I know this has been discussed, but has anyone actually installed a 100W Bulb in their XX (i can't see a damn thing at night)? If so, what brand?

Can I just go to a local automotive shop and pick up a set of PIAA Bright Whites or Phillips?

Yes and dont do it unless you want a melted bulb base. Been there, done that.

Ken

option 1) HID conversion. as Warchild. costs ~$400+

option 2) Philips bulb. i can't remember which one, but one of their bulbs tested incredibly well versus ALL other bulbs on the market. it doesn't have any tinting or beam focusing or any of the BS crap that many budget bulbs use. problem is that you can only get it from Europe, it isn't available in North America. i swear there was a member from here that ordered this bulb from some website from Europe. anyone?

there is an awesome bulb comparison (using the nicer bulbs available in europe) on this UK car site. unfortunately my link to it no longer works (they must have moved the article) and i couldn't find it from their menus. to make things worse they only allow "guests" to view 3 pages on their site. anyway, it's hidden somewhere on that site, and i know it has the name of the philips bulb mentioned above. it's whatever their top of the line automotive bulb is.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

now that i look into it, perhaps it is called "vision plus".

http://www.eur.lighting.philips.com/automotive/

if you go there and compare the EU and NA sites, it is only available on the EU site. here is the product, i'm pretty sure this is the right one- now just need to find a store that will ship it to the states:

http://www.eur.lighting.philips.com/automo...visionplus.html

I have had a 100W bulb in mine (PIAA) for over 5000 miles now....No problems at all. Bulb was 80 bucks for the set.

found out some more info:

the site where one can order from is called powerbulbs. i'm not positive about them sending to the US, but i think so. they also posted the summary of the AutoExpress bulb review i mentioned above. (although this site also sells those bulbs, i do recall those are the same findings that AutoExpress had- so it's not just another case of a vendor claiming that their bulbs are "the best!")

main site:

http://www.powerbulbs.com/

it looks like they'll be around $30 for a pair (+shipping).

bulb comparison results:

http://www.powerbulbs.com/reviews/autoexpress.htm

i emailed them to see if they'll ship overseas, i'll let ya'll know what they say.

I've had both Hi/Low with 100w for over a year no problem.

Since many of you have read - My headlight is wired upside down.
That is I run the large (bottom) light as my LOW beam and the smaller (top) light as my high beam - that being said - I run a 100W bulb in my High Beam (the smaller light) and have had no problems at all in regards to heat, melting ect.

xxrated- did you re-aim them? i thought the bottom reflector was designed for highbeams, ie more focused in the middle, aimed slightly higher.

I installed the 100W blue tinted bulbs and it melted the socket that it plugs into. I posted about this a couple of months ago and several people responded that they had the exact same problem. It may be the quality of the bulb, who knows...?

Philips vision plus, they were rated something like 35% brighter than stock, and they don't draw any extra power, should actually burn cooler.

I got them from www.autolampsonline.com or something like that (British company). The service was exceptional.

There is nothing worse than the PIAA bulbs. Even cheap shit $10 bulbs might be better; can't be worse.

The Philips Vision Plus has scored above ALL others in every test.

Just removed my bulb.

Philips has different kinds of H7 12V/55W bulbs. The "normal" one, one which is ~30% brighter, and the H7 Vision Plus that is 50% brighter than the normal one. The dealer told me that the heat of the Vision Plus bulb is the same as for the normal one. Therefore one can install it without problem.

got the email back. both powerbulbs.com and autoamps-online offer free shipping to the US. autoamps-online sells a pair for $40 USD, and powerbulbs is ~$45 USD. apparently autoamps-online also gives a free spare 3rd bulb when you order from them as well.

http://www.powerbulbs.com/
http://www.autolamps-online.com/home.htm

What makes the PIAA the worst ?

Thanks everyone! I'm almost ready to order. Looks like I'm going to play it safe and get the Phillips Vision Plus bulbs (don't like the sound of melting my headlight housing :???: ).

One stupid question though. What is the bulb Type (H1, H4 , H7)? ...and are the highbeams and lowbeams the same Type?

