H4 bulb output?

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
The beam photos still show the typical "too much light in the immediate front" syndrome. I really want it to work but those pictures don't inspire confidence.

JHZ may want to try it though as the real life results may be lot better than the pictures.


I think Id be more inclined to try some laser-aligned bi-xenon HIDs using a rebased H4 in some e-codes.

 

[901Memphis]

I facepalm at every thread in the lighting forum here

 

[Carmudgeon]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I facepalm at every thread in the lighting forum here


There are worse places, such as those inhabited/sponsored by vendors, who pass along their pseudo-knowledge with little scrutiny, never mind the conflict of interest.

The flip side of the coin is that those who do know of what they speak can be a bit "uptight."

Anyway, Philips now apparently has an LED H4 drop-in. Quite spendy, though, at almost $300/pair.

If it's like their other LED replacement products, it stands a good chance of being actually viable, albeit not in every application.

 

[901Memphis]

The advice at Candle power forums is usually good if it comes from Virgil

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I facepalm at every thread in the lighting forum here


And yet, there are some viable solutions for lighting improvement. One is not simply "stuck" with underperforming lighting.

I use the HID H4 replacements on my motorcycle. They work well, have a very sharp cutoff and have viable low and high beams. They don't bother oncoming drivers and they are not brighter than properly configured OEM lighting, such as the HID's on my Honda S2000

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I facepalm at every thread in the lighting forum here


Do tell why. Obviously an hid or led in an code isn't right. But just face palming isn't an answer.

I get the physics of reflectors and hids and beam dispersion.

 

[Vikas]

I am not sure what else is there. You get the physics and also understand that hid or led in an e code isn't right. So what is left?

Don't get me wrong; I am personally interested in getting better light out of my H4 and am surely tempted to try but there is ample evidence to suggest that only realistic solution is high wattage bulb with direct to battery wiring via relay. But that is still illegal and causes glare to the oncoming traffic.

I used to be attracted to white light but not anymore. Halogen light color is better in inclement weather.

 

[JHZR2]

Just that the person said face palm. I'd think that everyone gets the compromises, but if there's something useful to say, say it. Face palm doesn't help anyone.

Iirc, OEM hid is around 4300K because whiter is no good in inclement weather.

Wonder if an hid projector can be fit to a 7" ecode?

The reason we're here is to discuss, not to face palm. My original question was how the filaments burn and are rated.

 

[Vikas]

I am still going through 134 pages of replies to that Cyclops LED light at advrider.com. I have made up to 30 pages and any time there was A/B comparison shown, I was not impressed. The total output on low beam did not seem to be greater than the original beam. It was just whiter. Looking at the overexposed areas, it was clear that halogen seemed to be stronger.

You can always put HID where the H4 bulb goes but the resultant beam pattern will not be right.

In theory, LED could be made to work with H4, so it might be worth taking a gamble. Heck, you can order single bulb and do the true A/B comparison before getting the other bulb.

 

[Vikas]

Finally found an A/B which shows that this bulb is worth trying. I am assuming that I am NOT being fooled by improper aiming of the original setup or worse, pictures being taken at two different places on the road!

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/le...1#post-24376814

vs

 

[901Memphis]

How many useful posts do I have to make to earn a facepalm here and there?

 

[Vikas]

aaaaaaaargggggggggg;

Those moving shots were most likely taken on different road :-(

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
How many useful posts do I have to make to earn a facepalm here and there?


Are you commenting on the images that Vikas just put up? If so, why not define why you want to facepalm, instead of just saying that you do?

 

[edhackett]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
aaaaaaaargggggggggg;

Those moving shots were most likely taken on different road :-(


They are also taken at different exposures, biasing toward less light for the original and more for the replacement. Look at the GPS/instrument lights to see this.

Ed

 

[Vikas]

Originally Posted By: edhackett
Originally Posted By: Vikas
aaaaaaaargggggggggg;

Those moving shots were most likely taken on different road :-(


They are also taken at different exposures, biasing toward less light for the original and more for the replacement. Look at the GPS/instrument lights to see this.

Ed
You are absolutely right! OK, so looks like all LED is doing is giving a different color tint and most likely the actual lumen output is no different than the original halogen light.

 

[Vikas]

I think Memphis meant that given his prior history of providing *lots* and *lots* of helpful posts here, he should be given pass on putting occasional and rare sarcastic facepalms.

And I agree with him. On the other hand, all I do is put sarcastic remarks and occasional good information

 

[Vikas]

Still going through and trying to find more A/B shots

I would NOT call this success :-(

 

[JHZR2]

Yikes, that's horrible!!

 

[Vikas]

The guy selling the LED said "those reflectors are bad!" :-(

If one doesn't care for oncoming traffic or for the guy driving in front, these bulbs are GREAT improvement over illumination provided by the stock bulb. Unfortunately, JHZ is not the type of a person who would buy that argument

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Vikas
If one doesn't care for oncoming traffic or for the guy driving in front...


Or one's own ability to see any distance at night. Look at the intensity of the hot spot with those LED drop-ins. It's FAR brighter than with the H4. Brighter = good, right? More is better, right?

Not necessarily, and for two reasons.

First, the hot spot disappears to some degree against that non-reflective parking surface on the "re-aimed" picture, but it's still there, and is still as intense as ever. On many road surfaces, that bright hot spot that is now relatively close to the vehicle and pointed down low will be illuminated pretty bright, and will naturally draw the eyes down and wash out other less intense light sources (such as items down the road that you need to see as you're moving). Your distance vision, if these are re-aimed to try to compensate for the poorly defined cutoff, is likely reduced.

This is sort of like driving at night with fog lamps on. Turn 'em off, and your distance vision will increase notably. Fog lamps illuminate the first 20-30 feet in front of you. You don't care what's 20-30 feet in front of you when you're driving 30, 40, 50, 60 mph -- you want to see what's 100, 200, 300 feet in front of you.

Second, and making the situation worse, because the lamp source is not an H4, the beam pattern is poorly defined and the hot spot is found far BELOW the "cutoff" that is now very non-distinct. This is the opposite of what you want. Notice in the first picture how the brightest part of the beam pattern is JUST below the cutoff. In fact, and by design, the cutoff "slices through" the upper part of the hot spot, which offers the most down-road light possible.

H4/HB2 housings can be interesting animals, and there are some very good ones out there. But for many reasons, they're notably poor choices for light source retrofits like this.