Piaa H4 Xtreme White Plus headlight bulbs

StreetCreeper

StreetCreeper

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I recently installed some Piaa H4 Xtreme White Plus headlight bulbs since I felt that I wasn't seeing the road as well as I should.

I had considered installing some LED headlights, but I feel like they need to come a little further and work out some heating issues and go lower in price. Plus I'm not a fan of those blue/purple headlights which I assume are the LEDs.

I chose instead to try the Piaa lights. These bulbs run about $55-$65 on Amazon.

So another forum user asked me if I had any before & after pics. I did, and since I threw them together for him to see, I figured I would just post them here too incase anyone else is considering them as well.

If you like blue headlights—these aren't for you. If you like clear white headlights—these are a good choice.

While the bulbs themselves are partially blue, they do not project blue light. If however, you are standing in front of them, you can see a very slight blue...."flare"or something. I can't quite describe it as it is not the whole light. Almost unnoticeable.

Anyways, I like the slight blue flare, and the light that it does put out is very bright and clean.

I can't speak to how these compare to other gas filled bulbs like the Sylvanias, or to bulb life, but I will say that these bulbs seem very well made and so far I am happy with them and would buy again.

In the pics below, the headlights were all on low beam. The last pic may not be the best to show the beam pattern and color, but it was the only "before" pic that wasn't blurry, so I was forced to take the same "after" pic for a comparison.

01/11/2017: 21 month update. Both bulbs have failed. Would not recommend these bulbs unless you are OK buying new ones every year & half to two years.






 
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StreetCreeper said:
I recently installed some Piaa H4 Xtreme White Plus headlight bulbs since I felt that I wasn't seeing the road as well as I should.

I had considered installing some LED headlights, but I feel like they need to come a little further and work out some heating issues and go lower in price. Plus I'm not a fan of those blue/purple headlights which I assume are the LEDs.

I chose instead to try the Piaa lights. These bulbs run about $55-$65 on Amazon.

So another forum user asked me if I had any before & after pics. I did, and since I threw them together for him to see, I figured I would just post them here too incase anyone else is considering them as well.

If you like blue headlights—these aren't for you. If you like clear white headlights—these are a good choice.

While the bulbs themselves are partially blue, they do not project blue light. If however, you are standing in front of them, you can see a very slight blue...."flare"or something. I can't quite describe it as it is not the whole light. Almost unnoticeable.

Anyways, I like the slight blue flare, and the light that it does put out is very bright and clean.

I can't speak to how these compare to other gas filled bulbs like the Sylvanias, or to bulb life, but I will say that these bulbs seem very well made and so far I am happy with them and would buy again.

In the pics below, the headlights were all on low beam. The last pic may not be the best to show the beam pattern and color, but it was the only "before" pic that wasn't blurry, so I was forced to take the same "after" pic for a comparison.





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I like them. Personally I have LED bulbs, the one I have and most of the others out there are a "warm" white. But I would call it more of a pure white. The blue and purple lights that you are thinking of are HID bulbs that have a high kalvin color temperature.

But yea I do like those bulbs, cheaper for sure and a better color than standard OEM. The yellowish of stock is super annoying to me, I have gotten so used to white from my headlights and LED aux lights that I can't go back now.
 
tS_kStin said:
I like them. Personally I have LED bulbs, the one I have and most of the others out there are a "warm" white. But I would call it more of a pure white. The blue and purple lights that you are thinking of are HID bulbs that have a high kalvin color temperature.

But yea I do like those bulbs, cheaper for sure and a better color than standard OEM. The yellowish of stock is super annoying to me, I have gotten so used to white from my headlights and LED aux lights that I can't go back now.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, perhaps they are HIDs after all, but I'm not sure. They don't look like HIDs and to be honest, I see them mostly on crappy jacked up old Fords and Chevys as well as the crappy old import racer cars. In other words—high school kid cars. If they are HIDs, they are cheap and look like crap.

Nothing more annoying than some goof-ball rolling towards you at night with a wall of blue light from his mis-aligned headlights and fog lights.
 
HID runs at 85V and 35 watts. I don't think those are HID.

It is a bit strange that perfect white could be described as 4000K. 4000K is usually yellowish.

A few years ago I had those bulbs and I was happy with them. Keep your receipt. If a bulb burns out PIAA will replace it for free (within warranty)
 
StreetCreeper said:
Hmmm, perhaps they are HIDs after all, but I'm not sure. They don't look like HIDs and to be honest, I see them mostly on crappy jacked up old Fords and Chevys as well as the crappy old import racer cars. In other words—high school kid cars. If they are HIDs, they are cheap and look like crap.

Nothing more annoying than some goof-ball rolling towards you at night with a wall of blue light from his mis-aligned headlights and fog lights.
Click to expand...


Those are NOT HID headlights. HID headlights don't have a filament that vibrates, rather an electric arc across a gap, inside a bulb that contains specific gasses. LED's also produce light by electricity jumping a gap.

The reason you don't like HID headlights is that they need to be run inside a projector housing, that has a 'cut off' so that the light doesn't blind other drivers.

HID headlights come in a variety of color temperatures, from 3000k (yellow) all the way up to 12000k (purple/pink). The most visible light is in the 4400k-4800k range. I have a set of 55w 5000k HIDs in my BMW (since it has cut offs) and they are fantastic. Very bright, and lots of visible light, but the projector cut off makes it so they light is only projected on the road.

BigCCT.jpg


55w Incandescent bulbs are probably your best option for getting the most visible light without going to an LED or HID.
 
