Headlight Shootout by Honard

[honard]

After reading all of the posts to scottfarm's Silvania Silverstar H4 thread http://www.bikersoracle.com/rs/forum/showthread.php?t=242 I decided to compare light output from 2 popular aftermarket bulbs, 1 offroad spec and 1 stock bulb. I also tested an after market headlight relay/switch kit against the stock headlight wiring harness/switch.

To do my test, I "borrowed" a light meter from work that measures output in foot candles. I waited until dark, rode my bike around the house to my sideyard where it is nice and dark, set up a fan to cool the heads, hooked up a battery charger to the battery and found a good spot on my fence 30 feet away to test the output of light from my bike.

Bulbs tested:
General Electric 9003 Halogen Replacement Bulb 55/60 watt approx. $7.00
Silvania Silverstar 9003 Halogen Bulb 55/60 watt Approx $19.00
PIAA Xtreme White H4 Halogen Bulb (blue tint glass) 55/60 watt Approx. $35.00
PIAA SuperHalogen H4 Bulb ("Offroad Use") 90/130 watt Approx. $32.00

Headlight Harness Tested:
Stock
Eastern Beaver Company - Single Bulb H4 Motorcycle Headlight Relay Kit $50
http://ebeaver.oberro.com (http://ebeaver.oberro.com/)

LOW BEAM TEST RESULTS (in footcandles @ approx 30 feet)
Bulb
GE (Stock)
Stock Harness = 12.7
Beaver Harness = 15.8
Silverstar
Stock Harness = 17.5
Beaver Harness = 16.4
Xtreme White
Stock Harness = 18.5
Beaver Harness = 17.1
SuperHalogen
Stock Harness = 20.7
Beaver Harness = 20.0

Higher numbers indicate brighter light.
Note that Beaver Harness had less light output on low beam!
Xtreme White had "whitest beam", Silverstar not quite as "white", GE yellow, Super Halogen yellow/white beam.

HIGH BEAM TEST RESULTS (in footcandles @ approx 30 feet)
Bulb
GE (Stock)
Stock Harness = 45.1
Beaver Harness = 79.7
Silverstar
Stock Harness = 55.3
Beaver Harness = 89.4
Xtreme White
Stock Harness = 46.7
Beaver Harness = 81.3
SuperHalogen
Stock Harness = 64.1
Beaver Harness =100.0

Clearly the Silverstar is a much better value than the more expensive PIAA Xtreme White.

The expensive Xtreme White is only marginally brighter than the stock bulb, although the light apears whiter, it is not measurably brighter.

The additional light gained by the use of the Beaver Harness in cases >75% is worth the expense if driving in mountains/rural areas at night.
The light gain between a stock bulb/harness to the SuperHalogen/Beaver harness is 121%!!! The downside is the extreme heat generated from the bulb. I would not use this bulb without the upgraded wiring harness as I would expect overloaded components/wires in the lighting circuit.

I use this SuperHalogen with Motolights at night when riding in the country. The Motolights do an outstanding job of filling in the voids to both sides and immediately in front of the bike that the high beam misses.

Hope this is helpful.

[Paul]

It would appear that the relay mod is the best thing to be done for light output, since there is a negligible difference with the harness between the bulbs on low beam.
You didn't mention the wattage rating on the PIAA super halogen.
A few years ago there was a sports car site that did a test on several bulbs where they did a more involved version of your test, checking the output at the edges of the road as well as center at two distances. The "blue bulbs" which were just coming into vogue, did miserably, delivering up to 80% less light at the corners than the stock 55/60. The PIAA didn't fare much better; their 55=85 bulb gave a hotter output down the center at shorter distance, but gave up 50% at the far corners (this is due to the way PIAA constructs their bulb, they use a heavier filament and wind it differently to give that impressive output as you look at it, and a nice white spot out in front of you).

