is there a difference between hb2 and h4 headlight bulbs

[tylerho]

I am planning on changing out my current sylvania silverstars that produce 4000k for another set of brighter bulbs. some other members recommended using the Mtec bulbs and i found a set on ebay. The only size that fits my 99 camry is the h4 size but it's supposedly the interchangeable with hb2. Does anybody know if 4,350k is legal in california?. if someone could clear that up that would be great thanks.
Does anybody know if 4,350k is legal in california?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4350K-MTEC-H...ht_3752wt_1131

[fenixus]

HB2 = H4 = 9003

They are all one and same dual filament bulb with same base.

You might want to consider Philips Xtreme Power H4 bulbs, they last quite a long time and provide nice brightness.

at unbeatable amazon pricing of $28 PER PAIR with free shipping:

Amazon

Amazon

vs my second favorite source of bulbs (got 9006/9012 HIRs from them for my other car):
http://store.candlepower.com/90h4hbxtpo.html
($34+s/h, more expensive H4 bulbs from them nowadays)

[fenixus]

nice review of Philips XP when compared to other bulbs:
Review of Philips Xtreme Power H4 Bulbs

[Bdub215]

I just Bought a set of Nokya Artic Whites for my Corolla (Same H4 bulb) and i dunno what bulbs i had in my headlights before but my light output is much better and the light on the road has doubled. they operate at 7K on the kelvin scale and look pure white with a hint of blue.

I also have them in my ES300 too (They arent this blue. My phone just picks it up this way)

This is more realistic.

[touringcamry]

Just so you guys know, tint on the bulb doesn't increase light output; it likely reduces it.

Dump the expensive Silverstars unless they are Osram Silverstar in favor of Sylvania XtraVision.

Higher color temperature just fools you into thinking there is more light output.

[fenixus]

^yeah, the higher Kelvin temperature (visible color more blue or more purple) of light the lesser the lumen output.

I'd like to see a side by side comparison of Philips XP vs Sylvania XV. here are specs for each, maybe that sheds more "light"

Philips XP
Energy Used60/55 Watts
Volts12.80
Bulb ShapeT-4 5/8
BaseP43T-38
Class and FilamentC-8
Diameter (in)0.650
Length (in)3.620
Average Rated Life (hr)150-320
Light Output120/72 MSCP [around 1508/905 lumens if 1 MSCP=12.57 Lumens]
FinishClear


Sylvania XV
Lumens
Low 910 +/- 10%
High 1500 +/- 10%
Color ~3200K

I like Philips bulbs but am not too impressed. I also tried Sylvania Silverstars in past, but I hated them, they also burn out extremely quickly.

[pmesfun]

I have Phillips HIR2 in the low beams and Nokya Artic White in the fogs and they light up the road, better than new cars. Like Bdub said, the Nokyas are pure white.

[Silent Runner]

I've played and played, and payed and payed, for so many light bulbs that I can't remember all the brands and names. If you have a good reflector or projector system in the first place (like Bedub215's Lexus), maybe it can make a decent difference, but most of the time It'll just look a little cooler (from the outside). Most of the time. all the claims of 30% brighter, and 40% wider, have been invisible to my eyes. For certain, all the claims on higher color temp. lights being brighter are bogus. (blue tinting on the bulbs, reduces the visible light and lumens sent out) The only thing that will make a really noticable and useful difference to nightime illumination is a projector retrofit, in a suitable set of clear lense headlight units. Preferably with HID bulbs. It's like having 5 sets of Gen3 or 4 headlights working all at once and putting the light where it should be.

-Funny thing is, I once had a set of Bosch halogens on my old 76' Celica GT, (a round, 4 light system), that had nearly as sharp of a cut-off, and put out nearly as much light with 80W lows, and 100W high beams.

