That was in reference to PIAA "claims". If you can believe Daniel Stern, you get less light. In fact, I speed shop I went to said to forget about them too, they give "less light".

Yes, some bulbs are brighter than others and that is what is about the +50 claims for bulbs like the Philips VisionPlus and the real OSRAM silverstars (not the US versions). From what they claim, of course, QC is what it is all about. They pick the best of the bulbs that truly give the full 55w power.

Lumens are pretty easy to find. Here is a reference for H3s. http://www.rallylights.com/hella/H3.asp
If you click around that website on the other bulbs, all the lumens are there.

 

If you look closer at the Hella ratings, five of the seven brightness values for the 12V H3 halogen bulbs are "extrapolated" - meaning that rather than measuring the actual light output, they're estimating it (using God-knows-what as their estimation criteria). Also, since they said "extrapolated" instead of "interpolated", that also means that they're trying to estimate something that falls outside the range of all of their measured data.

It's like collecting height-versus-weight data for 1,000 people and trying to predict the typical weight of someone that's 5'7". That's well within the range of your measured values, so you can interpolate and probably come fairly close. But use the same data set and try to use it to predict the weight of someone that's 9'6", and you probably won't be anywhere close, because you're extrapolating well outside the range of your data set.

 

Guys,

I am not an electrical engineer, so I cannot comment on your post,

all I know, is I have had some of these PIAA bulbs in many of my cars in the past 8 years,

they are definetely whitter and brigher.

Victor

 

I run the 65W H7's from osram in the high beams....brighter than the stock, but not a huge difference..happy with them, but wish they were even brighter.

back in '79, on my'78 Fiesta, I swapped out the stock single round headlamp (6024?) for Marchal's halogen lamp kit that used an H1 55w for low beam and an H3 100W for the high beam with their accompanying relay wiring kit.....was amazingly bright attracting every moth within 20 miles, but the relay would burn itself out every few months....loved it though

so looking forward to the review of those PIAA's

 

I have 100W bulbs in my high beams with no issues at all. No melting wiring or smoke!

 

I am using the 65W Osrams in mine, no issues. It's also the most I would put into the lights. It's not so much the wiring that is in danger of being damaged by a double load, rather it's the infamous body control module. Instead of using a mechanical relay or switch to handle the current, the lights are switched by a transistor in the BC module. Most likely you wont have any issues with it, but it's a chance that one takes, not unlike the 'brake light mod' done to pre-'05 cars. I have done the latter and it's been going strong for 4 years now.

I have heard of people installing 'true' 100 watt bulbs in the housings and some have reported melting the plastic inside. I say 'true' 100 watt bulbs because there are a bunch of bulbs on the market that 'claim' 100 watts of light, yet draw only 55 or slightly more watts of power. Since said bulbs are using the same technology (incandescent halogen) as typical bulbs, simple physics and Ohm's Law means 100 watts of light with 55 watts of power draw is impossible.

 

yeah, I've read of some expensive repairs on their BC-1 module due to the 'rear brake light mod', very few , but still, I replace my brake light mod with LED's on the 'orphan' top-most position to greatly lessen the additional load

 

I did the "Brake Light Mod" and after about a year, the BC-1 Module puked.
Removed the "Mod" before I took to the dealer and they replaced the BC-1 Module under warranty.
Would like to switch to LED brake lights, at least for the top bulb, before re-installing the brake light mod.
Can you explain, in some detail, what you did to use the LEDs in the top, which LED bulb and where to purchase. I'd really appresiate it.

 

sure....I had the top 'orphan' bulb connected but then heard about the module potential problem, which I think was pretty rare, but replaced that top bulb with the following from Autozone.....it simply replaces the other bulb and it just fits in through the back of the plastic housing....there are other ones that might be brighter but bigger and not fit in.

brand is: Jam Strait Super-bright red LED 1156R

their website is www.jamstrait.com

 

Thanks but, do you mean 1156HR? They don't show a 1156R on their website.
Also, I assume that after installing the 1156 LED bulb, you did the conventional "Mod" with a jumper wire. Is that correct?

 

Hi I saved the package in case I ever need to replace the LED and the package does say 1156R....no 'H' there.....maybe that is the upgrade?...I would call them to see if the outside measurements are the same

I had the jumper for the 'mod' in place already and just left it there..you need the jumper obviously to get power to that top position and the LED just uses a LOT less of that power

if you position the car so you can see the reflection of the taillights in a store window, when you step on the brakes, you can sort of see that the LED's light up at their full brightness instantly while the lower positioned regular incandescent bulbs light up a fraction of a second later as the filament has to heat up to start to glow

 

Thanks for the reply. I'll call them.