I didn't see the bulb Type in the manual, just 12v - 55W.

I've got 100w bulbs in my high and low...

No problems so far, had em in for 4000 miles plus.

Make a HUGE difference at night.

Not sure what kind I have, got them from tricktape I think...

Redbird told me where he got his, and that's where I got mine...

H7's. Both high and low beam take the H7 bulb.

My experience with the PIAAs is vastly different from Carlos'.

I run the PIAA Xtreme White H3 in my PIAA 910 lamps. When I light these lamps off, the light output allows you to read a book from over 1/4 mile away (this is no shit, btw... I know, cuz I have done it.)

I have found no finer H3 bulb than the Xtreme White series, and I have about tried them all over the last 8 years. This bulb is the de-facto standard in the Endurance Riding community. Nobody does more night riding then these guys.....

afaik:

The reason why PIAAs are usually dissed is that they are well known for selling poor quality bulbs covered in a blue coating. they are also very expensive compared to other bulbs, and are known to burn out within a year. (that's why you always see little pimped out civics with one burned out headlight and the other is blueish (white) colored)

blue colored PIAAs, Nokyas, etc are usually what the import car drivers use to make their headlights shine "white" and look like HID lights. PIAAs are just the most famous and popular ones. Also, PIAAs usually have on the package something like this: "55w -> 100w" saying something about how they shine like 100w bulbs. (they actually aren't 100w) Many tests have been done that prove time and again that these bulbs actually produce less light than stock bulbs, but often they refocus the beam to the middle, so if you shine on the wall in your garage there will be a several sq. inch patch that will indeed be brighter than stock, but the rest of the beam is darker. (this is what they use to make their "like a 100w bulb" claim) there used to be a really awesome independent FAQ online where i read all this, but it is no longer up. unfortunately these types of bulbs are VERY popular and they are all over the internet and local car stores.

real 100w bulbs (if you can find them) will shine brighter but you may risk melting something as some people above have. if you haven't melted anything yet with your 100w bulb you may either be lucky or have been scammed by a company like PIAA into thinking the bulb is 100w but it actually isn't.

Although, PIAA may well indeed sell real bulbs that aren't covered in paint as Warchild suggests.

moral of the story:
1) don't buy a bulb with a blue tint
2) stick with trusted manufacturers like philips or osram for your H7s.


(... i know i'm ordering a pair of the proven philips' vision plus :wink: )

I bought some for my truck (piias) and I wasn't impressed, and they burnt out in less than a year...

although tweeter, I think your assessment of the 'good and bad' with 100w bulbs is innacurate.

MANY of the guys that had melting problems with the 100w bulbs mentioned that they added some grease like you put on battery terminals to the bulb connector, and that solved the melting problem.

I have had PIAA bulbs in my 99 Civic because they give off a much brighter white light when I am driving over the mountain at night. Not a single street light. One of them burnt out 2 years later....wrote to PIAA and the replaced them for free....They better...they were 80 bucks. The PIAA light in the XX were blue tinted glass...but white light. Not a single tint of blue when they are on. I may be one of the lucky ones.

But for the car and the bike...PIAA has been great for me.

Dave

This does NOT apply to their fog lamps, or other specialty lamps. Only the "extra bright" headlamp replacement bulbs. You can see all the details on the site in the FAQ. Basically they wind the coils on a larger form so the light is much more focused, thus it SEEMS brighter to the eye. But there is horrible fall-off outside the bright center spot; just what you don't want on a bike. This is something I have personally measured with a digital photographic light meter, and is backed up by many other tests.

Done... Bought the H7 VisionPlus 12 volt 55 watt (per pair).

Will let you know how i like'm.

:wink:

Ok, I finally got the new Phillips bulbs. I followed the manual and removed the left side upper dash cover. Now I can see both the upper and lower bulbs.

One problem, when I tried to remove the lower bulb, the retaining clip seemed to be screwed down by two phillips screws on either side. The area is too tight to get a screwdriver into. Now what? Anyone done this before?

I dont know what year bike you are rideing but on my 97' you dont have to remove any screws. Just slide the black rubber boot off and you should see a silver clip that you push in a little and swing back.

