stock87

http://rocky-road.com/ipfH4.html

Scroll down to the H4 Magic J bulbs. They're only 61 bucks but they're HIR lights so they put out a lot more light than what they're rated. Equivalent to like 80/100 or something, I forget, but they only draw 55/60W. But they're VERY nice. I'd pay triple what I did for them.

Then again I was upgrading from the factory 35/60 sealed beams <barf>.

tpg013

Phillips Vison Plus are excellent as well.

toyotaoffroad91

http://cgi.ebay.com/Xenon-HID-Conver...QQcmdZViewItem

toyotaoffroad91

remember the lower the kelvin the more light it will put on the road i got 6000k but most people like the bling look of the 8000k

coot

I have the 8000k and it already pisses off some people because they can be very bright. I cant even imagine how bright your 6000ks are.

Coot

SteveD0603

Thanks! I wrote them inquiring and they recommended the Fat Boys 1st, and the Magic Js second. Are the Magic Js a gimicky blue coated glass, though? It looks like it on the ARB web site and I don't want that. Although, Rocky Road did say they didn't use any of the gimicky crap in their bulbs. Fast reply and very thorough. Makes me want to do business with what seems like a great bunch of people!

Do you or anybody know how these compare to the new Phillips Power Plus 50s or Extreme Power Plus 80 and Osram (Much better European version of the Silverstar) Silverstar Plus 50s bulbs that rate so high on the Powerbulbs.com site? They're a little easier on the wallet than the IPFs. Maybe the quality is not as good as IPFs, though. Man, way too many choices out there!

snj4runner

A question for the HID converts... I am also thinking of upgrading to HID, but I've read about the excess glare from just doing a bulb swap and not using projector housings. How is the glare and cut-off with the stock reflector? Anyone have pics?

Thanks!
Ed

Jake94

Several year back I got a smokin' deal on a set of Hella head light buckets and 100/80w bulbs, for my pickup. At the time I really wanted the IPF buckets but couldn't get them. The Hellas were much brighter but still had the yellowish tint of the sealed beams. I ended up replacing the Hella bulbs with the IPF J's they weren't much brighter, but the were "whiter" with out being blueish. They do have a phosphorescent rig that give off a blue glow when you look at them, but no blue tint from the drivers seat. I don't know if its a gimmick, but the color contrast with the J's was better than the Hella's. The J's lasted about a year before they burned out. I replaced them with some name brand (sorry don't remember) off the shelf standard wattage "hyper" or +50 bulbs that did not have the blue tint. They are every bit as "white" as the J's and a hell-of-a-lot cheaper and have lasted 3+ years. I Haven't upgraded the wiring harness in the truck, but I would venture a guess that Hella or IPF buckets and an upgraded wiring harness with regular bulbs is more cost effective than fancy bulbs.


Just a note here, contrary to stock87's post or the Internet hype, neither the IPF J Bulbs or the Fat Boys are HIR bulbs !! HIR's have a distinctive "Pear" shape and have a single filament. There is currently (and I doubt if there will ever be) a dual filament HIR bulb ! ! Do a search on the net to understand why. A lot of companies, including IPF, are starting to make bulbs with pear shaped glass and claiming they are "High pressure" or "infrared technology" but it's all hype. BTW the J's and Fat Boys are the standard cylindrical shape.


Anywho, ever since we got our 01 Runner I have hated the head lights, they simply suck big dead bears. I stuck the Hella's in, that were pulled from the truck, without improvement. Since I had good luck with the Hella buckets, I figured it must be that the reflectors in the Runner's head lights were a poor design. Since I couldn't replace them I decided I'd just have to live with them and add aux. lighting. Ric gave me his factory fogs, when he had his bumper built, and they helped, but only for about a week before my wife got nailed by a hit and run wiping out the front bumper. We decided to replace it with an ARB thus eliminating the fogs.

So, I went ahead and installed a head light harness and put in some IPF Fat Boys. They worked great. Clean white light without a hint of blue, very bright and the cut off *seemed* sharper. I didn't get flashed, around town, but I did out on the road with the back end loaded up with gear. Chalked it up as the aim being out of whack after installing the lift and bumper. One thing that struck me as odd was, there were some dark spots in the low beam pattern. Like I said I *thought* the reflectors in these Runners sucked so I tried the Fat boys in the Hella buckets in the truck. This little experiment, at first, confirmed my impression of the reflectors. *edit* I also thought the dark areas MAY have always been there and was just the increased brightness of the IPF's made them noticeable.

