Headlight power

[zx7rhitch]

I have horrible night vision in a car or motorcycle and I was wondering what is the stongest wattage bulbs I can use without causing damage or firer to the bike.I thank everyone that has made this what it is today its usefull information not a bunch of BS.

[icebreaker]

i think i am running 50/55's in a xeon.. Bought them a while ago, so I can't quite remember, but they are a hell of alot brighter.. And I have been known to ride at night with my tinted visor, and I don't have a problem.


You could prob get away with a 60/65 or whever the next step up is, but the fact they will be running all the time, your prob best to just try a few different xeon type 50/55 globes out.

[zx7rhitch]

Do you know what brand it is? or where you got them?There seems to be alot of junkie lights

[JamesLaugesen]

Narva 65+ globes are excellent. Not Xeon; but better in my opinion.
I've used most globes I could get my hands on in the old Across (worst headlight ever) and the Narva's were best of all.
Now I've got two of 'em in my 1994 ZXR (old school endura style headlights) and that is very freekin' bright.

[Smitty]

I use Philips 'White Plus' in the cars and the bike
they are halogen H4 or H7 65/90w from memory
but have a very white bright light
they come in a range..of normal blue and white
with various wattages 55/65 55/90 etc etc

in a bike with a light surrounded by plastic
NEVER use a 100w or higher (like 130w) globe
you will melt the plastic or burn the harness to your headlight

hth

[zx'er]

I have swapped my std bulbs in my ZX for a set of 60/55(stock) xenon blue bulbs. Apart from gving it a nice look during the day ( blue tinted headlights) they claim to be 30% brighter. Not sure if that is true or not but I find the light is 'whiter' which makes it easier to see at night. I got mine from supercheap for $30 for the pair and prefer them over the stock issue

[Steve_TLS]

Don't get blue, if they have a blue coating on the bulb stay away from them. Halogen lamps make very little light in the blue end, filtering the rest out and leaving blue cuts down the light output heaps.

I'll be the stick in the mud here. If you can't see properly at night, don't ride or drive full stop. And please don't blind me as I'm coming the other way with your over bright bulbs.

[Jonno]

Funny thing is if you put relays in you can increase ya lighting power by at least 15% with STD’s. Never use blue tints; all that does is give you a new shade of difference which really is less brilliance or less illumines and a false sense of definition. thats my experience and yours may be different but at least read about the rip off before ya sucked into it.

Big thread here >>>>> http://www.ksrc-au.com/phpBB2/viewtopic ... n&start=15

[Ratmick]

I have horrible night vision in a car or motorcycle and I was wondering what is the stongest wattage bulbs I can use without causing damage or firer to the bike.I thank everyone that has made this what it is today its usefull information not a bunch of BS.

I've run a 55/100W H4 in my ZZR600 for the last 30 months. It's blown the low-beam twice in 36,000km, but that's due to the state of my driveway, which is corrugated compacted road base and 300 metres long. The wiring is fine.

In deference to Yoda's post about not using a 100W or higher bulb... I wouldn't sit at a standstill at idle with the high beam on, but at 100km/h, and especially in winter, there's no way there's any heat buildup under the fairing.

HTH

[Smitty]

In deference to Yoda's post about not using a 100W or higher bulb... I wouldn't sit at a standstill at idle with the high beam on, but at 100km/h, and especially in winter, there's no way there's any heat buildup under the fairing.

HTH

..true Mick
but then your post code says...Antartica
or sumfing like that

[Ratmick]

..true Mick
but then your post code says...Antartica
or sumfing like that

Mate, we've had down to minus 2 already this season, half a dozen times minus one and numerous times around zero. This morning wasn't too dad, it was 2, but the fog was so bad I had to ride along the centre line of the road

[mike-s]

Funny thing is if you put relays in you can increase ya lighting power by at least 15% with STD’s.

you serious? i am guessing it's to do with a higher current flow yeah?
Now im pondering getting the soldering iron out and cracking at my bike with a set of relays damnit. It's just a shame there isnt a power point in my garage!!!

[Felix]

Ummm...reading this doesn't sit well with my recollection of quantum physics. He seems to be saying that the sky is blue, because blue light scatters more readily. No.

The sky appears blue because blue light is more energetic (thus higher frequency) and actually doesn't get filtered out by the atmosphere. This is why tv's look blue from a distance. Most of the other colours get filtered out as they are lower in energy. This is part of the reason blue light has been developed for automotive use, it emulates the conditions we encounter naturally during the day.

His 'experiment' for blue light scatter makes no sense to me, but perhaps the edges seem blurry as the blue light waves around the edges (remember they move in waves, not straight lines) actually aren't being absorbed as readily as compared to lower frequency light, like red light, and thus you actually can detect the slightly scattered photons around the edges simply because they aren't being absorbed by the surrounding atmosphere.


He seems to be pushing his own barrow, which seems pretty common with yanks. More striking for its abscence is his lack of stated qualifications

Anyhow, my 'Xenon' bulb is definately brighter than the bulb it replaced so it stays!

[zx7rhitch]

So from what I have gathered is keep it under a 100 watts and should not cause any damage

[Jonno]

Funny thing is if you put relays in you can increase ya lighting power by at least 15% with STD’s.

you serious? i am guessing it's to do with a higher current flow yeah?
Now im pondering getting the soldering iron out and cracking at my bike with a set of relays damnit. It's just a shame there isnt a power point in my garage!!!

Depends on your stock wiring as some bikes may already have relays fitted, but the direct route from the battery to the headlights (fused) with correct wire size will have improved power delivery rather than having to go through the wiring harness, switch, inadequate wiring and so on, also ensure your lights are aligned properly, even straight from the showroom they can be out. Just My opinion
You should install a relay for each headlight Halogen bulb but one will do and especially with higher wattage "H" bulbs, be mindful if you have a plastic headlight surrounding they can melt at a stand still as mentioned above
They should not be allowed to market those blue tint globes as "xenon", but should be marked Xenon in appearance as they don't actually have the gas in them. Bloody things hurt my eyes more so than white/yellow lights but I am blue tint sensitive

Guide to make both headlights work on low beam

More guides and info

http://www.ebbo.org/headlamp_relays.php

http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech/headlight-relay2.shtml

http://ovo.ca/wiring/wiring.html

http://ovo.ca/wiring/fig3.gif