low beam globes

[bushman]

I just replace my first low beam after just on 10 yrs, cost me a fortune from Repco $55 including two park light globes and that's after NRMA discount

[signo1985]

I believe the Night Breakers are only available in H11, not H9.

When I bought "upgraded" bulbs, I bought the PIAA - because I rarely use my high beams, they've outlasted two sets of Osram H9s, but when I make the change to H11 lows I'm thinking I'll do some more searching.

........

There are those in the automotive lighting industry who are much more knowledgeable than I and their comments on PIAA products aren't particularly complimentary. That said, my experiences with PIAA haven't been so bad. With the choice from Powerbulbs being only the PIAA or the high wattage Osrams, I'd look elsewhere for the Nightbreakers that OJ suggests.

........

Ok then I am still unsure on what the best option is.
NFT5 you said before a H9 would be better than a high performance h11 globe.

Then to look for the Nightbreakers that OJ suggested, which do not exist in H9 as nj swb pointed out.

so is something like this (https://www.amazon.com.au/Philips-St.../dp/B003YMPN3A) you guys are referring to or what?

I cant find any other h9 in australia
cheers guys

[NFT5]

Yeah, a little clarification.... I should have said "osrams", not "Night Breakers".


The H9 bulb already incorporates the technology used in the "plus" series. So there is only the standard variant.


This table might make it a bit clearer:



The important bits are that the expected lifespan of the H9 is quite a bit better than the Night Breaker H11 alternatives and the luminous flux is around 50% greater.


The difference between Night Breaker Silver and Night Breaker Laser is the shape and pattern of some blue tinting on the bulb. It makes no difference to the actual output - just a marketing gimmick, although the measure of expected lifespan is interesting....

The difference between Philips and Osram is marginal. Either brand would be a good choice.

So, yes, the H9 is the better choice. More light and longer life.

[signo1985]

Yeah, a little clarification.... I should have said "osrams", not "Night Breakers".


The H9 bulb already incorporates the technology used in the "plus" series. So there is only the standard variant.


This table might make it a bit clearer:



The important bits are that the expected lifespan of the H9 is quite a bit better than the Night Breaker H11 alternatives and the luminous flux is around 50% greater.


The difference between Night Breaker Silver and Night Breaker Laser is the shape and pattern of some blue tinting on the bulb. It makes no difference to the actual output - just a marketing gimmick, although the measure of expected lifespan is interesting....

The difference between Philips and Osram is marginal. Either brand would be a good choice.

So, yes, the H9 is the better choice. More light and longer life.

Ok perfect now it is clearer [emoji106]
I will start looking for these standard H9s then thanks heaps

[fourocker]

I feel it's worth a mention, I bought a pair of JW Speaker brand led h9/h11 replacements for my low beam from Burson 's the other day, retail is over $200 but they said to me they don't sell them at retail because at that price they'd never move any, got the pair in a kit with plug n play leads/led drivers for $109.......very very happy with these, beautiful white light and plenty of it, they make the stockers look like candles from the dark ages.
Quality is high and a pair of Philips h9's would cost similar......if you could even get them, I went this way because h9 is seriously hard to find, also struggle to find even the woefully inadequate h11.

[nj swb]

I feel it's worth a mention, I bought a pair of JW Speaker brand led h9/h11 replacements for my low beam from Burson 's the other day, retail is over $200 but they said to me they don't sell them at retail because at that price they'd never move any, got the pair in a kit with plug n play leads/led drivers for $109.......very very happy with these, beautiful white light and plenty of it, they make the stockers look like candles from the dark ages.
Quality is high and a pair of Philips h9's would cost similar......if you could even get them, I went this way because h9 is seriously hard to find, also struggle to find even the woefully inadequate h11.

Unlikely that they're ADR compliant for low beam use. NFT5 has produced a great post on this forum explaining the problem with H11 low beams, and why they shouldn't be used in our cars.

If you have some evidence that yours are ADR compliant, I'd love to see it - I'll probably buy some myself.

[signo1985]

RE the price, that is true if you look in Australia.
Bought 2 x osram h9 from Germany for 30oz dollars including delivery. Should get them next week [emoji106]

[fourocker]

I have no idea if they're adr compliant but.......if I park the vehicle in a large car park at night with them on (did this at work off the public road) and compare how they look in general with other vehicles it doesn't stand out in any way to me that would draw any unwanted attention, so far through routine driving since I haven't had any kind of negative reaction from anybody, I feel that it's not that they're insanely bright but that the oe h11 setup is woefully inadequate.
They appear to me similar whilst driving to my wifes stock xenon projector low beams in her Mazda 3. Please yourself if you use them or not if it's of great concern to you, for me I'm stoked that I took the chance on them.

[Allan2]

Look on youtube there is information on how to modify the H9 to fit in the H11 plug. I did mine about 3 years ago and haven't had a problem, it definitely improved the light output on low beam.
Regards Allan.

[signo1985]

RE the price, that is true if you look in Australia.
Bought 2 x osram h9 from Germany for 30oz dollars including delivery. Should get them next week [emoji106]

Installed the Osram H9. OMG


The light output is incredibly higher. took the car for a drive a night at almost thought it was too bright lol.
Nice sharp cutoff as well.
Thanks NFT5


Now, talking aesthetic, since the parking lights look orange in comparison, could i change the w5w with something brighter? Can i use a led globe or would this be considered an illegal mod as well?

[NFT5]

You can put LED bulbs in the parkers, so long as they are white.


That said, I haven't had a great deal of success with LED replacements - regardless of price or supposed quality they all seem to fail fairly quickly, mainly due to heat saturation from the headlights.

[signo1985]

Shouldn't led last "forever" lol??
So no other alogen by brighter alternative?

[nj swb]

If I install the factory DRL kit I've just ordered, then put H9s in my low beams, I can get away with carrying two identical spare globes rather than one of each - and worst case, I can take out a high beam globe to restore low beam.

It took a while, but the factory DRLs are in and functioning - for now.

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=612021#post612021

So next step is to find some H9s to replace my factory H11s.