Alternative Headlight bulbs

[Action]

Originally Posted by Spike

keep in mind too, that the SilverStars will not last as long as the ruglar bulb, and no bulb will change the beam pattern too much, that is dependant on the reflector (although it can be changed a little, by the bulb's placement in the reflector).

Why would the Sliver Stars not last as long? When I researched them they had a comparable bulb life rating to standard H4 and H7 bulbs and had a better color temperature rating. I've had mine since last Aug and would expect them to last for a while longer. I did make sure to get the European spec (Osram) bulbs which from what I've read are brighter. I didn't expect the beam pattern to change but with a brighter bulb it is easier to see at night. I made sure they were aimed correctly and I don't have any problems with on coming traffic thinking I have my hi-beams on. I work all kinds of strange hours and it really made a difference riding home in the middle of the night.

Edit - Osram Silverstars are brighter than the Sylvania ones (1500 lumens vs 1350), since they have different standards in Europe (Sylvania = US branch of Osram).

Action

[derstuka]

Originally Posted by Action

Why would the Sliver Stars not last as long? When I researched them they had a comparable bulb life rating to standard H4 and H7 bulbs and had a better color temperature rating. I've had mine since last Aug and would expect them to last for a while longer. I did make sure to get the European spec (Osram) bulbs which from what I've read are brighter. I didn't expect the beam pattern to change but with a brighter bulb it is easier to see at night. I made sure they were aimed correctly and I don't have any problems with on coming traffic thinking I have my hi-beams on. I work all kinds of strange hours and it really made a difference riding home in the middle of the night.

Action

Can you give me a link to where you bought the Sliverstar OSRAM bulbs from Action?

[olivino]

Maybe a silly question, but are there brighter lights than OEM that you can use for brake lights in the stock reflector? Another recent thread discussed the LED Hyper-Lites. However, I would like avoid the wiring.

[Action]

D - Here you go - Osram Silver Stars


Action

[NeverlosT]

For a little more cash (think EBAY like 100 bucks) you can get an HID setup with dual ballasts and H4 bulbs and they arent too hard to install and the system is easily brighter than ANY simple replacement bulb by a long shot.
Plus they use less juice after startup (or so I am told, no problems yet!!!) and man do they look bitchin.

Get a set made for a car, the ballasts are a tiny bit larger, but you get two instead of one for 1/3 THE COST!!! you can find room for the ballasts, I did. I have some install pics but need to get them off parents computer.

I will try and find the brand of mine, but they came from china, but work sweet. try it, you will be souped.

[HondaDavidson1090]

Originally Posted by atxvfr

Has anyone had any experiences with PIAA H4 bulbs?

http://www.piaa.com/Bulbs/Bulbs-H4.html

Any other recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

For running lights I have PIAA H4 Super Plasma bulbs in my 04 VFR. They look like H.I.D lights. I came across these for free, when I helped clear out the motorcycle shop next to the one I work at. They were left behind, so I put them in my bike and like the way they look. I still run the stock bulbs in the high beams, only because I dont want to buy the PIAA's yet.

[Spike]

Originally Posted by derstuka

What are you running in yours? What brand and wattage? I was more worried about the increased wattage draw than anything else.

BTW, mine are not silverstars....just some generic H4 bulb from Deutschland (Germany).

I have the stock ones in there for now, I am going to try the Piaa what is it, "extreme ultra whites." Ran the Silver Stars in my '98 VFR. Still toying with just doing the HID conversion too....

[Spike]

Originally Posted by Action

Why would the Sliver Stars not last as long? When I researched them they had a comparable bulb life rating to standard H4 and H7 bulbs and had a better color temperature rating. I've had mine since last Aug and would expect them to last for a while longer. I did make sure to get the European spec (Osram) bulbs which from what I've read are brighter. I didn't expect the beam pattern to change but with a brighter bulb it is easier to see at night. I made sure they were aimed correctly and I don't have any problems with on coming traffic thinking I have my hi-beams on. I work all kinds of strange hours and it really made a difference riding home in the middle of the night.

Action

Don't know why exactly, but they used to say it on the package and under the FAQ section of their website. I also noticed they just came out with an updated version called Ultra or Extreme SilverStar. That specifically is supposed to last longer.

For me, when I ran them in the '98, and my cars then, it was a trade off. Like anything in life. The cons were that they were more expensive, and didn't last as long. The Pros were a whiter, seemingly brighter light.

Beam pattern won't really change, as that is more determined by the reflector. And, to a certain extent where the bulb filament sits in the reflector (since that can change by bulb).

I don't recall ever having a problem with them with oncoming traffic either.

[Spike]

Originally Posted by olivino

Maybe a silly question, but are there brighter lights than OEM that you can use for brake lights in the stock reflector? Another recent thread discussed the LED Hyper-Lites. However, I would like avoid the wiring.

You can go with the LED lights, but may have problems with your blinker lights, or PIAA does make brighter incandesant bulbs that you can use. Called their something like Ultra bright white bulbs??

[Action]

Originally Posted by Spike

Don't know why exactly, but they used to say it on the package and under the FAQ section of their website. I also noticed they just came out with an updated version called Ultra or Extreme SilverStar. That specifically is supposed to last longer.

For me, when I ran them in the '98, and my cars then, it was a trade off. Like anything in life. The cons were that they were more expensive, and didn't last as long. The Pros were a whiter, seemingly brighter light.

Beam pattern won't really change, as that is more determined by the reflector. And, to a certain extent where the bulb filament sits in the reflector (since that can change by bulb).

