What are your opinions on these bulbs and where to buy them?

What are good places to buy performance bulbs? I'm leery of getting counterfeits. I've been ripped off before on Ebay and Amazon several times. Though on one happy occasion I did get legit performance bulbs from Ebay.

Lately I've been buying from Daniel Stern (good so far, but expensive) and considering buying from CandlePowerInc.com. What are various sellers you recommend?

The H4 bulbs below interest me for use in ECE Cibie glass housings on my 99 Jeep Cherokee XJ with relay harness rated for 130W.

How good is each bulb below? Strengths and weaknesses?

Are Philps, Narva, and Vosla equally good?

Philips/Narva/Vosla 100/90W
100/150 hrs (Hi/Low) 2600/1700 lumen

Philips/Narva/Vosla 100/55W
100/200 hrs (Hi/Low) 2600/Low? lumens

Philips XtremeVision +100 (stock wiring)
300+ hrs (Hi/Low) 1650/1000 lumens

Philips XtremeVision +100 (relay harness)
I est 250+ hrs (Hi/Low) 1750/1100 lumens. Is this a reasonable performance estimate with relay harness?

Osram 85/80W
Hrs these bulbs? (Hi/Low) 2400/1750 lumens
Are these bulbs reliable? I've heard mixed reviews on that.

CandlePower 100/80W (CandlePowerInc.com's house brand)
100/200 hrs (Hi/Low) 2600/1500 lumens

Charley3 said:

What are good places to buy performance bulbs?

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Daniel Stern, powerbulbs.com, Candlepower Inc...

I've been buying from Daniel Stern (good so far, but expensive)

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But he doesn't blow smoke up your backside just to make a sale, he tells it like it is in terms of what's going to work and what isn't. In my view, you get what you pay for (i.e., his expertise is worth money).

Are Philps, Narva, and Vosla equally good?

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They're all reputable brands. Other reputable brands are Tungsram (GE) and Osram (Sylvania) That doesn't mean each and every bulb in each brand is necessarily good, or is necessarily better or worse than the comparable bulb in another brand.

Philips/Narva/Vosla 100/90W

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I would not use these in your Jeep. Its headlamps have a relatively high mounting height, which means you would have to lower the headlamps' aim angle to avoid creating unsafe (and effectively illegal) levels of glare. That would severely reduce your seeing distance, and then come back to whack you again by massively over-lighting the foreground, further reducing your distance vision. Don't be misled into thinking you don't have to worry about glare because your low beams have a cutoff. It doesn't work that way.

Philips/Narva/Vosla 100/55W

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This is the best pick for a vehicle with high-mounted headlamps where maximum high beam performance is called for, while still keeping the low beams safe for use in traffic at regular headlamp aim.

Philips XtremeVision +100 (stock wiring)
Philips XtremeVision +100[/B] (relay harness)

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These are the same bulb. Very good all-around choice. Excellent low beam performance without having to lower the aim. Note that most of the improvement vs. a standard bulb is on the low beam.

Osram 85/80W

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Not traffic-compatible (too much glare) at normal aim, and extremely short lifespan if you install the wiring required to support this wattage. There have been bulb overheating problems with these, too (bulb glass blisters). It was an over-reach by Osram; the type of glass they use for their H4 bulbs really does not stand up to the heat these bulbs generate. It's no longer manufactured, but there's a lot of remaining stock out there.

CandlePower 100/80W

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Chinese poor quality, and all the comments on 100/90 (above) apply.

It sounds like H4 Philips/Narva/Vosla 100/55W or Philips XtremeVision +100 are the best choices for my Jeep's Cibie ECE housings. That sound about right?

Are there any other bulbs that I should consider?

I want (ideally) a good respectable low beam that is bright enough, well focused, and does not offend other drivers; and a BRIGHT well focused high beam.

I like bulb color from 3000 to 3400K (3500K at most) because I live in a rainforest climate.

I currently have Philips Xtreme-Vision Plus +130. They're okay (but overly white and high-beam seems weak) and I don't like them as well as the Philips Xtrem-Vision +100 that I used to have.

Oops. Incorrect info in this post. So I deleted it.

Charley3 said:

CandlePower.com just emailed me and told me that Vosla makes their CandlePower house brand of bulbs.

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That was not the case the last time (last month) I bought three of their 100/80w H4s.

CandlePower 100/80W (CandlePowerInc.com's house brand)
So that bulb may be of interest?

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Not for your Cherokee, no. That question was already asked and answered, and the answer (and reasons for it) haven't changed since yesterday.

I called CandlePower.com on the phone. He said Vosla makes many of their house brand bulbs, but not their 100/80W bulb. Their 100/80W is made in China. He was more specific on the phone than he was when he emailed me earlier.

So you are correct. The CandlePower 100/80W is Chinese.

So it's narrowed down to these two bulbs: H4 Philips/Narva/Vosla 100/55W or H4 Philips XtremeVision +100 in my Cibie ECE housings.

I assume the 100/55 would have the better high beams and XtremeVision +100 would have the better low beams. Does that sound correct?

Which of those do you think would be better for a Jeep for vision and driving experience in a wet climate?

Charley3 said:

So it's narrowed down to these two bulbs: H4 Philips/Narva/Vosla 100/55W or H4 Philips XtremeVision +100 in my Cibie ECE housings. I assume the 100/55 would have the better high beams and XtremeVision +100 would have the better low beams. Does that sound correct?

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Yes.

Which of those do you think would be better for a Jeep for vision and driving experience in a wet climate?

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Well, you kind of already answered your own question, and what that answer is depends on whether you prioritize low beam or high beam. If the answer is "But I prioritize both", then use the +100 and consider adding a carefully-chosen set of auxiliary high beam "driving" lamps.

I think will try both of those bulbs and see which I like better. My past experience with the H4 Xtreme-Vision +100 was low-beams were perfect, or slightly brighter than I needed; but high-beams weren't quite bright enough, bu that was with stock wiring.

I just installed a Daniel Stern relay harness so maybe now PXV100 high-beams would be brighter than before. If so, I might be very happy with PXV100 now.

If after trying both bulbs, I decide to stay with PXV100, then I may get some driving lights, if I need them.

Thank you for your advice. It has been very helpful.