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H1 Headlights

N

Nab

Senior member
Hello!

I am looking to replace the headlight bulbs in my 2005 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS, they require H1.

I do an average amount of driving, but mostly at night so I would like to get something bright. I think I want to get xenon bulbs, based on the color/brightness charts I've been looking at on websites.

I was trying to research the differences in brightness and bulb life, but apparently it isn't that easy. I was reading reviews on the Sylvania SilverStar, but it seems like they are dying on people in 6-8 months, is that normal? Is the general rule of thumb, the brighter the less life?

With my very limited knowledge, I was looking at the Sylvania SilverStar, Sylvania XtraVision, Piaa Night Tech.

I was planning on ordering the bulbs through amazon, any recommendation for another source?

Is it just as easy as getting any bulb that has H1, or are there other considerations that I need to take into account? Such as watts or something...

I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks!
-nab
 
The more light, the less life, in general. Now, there are actually legal limits on the maximum (and minimum) lumen output for a given bulb type as well. When bulbs get into tinting to alter the color of the light (the "color temperature" in the advertising literature), they have to drive the filament harder to get the same number of lumens because every tint will always rob some light output.

Lights like the US-market SilverStar burn out quickly because the tinting steals so much light that the filaments have to be driven much harder for the bulb to produce legal lumen output. If you actually measure lumen output the un-tinted "X-Tra Vision" bulbs from Sylvania actually make more light than the SilverStars (because the X-Tra Vision bulbs aren't tinted).

NutBucket's links are the best resources I can point you towards.

ZV
 
be careful putting higher wattage bulbs than stock in, i've heard of some high wattage bulbs melting headlight housings due to the increased heat.
 
vshah said:
be careful putting higher wattage bulbs than stock in, i've heard of some high wattage bulbs melting headlight housings due to the increased heat.
Click to expand...



It seems like all the bulbs I have been looking at for H1 are all 55W. Is that a coincidence or should I be keeping a closer eye on that?
 
Zenmervolt said:
The more light, the less life, in general. Now, there are actually legal limits on the maximum (and minimum) lumen output for a given bulb type as well. When bulbs get into tinting to alter the color of the light (the "color temperature" in the advertising literature), they have to drive the filament harder to get the same number of lumens because every tint will always rob some light output.

Lights like the US-market SilverStar burn out quickly because the tinting steals so much light that the filaments have to be driven much harder for the bulb to produce legal lumen output. If you actually measure lumen output the un-tinted "X-Tra Vision" bulbs from Sylvania actually make more light than the SilverStars (because the X-Tra Vision bulbs aren't tinted).

NutBucket's links are the best resources I can point you towards.

ZV
Click to expand...



Thanks for the information. It seems like I should be looking for clear/untinted bulbs. From the Osram website it says:

"The ideal lamp for drivers who want to drive with more light for greater safety.
Thanks to a specially-developed high output coil and the blue ring coating, the headlight lamps of the NIGHT BREAKER PLUS product family"

Is that "blue ring coating" the same thing as what you were talking about with the tinting? Is it going to give the light a blueness?


Thanks for answering all these questions!
 
Nab said:
It seems like all the bulbs I have been looking at for H1 are all 55W. Is that a coincidence or should I be keeping a closer eye on that?
Click to expand...
55W is the standard wattage for an H1 bulb.

As for the blue ring, I believe the Nite Breakers have a blue coating over part of the bulb to "enhance" the color output. It definitely will not cut down on the light output. To me the light output is "whiter" but there's also more useable light, not just an illusion.
 
NutBucket said:
55W is the standard wattage for an H1 bulb.

As for the blue ring, I believe the Nite Breakers have a blue coating over part of the bulb to "enhance" the color output. It definitely will not cut down on the light output. To me the light output is "whiter" but there's also more useable light, not just an illusion.
Click to expand...

The tint will rob some light. That's how tints work, they block certain wavelengths.

However, the Night Breakers don't coat the entire bulb and because the uncoated area is the area where the primary amount of useful light is being thrown by the filament, the total reduction is small. The over-driven filament more than overcomes the minimal tinting.

ZV
 
ballmode said:
so they life on these H1 bulbs are 350 hours?

That's not very much
Click to expand...