[Clunkshift]

Thank you for that research Tim, Now I have an order of priority - first add harness/relay, then change bulb if necessary.
This will save me a fortune on playing with expensive bulbs :)
(as I usually do with the family cars):(

[BillE]

There are a couple of things to consider about which bulb to use. The color of light as it moves more toward the cool end of the spectrum (bluer = higher degree of Kelvin) becomes harder to focus... it has a tendency to scatter. It may be brighter in appearance, but is actually kind of deceiving in that the extra wattage cannot be directed in a precise manner.

Riding in bad weather at night this misdirection of light can be a major problem. If it is raining the light will scatter as it bounces off the raindrops and will have no direction at all. In fact it is rather hard to see any distance at all. Warmer light at this point is a much better option.

Keep in mind that the blue tinted bulbs are just trying to emulate HID's, which are totally different. Marketing would like you to believe that just simply buying a bulb will almost get you the same benefits as a $500+ light assembly. Or at the least it will look like you have an HID to on coming traffic.

Another point that I have noticed quite often is the very short life that the extreme type bulbs have. Considering the cost.. it is pretty crazy. A standard Hella, Sylvania, Osram, PIAA higher wattage bulb is cheaper and in actuality produces a better light. Of course adding larger gauge wire and relays is an absolute must if you want the best light possible.

Once you have the wiring in and bulb in place it is really a pretty good idea to run on low beam all the time unless high beam is necessary. The life span of any higher wattage bulb is greatly reduced in relationship to a standard 55/60w due to how the bulb is constructed to produce say 130w. Plus the heat buildup is at least doubled. I have not personally seen any problems with distorted reflectors or the like, but I would think if you run a high watt high beam all the time, then eventually some damge could occur.

Currently I am using a Hella YellowStar 80/110w and it is definitely a nice setup. It is an all weather bulb (very warm), but cuts through just about anything and provides a somewhat shadowless, easy on the eyes light. Also, since it doesn't look like anything else on the road, I kinda think it might stand out a little more when all the other lights are white.

Bottom line... upgrade your harness first and foremost and then you might even find that your standard bulb really doesn't do such a bad job.

[dickybeau]

I am currently using the new Phillips bulbs (standard Wattage) with good effect but have just purchased the harness to fit this weekend because the full beam is not really good enough to inspire confidence on dark (often rainy) country roads. I'll report after I fit it. Might even take pics and log on the How To string.

[honard]

Paul:
I updated my thread for the wattages of the PIAA bulbs. The SuperHalogen is 90/130 wattts, not DOT approved for street use (I'll use it anyway).

BillE:

Your are correct about the "white/blue" bulbs scatterring light at the edges. I took readings throughout the beam pattern, and the PIAA Xtreme White ("whitest" bulb) had the poorest reading of all bulbs at the 1/3 outside edges of the beam.

[Paul]

To go along with Bill's observations, I was driving home from work one night in the rain when I saw a car coming up behind me(4 lane divided hiway), as he approached from behind I could see the blue tinge in his headlights and as he drew up alongside I was struck at how little usable light was being projected. Having had a set of the old amber fog lights at one time I can verify Bill's comment about how that color cuts through fog and haze.

[honard]

This weekend I crunched one of the lighting relays on my Eastern Beaver Lighting Kit. :o
I sent owner Jim Davis (Tokyo), an email askiing him if there is someone in the states who could set me up with a replacement relay. He emailed me back a short time later saying a replacement was in the mail, FREE of charge!:)
Not only does he make an excellent product, but the customer service is outstanding.:Beer:

[lorazepam]

I have tried the "blue" bulbs in the past, and they are worse than the stock one. I feel the Sylvania Silverstar gives the best bang for the buck. It has been the best bulb in the headlight so far, but there is only so much you can do with the setup BMW chose for the reflector.

The two sets of aux lights has worked out well. Having five lights on in the daytime has me very visible. They make the high beam very useable at night, supplimenting long range with the driving lights using silverstar H3 bulbs.

Halogen bulbs are in the motolights which fill in the area close to the bike, and actually light the sides of the road rather well. I would not ride over 40 at night with just the stock headlamp at night. Now I feel comfortable at much higher speeds at night, I can see well enough to ride close to my normal pace.