h1 headlight bulbs

[wjrs]

Has anyone found the OEM H1 bulbs in the beetle not sufficient enough for night driving?

I am thinking about getting a higher wattage bulb... Low beams are 55W and high beams are 60W

I was looking at 80-100 watt bulbs on ebay, has any one else replaced bulbs with brighter ones?
Would like to do this soon as winter is almost here..

[NewBeetleMechanic]

Originally Posted by wjrs

Has anyone found the OEM H1 bulbs in the beetle not sufficient enough for night driving?

I am thinking about getting a higher wattage bulb... Low beams are 55W and high beams are 60W

I was looking at 80-100 watt bulbs on ebay, has any one else replaced bulbs with brighter ones?
Would like to do this soon as winter is almost here..

A higher wattage bulb will burn up something in your headlight wiring circut eventually.

[Smileybug]

How old is your car? I know my '99 had yellowed lenses, which made the light output less. Still no real problem driving at night, but I live in a big city thats well lit. I picked up a $20 Turtle Wax headlight restoration kit to get rid of the fading and yellowing and it really helped. I can get around in the country where my parents live (no streetlights, very dark, lots of deer!) with no problem without high beams. High beams were almost necessary when I went up there before I cleaned up the lenses.

[Opelmania]

I replaced my low beams and fog light bulbs with NOKYA brand Arctic White Stage 2 7000K lamps. Here is a link. The lamps are $12.99 for 2! I needed them because I tinted my lenses on my headlights and they work great! What you are really looking for is the color designation. The higher the K number, the whiter and brighter the bulb appears to be. I bought 4 for the same price as Sylvania Silverstars that are just 4000K. Those look yellow compared to the 7000K lamps. These lamps are not obnoxiously bright either. Here is a link.
http://www.buyheadlightbulbs.com/H1-...Bulbs-s/21.htm

[Smileybug]

Its only "whiter" up until a certain point. Then you start getting into the blue tint. 12k is dang near purple. Be careful with that.

[Blugg]

Originally Posted by Opelmania

I replaced my low beams and fog light bulbs with NOKYA brand Arctic White Stage 2 7000K lamps. Here is a link. The lamps are $12.99 for 2! I needed them because I tinted my lenses on my headlights and they work great! What you are really looking for is the color designation. The higher the K number, the whiter and brighter the bulb appears to be. I bought 4 for the same price as Sylvania Silverstars that are just 4000K. Those look yellow compared to the 7000K lamps. These lamps are not obnoxiously bright either. Here is a link.
H1 Bulbs - Buy H1 Headlight Bulbs Online

I'll stick my neck out and say 90% of New Beetle Forum members in the UK run the 7000k H.I.D. conversion kits. It's like driving with the full beam on

Sorry but 55w or 60w

[Blugg]

How To and Video care of Shamrockez here;

HOW TO: HID Headlight Upgrade - New Beetle Owners Club

Can't believe it's been 3 Years, almost to the day

[dhc8guru]

I just installed some Sylvania silverstar 4000k and they are more than adequate. Way better than the H1. there is a $15 rebate running on the Silverstar ultra 4100.

[Downtown Turbo]

Originally Posted by wjrs

Has anyone found the OEM H1 bulbs in the beetle not sufficient enough for night driving?

I am thinking about getting a higher wattage bulb... Low beams are 55W and high beams are 60W

I was looking at 80-100 watt bulbs on ebay, has any one else replaced bulbs with brighter ones?
Would like to do this soon as winter is almost here..

I was just thinking the same thing. My driving lights suck. I've heard that the lighting output of halogen bulbs changes over time as well. Can anyone comment on this?

Looking at these:

PIAA

and these

Volkswagen New Beetle 1.8T > Lighting > Bulbs > ES#259781 European Osram Silverstar H1 Headlight Bulb (priced Each) - 64150SVS

The colour temp of the Sylvanias is the same as the PIAA bulbs. It's not the most fun thing changing bulbs on the bug so I'd rather go with a bulb from a known manufacturer that will last for more than a couple of months. Is it a waste to spend the extra on the PIAA bulbs? Also I don't want to blind anybody (every other car around here has illegal HID's in halogen reflectors) and contribute to the idiocracy.

[Downtown Turbo]

Good thread to read on bulbs

Whats up with my headlights???

OSRAM Night Breaker PLUS is another popular choice apparently.

http://www.powerbulbs.com/

Toad says he had good luck with PIAA bulbs as far as longevity goes.

Alot of people are having issues with the Sylvania Silverstar bulbs not lasting long (under 6 months if you are lucky apparently)

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by Blugg

I'll stick my neck out and say 90% of New Beetle Forum members in the UK run the 7000k H.I.D. conversion kits. It's like driving with the full beam on

Yeah, I know, and I'd like to shoot out everyone of 'em I see! Whether they are approaching from the front or the rear. They are simply rude, and in the states where they are legal they shouldn't be, and in the states where they aren't, it should be enforced. WTF does anyone need this type of headlight for? We can't legally drive fast enough anywhere in the states to overrun the legal headlights.

MORAV

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Anyone using H1s should check the compatibility of H7s, and if that still doesn't work, go H7 yellow, abt the same as white for dry driving, and way better for rain, sleet, snow, and fog. Way less reflection!

MORAV

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by NewBeetleMechanic

A higher wattage bulb will burn up something in your headlight wiring circut eventually.

Everyone (almost) around here thinks he's a "nut" now, but he is absolutely correct! And then it will be VW Engineering to blame, RIGHT?

