[ACR3597]

Hello,

Im looking for the best lightbulbs for my car because the standard halogen bulbs aren't cutting it. I prefer a white color maybe even a bluish white. Ive been looking around and I found the Sylvania ZXE bulbs and was wondering if anyone else has them and what they think of them. There are also some LED bulbs but they say its a conversion kit. Any help would be appreciated!

[iconoclast]

Philips X-Treme Vision.

[RoundelM3]

PIAA Super White. You're looking for a Kelvin temp rating of 6000-8500. The higher the "K" rating, the more blue they'll become. 6000-6500K is probably optimal, and I think that's what the PIAAs are rated at.

[TBolts10]

I like my phillips diamond visions - DO NOT buy the ZXE's, I had them originally and they are barely any whiter/bluer than stock. If you want the HID look go with the diamond visions, amazon has them for a decent price. I ended up moving the ZXE's to my high beams.

[iconoclast]

Look for Lumens vs kelvin. Kelvin will give you a way to gauge light color but Lumens is actual light output. The Philips X-Treme Vision bulbs are 5000k (4800k Actual) and 3200 Lumens.

[Adamr916]

I wouldn't suggest doing the led bulbs either. I ran them for about 2 weeks and ended up taking them out. Output was great on them, just doesn't much care for the beam pattern

[TBolts10]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

Look for Lumens vs kelvin. Kelvin will give you a way to gauge light color but Lumens is actual light output. The Philips X-Treme Vision bulbs are 5000k (4800k Actual) and 3200 Lumens.

Im pretty sure the x-treme visions are 3700k and the diamond visions are 5000k. I could be wrong though, it happened one other time a long long time ago.

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by TBolts10

Im pretty sure the x-treme visions are 3700k and the diamond visions are 5000k. I could be wrong though, it happened one other time a long long time ago.

http://www.mea.philips.com/c-p/85415...specifications

Originally Posted by LainyLove

How easy or difficult is it to switch out the Xenon bulbs !? I'd much prefer the whiteness of 6K or a little higher without any blue hue in it !? TIA

6000k is going to be blue... anything over 5000k is going start turning blue anything over 8000k is going to start turning purple and 1200k is basically pink. the higher the temp the lower the lumens. general rule of thumb is higher temp less usable light/lumens.

[ACR3597]

Thanks for all the replays I'm going to look at the diamond visions as well as the extreme visions also are bulbs universal or are there certain models for BMWs? If the temp of the bulb is higher does that require a heat shield or anything?

[iconoclast]

temperature of the bulb doesn't translate into literal heat of the bulb. wattage does. iirc the f3x platform uses D1S. all D1S are 35w.

[ACR3597]

So out of all the bulbs that were mention which are the absolute brightest?

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by ACR3597

H
Im looking for the best lightbulbs for my car because the standard halogen bulbs aren't cutting it.

What matters is lumens. This is a comparison of the lumens output of H7 bulbs:

Standard H7:
55w, 1400 lumens, 500 hours

H7 ultra "Plus+50" (any brand):
55w, 1580 lumens, 225 hours

H7 Xtreme "Plus+80" (Philips) or "Plus+90" (Osram):
55w, 1620 lumens, 200 hours

H7 rallye+65 (Osram only):
65w, 2100 lumens, 500 hours

The Osram is the clear winner. Not DOT approved, but that's a strange technicality, as they're no brighter than zenon. They're 65w but won't cause any wiring issues, and are far less expensive than zenon or LED that require a full conversion kit. This is the only US source that I'm aware of:
http://store.candlepower.com/osraulhiouh7.html

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by ACR3597

So out of all the bulbs that were mention which are the absolute brightest?

OEM bulbs at 4300k offer the highest lumens and usable light. The Philips X-Treme vision are a bit more White and have the SAME light output / lumens as OEM.

Originally Posted by Billfitz

What matters is lumens. This is a comparison of the lumens output of H7 bulbs

I forgot that some F3x have standard Halogen bulbs. Do not exceed 65w or you will melt your housings. Most of the cheap ebay/china crap is 80-85w and horrible for your housings. Do not do HID upgrade kits either if you do not have projector headlights. The beam pattern and the way the light is cast with HID bulbs is meant for a projector. If you use this type of bulb in a standard headlight you will get a wide cast of light that doesn't really do anything except blind on coming traffic. IIRC a D2R style headlight bulb is for use in non-projector headlights but double check because I am not sure 100% and never had to do this type of retrofit.

[ACR3597]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

OEM bulbs at 4300k offer the highest lumens and usable light. The Philips X-Treme vision are a bit more White and have the SAME light output / lumens as OEM.

So which do you suggest the most? And yeah I should have mentioned I don't have the Lighting Package just standard headlights.

[ACR3597]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

What matters is lumens. This is a comparison of the lumens output of H7 bulbs:

Standard H7:
55w, 1400 lumens, 500 hours

H7 ultra "Plus+50" (any brand):
55w, 1580 lumens, 225 hours

H7 Xtreme "Plus+80" (Philips) or "Plus+90" (Osram):
55w, 1620 lumens, 200 hours

H7 rallye+65 (Osram only):
65w, 2100 lumens, 500 hours

The Osram is the clear winner. Not DOT approved, but that's a strange technicality, as they're no brighter than zenon. They're 65w but won't cause any wiring issues, and are far less expensive than zenon or LED that require a full conversion kit. This is the only US source that I'm aware of:
http://store.candlepower.com/osraulhiouh7.html

What does plus+80 mean?

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by ACR3597

So which do you suggest the most? And yeah I should have mentioned I don't have the Lighting Package just standard headlights.

I was under the impression you were referring to HID at first but if you have the halogen headlights you may want to inquire about these options as mentioned above.

H7 Xtreme "Plus+80" (Philips) or "Plus+90" (Osram):
55w, 1620 lumens, 200 hours

H7 rallye+65 (Osram only):
65w, 2100 lumens, 500 hours

[ACR3597]

These are the xtreme visions you're referring to?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QJW...umL&ref=plSrch

[ATL0501]

Don't forget if you get higher temp lights in low beams (whiter). The parking lights will still be yellow so will need to change those to match. I used diamond vision for low beams and LEDs for parking lights.

I tried crystal vision first. They are whiter but barely to stock so moved them to high beams.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by ACR3597

These are the xtreme visions you're referring to?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QJW...umL&ref=plSrch

Those are 1650 lumens, only slightly better than stock. I already posted a link to the highest output H7 bulbs made.

[TBolts10]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

http://www.mea.philips.com/c-p/85415...specifications



6000k is going to be blue... anything over 5000k is going start turning blue anything over 8000k is going to start turning purple and 1200k is basically pink. the higher the temp the lower the lumens. general rule of thumb is higher temp less usable light/lumens.

Weird. Amazon has them listed at 3700.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...f_rd_i=desktop

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by TBolts10

Weird. Amazon has them listed at 3700.

3700 degrees, not lumens. Degrees measure color, lumens measure brightness.

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by ATL0501

The parking lights will still be yellow so will need to change those to match.

code them to be off like they are in other regions. indicator will still work and you don't have the gross amber lights.