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hey guys, I'm looking to get a whiter look for my headlight bulbs, just not exactly sure what to get. was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on where to order and what brand etc.. thanks in advance
Also talk to the support folks on that site in their chat bar. They can give you a lot of info. They saved me so much time because of the advice they gave when it came to modifying my wiring harness. They are more pricey than other brands but other brands have screwed me over before and its worth the extra money to avoid the hassle of fighting with some BS warranty.
much difference? obv a huge price gap there so I'm assuming the CBI must be significantly better but its just a bulb lol
Like anything in life, the best one(s) always carriy a premium price tag. It's not because it's 3 times the price you'll get 3 times the light output. Not even twice the light output.
much difference? obv a huge price gap there so I'm assuming the CBI must be significantly better but its just a bulb lol
when you buy premium products you never get good value. but thats the price to pay for premium stuff.
the cbi's are great for enthusiasts who can appreciate them but honestly for someone who doesnt care a lot about lighting, its probably not worth the price tag and would just be better to get the xb35.
think about it, you pay more for a premium car, but it still takes you from point A to point B like a corolla.
No doubt Bunny...but at this point, I've spent the $50 5 times out of curiosity and boredom, so I still don't win!
I can't explain it, but I agree...the hue when looking directly at the bulb was green to me.
I know what you mean, and I'm mostly in what I call "damage control". I have so much stuff I want to put on the car I have to go slow otherwise I'm definitely going to go bankrupt.
I hope they're not green tinted though, otherwise as I said I'll definitely return them. I'll see when I get them, I'll try to make time to install those even in the northern cold...
I just upgraded to the morimotos and they are great, a little bluer then I expected for 5k but a great improvement over stock. One day I will try the CBIs...
rockstar- i dont know how people survive without XM. that is all.
Forgot I took some pics last night....
Last edited by Redsand353; Dec 30, 2014 at 02:51 PM.
Polobunny, thanks for the link. The test results were interesting. It would be nice to know how the bulbs compare after some use. One thing that confused me is the brightness of the 4500K vs 5500K XB35 bulbs. The tests show the 4500K to be brighter but the website and people are saying the 5500K are brighter? I'm looking forward to your evaluation of the 5500K bulbs.
Rockstar, when did you try the XB35s? I read in the thread that they changed the formulation of the XB35s in August 2014. What bulbs were you using before your CBIs? Are the CBIs very much noticeably brighter or better than stock?
I researched a little on the topic of perceivable differences in light levels and found someone saying that a 20% difference is required for someone to be able to tell a difference (10% for a side-by-side comparison). Most of these tested light levels fall within 20% of each other. Maybe I'm thinking similarly to the way you were thinking before you tried the CBIs?
I have some Osram 66040s, which seem to be the same as the 66240s from what I've found. The 66240s are only 2.5% dimmer compared to the CBIs, so in theory, that difference in brightness shouldn't be perceivable. Maybe the difference in color does something?
Polobunny, thanks for the link. The test results were interesting. It would be nice to know how the bulbs compare after some use. One thing that confused me is the brightness of the 4500K vs 5500K XB35 bulbs. The tests show the 4500K to be brighter but the website and people are saying the 5500K are brighter? I'm looking forward to your evaluation of the 5500K bulbs.
Rockstar, when did you try the XB35s? I read in the thread that they changed the formulation of the XB35s in August 2014. What bulbs were you using before your CBIs? Are the CBIs very much noticeably brighter or better than stock?
I researched a little on the topic of perceivable differences in light levels and found someone saying that a 20% difference is required for someone to be able to tell a difference (10% for a side-by-side comparison). Most of these tested light levels fall within 20% of each other. Maybe I'm thinking similarly to the way you were thinking before you tried the CBIs?
I have some Osram 66040s, which seem to be the same as the 66240s from what I've found. The 66240s are only 2.5% dimmer compared to the CBIs, so in theory, that difference in brightness shouldn't be perceivable. Maybe the difference in color does something?
Brightness is often "perceived brightness" as opposed to calculated brightness. Depending on the color of the light, you would rate one bulb brighter than the other even though it might be the opposite if it was calculated. The human eye is very easy to fool.
I believe very important, maybe equal to the importance of brightness is how you "feel" about it. Hence the very high popularity of 5500/6000K because they make a lot of people feel safer since they're whiter (more relaxed, less squinting, less nervousness because you think you might not see certain things etc etc). Sure a light with a warmer color like 4300K might give a better output, but if you don't feel better with it, what's the use?
