Xenon Lamps, White Highs?

[ncburch22]

I have the xenon headlamps. I'm curious as to if I can swap the high beams out with a pair of "super white" bulbs to closely match with the xenon bulbs? I believe the H7 bulb is the correct fitment?

 

[bbyer]

Same H7 bulbs in all four.

You appear to have the SE model that often has 55 watt H7 Halogen bulbs in all four headlights. The two outer top squarish reflectors are for the dipped or low beams and the two inner round lower reflectors are for the main or high beams.

If in place of the squarish reflectors, you have the round glass projector headlights with the HID D2S xenon bulbs, they give off light at about 4100K, which appears as a nice white colour with very little blue or yellow apparent. ...and yes, regardless of what the upper outside beams use, the lower round inside high beams use 55 watt H7 single filament bulbs.

It appears that PIAA is advertising what they call Xtreme White Plus H7 bulbs that give off a "whiter" light rather than a bluish or yellow light. If so, this is good as the less blue in the beam, the better ones eyes can discern what is being illuminated. Given a choice between blue and yellow, I tend to prefer bulbs tending to the yellow colour however the 4100K colour of the HID's is of course the ideal.

If you have the squarish reflectors on top, one might want to change all 4 bulbs at the same time for colour matching purposes, however given the high beam is not used much, at least in urban areas, the colour matching will not be seen much.

My understanding is that the more blue colour bulbs often seen on Beamers makes the chick magnet function better. I gather however that being able to see the road is a greater concern with Land Rover drivers; also the chick magnet works well and does not require any augmentation.
http://www.tirerack.com/lighting/detail.jsp?ID=1081&cat=Headlight+Bulbs

 

[ncburch22]

Yes, I do have the SE with the xenon projectors. I found the same bulbs for the high beams that you suggested. I'm leaning towards those or just the Slyvania Ulra's.

 

[Houm_WA]

church, why do you want to match the color? I see nothing wrong witch catching more of the color spectrum by retaining both technologies intermixed...

 

[ncburch22]

I noticed that my high beams are more yellow and dim than my low beam projectors. I want to enhance the high beams

 

[Houm_WA]

Hmmm. I have the same lighting set-up as yours (except mine are adaptive) and the high beams just look "no **** bright" to me. It looks like stadium lights. Granted, I have not really looked that hard to see differences in light color, but the halogen brights look good to me. Keep in mind that replacing the bulbs with these super whites will not make them into an HID technology bulb. They will not have a ballast and arc source. They will simply be another halogen with a different color temperature. I'm not even sure they will last as long as an OE replacement. I've only experimented once with a replacement like this (in my old Montero) and they burned out pretty quickly and at nearly the same time, indicating to me that they died near their expected MTBR.

 

[ncburch22]

I see. I'm going with the Sylvania Ultra's. I read that the majority of the HID lights made are cheap and as you said, don't last long.

 

[Houm_WA]

I think you meant that the majority of the halogen bluer-white bulbs are made cheaply. I haven't heard any knocks on the HID lights as an overall technology.