Blue Vision vs. HID

[Foss]

I want to upgrade my headlights. I'm thinking Philips Blue Vision for the highs and fogs, and HID for the lows. But I'm afraid I don't quite get know the differences.

OK, I get the difference technologically. But what difference is there visibly between running a BlueVision 4000k vs a HID 4000k?

Also, with the highs and fogs, they both seem brighter than your average standard lights, so would BlueVision be even an improvement over the standards, or would I be getting better visibility out of the standard lights?

[38TRY]

Philips Blue Vision 4000K looks still "YELLOW" even it says "blue vision"

HID 4000k looks "White"

If you are looking for just direct replacement bulbs, get the Philips Diamond Vision. It is the nearest color to HID light bulbs.

[Adamsy]

Hey It sucks but the fog lamp globes in the Aurion’s are H11's therefore there is no globe in the 5000k Phillips Diamond vision range, the very best you can get is the 4300k crystal vision globes P/N:12362CV but these should still look better, brighter and whiter than the standard tungsten globes :)

[DJKOR]

OK, I get the difference technologically. But what difference is there visibly between running a BlueVision 4000k vs a HID 4000k?

A LOT of difference.

The BlueVision bulbs achieve a different tone of light by using a (blue) coloured layer on the bulb glass. The difference here is that you are going to lose some light output for the sake of getting a slightly different light output colour. The HID's on the other hand produce their colour due to the nature of the way the light is produced. As a result, HID's don't lose any light output (which is already brighter than a stock halogen bulb).

[Adamsy]

"The difference here is that you are going to lose some light output for the sake of getting a slightly different light output colour."

Is this true? as both Narva and Phillips state claims like 50% brighter and beams 20 metres longer etc etc?

[DJKOR]

Is this true? as both Narva and Phillips state claims like 50% brighter and beams 20 metres longer etc etc?

If the bulb is tinted and does not consume more power than the stock bulb, then the claims they usually make are not entirely true. The non-tinted bulbs with extra brightness though (like Vision Plus and Osram Night Breakers) are a different story and those specially tinted HIR bulbs are also another exception as they produce more light than the expected power output due to some nifty tricks.

But in general, a blue tinted bulb is not going to be brighter than its stock halogen counterpart.

[chicaboo]

I have H4 4300K HIDs on my Pulsar, and Blue Vision parker bulbs, and they are M I L E S apart in colour separation.

Note: It doesn't matter what anybody tells you, HIDs on a car that was not factory fitted with them, are illegal!

Since I know this, I am fully prepared to have to remove my HIDs one day, and carry the stock bulbs with me at all times.

Beyond this, HIDs aren't all that flash in standard non-projector light housings, and only marginally better than +30/50/80s...

If you want pure white lights, just get Philips or Osram Night Breaker equivalents. This site is very good: http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/

I had all the fancy H3 and H7 Night Breaker bulbs in my Sportivo, and they were a decent improvement, almost as good as HIDs.

Gav.

[DJKOR]

Since I know this, I am fully prepared to have to remove my HIDs one day, and carry the stock bulbs with me at all times.

As do I. But this is a 50/50 mix of being pulled over by cops once before and them telling me to fix it or I can't drive it home (had H4 with built in halogen bulb, so I just swapped it over), and the fact that I don't trust HID's to work 100% of the time and bulbs are a little more reliable. Don't want to be stuck in te middle of nowhere with two busted bulbs/ballasts.

[chicaboo]

Since I know this, I am fully prepared to have to remove my HIDs one day, and carry the stock bulbs with me at all times.

As do I. But this is a 50/50 mix of being pulled over by cops once before and them telling me to fix it or I can't drive it home (had H4 with built in halogen bulb, so I just swapped it over), and the fact that I don't trust HID's to work 100% of the time and bulbs are a little more reliable. Don't want to be stuck in te middle of nowhere with two busted bulbs/ballasts.

That's right, you may still be issued with the defect notice [if the cop isn't understanding] and have to go through the processes to rectify it. And yes, it's also good practice to carry the original bulbs around as spares in case the HIDs fail. I myself having 4300K 35W HIDs, don't expect to be pulled over on the HID issue any time soon. They are a a stealth install, and my engine bay is stock otherwise, so there is no real cause for alarm [but you never know...].

Gav.

[Foss]

Yeah, I have started to question the accuracy of the statements of Philips, Narva, etc in relation to their BlueVision globes and the like. On Thursday I swapped out my parkers for Narva Arctic Blue globes, and TBH, they look about as yellow as the old globes. The difference is a far cry from what is stated in the example photo on the packet (then again, since when does anything ever turn out like the packet).

