RV7Factory
Chief Obfuscation Officer
I thought some of you might find this interesting.
Not wanting to spend the $ on HID lights, I decided to experiment a little with standard halogen bulbs. I replaced one of the standard H3 55W halogen bulbs that came with my Duckworks kits with a Sylvania Silverstar? bulb of the same wattage. The Silverstar? bulbs output light with a color temperature of 4000 degrees K, which results in a bright white-blue light compared to the somewhat yellowish 3000 degrees K light of a standard halogen bulb.
The comparison pictured below is a direct comparison of 55W bulb. During my search for replacement bulbs, I found other H3 bulbs of a higher color temp and wattage (85-100W) which would have resulted in an even brighter light, but the cost of those bulbs was too much to warrant much experimenting. I picked up the Silverstars? on eBay for about $20 for the set, so if it didn't work out, I wouldn't mind.
Here are a few pictures of the light produced by the bulbs. Additional pictures and a slightly different write-up can be found on my web site.
The first shot, taken with the both lights pointed down at the driveway about 15' ahead. You can see the obvious color difference in the light with the Silverstar? on the left and the regular halogen on the right.
Sonoma decided to go sit in the driveway (no this wasn't staged), so I used her as a model. First I turned only the standard halogen on her. She is a yellow lab, and the warm light of the standard halogen really brings out the yellowness of her coat. She was about 50' away from the light and camera.
Next up was the Silverstar?. Compared to the picture above (taken with same camera settings), her color is less pronounced but she appears brighter. I think there was a slight improvement with the Silverstar? bulbs.
In the end, you be the judge. For the $20 I spent, I think the slight improvement was worth it, but if it had cost more, I doubt I would do it. I would however like to get my hands on some 85W 4100 degree K PIAA bulbs.
Not wanting to spend the $ on HID lights, I decided to experiment a little with standard halogen bulbs. I replaced one of the standard H3 55W halogen bulbs that came with my Duckworks kits with a Sylvania Silverstar? bulb of the same wattage. The Silverstar? bulbs output light with a color temperature of 4000 degrees K, which results in a bright white-blue light compared to the somewhat yellowish 3000 degrees K light of a standard halogen bulb.
The comparison pictured below is a direct comparison of 55W bulb. During my search for replacement bulbs, I found other H3 bulbs of a higher color temp and wattage (85-100W) which would have resulted in an even brighter light, but the cost of those bulbs was too much to warrant much experimenting. I picked up the Silverstars? on eBay for about $20 for the set, so if it didn't work out, I wouldn't mind.
Here are a few pictures of the light produced by the bulbs. Additional pictures and a slightly different write-up can be found on my web site.
The first shot, taken with the both lights pointed down at the driveway about 15' ahead. You can see the obvious color difference in the light with the Silverstar? on the left and the regular halogen on the right.
Sonoma decided to go sit in the driveway (no this wasn't staged), so I used her as a model. First I turned only the standard halogen on her. She is a yellow lab, and the warm light of the standard halogen really brings out the yellowness of her coat. She was about 50' away from the light and camera.
Next up was the Silverstar?. Compared to the picture above (taken with same camera settings), her color is less pronounced but she appears brighter. I think there was a slight improvement with the Silverstar? bulbs.
In the end, you be the judge. For the $20 I spent, I think the slight improvement was worth it, but if it had cost more, I doubt I would do it. I would however like to get my hands on some 85W 4100 degree K PIAA bulbs.
