Figured there was enough info to start a thread by itself dedicated to these tests. To start, they were performed on a 93 MR2 which uses H4 bulbs in 6054 square reflector housings (Autopal in this test). H7s will provide more light with a wider, more even beam.
THE BULB
The previous highest output of an H4 bulb (+50% type) was rated at 107 between 50-75m (Halfords Super Brilliance, followed closely by Philips GT150 Power2Night at 102, and Philips Vision Plus at 98). The new Philips X-treme Power H4 (+80%) was rated at an amazing 146, and won the Accessory Of The Year award from Auto Express (a UK company that's done many bulb tests in the past). All bulbs were rated at 55W, safe for OEM applications.
Philips X-treme Power is a new type of halogen bulb, HIR (Halogen Infrared Reflecting). That means it has a reflective coating that makes use of wasted infrared light, reflecting it back at the filament and making it burn more efficiently, allowing more light output than any standard halogen/"xenon" halogen before it (especially the ones with colored coatings). The bulb also has a refined design, with smaller glass casing for higher pressure and improved filament geometry (placing of the filament(s) in relation to the reflector/projector, where most bulbs fail). This captures much of the stray light of previous designs and directs it back at the road where it belongs. It's unconfirmed, but the thin blue strip seems to be for short range lighting due to its position, while medium and long range get the full illumination of the clear portion. The difference in color isn't noticeable on the road.
Standard H4 design vs X-treme Power H4
THE TESTS
The first set of pics is lighting on the road. Unfortunately, there weren't any dark roads around here safe enough to stop on to do this, so I found the least lit place in my development I could. Doesn't effectively show the difference in distance due to the dirt mound, but the difference in illumination says it all.
Note: due to the limitations of cameras, the exposure in all of these pics has been set as high as possible before clipping, so the photos aren't accurate representation of the actual illumination you'll see (which is much brighter). It's just enough light to prevent different parts of the beam from being washed out. All photos in each set were taken with the same exposure and white balance settings for the most accurate results.
(darker = more light on inverted images)
Now here are some of the usual light-on-garage-door pics. The middle one also compares the difference between these lights and 03 Nissan Maxima D2R HIDs (yes, the camera made the light much bluer than it is).
As you can see, the beam is defintely whiter than the regular bulb, and the coverage of intense light is broader, almost in a rectangular shape vs the regular semi-circle, with a sharper cutoff. Distance can't be shown in these pics, but from seeing how much more concentrated the center of the beam is, you can tell that the official tests should be right on the money. I didn't include high beam tests, since the highs of the regular bulbs were already satisfactory.
One thing I did notice is that when I had the regular bulbs in, for some reason, the left shoulder of the road always seemed more illuminated than the right, even though the lights are focused slightly towards the right. With just one X-treme Power bulb in on the right, the right shoulder is lit up almost twice as much as before, and much better than the left. Definitely due to the wider area of coverage these bulbs create.
THE VERDICT
All in all, these bulbs are worth more than the $50 or less you'll find them for (check eBay often), especially if you're coming from white/blue/purple coated bulbs. Not to mention Philips has shown an excellent reliability record with their lighting equipment vs other brands. They're the closest yet you'll get to HIDs, but unlike aftermarket HIDs, they're DOT and ECE approved.
Linear Mode