I don't recall ever having a problem with them with oncoming traffic either.

Spike, thanks for the reply. I had heard that some people had problems with short bulb life with the Phillips (US) brand. From what I was able to read they have made some changes that are "supposed" to increase filament life. If I get another year out of mine (16 months currently) I'll be happy.

I'm thinking of replacing my stock High Beams with PIAA bulbs. I would go the HID route but to be honest I don't think the hassle would be worth the gain. A guy I used to work with converted his Busa to HID and it seemed he was always having problems with one light not coming on. It could have been he used a cheaper kit, or didn't have it set up right, but it kind of turned me off to the HID conversion. YMMV.

Action

[destrux]

Regular bulbs do last a little longer than silverstars, but regular bulbs degrade in brightness as the filament gets older... so the bulbs might still be working, but not lighting very well at all. I always have customers coming in complaining about how dim their headlights are, and they are always very surprised that just installing new (normal) bulbs makes a noticeable difference. Silverstar bulbs don't seem to degrade as badly when they are close to the end of their life. Neither do the PIAA or Eurolite. I've had a set of PIAA 55w bulbs in my car for 6 years now though, they seemingly last forever. They did cost alot though.

Also, I've discovered that oncoming drivers just plain won't deal with and HID kit installed into a standard Halogen style housing. There's no "cutoff" to prevent the unshielded arc from blinding people, even if you aim the lights very low. I tried it for a week and almost had someone run me off the road over it. So... I don't reccommend the HID's unless you have a projector style headlight unit that cut's the light off over a certain height. I only know of the Ducati 999 having these, and that bike might already have HID's. I don't believe any VFR's have them though.

[RedDukeRider]

I have the front fairing/upper cowl off my '02 VFR right now to replace it due to breaking a corner off.

I thought I would upgrade the lights at the same time. It just so happened I had a pair of PIAA 80/80 bulbs in a box in my tool chest from a previous bike. What was interesting about them is that they fit the stock Honda headlight reflector perfect. No adapter rings, no bending of tabs or anything.

I'm now wondering if:

1. 80/80 is too much for the VFR's wiring
2. Are all PIAA bulbs of the same pattern or did I happen to find some odd ball bulb (good odd ball) 3 or 4 years ago. Does PIAA make a non-standard H4 bulb just for Honda's?

[keeena]

If you increase the bulb wattage you definitely want to increase the wire gauge...absolutely, no question about it. (RDR - i coincidentally made this same remark earlier in that other headlight thread which you started).

As someone else mentioned: higher wattage will potentially damage the housing. Can't say for sure, but once you get to a certain wattage the heat will be too much for the stock housing material and cause it to warp or melt.

[RedDukeRider]

Understand about melting the headlight shells. Supposedly one of the advantages of the PIAA's is that they run cooler due to the use of a different filler gas - hence their outrageous price.

Don't know where I got the 80/80's. I think I bought them years ago for a ZRX1100 I use to own. I will probably put the 80/80's in my ST1300 since it is a true dual headlight bike and the VFR is actually a four headlight bike. I already have an Eastern Beaver dual headlight heavy duty wiring harness for the ST1300 so it should be "plug & play" to put the 80/80's in the ST.

I guess what shocked me last night when I was playing around in my shop is that the PIAA's just dropped right in - all of the tabs were exactly in line. The ST1300's have the same proprietary Honda bulb where you have to use alignment shims to use H-4's. Some people are of the theory that the alignment shim thickness throws off the focal point of the bulb/reflector and the only truly correct way to install H-4's in a Honda is to cut/grind/modify the headlight housing. Imagine my surprise when the PIAA's fit like a glove in the VFR housing.

After reading the rave reviews on this site, I will be ordering a set of PIAA's for the VFR, probably just at a lower wattage than 80/80.

[Red Duke Rider]

Double checked the tab hole alignment of my headlights with the an H4 bulb that I borrowed from another bike. They drop right in my '02.

So it appears that Honda did not use proprietary bulbs in '02 - correct?

I have also noticed some stamping on the headlights:

Under the upper beam it says: H7 - 12V55W.

Under the low beam it says: 12V55W, 12V60/55W, & 12V45/45W.

So my question is: Does Honda use the same headlight reflector and cover for both the US model and the European model? I also own an ST1300 and we have discovered that the continential European ST1300's use what is known as an E4 type headlight reflector. A few guys have made a connection in Europe and purchased these European headlight reflectors and rave about the superiority of the light pattern. The price of the E4 reflector and housing is about $650 but the guys who have done it claim it is superior to installing HID's. Problem with HID's is that we are riding bikes with headlight reflectors designed for H4 bulbs and installing aftermarket HID kits doesn't really let them use their full potential.

Any thoughts guys?

[RVFR]

Silver stars here, way better than stock. I have like 18K miles, so not sure what won't last as long means, so far I'm pretty happy with how much trouble it was. opps wasn't.

[Chris71Mach1]

as have many other ppl in this thread, I use silver star bulbs on everything, even my brother's lightning. they make a pretty noticeable difference

i think the only other bulb id go with (if i was ever able) would to be to adapt an HID setup to my bike. (if anybody has an idea how to do this conversion, or where to find the parts, im sure open to suggestion!)

[RedDukeRider]

I had Lasik surgery about a year ago and I still get a lot of halos and glare at night from other people's headlights, traffic signals, etc.

Is there anything worth considering that would cut down on the glare at night glasses wise? What about those yellow glasses that target shooters wear or something similar?