Hella Lights

I noticed that you could get Hella H4's with normal bulbs or DOT legal blue bulbs. Which is brighter? I'm assuming the normal, non DOT bulbs are.

In reply to Tommy Suddard:

If I recall correctly, the last time anybody mentioned danielsternlighting.com on this board he got flamed, so I hesitate to bring up the name, but if you haven't read his stuff, you should. The whole concept of "brighter" in a headlight turns out to be one of those "how long is a piece of string?" questions that's a LOT more complicated than you think. It's not just physics or optics or electricity, it's also psychology and physiology. All at the same time. Luckily for you, however, you seem to be one of the lucky ones who thinks learning new stuff is fun (must be good parenting!).

Best regards,

David

blue bulbs throw slightly less light due to the coating acting as a barrier to some wavelengths. However... (big however) using a light blue gel over a theatrical light is an OLD trick to making it look more white.

So you are forced to choose between full spectrum, which might be slightly less wattage.. or a higher wattage lamp that slightly limits some of your colour spectrum

I would stick with the non blue lights myself. The blue lights 'appear' brighter, but in reality they do not go as far, also if you live in an area where you can get fog, they really suck.

I can't stand blue lights, myself. They wash out my depth perception. Basically the opposite of having amber foglights (or glasses, like for shooting or skiiing/snowboarding).

Ok, I've always hated blue myself, but Hella sent both kinds of bulbs. I'll leave the yellow in for now, and maybe try blue later. Thanks.

So you don't want to do ellipsoids with HIDs?

Tommy,

My only experience with blue bulbs was with some other brand I can't recall, not Hellas. Anyway looking at them from the front they looked brighter in the housings, but behind the wheel they didn't put out any additional light. They also didn't last as long as stock.

If these are for headlights I would check the voltage at the headlight with the stock bulbs first. I just did that on one car here and only had 9.6v at the bulb with the ignition off. I installed realys and now get 11.6V with the ignition off and a battery needing a little charge. Made the biggest difference driving with regular clear 55/60W halogens.

-Rob

ReverendDexter wrote: I can't stand blue lights, myself. They wash out my depth perception. Basically the opposite of having amber foglights (or glasses, like for shooting or skiiing/snowboarding).

x2, Tommy. I'm with the Reverend on this one. IIRC, when the first amber colored sunglasses came out, the manufacturers actually bragged about blocking the blue in the spectrum, so that contrast would appear a little sharper. Some are still sold as "BluBlockers".

http://www.blublocker.com/

I think the blue bulbs are an optical trick. They look brighter when you're looking at them, but the light they throw on the road is less than white. Also, I notice a lot of the poseurs using the blues because HID lights look "blue" when viewed from outside of the light pattern. I think they're just trying to trick girls into thinking they've spent a lot of money on their car.