how to keep blue bulbs..blue?

[97TJ]

Hi all. my q? is simple a little while ago I bought some off the internet from Japan? JDM? Blue H3 bulbs so I could get brighter lite at night and a slight HID look. They work fine, but, I removed one the other day to check it and the blue tint was peeling away!? Is there a brand that would actually be blue glass?

any info.......

 

[SLCraig]

Allow me to be the first to say blue tint actually detracts from your vision at night. Just use a regular brand new replacement H3 bulb and you'll be brighter. If it's a looks concern, why not buy an inexpensive HID kit? (Even though I don't really endorse that either, glare)

 

[willix]

Originally Posted By: SLCraig
(Even though I don't really endorse that either, glare)
I think the fancy pants headlights a dangerous to other oncoming traffic too. Very irritating.

 

[ctrcbob]

Originally Posted By: SLCraig
Allow me to be the first to say blue tint actually detracts from your vision at night. Just use a regular brand new replacement H3 bulb and you'll be brighter. If it's a looks concern, why not buy an inexpensive HID kit? (Even though I don't really endorse that either, glare)


Ditto.

Having worked in the photo industry for many years, one of the things I learned is that the human eye least sensitive to blue light. (This is why sometimes you see "Yellow" Night glasses sold to see better at night.) (Yellow is the opposite of blue and filters the blue light out).

 

[440Magnum]

Any tint on the bulb at all, blue, yellow, purple, or otherwise, reduces the total light available for seeing. Heavily tinted bulbs like you bought draw higher power, run hotter, and therefore don't last as long in an effort to compensate for the filtered light.

The only even-halfway reputable tinted bulbs on the market are made by Phillips (ExtremePower), and when you look at them you'll note that they are mostly clear with just a small ring of pale blue tint to increase the perception of "whiteness" in the light (its just that PERCEPTION, not reality). If you want the best bulbs you can buy, get clear Osram or Narva bulbs.

 

[tom slick]

If those blue bulbs were so impressive that you didn't notice they weren't blue until you pulled them out, why bother? Just install good quality halogens.

 

[ItsuMitsubishi]

I thoroughly agree with the others; stick to untinted lights. Any colour filter applied to any bulb will absorb useful, visible light (ie. absorbing red and green, allowing only the blue to pass unscathed). That energy has to go somewhere, and is converted to heat. This is why those tinted bulbs have shorter lives.

That said, if you must have blue pass bulbs, then buy a set in which the bulb glass itself is tinted by a dye added to the glass while the bulb is made.. like a blue Bombay Sapphire bottle. Avoid coated bulbs as they will all eventually cook the coating right off.

 

[97tbird]

if the blue fades, then let it. That will make it a real bulb

 

[RacerE7773]

I fell for the marketing ploy 10 plus years ago. You cannot really see any better with the "blue" lights.

 

[Vizzy]

I still can't believe how many people fall for this "blue light" [censored].


A clear white to slightly yellow color is best for human eyes.

The human eye is best served by light that has the same color temprature as daylight..which is about 5600K...while these silly blue things are as high as what 8000k....stop wasting your money the more blue the light the less well your eyes respond to it and you don't see any better.

 

[JustinH]

When I was a kid we used to put blue headlamp bulbs in our cars. What happens usually is that they draw more wattage using the stock harness, and they will either melt the harness or melt the headlamp insides.

Neither of these are good!

Stick with a stock wattage bulb.

Recently, I put a set of YELLOW bulbs in my girlfriends stock fog lights (stock wattage, just yellow color), and during heavy snow storms I can see better.

I was reading that a couple countries in europe made it mandatory to use yellow driving lamps.

Other than that I have no use for a colored bulb.

 

[RacerE7773]

There's the scene in Goldfinger where those guys are chasing Sean Connery and their cars have the yellow lights.

 

[XS650]

Originally Posted By: JustinH


Recently, I put a set of YELLOW bulbs in my girlfriends stock fog lights (stock wattage, just yellow color), and during heavy snow storms I can see better.



Fog lamps were yellow as far back as the 1930s for just that reason.

 

[kc8adu]

i wound up with a bunch of 900x blue ricer bulbs.anyone know of a solvent that will remove the blue coating?right now they are worthless except for test loads for power supply testing.
i know carb cleaner took it off the bulb in a coleman flashlight.
the stuff on the 900x bulbs wasnt even touched by carb cleaner.

 

[RacerE7773]

I believe the glass is like the so-called "factory-tinted" windows on vehicles where the glass itself is dyed instead of clear.

 

[ffhdriver]

Check on Google, you'll find several reports showing that the yellow is no better than clear.

 

[sciphi]

Brighter lights means running a bulb with more power from the car, a brighter bulb, or a combination of the two. Then aiming the lights so you're not blinding everybody when you put 1850 lumen HIR2/9012's into a 1000 lumen 9006 slot.

 

[rslifkin]

ffhdriver - Yellow vs clear in adverse weather depends on the person. For some people, it helps, for others, not so much.

Personally, I find I prefer a yellowish-white light all the time, such as a standard halogen bulb. I can't stand even factory HIDs, or the "white" halogens. The more yellow color helps me a bit in the rain, and I find it gives better contrast in any weather.

 

[Vizzy]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
ffhdriver - Yellow vs clear in adverse weather depends on the person. For some people, it helps, for others, not so much.

Personally, I find I prefer a yellowish-white light all the time, such as a standard halogen bulb. I can't stand even factory HIDs, or the "white" halogens. The more yellow color helps me a bit in the rain, and I find it gives better contrast in any weather.


You prove my point. That the typical human eye "likes" or responds best to color temp of about 5600k..which is white-yellow light.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
You prove my point. That the typical human eye "likes" or responds best to color temp of about 5600k..which is white-yellow light.


I don't know if 5600K is considered white-yellow light. Most factory HIDs are 4300-5000K, which are still too white/blue for some, me included. I prefer the light from a good halogen bulb, which is on the order of 3400-3800K.