I'm not looking for extra light so much as whiter/bluer light from all of my lights. The factory lights are pretty good brightness wise. What I'm mainly looking for is something that is at least as good for brightness but with a cleaner white color rather than a dirty yellow.

Seems like DiamondVision might be the way to go?

Edit:

Oh wat a tw@t I am. Overlooked Matt's point on the H11 fogs. Now thinking Diamond for the lows/highs, and Crystal for the fogs.

Also, now I think of it, has anybody made any comparison between the offerings from Philips, Narva, and Osram?

Edited November 30, 2009 by Paradigm

[-DAvo]

I've got Phillips 6000K HID for low beams, and Phillips Diamond Vision h11 for my fogs... now while the fogs are certainly a "cleaner" looking light than standard globes (i have used phillips power to nite globes in my low beams prior to going HID) they still look yellowish. im sure for their purpose (fog lights, yellow light=better vision in fog/rain) they work great but for me, the fog lights are mainly for the looks :P so will be looking at fitting 4300k HID in the fogs soon...

... also, have you had a look at the PIAA range of globes? they are expensive but some ppl are saying their pretty white for a halogen...

either way, going with a phillips crystal vision/diamond vision/PIAA - all good globes for halogens :)

good luck mate!

Edited November 30, 2009 by -DAvo

[avstral]

I used to have Osram Night Breakers, definitely more light than stock, more white... but they are blowing out all the time and cost pretty much. Now with 6000K HID. Much better light output, much better.

[Adamsy]

PARADIGM:

Mate i did some research into the crystal vision globes today, i phoned Mainwaring auto electrical who are Phillips stockiest and they had never even heard of them surprise surprise, i even had to give them the part number of them off the website... anyway it turns out they have to come from Sydney and are around $60 each :)

[DJKOR]

... anyway it turns out they have to come from Sydney and are around $60 each :)

That sounds about right. And for only $15 more, I got my HID kit including shipping. Been using it for 20 months with lots of night driving including night driving on really bumpy roads (more wearing on the bulbs) and they are still going strong. Rowan had Crystal Vision for his headlights and fog lights and in my opinion, they weren't all that bright.

[chicaboo]

Philips Blue, Crystal and Diamond Vision don't put out very good light. I had Philips X-Treme Vision [+80%...] all through the Sportivo, and they were OK. Your next best bet is Osram Night Breakers [+90%], and as previously stated, they do seem to blow too often. But they could be more sensitive to improper handling...? Otherwise, take your chances on HIDs, but be prepared to remove them some day.

Gav.

Edited December 3, 2009 by chicaboo

[DJKOR]

... and as previously stated, they do seem to blow too often. But they could be more sensitive to improper handling...?

Can't get something for nothing in this world. To get brighter light, the filaments in the bulb usually run hotter since most bulbs have a high amount of wasted heat just to get light. Maybe OSRAM just never got it the same as Philips.

[Foss]

Cheers, Matt. Much appreciated. Didn't know Mainwaring were a Philips stockist. I was just gonna go to Autobarn or Supercheap.

Daryl, you say Rowan's weren't all that bright. Would you say they at least as bright as (and whiter/bluer than) the stock globes?

Upon further reading around the place, I'm under the impression that to fit the HB3 bulb in the high beam, filing down of the pins is required?

***** I hate the way auto manufacturers are. If you aren't gonna put the very best in out of the factory, don't make it such a pain in the **** for buyers to improve!

[DJKOR]

Daryl, you say Rowan's weren't all that bright. Would you say they at least as bright as (and whiter/bluer than) the stock globes?

I personally thought they were slightly dimmer than stock. This could also be caused by the different colour tone of the light.

Upon further reading around the place, I'm under the impression that to fit the HB3 bulb in the high beam, filing down of the pins is required?

This is correct. However it rules out your next statement:

***** I hate the way auto manufacturers are. If you aren't gonna put the very best in out of the factory, don't make it such a pain in the **** for buyers to improve!

Those HIR high beams that come stock with the Aurion are in fact the best in halogen bulb technology. They actually produce more light for their given input of 65 watts. For a little more information:

... The high beams on my Aurion use those bulbs (comes standard with them), and I find they are much brighter than normal halogen bulbs of the same wattage.