Everything was great until 6 months to the day after installing the Fat boys the first one burned out. I put one of the Hella's back in, both were 80w low beams, and the IPF was a lot brighter and whiter than the Hella. Went looking for a replacement for the IPF, I could NOT find a single replacement for the IPF's. They were only sold in pairs and I'll be damned if I'm going to spend close to $100 for 1 replacement bulb. (BTW, the other 1 burned out with in a week of the 1st) $100 every 6 months NO WAY.

Looked around and found some OSRAM 85/80w bulbs for ~$20 each so I thought WTF. Much to my surprise the are as bright and white as the IPF's (both 80w on low beam) and a lot better on high beam. Now here is the weird part, the dark spots disappeared !!!!! The low beam pattern is much better than the IPF's. I compared the IPF's, OSRAM's and the hella's. The filament and the little low beam cut off reflector, in the IPF's is further out than the other bulbs !! My hunch is that it messes with the reflector focus and causes the dark spots in the pattern !!

For $20 I'm sticking with the OSRAM's. same color, brightness and a better pattern. Hopefully the will last longer than 6 months, but for $20 I Can live with it.

SteveD0603

Hey man, thank you! I looked at Powerbulbs.com and they have the Osram Silverstars, Phiilps Vision Plus, and Phiilps Extreme bulbs and have been leaning toward those. All rate really high or won a test with a European car magazine that did tests on current bulbs to find the best on the market.

I checked up on the IPF fat boys and Majic Js that were recommended to me, and was convinced that they might be the best, but I just have not been able to get myself to spend $61 for the Majic Js or $83 for the Fat Boys! Lots of money, especially after I just bought lots of lift parts and some new IPF driving lights. So, you are confirming my suspicions about those and I now think I'll buy the Osrams or the awesome Phillps bulbs. Are your Osrams Silverstars? The Osram Silverstar is supposedly a much better version of the US version of the Sylvania model. Where would I find the bulbs you have? Do you have a link you could give me? Thanks again!

Jake94

http://www.rallylights.com/hella/H4.asp half way down the page. OSRAM "Hyper"

I think they are the same as the OSRAM +50's here
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/p.../products.html

Jerm

I just got a set ot h4 hids 4300K temp from http://www.xenonlightsource.com/index.htm and they have a removeable reflector on the bulb. I am going to use the reflector until i get the 99 runner headlight housings. They are a bit pricey but they seem good, my buddy got a set as well and his are super bright way way brigher than my piaa's. Very clean sharp lines way more of the road is seen with them. I will not use projectors, because i don't see the advantage to using them with such a bright bulb as they are.

stock87

I stand corrected.

What category do they fall under, then? There's something going on there that boosts them beyond normal output. Not a lot, but it is noticeable. I've compared them side-by-side with run of the mill no name H4 bulbs.

Jake94

Other than the the bling bling glow ring on the J's nothing, in my memory, stands out. Are they brighter, Yep. Is the current crop of H4's as bright, Yep again.

On the fat boy's the 1st thing you notice is how big they are. More of a proprietary gas mixture? Perhaps, don't know can't tell ya fer sure. Another thing I noticed is the filaments are definitely longer (that's why every thing is further from the base than standard bulbs) and I have a hunch it's thinner than regular bulb. Thinner filament--> burns brighter--> longer filament means there is more of it, burning brighter = more light. Would also explain their lack of longevity.

The IPF are brighter, not the 150/190w equivalent they claim, and IMHO definitely not worth the extra you shell out for them.

There is 1 more thing that really disappointed me. This past summer we had a chance to do a night run with some Cruiser Head buds of mine. These guys are lucky as they have separate high and low beam lamps, which means they can run true HIR bulbs. They are able to source genuine HIR Toshiba bulbs form our local John Deere parts counter (of all places) for something like $12 bucks a bulb. Their running 65w Highs and 55w lows and they put the IPF's to shame.

stock87

Well, that's really annoying. Crud. I mean, I guess they work for me and that's what matters, but I liked the idea that I had something special.

I guess the housing upgrades make the biggest differences. That, at least, I am quite satisfied with.

SteveD0603

Hey, thanks for the input anyway!

SteveD0603

Thank you again! From what I've read, it looks to be a different bulb then the +50. Higher wattage, I believe.