Osram Rallye 65W H7 is discontinued - Is there another like it?

passive101

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I'm looking for replacement bulbs in my Ninja. I don't have any of the Rallye's left. Does anyone know where I can order them or is their another company that makes the same thing now?
 

-Virgil-

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At the present time there is no equivalent of that bulb. There are several brands of 80w bulb, which is too hot/too much current draw to be used safely in most applications. Also, these 80w bulbs produce less light than the 65w did, and have a shorter life, too. For now, the best bet is the Philips Xtreme Vision H7. Daniel Stern dropped a tempting cookie the other day, told me he's working on arranging for new manufacture in Germany of the desired bulb (H9 capsule on H7 base, just like Osram 64217 Rallye 65w), but he didn't state a time frame.
 

Alaric Darconville

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CandlePowerInc (no relation to this site) seems to have a lot of faith in the (usually quite dependable as a brand) Vosla item, VOSLA H7 55W +100 "Superbrite". I say dependable as a brand because Vosla does have some top-notch HIR2 bulbs. I don't have enough data on it myself, and the only objective, instrumented tests CandlePowerInc refers to are electrical. The photometric testing seems to be of the "a-yep, they light up" kind.

At this time, the Philips Xtreme Vision mentioned above is a solid choice, and if you have a need for a new bulb now just order a pair (no need to stock up on them if the Vosla is determined to be a winner).
 

64.5vette

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Extremely disappointed to find out they've been discontinued. Hopefully DStern can arrange a bulb of similar quality and performance. Many a friend were satisfied with the Rallye H7s.
 

-Virgil-

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The Vosla +100 is certainly not a bad bulb; it's in the top group, but the Philips Xtreme Vision and Osram Night Breaker Unlimited do beat the Vosla +100 in terms of performance with basically equivalent lifespan.

However, Candlepowerinc is telling a big whopper when they claim the Vosla +100 has "practically the same identical performance". It does not. No matter how you slice it, 1650 lumens (the maximum possible from a 55w H7) is still going to be over 20% less light than 2100 lumens (the nominal spec of the 65w H9 burner) and 29% less than 2310 lumens (the max possible from a 65w H9 burner).

I don't think they did any of this "careful, objective testing" they claim to have done. They say the measured power input is "only slightly lower" and "a difference of one or two watts", which, sorry, that didn't actually happen. H7 55w is max 58 watts at 13.2v, H9 is max 73w (and typically 64 to 68) at that same voltage.

Then there's this thing about "Life hours is defined as the amount of time in which around 80% of a sample set of bulbs are still lit, but at a highly reduced efficiency (lumen output and amperage draw on the electrical system)." Baloney! None of this is true. The standard life ratings are B3 (time at which 3% of samples have failed), B10 (time at which 10% of samples have failed), B50 (time at which 50% of samples have failed), and Tc (time at which 63% of samples have failed). This stuff about "a highly reduced efficiency" and "amperage draw on the electrical system" is made up out of whole cloth; that's just not a real thing. They seem to be trying to mix lumen maintenance in with lifespan, and they don't mix this way.

The rest of the handwaving on their page, the babble about what the guy with the VW thinks he sees, the prevarication about bulb life, etc, is so much mumbo-jumbo. So is their insistence that you replace the bulbs every 12-18 months. The +100 or Rallye 65w bulbs do not have a long enough lifespan to undergo significant lumen loss before they burn out.

I understand why they do this (they've gotta keep the product moving and the dollars coming in) but I wish they would find more forthright ways of representing their products. Good products do not have to be propped up with tall tales.
 
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passive101

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I was disapointed to seeing candlepower inc lying and saying that a 55W can be close to the 65W. Their is just no way it can happen that way I don't think. I just sent Daniel Stern an email about a possible time frame on the new bulbs if that's still something he is doing. I see the Phillips X-treme has the blue colored glass on them. Usually that's just a gimmic and I wonder about the brightness of these bulbs. I'd rather they don't have any of the blue glass which actually lowers the light output by blocking some of it.

Reviewers are saying this link on Amazon are counterfit Phillips X-treme bulbs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QJWTQYY/?tag=cpf0b6-20
 

-Virgil-

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Don't worry about a blue band near the tip of the bulb, that's not the same as a completely-blue bulb capsule. See this post (the part right after "if the bulbs are blued - you're screwed" quoted text).

That's upsetting about the reports of counterfeit product -- but unfoit is believable. XeRay (another regular poster on here) has stated many times that there is a lot of counterfeit Philips product out there, and he's in a position to know. I'm not 100% for sure, but I think the GE product is probably less likely to be a target for counterfeiting, because it has a lower (global) prominence/profile, lower volume, so not as much "worth" counterfeiting. Those are made in a good, modern plant in Hungary, and they're functionally equivalent to the Philips items, part for part (GE Night Hawk Xenon = Philips Xtreme Vision +130, and GE Night Hawk Platinum = Philips Xtreme Vision +100). In both cases, hoo lordy, the "reviews" are full of mud and rocks. And also, again, if Candlepowerinc has a good price on their Vosla +100, that's a good one, too. My quarrel isn't with the product, it's with the marketing.

As far as new H7 65w bulbs from Stern: I hope so, too, but if I hold my breath I'll pass out, hit my head, and probably die...then it won't matter to me any more if the bulbs ever come available!
 

passive101

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I got an email back from Daniel Stern, but it was the same as was previously posted. No time frame and they didn't say for certain if they're going to be produced yet. I think I will try the Phillip bulbs (the price is right), but since they don't last nearly as long I will replace them again next year to be safe. Hopefully someone makes a projector kit by then for my bike. It dark on the pitch black, back, country roads of WI :candle:
 

passive101

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It's been over a year since I last posted this. So I'm going to ask out of desperation since I still can't find one. Does anyone make an H7 65W bulb yet?
 

Alaric Darconville

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It's been over a year since I last posted this. So I'm going to ask out of desperation since I still can't find one. Does anyone make an H7 65W bulb yet?
Did you check Daniel Stern's site? Or email him? Unless it's him carrying them, or unless Osram has announced making them again (and making them to the same standard as before), noöne is making legitimate ones.
 
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-Virgil-

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I've been asking (OK, pestering) Stern about those bulbs every so often since he first mentioned them. Last report I had was that he's waiting for the Germans to go ahead and make them for him. Sounds like they're low priority for the maker because of small volume, so it won't happen until they have downtime.
 

-Virgil-

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passive101, it looks like this is what you were pointing out. Exciting news! I'm getting at least six of them as soon as I can.
 

passive101

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passive101, it looks like this is what you were pointing out. Exciting news! I'm getting at least six of them as soon as I can.

Yup. I emailed him about it. Their was a delay of a few weeks. So Hopefully within a month we should be able to order some! I'm getting a couple backups this time
 

SubLGT

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Are these new bulbs manufactured by Osram? Stern does not mention a specific manufacturer.
 

passive101

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I'm not sure what bulb manufacturer is manufacturing them. I don't think they are being made by Osram this time. I think he would have said the manufacturer if it was a big brand. I could be wrong though.
 

-Virgil-

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My understanding is they're made in Germany by Vosla. Guess I'll (we'll) know soon...
 

passive101

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He said he's hoping to sell them at the same price as the last ones for anyone who is interested.
 
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