Bulb upgrades - Philips/Osram - any good?

Bulb upgrades - Philips/Osram - any good?

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Discussion

SVS

Original Poster:

3,824 posts

270 months

Sunday 26th March 2017
quotequote all
Bulbs, eh? Are they worth upgrading?

I've seen that Philips and Osram do brighter bulbs with “Vibration Resistant” technology for bikes. Marketing hype or useful? Has anyone tried 'em?





Osram Night Racer 110 bulbs seem pricier than Philips, but are made in Germany. I can't see where the Philips X-treme Vision Moto are made.

obscene

5,174 posts

184 months

Sunday 26th March 2017
quotequote all
The Osram Nightbreaker bulbs made a significant different from the standard bulbs on my hornet. Highly recommend them.

qska

449 posts

128 months

Sunday 26th March 2017
quotequote all
obscene said:
The Osram Nightbreaker bulbs made a significant different from the standard bulbs on my hornet. Highly recommend them.
+1

I tried the H7 in my Mondeo, it was worth it

Golgarth

380 posts

197 months

Sunday 26th March 2017
quotequote all
Put some of these in my CB1000R a few weeks ago, night and day difference to standard.

WELL worth buying

theshrew

6,008 posts

183 months

Sunday 26th March 2017
quotequote all
qska said:
obscene said:
The Osram Nightbreaker bulbs made a significant different from the standard bulbs on my hornet. Highly recommend them.
+1

I tried the H7 in my Mondeo, it was worth it
Never changed a bulb on a bike yet but I've fitted these in cars in the past. There not cheap but definitely worth the extra.

I've only ridden in the dark a couple of times and frankly I could see st. Might be worth asking Mr OCD what he uses. He followed me a couple of years ago and I could see more off the lights from his bike than from my own.

black-k1

11,887 posts

228 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
Just fit and HID. Miles better than anything in the conventional bulb line and probably cheaper than the ones being suggested.

Ignore the doom mongers, ensure your light is aligned correctly and enjoy being able to see in the dark like never before.

E36GUY

5,906 posts

217 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
black-k1 said:
Just fit and HID. Miles better than anything in the conventional bulb line and probably cheaper than the ones being suggested.

Ignore the doom mongers, ensure your light is aligned correctly and enjoy being able to see in the dark like never before.
This.

www.hids4u.co.uk. Got a 2 x HID kits (low and high beam) for about £60 and it's a plug and play system which took about 90 mins to fit by the time you've taken panels off and worked out how to secure the ballasts). Apparently no issue with this on MoT

Mr OCD

6,388 posts

210 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
theshrew said:
Never changed a bulb on a bike yet but I've fitted these in cars in the past. There not cheap but definitely worth the extra.

I've only ridden in the dark a couple of times and frankly I could see st. Might be worth asking Mr OCD what he uses. He followed me a couple of years ago and I could see more off the lights from his bike than from my own.
OSRAM Nightbreakers smile

tom_e

346 posts

98 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
LEDs no messing about with ballasts and different bulb holders, they just drop straight into your lamp holder and plug into the existing loom connection.

Brighter than a bright thing and much nicer looking than conventional bulbs.

Dave.

7,324 posts

252 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
I put some Phillips Racing Vision in the sheddy focus... They lasted October to January, and didn't get used everyday.

Stupidly i bought another set after the lhs one went thinking I'd got a duff one, but the other side went a couple of days later.

Put the original motor craft ones in, they're still going strong and I'm pretty sure they're the originals, on a y-reg! We've had the car 6 years and never changed them.

SVS

Original Poster:

3,824 posts

270 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
tom_e said:
LEDs no messing about with ballasts and different bulb holders, they just drop straight into your lamp
Which LEDs would you recommend? Any particular brands? And what happens at MOT time?

Dave. said:
I put some Phillips Racing Vision in the sheddy focus... They lasted October to January, and didn't get used everyday.
Those are car bulbs wink Philips themselves say they won't last on a bike or truck, because vibration causes headlight failure. Maybe the Focus vibrated like a truck smile

Motorbikists like us are supposed to use Philips' Xtreme Vision Moto or Osram's Night Racer 110. Osram has a groovy video about it on YouTube, so it must be true smile

black-k1

11,887 posts

228 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
black-k1 said:
Just fit and HID. Miles better than anything in the conventional bulb line and probably cheaper than the ones being suggested.

Ignore the doom mongers, ensure your light is aligned correctly and enjoy being able to see in the dark like never before.
This.

www.hids4u.co.uk. Got a 2 x HID kits (low and high beam) for about £60 and it's a plug and play system which took about 90 mins to fit by the time you've taken panels off and worked out how to secure the ballasts). Apparently no issue with this on MoT
I'm going to call this out. Fitting HID or LEDs into an enclosure that wasn't designed for it should be punishable by vehicle crushing. The scatter causes glare for on-coming drivers.

