headlight bulb 35w or 55w?

[jhuerto23]

I replaced the stock bulbs to 8000k and ever since my wife noticed that the light output has decreased. I'm now looking to replace them to 6000k but my question is. Has anybody used a 55w D2S bulb using our stock harness ie: ballast? If it turns out I have to get a whole kit to use a 55w bulb then I will just get a 35w bulb.

Thanks,
Jeff

[vasekvi]

No point in using a 55w bulb with stock ballast. Get 4300k for the brightest and whitest light.

[EniGmA1987]

Using a higher wattage rated bulb on a 35w stock ballast will still only be a 35w light output.


The way humans perceive light varies with the visible color spectrum. At 8000K temperature we see less light than at 5000K, so the same 35w of light will be less bright.

[jhuerto23]

Cool, thanks for clearing it up for me guys. I just ordered a set of 6000k's.

[Ilya]

There no 55w bulbs...only ballasts. All bulbs are 35w. At least from any of the reputable HID kit manufacturers. So all you need to do is replace your ballasts...and that will make your 8000k 35w bulbs look more like 6500 or 7000k which is better (but not the best).

For a truly potent system, go 55w ballasts and 6000k bulbs. That will make the bulbs look more like 5000k which is very good but also gives that little blue hue that people know and love from xenon lights.

[vasekvi]

There no 55w bulbs...only ballasts. All bulbs are 35w. At least from any of the reputable HID kit manufacturers. So all you need to do is replace your ballasts...and that will make your 8000k 35w bulbs look more like 6500 or 7000k which is better (but not the best).

For a truly potent system, go 55w ballasts and 6000k bulbs. That will make the bulbs look more like 5000k which is very good but also gives that little blue hue that people know and love from xenon lights.

Oh but there are 55w bulbs.. but no not from reputable manufacturers

http://www.amazon.com/Generic-Xenon-Con ... B00EZFKB50

http://worldwideaccessories.net/product ... 7Aod9woA9Q

But I still think 4300k Philips Crystalvision and stock 35w ballast is the way to go.

[Ilya]

Yeah it's just a marking. There is a reason why TheRetrofitSource ships 35w bulbs...I wouldn't be surprised if those '55w' bulbs were actually 35w lol. But anyway, I agree with Vasekvi...get some nice Philips (I prefer 85122 or similar) bulbs and either a 35w ballast or 55w...you can use the bulbs with either. Just keep in mind that the general rule of thumb for 55w is that it takes the bulb temperature (kelvin) and subtracts 1000. So...6000k = 5000k IF using a 55w ballast.

That's why I bought 55w ballast (TRS refers to it as a 50w ballast) and 6000k bulbs...my lights look like 5000k or slightly whiter/bluer than 4300k. Perfect combination.

[patmcd06]

I just found out that my 07 m35x did not come with HIDs. When I went to upgrade to Morimoto bulbs because I have a headlight out, I realized the original owner had put in aftermarket 35w ballastsand I am guessing H1 bulbs.(No name on them). I want to upgrade to the Morimotos...should I go 35W or 55W? What is the big difference?? Just light output? If I get the Morimoto Elite HID System with 5Five DSP ballasts, XB35 6000K bulbs, and the H1/H3 HD Relay harness...would I need anything else? Remember, my car originally did not come with HIDs. Thanks ahead of time!!

[Ilya]

That is all you need. I have Morimoto 5Five ballast and XB35 600k bulbs. My car was also not HID equipped.

[awesomelyhumble]

Actually, there is a difference between a 35W and 55W bulb. The "bulb" part of the bulb (the globe inside the glass where the chemicals are) is bigger on the 55W bulb. I used to be in the manufacturing industry of HID lighting. I used to have hi-res comparison pictures to show people (as this was a common question), but I no longer have them. But yes, there is a (slight) difference.

[Larz]

Chiming in here .... There are 55w D2S bulbs even from Retrofit Source ... BUT ... they require a 55w ballast to work properly and they have a significantly shorter lifespan (as much as 1/3 less than a 35w bulb).
Also remember that as you increase kelvins, you decrease the distance the light covers. Your wife was right - 8k kelvin bulbs won't light up much in front of your car. Similar to the HID wanna-be peeps who want a purple hue - their bulbs make a nice colour on the ground in front of the bumper, but they can't see more than 20 feet in front of the car.
A good 5k or 6k kelvin bulb will make nearly pure white with a 35w ballast if you buy from the right place. 70% - 80% of the Phillips or Osram bulbs sold on Ebay, Amazon, etc are fakes even if sold by a USA cmpany.
Buy your bulbs (no higher than 6k kelvin if you want to see in the distance) from a place like The Retrofit Source where you can be 100% sure they are selling the actual brand in the actual factory sealed containers. I recomment the Phillips 85122 or what I'm about to upgrade to: 5000 kelvin Osram CBI's'. The authentic Phillips and Osram bulbs are NOT cheap .... but they are staggeringly brilliant with sharp cut-offs, wide coverage, and long disctance.

check this out, mates:
http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthr ... ight=osram

Also, I believe Iyla has stated it perfectly: If you use 55w ballasts, subtract 1000 kelvins from your bulbs for your actual outcome. A 6000 kelvin bulb with a 55w ballast will perform like a 5000 kelvin bulb, etc.