Cadaverous said:
Those are NOT HID headlights. HID headlights don't have a filament that vibrates, rather an electric arc across a gap, inside a bulb that contains specific gasses. LED's also produce light by electricity jumping a gap.

The reason you don't like HID headlights is that they need to be run inside a projector housing, that has a 'cut off' so that the light doesn't blind other drivers.

HID headlights come in a variety of color temperatures, from 3000k (yellow) all the way up to 12000k (purple/pink). The most visible light is in the 4400k-4800k range. I have a set of 55w 5000k HIDs in my BMW (since it has cut offs) and they are fantastic. Very bright, and lots of visible light, but the projector cut off makes it so they light is only projected on the road.

BigCCT.jpg


55w Incandescent bulbs are probably your best option for getting the most visible light without going to an LED or HID.
Click to expand...
Halogen > incandescent
 
StreetCreeper said:
Hmmm, perhaps they are HIDs after all, but I'm not sure. They don't look like HIDs and to be honest, I see them mostly on crappy jacked up old Fords and Chevys as well as the crappy old import racer cars. In other words—high school kid cars. If they are HIDs, they are cheap and look like crap.

Nothing more annoying than some goof-ball rolling towards you at night with a wall of blue light from his mis-aligned headlights and fog lights.
Click to expand...

I feel like they probably were HID, I dont really know of any other lights that are cheap and make different colors. LifetimeLED (where I got my headlight bulbs) has just come out with some that are a blue but I dont think the kids would pay $150 for them. I guess someone could find some cheap LEDs but in general I know that most people around where I live get HID being they are just more common for those Jacked trucks and ricers.

https://www.lifetimeledlights.com/led_lights/blue_headlights_h4_blue_led_headlight_bulbs
 
Well it happened ( cue the funeral march ) the drivers side Piaa light died after just 20 months.

Hmmmmm, maybe I need to try out some LEDs now...

​
 
StreetCreeper said:
Hmmmmm, maybe I need to try out some LEDs now...
Click to expand...

You might be a good candidate.... I finally had some time to get the new LED H4's added to the site. I'm putting these out at a great price to get some more good review out there! I've sold 3-4 pair and feedback has been great, but only one member is registered on the forum, [MENTION=83023]THatfield[/MENTION].

PIAA H4 LED's at Burtman Industries

piaa_led_h4.jpg


PIAA H4 LED's at Burtman Industries

Now, if you don't want to spend $200+ for the LED version, see the link below. This is one of my favorite incandescent bulbs out of any I've seen of the filament type bulbs.
This still shows a good difference on the color difference over a stock bulb. The new LED version will just be much brighter than any filament bulb can ever be.

Piaa filament bulbs, NOT LED!!! -
 
R.I.P. bulb number two.

So both bulbs have now blown in about 21 months of use. First bulb blew last month and the second blew tonight.

I have not been using the truck much at night so I've held off on buying new bulbs until I decided which way I wanted to go.

I won't be buying anymore high performance halogen (or whatever fart gas is in there) as I think the bulbs sacrifice life for a meager performance gains and ultimately — if you are forced to replace every two years or less @ $60, it is more expensive for less usable light.

So my three choices are stock bulbs that will probably last years but are the equivalent of walking down a hallway with a dim candle instead of a flashlight ( high performance halogens) or I could go with the more expensive options such as HID or LED which I would presume to be the equivalent of walking down the same dark hallway but with a nice bright lantern instead.

LEDs seem decently bright and straight forward but bulb life is not proven at least to my satisfaction. HID lights seem plenty bright and I've not heard any issues of short bulb life but also they seem a bit involved to make properly and of course they are expensive.

Choices choices....
 
Did you email them and setup a return? At less than 2 years PIAA will likely replace for free if you contact them.

Take Jason up on the LED offer. Perhaps even do some LUX testing.
 
StreetCreeper said:
R.I.P. bulb number two.

So both bulbs have now blown in about 21 months of use. First bulb blew last month and the second blew tonight.

I have not been using the truck much at night so I've held off on buying new bulbs until I decided which way I wanted to go.

I won't be buying anymore high performance halogen (or whatever fart gas is in there) as I think the bulbs sacrifice life for a meager performance gains and ultimately — if you are forced to replace every two years or less @ $60, it is more expensive for less usable light.

So my three choices are stock bulbs that will probably last years but are the equivalent of walking down a hallway with a dim candle instead of a flashlight ( high performance halogens) or I could go with the more expensive options such as HID or LED which I would presume to be the equivalent of walking down the same dark hallway but with a nice bright lantern instead.

LEDs seem decently bright and straight forward but bulb life is not proven at least to my satisfaction. HID lights seem plenty bright and I've not heard any issues of short bulb life but also they seem a bit involved to make properly and of course they are expensive.

Choices choices....
Click to expand...

I'm glad I bought a warranty on mine. Either way, those new piaa leds look pretty sweet. I'm not a fan of the HID look (or cost, frankly), so it seems like a happy medium.
 
Gl
BrianSD_42 said:
Did you email them and setup a return? At less than 2 years PIAA will likely replace for free if you contact them.

Take Jason up on the LED offer. Perhaps even do some LUX testing.
Click to expand...

No. I looked at their website and it specifically states that they warranty halogen bulbs for 1 year and LEDs for 2 years. Plus they require the original receipt and from an authorized dealer (which excludes eBay) where I think I got them (can't recall for sure). Anyways, it looks like a headache to me.

I'd love to try the LEDs but it's hard to justify $200+ on a couple bulbs that are basically untested in my opinion. There are some reviews out there but nothing convincing yet. I'm trying to convince myself to be a guinea pig for them though.
 
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