You might not notice it but there will be others that definitely do. Want HIDs / LED ? Buy a vehicle with them factory fitted / an enclosure / projector / reflector designed for it.
It tends to be noticed only by people who "want" to notice it. I've been using HID kits on my bikes for the last 7 or 8 years and have seen no evidence that I am dazzling other road users. I've followed and passed friends who would have no issue with telling me if my lights dazzled them and I've been followed by others on my bike. I've not noticed other road users dipping mirrors when I've been following and I rarely get flashed by on-coming traffic or by those I have passed. I've both passed and followed a number of police vehicles both at night and in daylight, and never been stopped, despite occasionally catching them up at speeds that would give them every justification to "have a word".

My bikes have passed a number of MoTs with HIDs fitted with not even as much as an advisory.

There are no bikes with factory fitted HIDs so there is no option to buy one!

The fact is most people are unaware that their bike headlight alignment can be adjusted let alone know how to do it. Badly aligned headlights have been causing dazzle to other road users since electric vehicle lights were introduced and is not a feature of HID kits. Fit an HID unit designed for reflector lenses, carefully check the beam alignment and away you go.


milleplod

40 posts

195 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
I fitted a pair of the Philips ones to my R1200ST, just because I won them cheap on fleabay. Then I realised I don't go out in the dark on the bike anyway. They look a lot brighter shining on the back wall in the garage though!

Pete

Dr Doofenshmirtz

15,184 posts

199 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
High output bulbs are ok - they're definitely whiter than normal bulbs and a bit brighter...but they're not that amazing.
I've tried HID bulbs, but they just swamp the standard projector and send light out all over the place giving a nasty beam pattern.

No - if you want to do it properly, fit a projector unit with a HID bulb. Best thing I've done to my Blackbird. The sharp cutoff also makes a great lean angle indicator!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

E36GUY

5,906 posts

217 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
black-k1 said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
black-k1 said:
Just fit and HID. Miles better than anything in the conventional bulb line and probably cheaper than the ones being suggested.

Ignore the doom mongers, ensure your light is aligned correctly and enjoy being able to see in the dark like never before.
This.

www.hids4u.co.uk. Got a 2 x HID kits (low and high beam) for about £60 and it's a plug and play system which took about 90 mins to fit by the time you've taken panels off and worked out how to secure the ballasts). Apparently no issue with this on MoT
I'm going to call this out. Fitting HID or LEDs into an enclosure that wasn't designed for it should be punishable by vehicle crushing. The scatter causes glare for on-coming drivers.

You might not notice it but there will be others that definitely do. Want HIDs / LED ? Buy a vehicle with them factory fitted / an enclosure / projector / reflector designed for it.
It tends to be noticed only by people who "want" to notice it. I've been using HID kits on my bikes for the last 7 or 8 years and have seen no evidence that I am dazzling other road users.
Not saying you're wrong Toxicnerve but I've not been flashed once yet albeit MoT said they were aiming too low but having adjusted, still not getting flashed by oncoming.

E36GUY

5,906 posts

217 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
Dr Doofenshmirtz said:
High output bulbs are ok - they're definitely whiter than normal bulbs and a bit brighter...but they're not that amazing.
I've tried HID bulbs, but they just swamp the standard projector and send light out all over the place giving a nasty beam pattern.

No - if you want to do it properly, fit a projector unit with a HID bulb. Best thing I've done to my Blackbird. The sharp cutoff also makes a great lean angle indicator!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Any suggestion where to get the projector front end piece from. Looks great in your project.

mgv8

1,631 posts

270 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
If you just what to swap the bulb then yes Osram Nightbreaker did work well on my bike. It was easy to do and lasted well so far.
Other options are brighter but take more than just swapping bulb and are not allowed in some countries.

Dave.

7,324 posts

252 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
SVS said:
Dave. said:
I put some Phillips Racing Vision in the sheddy focus... They lasted October to January, and didn't get used everyday.
Those are car bulbs wink Philips themselves say they won't last on a bike or truck, because vibration causes headlight failure. Maybe the Focus vibrated like a truck smile

Motorbikists like us are supposed to use Philips' Xtreme Vision Moto or Osram's Night Racer 110. Osram has a groovy video about it on YouTube, so it must be true smile
Yeah i know, just saying... Although I did read somewhere (after I'd bought the second lot) that high output bulbs don't last as long as "normal" bulbs, useful.



SVS

Original Poster:

3,824 posts

270 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
mgv8 said:
Other options are brighter but take more than just swapping bulb and are not allowed in some countries.
What about these Philips LED H7 bulbs that are apparently E-marked for road use? (Not cheap, mind you.)

Dr Doofenshmirtz

15,184 posts

199 months

Monday 27th March 2017
quotequote all
E36GUY said:
Dr Doofenshmirtz said:
High output bulbs are ok - they're definitely whiter than normal bulbs and a bit brighter...but they're not that amazing.
I've tried HID bulbs, but they just swamp the standard projector and send light out all over the place giving a nasty beam pattern.

No - if you want to do it properly, fit a projector unit with a HID bulb. Best thing I've done to my Blackbird. The sharp cutoff also makes a great lean angle indicator!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Any suggestion where to get the projector front end piece from. Looks great in your project.
Just search eBay for 'HID Projector'...example http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-5-inch-chrome-RHD-Bi-X...
They're around ten quid - I'm surprised we don't see more bikes with this mod to be honest. It's one of the most simple mods you can do and the results are amazing.