[aiham78]

Prices do range from $88 to $185 in ebay, while Retrofit is offering it for $185 (Osram Xenarc 66240 CBI D2S Bulbs) http://www.theretrofitsource.com/compon ... 1GqQ8dOWUm

Larz, is it worth it to replace the OEM hid to Osram Xenarc 66240 CBI , is the difference noticeable? Or should I wait for the oem to burn out then replace?

Also the description says"Osram's Cool Blue Intense bulbs offer more lumens than the once industry-standard Philips 85122+ 4300K bulb" They should produce pure white color not blue, right? Just wanted to verify.

Thanks,

[Larz]

The OEM bulbs are 4200k - 4300k. I don't know which brand Infiniti installs and I don't know if your bulb size is D2S. The Phillips 85122 D2S was considered the best made, highest quality bulb by most experts (I am not an expert - just repeating them). The new Osra 5000 CBI's are brighter and wider than the Phillips. There is a link in my previous post of members who have switched and pics of the improvement they see.
In general, the brighteness of each bulb is measured in lumens, the perceived colour is determined by kelvins. Here are some average lumen ratings for high quality D2S bulbs (brands like Morinoto and Phillips):

35w ballast + 4300k = 3200 lumens = warm white
35w ballast + 5000k = 3000 lumens = pure white
35w ballast + 6000k = 2800 lumens = pure white with a faint hint of blue

As the kelvin increases, the lumens decrease - meaning the brightness (and how far you see, etc) is reduced.
That's why people who use those purple bulbs can't see anything in the distance. 8000k and higher are pretty much useless for driving because they don't cover much distance in front of the car. They just make a puddle of concentrated purple on the ground in front of the car, but some like the colour effect.

As for buying them now Vs waiting for the OEMs to go dimmer with age, that's a personal choice. I'm assuming you have 4300k bulbs at the moment so the new Osram at 5000k will be whiter, brighter, and shine farther and wider (additional 300 lumens), and have just a slight hint of blue with 'pure' white output instead of your current 'warm white' output. The Osram cut-offs are also sharper than the Phillips and the width of the beam is wider, according to those who have switched to them. You should notice a brighter, larger coverage area if you upgrade.

I now have Phillips 6000k which put out 2800 lumens when new, so the Osram CBIs will increase brightness (and therefore distance and width) by an additional 2200 lumens. Thats 55% brighter and sharper than my current bulbs!
It is said that after 2-3 years, all bulbs begin to put out less lumens than original specs and the cut-offs become less sharp. My 6000k Philips are 2+ years old so I am expecting a huge difference.

[EniGmA1987]

kelvin rating too low also gets lumen decreases though as well. The human eye sees a specific wavelength and perceives it as light, right around the 4000-5000 range is where our eyes take in the most light. Beyond that either way will drop off, but less so as you go under it until eventually you cant see the light any more. Going down will eventually get you to infrared spectrum, going up eventually puts you into ultravoilet spectrum. Additionally a VERY important part of light bulbs are the CRI, or color rendering index, of a bulb. CRI is how much of the light we can see, and it is how accurate the light is rendered according to specifications. It is why cheap LEDs can put out "1000 lumens" and look far less bright than the same 1000 lumens of a regular incandescent bulb. incandescent has a CRI of 100. Not sure what Xenon is but it is probably pretty close to 100 for the high quality bulbs. Cheap bulbs may be down closer to 90 or so. Cheap LEDs can have a CRI as low as the upper 60's, and high end LEDs can reach to about 90 CRI. This accuracy rating is often what differentiats cheap bulbs from expensive, and makes some bulbs much "brighter" and "more revealing" at the same brightness level compared to cheaper bulbs.

As bulbs age, the kelvin color will shift a bit too. Cheaper bulbs shift more and/or quicker than expensive bulbs.


The stock HID projector setup in the Infiniti M uses D2S bulbs and 35w ballasts. So yes you can swap the Osram CBI's right in.

[aiham78]

I'm so interested in the Osram CBI especially after readimg Larz link and his explanation/ description of the bulbs.