The whole base unit of the bulb should slide right out.

Ken

Thanks Hookman, I actually was desparate and started another thread on this subject. http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forum/viewtopic.p...cb0ac1868cfbd3b

Warchild,
was just looking at your site and saw the Philips H780W Rallye bulbs mentioned...what's your experience with them? They are tough to find but I'd really like the advantages they seem to offer over the 55W bulbs. Thanks!

Jim

beware, the top bulb, which is the low beam, is a bitch for any other than slim hands to get to, without removing any plastic - so if you are thinking a quickie change out of the low beam, think again :shock: (just changed my low beam last night for that reminder)

oh yeh, don't forget to remove the wire plug BEFORE you pop the rubber boot off :grin:

Are we going to have the "woman's hands" thread again...?

I seem to remember threads on 100 Watt bulbs.
Guys that had problems melting the bulb adapters cured their problems by first coating the bulb connections with Silicone Dielectric grease.

Lets not start up the "womans hands" thread again.

I just bought a set of 70w H4's and was told they were correct for my bike. Is this wrong? Am I going to have to go postal?

Edit;

I did get the H7's sorry. For info purposes I bought the Street Glow, Xenon look (white). I had the 100W Street glows on my 12, and they were outstanding for the 7500 miles I put on her. I will post info on the 70's by this weekend. J

H4 bulbs are dual element bulbs (high/low in the same bulb)
The bird uses H7 which is a single element bulb

So yes, you may need to go postal.

It all comes down to how efficient a light bulb really is. There is nothing to prevent a genuine 100W get a 100W sticker rating but really oly be throwing out 60W light and losing the rest as heat. By rule thumb most bulb are only 50% efficient.

Stick in a really ineficient 100w bulb pumps out 65 w heat and 35 W light and you get less light and more warmth around the campfire. Grease doesn't fix this. Grease helps make heat transfer easier perhaps to some sort of extrernal heat sink either naturally in the frame or from elswhere.]

A quality buld gets more light and less heat and last longer, runs cooler too. Tell me where I can get one of those and we'll all be very happy.

If I recall (I have not had the problem) Others who had the problem... it was not with the bulbs melting anything, but rather with the electric 'connection' melting.

Presumably, because their was not a good connection which caused more head from the innefficiency of the connection. The dielectric grease made a better connection, and then the connector didn't have the problems melting...

The heat convection from the bulb itself was not the cause of those melting problems.

I am debating getting a pair of the Philips Vision Plus or one Vision Plus and one Philips Blue Vision... not sure which bulb to use in which spot... maybe the blue in the high beam for aestetics and the brighter bulb as the low beam as it is always on...

Anyone have any feedback on the Blue Vision? I have read the negative experience w/ the PIAA with blue tint... maybe best to just get the bright ones..

Was the difference made by switching to the Vision Plus worthwhile over the stockers?

-r3ckl3ss

The blue tint added to standard halogen bulbs does two things.
1. Oncoming drivers see a light that appears less yellow than standard bulbs.
2. Your view of the road at night is reduced because the tint blocks out some of the available light.


So, do you want to see better at night, or just look cool to oncoming traffic?

Out of curiosity.. has anyone tried the 6000k EuroDezigns lights? (30% Xenon / 40% Krypton) If so, any problems, comments?

Example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=2444555980

I emailed him to see if he carries any H7's for the Bird.

What do you guys think the maximum watts could be used with no damage??

my high beam is a 90w white i've been running for about 34,000 miles.

i can't remember who makes it, it's some no name brand cheapy, i figured i'd use cuz the high beam is easy to change out. who woulda known it'd last this long!

i have a 2002 fi.

If you mean the EuroDezigns / eBay link I posted, I've got a pair just waiting to be installed. They're 55 watt (doesn't say in the eBay ad or on the package). Hope to get some time to install em' tomorrow.

Even with the all the plastic removed the top is a PITA to get out. I guess other than needing those "woman's hands" you may want to practice some yoga before attempting getting anything larger than a stick in there. Maybe my arms are just a lot longer and don't have the bendable nature but it sure pained me to changed that top bulb.