Eco- Headlamp bulbs?! anyone tried these?

[jakobnev]

they are 10% brighter than other bulbs at the same wattage

Great, we can run them 2-3% under-voltaged for longer life!

[Cobb]

Ill say this, I have them in my high beams on my insight. I drive or drove 18 miles through a rural area with them on for like 30 minutes or so a day. With regular halogen the cabin of the car would get toasty warm and I would turn down or off the heater. With the eco bulbs this did not happen and they seemed maybe 10% less bright. The IMA system which includes the DC to DC converter which replaces a alternator in a hybrid vents into the cabin of the car.

Like mentioned, for ultimately brightness and energy savings go hid, get the smallest ballasts like 35 watts, get a white bulb like 4300k and get the relay kit to avoid any electrical problems. Just be ware these do not work if your high beam is used as a DRL.

[mcrews]

1.lums are 2800 for a D2S 4300k low beam bulb.
lum are in thousands.

the ad says 200-300 so it's a fog bulb.
2. It's square so it's not REALLY 360.
3. Multiple bulbs WILL NOT throw the light farther. which is the entire purpose of headlamps.

here is a thread I wrote on HID's (plug n play) failing in halogen lamps.
The same reasons exist for the leds failing in a halogen lamp
HID plug n play fails govt test

[mcrews]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Ill .

Like mentioned, for ultimately brightness and energy savings go hid, get the smallest ballasts like 35 watts, get a white bulb like 4300k and get the relay kit to avoid any electrical problems. Just be ware these do not work if your high beam is used as a DRL.

This is inccorrect (FACTUALLY).
An HID bulb mounted in a lamp designed for a HALOGEN bulb doest not work correctly.

PLEASE show a picture of your hid bulb on shining on a wall. Park 30 feet away.
IT FAILS. PERIOD.
Please read the thread I posted from HIDPLANET.

[christofoo]

I think the EM Wiki needs to be updated on LEDs (ref post #10).
1. Differentiate halogen head-lamps vs parking/tail-lights.
2. Explain geometry problem with swapping halogen low-beams.
3. Define motivation for power reduction.
4. Include HID discussion.
5. Remove obfuscating references.

Now... back to 'eco' halogens? (End thread-jack?) They reduce power in the low-beam setting, but not a ton, 20W total in my test, and unlike LEDs and HIDs they are halogens with the proper geometry so the low beam pattern meets DOT approval (and is socially responsible).

[christofoo]

Originally Posted by christofoo

Assuming 37kWhr/gal for gasoline: (EDITED)
'Eco' bulbs: reduction of 20W/15%(efficiency)/37,000Whr/gal = 0.015 gal/hr
HID (hypothetically): reduction of 0.03 gal/hr

So if you hypothesize that 'eco' halogens costs you $5 for one reason or another, the ROI is:
$5/(0.015gal/hr*$3.6/gal) = 90 hours of low-beam operation
Which is almost certainly within the lifetime of the bulb. (Or make it 200-300 hours if you throw away your old bulbs to put in new ones.)

So purely in economic terms, this type of bulb is probably worth using, even if you have no special purpose like an alt-delete or extensive after-dark engine-off time.

But clearly if there is no special purpose, this mod is about pinching pennies and splitting hairs. Although the electrical draw is easily measured, I'd expect the effect on fuel to be lost in the noise.

[NeilBlanchard]

It is 33.7kWh per gallon of (E10?) gasoline.

[christofoo]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

It is 33.7kWh per gallon of (E10?) gasoline.

Yes, I believe so. Sorry.

[justme1969]

I think this was great info overall but we jumped far off topic so Ill try to close my point with this lower voltage option that Im believing will work for my purpose.
The fact is the LED headlight still is a myth because of intensity, range, and color issues;
DOT here in USA has not approved them.
"angel eyes and others are more ambiance and dont effect night visabillity much."
The ones listed are infacto driving lamps, and fog lights.
They will work well for my purpose, and will be usefull for keeping alternator calm and quiet mostly.
here is a maxxima catalogue
http://maxxima.com/downloads/2012MaxximaCatalog.pdf

[320touring]

Originally Posted by christofoo

So if you hypothesize that 'eco' halogens costs you $5 for one reason or another, the ROI is:
$5/(0.015gal/hr*$3.6/gal) = 90 hours of low-beam operation
Which is almost certainly within the lifetime of the bulb. (Or make it 200-300 hours if you throw away your old bulbs to put in new ones.)

So purely in economic terms, this type of bulb is probably worth using, even if you have no special purpose like an alt-delete or extensive after-dark engine-off time.

But clearly if there is no special purpose, this mod is about pinching pennies and splitting hairs. Although the electrical draw is easily measured, I'd expect the effect on fuel to be lost in the noise.

Top post! cant believe this has stimulated so much debat, but it is good to see

So you could expect to see an investmetn return within the lifetime of the bulb when using it as a dipped beam only?

Currently I'm running dipped beam to/from work 5 days a week on a 2hr return trip, making the payback period (in hrs operation) as 9 weeks (say 2 months)- so this could save me approx 1 impg Gallon over 9 weeks?


If so, I'm currently getting 25mpg on LPG, a 1 imp gallon reduction over 9 weeks would take me from 25 up to 25.21mpg..

worth it?