[Supercharged98]

Originally Posted by MyOtherRidesAVette

Everyone (almost) around here thinks he's a "nut" now, but he is absolutely correct! And then it will be VW Engineering to blame, RIGHT?

He's partially correct. The 10A head light fuse should blow before a melt down. It puts a higher amp load on the wires and switch contacts, using higher wattage bulbs. You have to change the wiring to a relay wiring from the battery. That way the only load on the factory wiring and switch is the relay coil.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by Supercharged98

He's partially correct. The 10A head light fuse should blow before a melt down. It puts a higher amp load on the wires and switch contacts, using higher wattage bulbs. You have to change the wiring to a relay wiring from the battery. That way the only load on the factory wiring and switch is the relay coil.

I'm sorry to disagree ( Iagree about the supplemental wiring), but that is absolutely a correct statement. Wattage can be increased without overloading the amp rating of the fuse. Just like putting a 100w household bulb in a lamp fixture that says do not use more than a 40w bulb. The fuse won't blow, until there is a meltdown, and maybe not even then, if there is not a short created! Increased wattage, means increased heat, in an area that is essentually unvented. The wires themselves may never melt, but the protective insulation will, along with other plastic elements of the assembly.

This isn't VW 101, it's Electric 101.

MORAV

[Supercharged98]

Originally Posted by MyOtherRidesAVette

I'm sorry to disagree ( Iagree about the supplemental wiring), but that is absolutely a correct statement. Wattage can be increased without overloading the amp rating of the fuse. Just like putting a 100w household bulb in a lamp fixture that says do not use more than a 40w bulb. The fuse won't blow, until there is a meltdown, and maybe not even then, if there is not a short created! Increased wattage, means increased heat, in an area that is essentually unvented. The wires themselves may never melt, but the protective insulation will, along with other plastic elements of the assembly.

This isn't VW 101, it's Electric 101.

MORAV

That's comparing apples to oranges.....

1) Yes, you are kinda right with the fixture comparison. But, the fixture has a reduced wiring size compared to household circuit. The fixture is designed to run... say 3 amps. And then you put in a bulb that pulls 10 amps, of course it's going to melt, but the house hold circuit is a 15 amp circuit and it will never see the meltdown of the fixture unless the wiring shorts itself to ground. That is why the fixture will melt down and not blow the circuit breaker. I betcha you look at the house wiring and find nothing wrong with it after the fixture meltdown.

2)Auto wiring is oversized to carry more amps than the fuse. Most of the times during automotive meltdowns is caused by poor grounding, poor contacts of switches, and oversized fuses put in to replace the correct sized fuse. Automotive wiring sizing is consistant from the power source to the accessory (demand).

Now I have ran oversized headlights (75/100 watt) with standard automotive wiring through the switch and never had a meltdown. I was young and dumb and didn't know better. I don't suggest it, that is why I said to use a extenal relay wiring circuit.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Easy enough to check what amp the wire size is rated for. But again, the wire size is not the problem that the heat buildup is, with increased wattage. My concern would be plastic components and wire insulation from external heat, not internal wire heat.

And I will reiterate, I totally agree with your supplemental wiring.

Of course I don't get the HID thing, as I keep saying over and over in thread after thread. If you want lighting, to improve your night vision, beyond the H1 bulbs, use H7, or better yet H7 Yellow. HID is a show thing, period! Exactly like running "fog" lights with your headlights on! And while you may think it accomplishes something for the driver it is a danger to oncoming motorists.

MORAV

[Supercharged98]

Originally Posted by MyOtherRidesAVette

And I will reiterate, I totally agree with your supplemental wiring.

Of course I don't get the HID thing, as I keep saying over and over in thread after thread. If you want lighting, to improve your night vision, beyond the H1 bulbs, use H7, or better yet H7 Yellow. HID is a show thing, period! Exactly like running "fog" lights with your headlights on! And while you may think it accomplishes something for the driver it is a danger to oncoming motorists.

MORAV

Correct
Why can't people understand that clear lights are "driving" or
show lights, and yellow lights are "fog" lights? I don't like HID, either. They seem to create a large fog haze in front of the car. The only HID that seems to illuminate correctly, are the ones on German cars.

[jcthelight]

Originally Posted by Opelmania

I replaced my low beams and fog light bulbs with NOKYA brand Arctic White Stage 2 7000K lamps. Here is a link. The lamps are $12.99 for 2! I needed them because I tinted my lenses on my headlights and they work great! What you are really looking for is the color designation. The higher the K number, the whiter and brighter the bulb appears to be. I bought 4 for the same price as Sylvania Silverstars that are just 4000K. Those look yellow compared to the 7000K lamps. These lamps are not obnoxiously bright either. Here is a link.
H1 Bulbs - Buy H1 Headlight Bulbs Online

did you have to put the heavy duty wire harness on too cause the wattage is 80 watts cause the stock harness wont handle that amount of watts

[Downtown Turbo]

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I've been looking around for some bulbs to replace my city lights and found some other useful info pertinent to this thread.

It looks like the 80% brighter Phillips bulbs I bought awhile back have superheated the sealant putty around the lens on my headlights and it's now cracked.

Also one of my LED city lights is pissing me off and the wires either are either misaligned now (happened before - I had to take it out and reseat it) or it is dead.

In my travels on the www I found this great comparison on how swapping bulbs for anything else other than your OE VW bulbs carries yet another risk: The temperature on those aftermarket bulbs can vary widely (sometimes double based on the coating etc.)

Check out the comparison on this site (at the bottom of the page): Hoen high performance halogen