From what I've been seeing, it seems about the average for these intensity bulbs. Here is a summary from the candlepower website:

H1 (regular normal): 1550 lumens, 650 hours

Long Life (or "HalogenPlus+") 1460 lumens, 1200 hours

Plus-30 High Efficacy (Osram Super, Sylvania Xtravision, Narva Rangepower, Candlepower Bright Light, Tungsram High Output, Philips Premium): 1700 lumens, 350 hours

Plus-50 Ultra High Efficacy (Philips VisionPlus, Osram Silverstar, Narva Rangepower+50, Tungsram Megalicht, but not Sylvania Silverstar): 1750 lumens, 350 hours

Plus-80/90 Mega High Efficacy (Philips Xtreme Power, Osram Night Breaker): 1780 lumens, 340 hours

Blue coated 'extra white' (Osram CoolBlue, Narva Rangepower Blue, Philips BlueVision or CrystalVision, Tungsram Super Blue or EuroBlue, Sylvania Silverstar or Silverstar Ultra, which is just a rebrand of the Silverstar product, also PIAA, Hoen, Nokya, Polarg, etc): 1380 lumens, 250 hours
 
i highly recommend a morimoto HID kit from theretrofitsource. i'm running a 35W 5000K H11 bulb (but they sell H1 as well) and it's a nice, clean white with just the slightest hint of blue.

they are incredibly high quality, and well worth the money. just make sure you have projector housings (otherwise you will need buy projectors separately).

talk to the folks at TRS and they will hook you up.
 
Try PIAA Extreme White .. 4000K temperature ... they use the same current as a 55W bulb, but put out the same amount of light as a 110W bulb. I have them and they work great. But they are not cheap and run about $80 for a pack of 2 (for your H1 size)
http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/part_number=PIA11655/353.0
c538943445fce6c6b9644ee370dfd3b8.jpg
 
bruceb said:
Try PIAA Extreme White .. 4000K temperature ... they use the same current as a 55W bulb, but put out the same amount of light as a 110W bulb. I have them and they work great. But they are not cheap and run about $80 for a pack of 2 (for your H1 size)
http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/part_number=PIA11655/353.0
c538943445fce6c6b9644ee370dfd3b8.jpg
Click to expand...



If they're going to last the same number of hours as the others previously listed (around 350), then I think these might be a bit too expensive for me right now. This will be the first time changing my headlights in this car, so might be best if I stick with something cheaper. I'll definitely keep them in mind for next time though!

thanks!
 
Fenixgoon said:
i highly recommend a morimoto HID kit from theretrofitsource. i'm running a 35W 5000K H11 bulb (but they sell H1 as well) and it's a nice, clean white with just the slightest hint of blue.

they are incredibly high quality, and well worth the money. just make sure you have projector housings (otherwise you will need buy projectors separately).

talk to the folks at TRS and they will hook you up.
Click to expand...



I never considered getting an HID kit. Looks like from the site it'll run me about $250 for the entire kit. Interestingly enough, their address is right around the corner from me, so I'll give'em a call and/or visit them if I get a chance later in the week. I'll definitely have to do some more research into HID though....for some reason thought they weren't street legal if they don't come stock. What is the downside of getting this?
 
bruceb said:
they use the same current as a 55W bulb, but put out the same amount of light as a 110W bulb.
Click to expand...

Yeah, see... That's not possible. Not even a little tiny bit.

What you're seeing as increased "brightness" is actually increased glare which actually reduces your ability to see.

And even if they did actually put out twice the lumens (which they don't), that would make them illegal for on-road use because they would be outside the allowable specs for the bulb type.

ZV
 
Last edited:
Zenmervolt said:
Yeah, see... That's not possible. Not even a little tiny bit.

What you're seeing as increased "brightness" is actually increased glare which actually reduces your ability to see.

And even if they did actually put out twice the lumens (which they don't), that would make them illegal for on-road use because they would be outside the allowable specs for the bulb type.

ZV
Click to expand...



I skimmed over the HID articles on that site, and it seems that the HID retrofit kits are too good to be true and most probably aren't street legal....is that accurate?


Question, is xenon just a type of halogen bulb?
 
Xenon is a type of gas used to fill the halogen bulbs.

In short, any HID retrofit is illegal. The only legal HIDs are those that are factory installed. However, in general sticking an HID bulb into a halogen projector housing will usually produce decent results. I had an HID kit in my '05 Legacy and cutoff was very sharp.
 
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