were warned not to change the bulb type or specification.Adam P said:
The Sylvania XVs and Philips HVs are both standard-spec bulbs, with the same power consumption and nominal light output as the OE bulbs.
If the stock-spec bulbs are causing burn marks, that's a good indication that over-Watt bulbs would be problematic.
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