I now have Phillips 6000k which put out 2800 lumens when new, so the Osram CBIs will increase brightness (and therefore distance and width) by an additional 2200 lumens. Thats 55% brighter and sharper than my current bulbs!

I appreciate the informative reply, I have issues driving at night and would love to upgrade the bulbs.

Philips 85122 has 3200 lumens or your Philips outputs 2800 lumens, the CBI outputs 3500 lumens, that's not 55% brighter, the difference is 700 lumens max, am I missing something?

[Larz]

Oi !!!!!! LMAO ! I was subtracting the 2800 lumens from 5000k which, well, ewrmm was horrifyingly wrong!
You are correct it's an additional 700 lumens or about 25% brighter. All those years of fine education and I subtracted oranges from apples. Sorry for the confusion!

[aiham78]

I look at it the other way around. It is all the years of fine education that made you slip this one since you are way pass the world of subtraction, oranges and apples

Having extra 700 Lumens is not bad to me at all, I just need to verify the amount of light in lumens my oem bulbs are producing to decide whether I should pull the trigger and get the Osram CBI. Also if the DIY replacement process is complicated.

Thanks for mentioning the Osram here, I was eying the Philips ones until I saw your post.

[EniGmA1987]

DIY replacement of just the bulb should be easy enough. Remove the wheel well liners (if they havent ripped off yet) and turn the wheel all the way out. Reach in and twist the low beam cap off, reach in and twist the electrical connector off the back of the bulb, twist the bulb out, and reverse all that for putting the new bulb in. It might take you 10-20 minutes to do simply because it is tight space and hard to see, but it is easy enough.

[Larz]

+1 for what HE said ^^^^^

As always, Infinit goes out their way to make ANY repair harder than it needs to be. With that in mind, some people actually remove the wheel to allow more access, but if you turn the wheel completely to the inside, you should be able to get to it easy enough by just jacking the car up to allow the wheel to drop lower and out of you way. I've also seen it done with the car on the ground, but seems this is the least easy way.

I found a pretty good video that shows an Infiniti mechanic changing the D2S bulbs. It has good visuals of the assembly and the little clips that hold the bulb in pace. This is a G37 video, so our fender clips might be different - just be sure to remove all of the clips / screws that hold the upper end of the fender liner in place and fold it down against the tire to get access.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShSW-Vq7T1M

IMPORTANT: the actual glass bulbs can NOT be touched without CLEAN, lint free gloves ! The Retrofit Source recommends using an alcohol pad to wipe gently over the glass bulb just before installing it and you should also wear nitrile gloves (which is what the guy in the video is using). I change into fresh gloves just before handling and installing the bulb to ensure the bulb is completely free of dirt before you slide it into place.

This video shows an actual night drive using the CBIs on the road. At about 8 minutes into the video, you can clearly see the sharp cut-off and the wider coverage area these bulbs make. Even under the hwy amber lights, these still outshine and cover all three lanes.

http://youtu.be/OI5Bbn27uA4
.

[aiham78]

Some of the comments mentioned the 4200K version (Osram SVS). The same video uploader has a video for the SVS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EIG4QKoN2g

I would still go with the 5000K CBI due to the smooth relaxing color temp "personal prefrence", Same reason why I replaced all m house's light bulbs with daylight bulbs instead of the warm yellow ones. I was raised in a house with only white fluorescent lights and I'm used to the color temp.

[CPJ LB]

hey thanks Larz,

for the link/info on the OSRAM D2S CBI's....I read thru that site and found it very informative. I just restored one of my headlight lenses and will be ordering a set...I think my original bulbs might be fading, but not bad enough to change out right now...

I'm excited to get the new bulbs...looks like the Lexus' light output....

[Larz]

I ordered mine. Once they arrive, I shall try to install soon as possible and make a video to post in here along with pics of the coverage as seen from the inside and out. I'm expecting good results.

I also ordered the new Osram DRLs which should look absolutely brilliant! They are homogenius, meaning theyt aren't individual LED bulbs, but one contiunuous LED the lenght of the unit!
http://youtu.be/nKzDfTBQTCA
.
http://www.osram.com/osram_com/products ... productId=

[aiham78]

Where did you get the DRLs from?

