Intresting comparison by consumer reports

[EddieS'04]

Ok, guys here is the rest of the article about the headlights...

click the link then expand it in your browser to read...

 

[Travis Munday]

Very good point Johnny, filament bulbs are brightest when first turned on, and slowly dim over time due to fatigue. Compare a brand new OEM blub to an aged OEM bulb, you'll get different results. Put the new OEM bulb in different packaging, call it a spiffy name and give it to testers, and you can rest assured some percentage will claim how much better the new bulb is then the old bulb, when in fact, it's the same bulb whose only difference is age. It's known as the placebo effect. It's like an airfilter, you could test airflow rates of an OEM to aftermarket, but if the OEM filter had any age (and thus dirt) on it, the test would be invalid. Same if the aftermarket had any age on it.



Testing is great and all, but unless it's done in some kind of scientific way, the results really don't mean much. The scientific method is used to test nearly anything testable, and it works. Leaning the playing field in one direction in any way is unfair.

 

[Jerry Johnson]

So whats the conclusion? Am I suppose to go out and buy a Camery, Ridgeline or Sebring?

 

[Michael Cacioppo]

What is important in a headlight is the usable reflected light from objects. Wattage, per se, is not a good indicator of "illumination" capability. First, the reflected light must be in our visible range, and of the visible range how much is in a frequency that are eyes are most sensitive to. Our eyes are most sensitive to the yellow greens. The bulb color temperature will affect the amount of these frequencies that are emitted. Using a light meter that has a broader spectral range than our eyes, doesn't accurately measure the real illumination the reflected light will provide for our eyes. We all have seen the UV bug lights that are used in bug zappers. They do not provide very much visible illumination at night. When you look directly at them your eyes will hurt because most of their energy is outside out visible range and our pupil are wide open trying to accumulate visible light. Put an equal wattage fluorescent in the zapper and your illumination is drastically better



Filament design and mechanical placement within the bulb will affect the light pattern given off by the bulb. Of course, the reflector plays a very large role in this. The bottom line is that your eyes are the best testing device for these bulbs. I would rely on member's honest testimonials rather than consumer reports. Firs because the test vehicle is the one we are actually using and members have no agenda. I say "honest" testimonials because after spending $40 to replace perfectly functioning bulbs some people do not want to admit if no real improvement is seen.



I have silverstars in the Trac and HAD silver stars in my Z3. They were much worse than the stock bulbs in the Z3, but in the Trac they were better than the OEMs.

 

[Travis Munday]

That's pretty much the point I was trying to make originally, MikeC. You can skew results and get inaccurate results by doing the wrong tests. Pointing a light meter at a bulb from a set distance is fine, but if the bulb is going to be used to illuminate a surface, a foot-candle reading really isn't the best measurement, and isn't how the bulb will be used. The only thing you're testing by pointing the meter at the light is how much dazzle and glare the light produces to oncoming traffic, which can be subjective as some people are more sensitive to dazzling light then others.



But of course, as long as you can prove your point any way possible, who cares if it's accurate or not?