‘17 Honda CR-V halogen upgrade

Crvrav

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Last night I almost hit a deer. The OEM halogen bulbs in my halogen projector are just too dim. What worries me is the short lifespan of the halogen bulbs upgrade. What are the top halogen bulbs I should consider and why?

I will not go near HID or LED after reading Daniel Stern's article.
 

Crvrav

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Should I go with H11 GE NightHawk Xenon or Philips X-TremeVision bulbs?
 

archimedes

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Hello Crvrav ... please stop making duplicate posts and threads

It does not get these approved any faster, and it creates more work for staff here :shakehead

Thank you for your understanding
 

Alaric Darconville

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It's also important to remember that just because the vehicle is rather new, that the lamps might not be aimed properly. A good-sized dealer, body shop, or mechanic may have a headlamp aimer. It's best to go to a place that has one, because many places just do a quick "shine 'em on the wall and crank at random" that could leave you seeing worse or blinding other traffic. In that case, if you have the right location, you can do it yourself much more cheaply.

Again, you need the right location to do this as it requires a high degree of precision. Otherwise, you may also make things worse.
 

Alaric Darconville

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Any color or range differences?

Both produce white light in the main portion of the beam; light outside the main portion of the beam tends toward blue (but is still legally white) as a result of the blue banding on their envelopes. The primary purpose of the blue banding is to bring the total output of the bulb to legal limits while still leaving the main beam untinted-- and has the side effect of making it look "upscale" (the marketers think so, anyway).
 

Crvrav

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Both produce white light in the main portion of the beam; light outside the main portion of the beam tends toward blue (but is still legally white) as a result of the blue banding on their envelopes. The primary purpose of the blue banding is to bring the total output of the bulb to legal limits while still leaving the main beam untinted-- and has the side effect of making it look "upscale" (the marketers think so, anyway).

Which has more lumens. Sounds like either way I go I'll get the same results? What do I do when the bulbs run out, keep a spare inside the glovebox?
 

Alaric Darconville

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Which has more lumens.
They're going to be well within a few percent of each other. The Philips bulb will win out on filament precision (that is: beam focus). Beam focus ultimately gives the beam more punch and distance (assuming proper aim) and reduces glare for other traffic (again, assuming proper aim). Between the two, perhaps the $18/pr price difference could mean you're really spliting hairs when that $18.00 could be doing something useful like putting a few gallons in the tank or added to your next car payment as a principal payment.

Sounds like either way I go I'll get the same results? What do I do when the bulbs run out, keep a spare inside the glovebox?
Whenever a single bulb goes out, replace the pair and keep one of them as a spare. I suppose you could keep whichever one as a spare and put it back away again-- the spare is to get you around long enough to replace the complete pair again. I mean, you COULD always keep the remaining one from each last pair and discard the other working ones but there's no point into getting that painstaking about it.
 

Crvrav

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They're going to be well within a few percent of each other. The Philips bulb will win out on filament precision (that is: beam focus). Beam focus ultimately gives the beam more punch and distance (assuming proper aim) and reduces glare for other traffic (again, assuming proper aim). Between the two, perhaps the $18/pr price difference could mean you're really spliting hairs when that $18.00 could be doing something useful like putting a few gallons in the tank or added to your next car payment as a principal payment.


Whenever a single bulb goes out, replace the pair and keep one of them as a spare. I suppose you could keep whichever one as a spare and put it back away again-- the spare is to get you around long enough to replace the complete pair again. I mean, you COULD always keep the remaining one from each last pair and discard the other working ones but there's no point into getting that painstaking about it.

I was more referring to what do I do when the bulb goes out and I'm far away from being able to buy another one while driving around at night. Should I just buy another set and keep it in my glove box or is that not a good idea?
 

Crvrav

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They're going to be well within a few percent of each other. The Philips bulb will win out on filament precision (that is: beam focus). Beam focus ultimately gives the beam more punch and distance (assuming proper aim) and reduces glare for other traffic (again, assuming proper aim). Between the two, perhaps the $18/pr price difference could mean you're really spliting hairs when that $18.00 could be doing something useful like putting a few gallons in the tank or added to your next car payment as a principal payment.


Whenever a single bulb goes out, replace the pair and keep one of them as a spare. I suppose you could keep whichever one as a spare and put it back away again-- the spare is to get you around long enough to replace the complete pair again. I mean, you COULD always keep the remaining one from each last pair and discard the other working ones but there's no point into getting that painstaking about it.

I installed the Philips X-TremeVisions. No fog lights on. Thoughts?
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Compared the Xenon Depot HID 5000K bulbs. Turned on my Philips Ultinons fog lights.
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Crvrav

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Good bulb choice, and smart decision to keep the fog lamps turned off.




Not safe, not legal. They have no good reason to be in your headlamps; keep 'em out of there.



Those, neither.

I understand that you say that about the HID's, but based on the pictures please explain more on how they differ and what you see that doesn't look as it should.
 

-Virgil-

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I'm still concerned that the new Philips halogens would be too dim.

"Too dim" is not something you can determine with a camera (or with your eyes). All you can assess is how you feel, not how safe you actually/really are. And "too dim" is also too simple. Headlight beams, especially low beams, have to meet a complex mix of contradicting goals: there needs to be very intense light (at least "so" much light) very near where there needs to be very little light (no more than "so" much light). You go shoving the wrong kind of bulb in a headlamp with an "HID kit" or an "LED bulb" and you screw that up completely. So you've put in the good Philips bulbs, great...now find a dealer or shop that has and uses an optical headlight aiming machine (looks like a TV camera on wheels) rather than just shining the lights on a wall. Pay them (if necessary) to use that machine carefully and correctly on your car with the normal/usual amount and distribution of weight in it.
 

Crvrav

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"Too dim" is not something you can determine with a camera (or with your eyes). All you can assess is how you feel, not how safe you actually/really are. And "too dim" is also too simple. Headlight beams, especially low beams, have to meet a complex mix of contradicting goals: there needs to be very intense light (at least "so" much light) very near where there needs to be very little light (no more than "so" much light). You go shoving the wrong kind of bulb in a headlamp with an "HID kit" or an "LED bulb" and you screw that up completely. So you've put in the good Philips bulbs, great...now find a dealer or shop that has and uses an optical headlight aiming machine (looks like a TV camera on wheels) rather than just shining the lights on a wall. Pay them (if necessary) to use that machine carefully and correctly on your car with the normal/usual amount and distribution of weight in it.

Got it! But even on a brand new vehicle?
 

-Virgil-

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Yup. "New" doesn't necessarily mean correctly aimed. That's responsible for a lot of the bad headlamp ratings given out by IIHS; see here (especially post #33 and the link in it).
 

Alaric Darconville

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I was more referring to what do I do when the bulb goes out and I'm far away from being able to buy another one while driving around at night. Should I just buy another set and keep it in my glove box or is that not a good idea?
When you replace the current pair with upgraded bulbs, retain one of the old ones to use as a spare. When one of the new bulbs goes out, use your spare, then replace that pair but keep the still-working upgraded bulb as the spare and discard the OE bulb.

Replacing a single bulb out in the middle of nowhere is a pain, so just use your spare to get you home before doing the complete new pair.
 
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