[Larz]

I looked far and away for a distributor. Osram doesn't offer direct purchase at their website. The officially authorized Osram distributors in the UK deal with Osram-Germany exclusively (where the D2S bulbs are made). The DRLs aren't made in Germany, but rather at Osram-Taiwan. I found an authorized US distributor in Las Vegas called MotiveMods. They have relationships with Osram in both Germany and Taiwan. Their website offers direct purchase and they also have an Ebay store. Ebay lists them with about 3,900 transactions and ZERO negative customer comments.
The price is in line with other distributors, they ship for only $6 with delivery in 4-5 days. The DRLs have a lifespan of 5,000 hours and come with a manufacturer warranty. Here is the link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370749890492#ht_1309wt_1163

BTW: I got the D2S bulbs from The Retrofit Source. The bulbs have a 2-yr waranty from Osram. Here is the link. The website is a bit wonky but I promise you the bulbs are 100% genuine.

http://www.theretrofitsource.com/compon ... 48707.html

[jap1975]

Is the 55w set up "street legal"? I've read some old posts that says it's illegal.

[Larz]

Far as I am aware, the 55w ballasts are legal. It's the colours that might cause you trouble with the PoPo. Just make sure you use an actual 55w bulb with thse ballasts. A 35w bulb with a 55w ballast is said to reduce the life span of the bulb, but many in here have done just that and I've seen no reports of this happening. I haven't seen many legit 55w bulbs.
Remember that the higher the kelvin, the bluer the colour and distance covered is reduced significantly at 8000k and higher. They may make a nice colour on the ground in front of the car, but they won't light up anything more than about 20ft in front of your car, so they are basically worthless and unsafe.
Also, as Ilya has mentioned several times ... when using a 55w ballast and 35w bulb, your kelvin output (colour) will reduce by about 1000k. So a 6000k 35w bulb will have the colour of a 5000k bulb when used with a 55w ballast. This would be the ideal conbination and will give a pure white effect. If you use a 5000k bulb with a 55w ballast, you are back down to the OEM colour of a 4300k bulb and will not get the effect of the pure white colour as seen on Lexus, Mercs and BMWs.

[DJPlayedYA]

I noticed on some listings for bulbs on TRS, it gives a warning NOT to use the bulb with a stock Infiniti ballast. Is this warning just to cover their arses or are you really not supposed to use an aftermarket bulb with a stock Infiniti ballast? Thanks in advance.

[Larz]

I've never seen such a warning on a D2S size bulb. In the upper right corner of the web page is their phone number. You can call them if you have any questions.

[DJPlayedYA]

I noticed on some listings for bulbs on TRS, it gives a warning NOT to use the bulb with a stock Infiniti ballast. Is this warning just to cover their arses or are you really not supposed to use an aftermarket bulb with a stock Infiniti ballast? Thanks in advance.

So I was about to order the D2S Morimoto XB35 6000k bulbs last night for my 07 M35, but then I thought let me wait and see if they give a discount to dealers. Good thing I did because apparently all Morimoto D2S bulbs are incompatible with stock Infiniti HID ballasts. The gentleman I spoke with at The Retrofit Source said that the Morimoto bulbs do not work or fail on at least 80% of cars with stock Infiniti ballasts. He said you have to get the Philips or Osram. It sounded a bit like an upsell, but the gentleman was extremely friendly and even said I could get the bulbs from the dealership (but at a higher price). Plus, he told me about their wholesalers discount program, so I think the information is genuine. Which leads me to...

...Have any of you guys tried aftermarket (basically not Philips or Osram) bulbs in your stock Infiniti HID ballasts? Does it work perfectly? Thanks for your input.

[CPJ LB]

I noticed on some listings for bulbs on TRS, it gives a warning NOT to use the bulb with a stock Infiniti ballast. Is this warning just to cover their arses or are you really not supposed to use an aftermarket bulb with a stock Infiniti ballast? Thanks in advance.

So I was about to order the D2S Morimoto XB35 6000k bulbs last night for my 07 M35, but then I thought let me wait and see if they give a discount to dealers. Good thing I did because apparently all Morimoto D2S bulbs are incompatible with stock Infiniti HID ballasts. The gentleman I spoke with at The Retrofit Source said that the Morimoto bulbs do not work or fail on at least 80% of cars with stock Infiniti ballasts. He said you have to get the Philips or Osram. It sounded a bit like an upsell, but the gentleman was extremely friendly and even said I could get the bulbs from the dealership (but at a higher price). Plus, he told me about their wholesalers discount program, so I think the information is genuine. Which leads me to...

...Have any of you guys tried aftermarket (basically not Philips or Osram) bulbs in your stock Infiniti HID ballasts? Does it work perfectly? Thanks for your input.

good call...my buddy who does a lot of mods on cars said the same thing...he pointed me out to the V-Leds site and showed me where they even give a warning to Nissan/Infiniti owners about using Morimoto bulbs with OEM ballasts...I've included the link.... I chatted with RetroFit and they indicated that Vleds get their Osram bulbs directly from Retrofit...so we can trust Vleds as well.

http://www.vleds.com/headlights/hid/hid ... white.html