Well, I must have gotten defective bulbs from PIAA because they are certainly appear brighter than stock although I haven't done measurements with a light meter.dcmdx said:I'd go with Silverstars. I have the PIAA Xtreme Whites in one of my other cars and those are supposed to be comparable to the SS. Both emit about 20% more light than stock. PIAA's Super Whites are actually less brighter (10%) than stocks. The difference is that the PIAAs are more expensive. I put the SS in my sister's car and they perform just as well for lower cost.
Super White on the rightdcmdx said:PIAA's Super Whites are actually less brighter (10%) than stocks.
Well, I guess it could have been worse, I might have picked the wrong car instead of the wrong bulbs!renov8r said:
The thing with using your "visual comparisons" or "photo" is that the effect of DIFFERENT light directions and colors really throws off your perception.
A light meter can't be fooled so easily.
Certainly more than I thought! But I will do a 'field test' more out of curiosity than anything. After all, whichever enables me to see 'more' is what I am going after. Within limits, because I am not ready to go full HID or modify vehicle wiring to higher gauge to allow lamps with more current draw. And I do want to stay legal, and concentrate on low beams, since a good 99% of driving I do with low beams. I shall print my fotos over the next few days and would be interested in comments. Thanks for all the info. Yes, the difference in lumens and luminance is critical, and why some lighting is perceived as brighter. Uniform brightness is also important and probably has almost as much to say about the tolerance of bulb assembly as it does about the reflector design of the vehicle.dcmdx said:ren, thanks for the post on the test results. 16.5% is more than i thought.
dale, stock is stock unless it's e-code. it doesn't matter who makes it b/c the diff will be negligible.
if you really want brightness, upgrade the wiring harness for $35 and put higher wattage bulbs in there.
there are limitations to filament bulbs that will inherently limit its kelvin and lumens.
i believe the brightest 55w halogen bulb is the philips vision plus, which is supposed to be 40-50% brighter than stock. this is apparently achieved by increased luminance, not lumens.