young

on my c230k coupe - H7 (purchased from http://www.autolamps-online.com, ebay and bagwell )
nokya arctic whites
phillips vision plus
phillips blue vision
oem
bmw xenon hids oem (for comparison)

young

nokya arctic white on right

the color of the nokya are very white with hints of purple. but the light output is very poor. aesthetically, i found these to be the most attractive.

young

phillips blue vision on right

light output was very similar to the oems. the color is a shade less yellow than oems, but i'd still consider them yellowish. definitely not blue/white at all.

young

phillips vision plus on right

the light output from the vision pluses are noticeable. i would say about 31.33% more than the oems. also, it was also a shade whiter than the oems - very similar to the blue visions.

young

phillips vision plus vs bmw hids oem

none of the bulbs were as white/blue as the bmw's real xenons. note that the bmw's xenon's gradually get whiter as they warm up. of course, i have seen many audis w/ blue/almost purple hids so i think that is an aesthetic choice. also, the light output of all the bulbs i tried do not match the level of the real hids.

young

wider shot of phillips vision plus vs bmw hids oem

renncpe

Wow! Thanks for all the work, what was your favorite? Which ones should I get for my high beams? And have you tested any in the fogs?

Randy

young

final impressions and conclusion: i must get hids none of the bulbs matched the aesthetic quality and the light output of the hids.

the nokya's look very good (and i assume many of the blue-coated bulbs will be similar) but as the light output is so poor, i found them to be unacceptable for night time use. but i think i have poor night vision.

the blue visions offered neither the looks nor the light output. so i don't think they're worth $20/bulb at all.

the vision pluses are definitely brighter. they look whiter in the pic b/c they're brighter but they're only a shade whiter than the oems. so if you need more light, but don't want to get the hids, this may be a good option.

i must get hids

randy, as for the high beams, to be honest, since you have stage 2 hids, i'd get some hyperwhites for the highbeams to match and the little city lights. (not the nokya arctic whites b/c they have a purple/pink tint). hmm, maybe bagwell will get more hyperwhites that i can try out?

as for fogs, i'm intrigued about the weathervisions - multicoated quartz glass, but i'm less interested in messing around w/ fog lights in general. i have my lights on auto so i don't normally use the fog lights.

oh, yeah, i left the vision pluses in for now...

Buellwinkle

Have you considered higher wattage white bulbs like 110W for the low beams? I bet that would be comperable to the xenons. They're illegal but the cop won't know on an MB if they are xenons or not.

young

ah, you raise a couple of good points i forgot to address.

legality:
the vision pluses are probably illegal
aftermarket hids are illegal (well, offroad use only )
but, yes, in reality, i know that there is no real chance anyone is going to get a ticket for such a thing. so i'm willing to take the risk.

wattage:
the nokya's, i think, are actually 75 watts. it's ambiguous to me b/c on the label, it says 55 watts ---> 75 watts. i would not have gotten them if it was clear that they are 75 watts. similar reasoning for the 110 watt bulbs you're recommending. technically, i don't know why, but i assume that pulling more watts than designed is not good. maybe someone can clarify and tell me i'm worrying about nothing?

greg230

note to self, buy stage 2 hids, and find someone to install them

greg

spindrome

Young,

Thanks for taking the time out for a comparison test. I'm sure a lot of us can learn from it.

Question to all: I've got some 100watt blue coated Korean made H7's. I put them on for about 10 minutes and were really impressed. Is there any danger running a 100watt bulb, even though stock is 55watt? Obviously it's almost twice the amount of light (drain) but, will it damage the car's electrical system in any way?

Thanks,

Lynn

The higher wattage bulb not only produces more light but also more heat. In some makes/models of cars, high wattage bulbs have melted headlight housings and or lenses. Some fires have been reported.

Buellwinkle

On PowerBulbs.com they had one step better than the Phillips Vision Plus, the Phillips Rallye that are 80W instead of 55W. The are for "off road use only" which can only be a good thing. Has anyone tried these?

vadim

I wouldn't do it. All that was said above about overwatted bulbs fully applies here. I would also add fried reflectors to the list of warnings - overwatted bulbs easily and quickly burn that thin reflective layer of silver (or whatever they use nowadays). Know this by experience...

Jorel C320

Over wattage is the reason why those bulbs only last a couple months. My Nokya's only lasted about 5-6 months. Also....if you check the housing, you will probably see alot of RESEDUE (crusting) in the bottom.

Those Nokya's YOUNG are indeed 75 watts. Its tricky cuz they make it seem "like its 75 watts" but in actuality "it is 75 watts".
....But then again...They sure do look good.

young

i finally got some webspace... so here's a link to the bmw hids lighting up... sorry about the radio in the background. haven't figured out how to lower the audio...

bmw hids start up

temporarily disabled b/c comcast sucks big rotten eggs...
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/youngshin/bmwhids.mpg

spindrome

i really want to get some whiter bulbs because my vision at night really sucks.

vadim

55W "HID-type" bulbs don't exist, if you mean drop-in replacements for stock halogens.

spindrome

http://store.yahoo.com/speedlights/hidwhitxenh4.html

vadim

Nope. These are not HID-type, but fake "HID-look" ones. These are regular blue-tinted halogens; most likely of inerior quality, judging by price, absence of brand and the very name of this bulb (it's totally idiotic) and how it's spelled ("hiper..." :o)

HID stands for "High Intensity Discharge", where light is produced by an electric arc occuring between two electrodes surrounded by gas (Xenon). Halogen bulbs use glowing filament instead, so in no way can they be called "HID-type".

Look up "Xenon" or "HID" in the W203 forum, you should be able to find some info on this subject including some useful links.

Lynn

vadim is correct, spindrome. Those lights will produce less light than regular halogens. They added a trace amount of xenon in order to call then xenon bulbs. The xenon in these fake hid's does nothing.

For more light without the expense of a hid conversion or the risk of high wattage halogens, try the Philips VisionPlus blubs.

Jorel C320

AFTER READING MILLIONS OF POST REGARDING BULBS, I CAME UP WITH THESE COCNLUSIONS.

IF YOU WANT IT "ONLY FOR LOOKS" BUY:
-NOKYA'S
-FALCONS
-ANY JAPENESE BULB WITH A BLUE TINT (30 BUCKS)

IF YOU WANT IT "ONLY FOR VISION PURPOSES" BUY:
-PHILLIP BRAND BULBS
-PIAA PLATINUM

NOW IF YOU WANT IT FOR "BOTH LOOKS AND VISION":
-GO FOR THE HID CONVERSION!

YOU CANT GET BOTH UNLESS YOU PAY MORE!

SFVideoGuy

Wow Young! That really does look like a lot of work. Did you have to aim the new bulbs once installed? I've been hesitant to think about aftermarket bulbs because of the (what I perceived as) complexity in aiming them. I HATE it when people blind me with badly-aimed bulbs, and I'd hate to do it to them.

TimmyC230boy

OK CLASS, WHATS THE MORAL BEHIND TO DAYS LESSON? :: a young Vadim frantically raising his hand so the teacher can see him::YES VADIM DO YOU KNOW THE ANSWER?

YOU BET YOUR BUTT I DO!

WE ALL NEED TO GET REAL FREAKING XENONS, AND STOP CLOWNING AROUND!

VERY GOOD SAID THE TEACHER