[fenixus]

I tested lots of lights too.

our 5s-fe has now Philips XP that are very decent (better than Silverstars for sure), but honestly there is no good H4 bulb which will make the low beam strong enough for me unless I go HID ... and I did, tried a 4300K HID kit behind a clear reflector lens (no projectors though) for 9 months, but hated the glare and lack of clean cut off, light color phasing over time (from white they went towards pinkish). having no money for real retrofit and generally being pissed with xenons I sold them and we went with Philips XP being the advertized (marketing) winner.
Sylvania XtremeVision bulbs sound like a good option too

me neither sees any significant difference between most H4 halogens, the light output is pretty much always similar if not same (crappy) for most.
I'm not talking about tinted bulbs where whiter/bluer lights seem stronger because eyes get blinded more thanks to change of spectrum (it's a mind trick).

those colorized bulbs suck big times, they as said many times trick eyes into believing that whiter/bluer light means brighter (that's how human eyes react to those colors), but in fact lumens (true light output) amount is LOWER with those blueish lights and every automated meter will prove that.

However the only REAL difference I see is on my V6 where I used older Toshiba HIR2 (9012 trimmed to fit 9006) as low beams and man I love those
I also have clear fog lenses on that car, so over time I will also install HIRs in fogs too, for brights I will I think go HIR again (9011 trimmed as 9005). that would be a sweet setup

HIR is a perfect option for regular 9005/9006 lamps, no ballast crap to mount as with HID, no extra crappy wiring, no rusty ground problems and flickering lights, no long bulb warmup (try flashing HID brights from off to on, it looks ridiculous like something was exploding), simple plug and play.

... and they give around 75% light output of a HID while keeping the price real low, only slightly higher than decent halogens. I wish they made a HIR H4 compatible bulb finally, but I guess the dual filament in this application is a tough technical problem? or maybe H4 is not a common lamp base anymore and was abandoned?

Originally Posted by pmesfun

I have Phillips HIR2 in the low beams and Nokya Artic White in the fogs and they light up the road, better than new cars. Like Bdub said, the Nokyas are pure white.

Originally Posted by Silent Runner

I've played and played, and payed and payed, for so many light bulbs that I can't remember all the brands and names. If you have a good reflector or projector system in the first place (like Bedub215's Lexus), maybe it can make a decent difference, but most of the time It'll just look a little cooler (from the outside). Most of the time. all the claims of 30% brighter, and 40% wider, have been invisible to my eyes. For certain, all the claims on higher color temp. lights being brighter are bogus. (blue tinting on the bulbs, reduces the visible light and lumens sent out) The only thing that will make a really noticable and useful difference to nightime illumination is a projector retrofit, in a suitable set of clear lense headlight units. Preferably with HID bulbs. It's like having 5 sets of Gen3 or 4 headlights working all at once and putting the light where it should be.

-Funny thing is, I once had a set of Bosch halogens on my old 76' Celica GT, (a round, 4 light system), that had nearly as sharp of a cut-off, and put out nearly as much light with 80W lows, and 100W high beams.

[Silent Runner]

Gee, you've played with them too. Yup, HID's have a warm-up phase, mine probab;y take 20-30 sec. before they really set to their proper lighting level and color of 4300K, (start out real blue). I've also had to go back and fix both grounds, so they don't flicker in the warm-up phase. Wish I'd had a chance to try out HIR's.

The HID projector thing is a reach, but my kit was about $220, and from what I hear, I had major luck in screwing them in for alignment. (near perfect, first try). I would honestly describe it as a pretty simple and easy, "kind of part of a weekend" customizing project. If you really want/or need, to have not necessarly just neat looking lighting, but real proper nightime, dark roads lighting, its hard to beat this set-up.

Edit: I still have my 9005's illuminate on high beam, along with the Bi-Zenon high beam lighting. Makes a good splash of lumens, overall.

[fenixus]

heehee, yeah I played with those. my hid kit was actually a bi-xenon H4 base from Mod Express, cost me like $120. was very decent. the glare was rather minimal (bulbs had anti-glare shields), but it was still there at certain angles. never got ticketed for it though, just stopped liking xenons in general, too much time spent on maintenance (grounds) and also those HID lights weakened car's battery a little earlier than expected, and I didn't like the light's color shifting over time (plus long warm up on top of that).

you should really try HIRs if you have a chance, they are suitable for any 9005/9006, not too expensive, it's the future IMO
http://store.candlepower.com/hirlighting.html

trimming instructions (nail clipper does the job well):
http://shnu.us/HIR%20Trimming%20Stock.htm