Some more reading on HIR bulbs:

http://hirheadlights.com/

It was GE's goal to create a bulb that produced 75% of the light output of HID headlights at 25% of the cost. GE sells HIR bulbs for residential lighting and specialized projectors, but decided to stay out of the automotive market and licensed this technology to a division of Toshiba. In fact, Toshiba and GE are among the few companies in the world with the expertise to engineer and build this product. These bulbs attain light levels 75% to 110% brighter than stock as a result of an engineering process that deposits multiple, yet almost invisible, layers of semi-reflective coating on the surface of a specially shaped quartz bulb. This coating ( a titania/silica, zinc oxide/silica, zirconia/silica, silicon nitride/silica, and titania/magnesium fluoride tantalam/silica multi-layer dielectric, according to the patent) reflects a portion of the infrared energy emitted by the filament back onto the filament, causing it to glow brighter and emit more light from the uncoated forward portion of the bulb. Although the filament gets hotter, the glass does not. IT GENERATES NO MORE HEAT THAN A REGULAR HALOGEN BULB, AND IT DRAWS THE SAME WATTAGE AND AMPERAGE AS THE STOCK 9006 BULB IT REPLACES

[dutchie101]

Phillips BlueVison in my Beemer were far better than the stockers. Vision was greatly improved and the light traveled much further distance wise. The beemer ran 3X H11, the main being a projector lens. I was planning to run 34w 4300k HID system on the ZRE foggies, but bailed on the idea due to the glare issues. Im now waiting for my H11 Crystal visions. Hopefully they will match the factory ZR HID's.

All round i was greatly impressed with the BlueVisions. Im wondering if the type of globe has to do with different reports people are giving?

[Wixy]

why do you guys consider blue vision and not crystal vision?

blue vision is not really an cosmetic "upgrade"...they're just another yellow light, though they are the highest adr approved upgrades. if you are looking to go blue vision, you might as well save some money and opt for the Narva Arctic Blue, which is the same temp,colour as the blue visions, but for a much lower price. i wouldnt be surprised if they projected better.....

ive using arctic blue on my old camry atm, works wonders as the colour, temp is daylight white (which means yellow)

i was using a pair of bj union 6300k thunder blue's (not legal), and they were mostly likely the best white light ive come across in halogens - kills the crystal vision and narva platinums. too bad no one sells these any more because the bulbs were 20% larger and could project far far away, they were great in the rain and in my opinion could cut through it (rain). though if u were driving behind me, the increased range often lead people to think i had my high beams on.

now, i have no choice but to go crystal vision as i need white light in lots of country driving i do, & i cant find anyone in aust that sells the bj union brand. crystal vision is not adr approved, but either way, they are pathetic compared to the thunder blue's i used. Philips should know how to make better lights - they suck. they also give auto retailers too much margin to work with - if only u knew the cost of these things....

diamond vision looks too blue, and cost too much at 149 rrp. they project a slighter blue colour than white, but whats the point when u can just purchase a cheapo one to project a cheapo blue light? so if youre after a clean white light, crystal is your best bet for now at the cost of decreased wet visibility.

[private number]

Wixy; if you really want phillips diamond vision just purchase it off ebay. saw it there for around 80 dollars free delivery.

[DJKOR]

Wixy; if you really want phillips diamond vision just purchase it off ebay. saw it there for around 80 dollars free delivery.

If you are going to spend $50 or more on a set of bulbs, your best bet it to spend a little bit extra and pick up a set of HID's for like $75 shipped.

Despite what people say, a tinted bulb of the same wattage is not going to be any brighter than the stock halogen counterpart. The colour of the light can trick you into thinking it is brighter, but it is not.

[private number]

DJ; i personally wouldnt buy a set of HIDs for $75 shipped. You get what you pay for IMO anyway

[DJKOR]

DJ; i personally wouldnt buy a set of HIDs for $75 shipped. You get what you pay for IMO anyway

Each to their own. I've had a $75 kit fitted in my Aurion since the day I started driving it. That means I have had my set for 23 months so far. I do a lot of night driving so they get a lot of use and I have even travelled down some really, really bumpy roads while using them (which is one way to wear the bulbs a little harder) and have had absolutely no issues.

I have used cheap kits like these in the past and the two other cars in the family use them as well with absolutely no issues. As far as I'm concerned, getting at least 2 years life out of a $75 kit is money well spent. The technology involved with HID's is a little bit advanced so it takes a fair level of quality in the first place for it to work properly. If it works in the first place, you already have a set of decent quality. The thing that wears these kits out faster than anything else is not taking proper car of them, ie. running them for very short durations, flashing them, not allowing cooling time before turning them on again if you turn them off, and not letting the arc stabilise then driving immediately. The extra wear from some of these conditions isn't drastic, but it's extra wear nevertheless.

Whatever makes you comfortable. Spend what you want.

[private number]

That is pretty good. Do you mind tellin me where you picked up the kit from?