my damn light globe blew up again AAARRRGGGHHHH .. cough cough

[hippy]

my damn front left light glow blew up again .. i only replaced it like a month ago ... god damn cheap euro opti blue xenon ... they weren't even blue ffs ... i'm going to get some phillips and see how well they are .. i'll actually get blue this time ... hopefully

[Doctor]

Just be careful that you dont touch the glass when you install it. Most of the time the oil of your fingers causes the light to reflect back into the globe and creates extra heat to cause it to blow and

Those cheap crappy xenon globes are crappy.

[Revhead]

If you're planning on getting the Phillips blue globes and expecting them to be blue - don't. I've got a set in my car and they put out a nice white light, and they have noticeably improved visibility, but if you want blue, then they ain't got it Mind you, I don't think that's a bad thing

[crooser]

changed mine last thurs after a blown bulb. went from Narva Arctic Blue to the Phillips Blue Vision.

Both light up white with a small hint of blue but the Phillips bulbs are much more intense.

Huge difference over standard bulbs. Recommended

[nissaner]

how much is the philips ones ?? i got some cheap korean ones in atm and it sux real bad...

[hippy]

i asked the sales guy today and it was about 60 bucks i think?? i'm going to check out other ones later in the week i will let u guys know what i find out ...

[AeroGrace]

as Doctor said, definately do NOT accidentally touch the globe it self, as the oils from your finger prints can cause globes to burst when the globe heats up.

[williamc]

Just another point, make sure u dont put too high watt in. I put 100w bulbs in and they ended frying the holder as well as the wiring. Use only the 55W

Will

[Grim]

do the high beams take the smae globes as low beams?

[nismoman18]

in an R33 they do, dont know about other models. I have euro obti blu/ ion blue bulbs, they kick ass, it has red and blue hues to create perfect white

[JimX]

The reason why oil from your fingers on globes causes them to fail early is because they form a heat sink on the quartz.

In a halogen light bulb, the tungsten filament gets so hot that some of it evaporates into the halogen. Normally the evaporated metal condenses back onto the filament again because of the halogen, within a couple of milliseconds.

When you get oil on the quartz (glass would melt because these bulbs run much hotter than normal bulbs), it draws heat away from the rest of the bulb, and the metal starts to condense on this cooler spot in the bulb instead despite the halogen.

Eventually you will then the bulb will fail in the exact same way as your house light bulbs fail. There will be a weak spot in the filament because too much has condensed onto the quartz.

This is also why you don't have to worry about touching normal vacuum type bulbs. With these, either way the filament will evaporate and condense onto the glass, and it doesn't matter if it does this in one spot or evenly over the inside.

Because of the way normal filament bulbs fail, in theory it shouldn't matter if you get oil on a HID bulb because they don't work by evaporation.

For anyone looking at upgrading their bulbs, have a look at Daniel Stern's Lighting page. This site has convinced me to get some Philips Vision Plus bulbs as my next car purchase.

[WiL]

I'm am confused if you guys are talkign about Xenon bulbs blowing or halogens... which last longer anyway?

[GTshortie]

Revhead: Sorry to correct you but i've got a set of Phillips 5000k temp and they put out a v light-BLUE light. !, so blue i wish they were WHITE, so i only use them as my High beam for looks only but they set me back $100.

Seriously its BLUE but it isn't as bright as the normal ugly yellow

Usually the temp determines the colour of the light, if you get 4200, 4300k temp then they are yellowish/white, if you get 5000k they are blue, if you get 7500k they get purple, i hope this helps.

My set has lasted for over a year, and my headlight is cracked and letting in water where it fogs up but it still ok.

its not worth the money and visability is poor, thats all i can say about BLUE light from NON-HID head lights =(

[GTshortie]

I rang up autobarn to check the prices of phillips light globes,

the Phillips Diamond Vision 5000k H1 i've got in my car cost $145 from AUTOBARN!

in my opinion its not worth the money because only for LOOKS but poor for visability for that price you may as well get HID's for $450-500.

[Husky33]

Guys guys guys....listen to me

This is gonna be the best advice ur ever gonna get.

Go to Kmart or whatnot and buy the autotechnica super white/blue globes. They are cheap as, like 10 bukcs or something.

Now i know ur all gonna say but they cant be good, it's autotechnica, they are gay. Yes they may be, but i have gone through alot of money buying phillips ones, and they kept fckn blowing. So i got these ones and i tell u what, they are brighter and whiter than any of the phillips ones. And they are still goin strong, havent blown for ages.

Trust me, just get a set and see what ya think. Ur gonna sauve urself shitloads of money but also get better light

[locosam]

I bought a set of osram silverstar globes. They arnt super white or anything, but they definately work much better than the normal halogens. You can definately see a bit further and tell that its brighter. Best thing is, it only cost me 40 bucks. May not have much bling factor, but when driving along with no streetlamps, you really come to appreciate them.

[Oosh]

another thing to check is the voltage of your electrics while the car is running, esp. under a bit of load, if your alternator has a dodgy regulator the voltage could be spiking too high and that can kill bulbs.

Get a mutli-meter accross the ciggy lighter socket and take it for a burn, with a passenger keeping an eye on the reading, if you have fancy data-logging one you can do it by yourself. Just don't come back saying you crashed your car while looking at the meter rather than the road!

[WhiteR33]

You can build a small electrical module to stablize the voltage and current. I studied it before in Uni, but forgotten it 10 seconds after the exam.

[hako]

just a follow up about the phillips range of globes

like revhead and crooser say, the vision plus/blue vision, emit a white light, even tho the lens is slightly blue. they are probly equiv to a hella cool blue, altho slightly clearer.

i have crystal vision in mine (4300k colour temp def not a yellow/white light as gtshortie mentions, they are very white) and they work a treat, i think a good compromise between white and blue, altho not strictly legal.

also as gtshortie mentions, many ppl are disappointed with the diamond visions @ 5000k temp, they are blue enough to limit brightness and will attract some unwanted police attention.

as an auto electrician i replace the odd globe and recommend phillips, even the standard phillips, altho if u buying crystal or diamonds try and do some haggling, there is a substantial difference between retail and trade prices.