It also largely depends on the HID projector you're using, the state of your headlights (scratched a lot, aligned properly) and the ambient lights where you're driving.
Either way, I'll make a subjective review whenever I get them installed. I don't have a quality camera to take proper pictures but I can take some with my smartphone for the sake of it.
I actually think they say that the bluer, the more tired your eyes get. That's why driving and shooting lenses are yellow...it's more natural to see and allows you to see more.
After going 6000K to the quality 4500-5000K it felt like I'd been driving half blind for a 3 years.
No...I found the Mori's to have a greenish hue.
CBI for life.
And PS...if you spend $50 at a time, you'll eventually hit the $185!
I used to preach all HID was the same.
Until I got the CBI.
FINALLY someone who agrees with me! I mentioned it before, the bulbs look slightly green to me. I'm not happy with my XB35s. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me and TRS is acting like they never heard about this before. My 3k fog bulbs keep color shifting too and there doesn't seem to be a solution to that so I'll dump those too. Lesson learned, I spent enough to buy the premium grade stuff in the first place. IMO skip the TRS stuff.
I also have thought there isn't some humongous difference between bulbs so why spend more than $50. The praise for CBI is pretty much universal so I'm sure I'll be joining the club soon.
If you don't mind spending extra $$ then you should go for CBI's! They give you pure white output with no greenish hue. You just need to make sure that your headlight lenses are not faded so you can get the best of the bulbs.
FINALLY someone who agrees with me! I mentioned it before, the bulbs look slightly green to me. I'm not happy with my XB35s. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me and TRS is acting like they never heard about this before. My 3k fog bulbs keep color shifting too and there doesn't seem to be a solution to that so I'll dump those too. Lesson learned, I spent enough to buy the premium grade stuff in the first place. IMO skip the TRS stuff.
I also have thought there isn't some humongous difference between bulbs so why spend more than $50. The praise for CBI is pretty much universal so I'm sure I'll be joining the club soon.
Did you have the newer XB35 though? They got out this summer I believe. If you got yours before, then there might be a difference.
Rocky...totally, man...Andrew from TRS was really cool though...I paid full price but they do sell the CBI also. Great people to deal with...he didn't even give me a hard time or charge me a restocking fee on the XB's that looked green to me.
One thing that I will say as I thought about it more and more is the condition of your lenses. In my old lights, they had a slight yellowish hue to them since the UV coating was gone...obviously blue and yellow make green...so it could have helped with the green look. I don't know...I thought I was crazy too but I swear when looking right at them it was green.
Also...I'm an idiot...I paid full price for CBI...didn't like that they didn't match my hyperjdmyo 6K other bulbs and sold them to a friend at friend pricing ...got ddm bulbs, then mori's...then 85122...finally ended up having to send them ALL back and went back to CBI. I loved them so much it made me decide to go back to amber instead of white everywhere...fk it, if it wasn't a perfect match, I'd rather they really not match.
If you don't mind spending extra $$ then you should go for CBI's! They give you pure white output with no greenish hue. You just need to make sure that your headlight lenses are not faded so you can get the best of the bulbs.
just restored my lenses, they were disgusting! pretty much crystal clear now with the exception of a few little tiny spots
Rocky...totally, man...Andrew from TRS was really cool though...I paid full price but they do sell the CBI also. Great people to deal with...he didn't even give me a hard time or charge me a restocking fee on the XB's that looked green to me.
One thing that I will say as I thought about it more and more is the condition of your lenses. In my old lights, they had a slight yellowish hue to them since the UV coating was gone...obviously blue and yellow make green...so it could have helped with the green look. I don't know...I thought I was crazy too but I swear when looking right at them it was green.
Also...I'm an idiot...I paid full price for CBI...didn't like that they didn't match my hyperjdmyo 6K other bulbs and sold them to a friend at friend pricing ...got ddm bulbs, then mori's...then 85122...finally ended up having to send them ALL back and went back to CBI. I loved them so much it made me decide to go back to amber instead of white everywhere...fk it, if it wasn't a perfect match, I'd rather they really not match.
Hmmm....a little anal? Yeah, I already know the answer to that, I've seen pictures of your cars! They're sweet.
They 85122+ are super effing bright...had them on the S2000 and side by side with the CBI they were only mildly more yellow and just as bright. Down the road though, you could tell they were warmer. I like the cool white of the CBI.
on all counts!
...got ddm bulbs, then mori's...then 85122...finally ended up having to send them ALL back and went back to CBI. I loved them so much it made me decide to go back to amber instead of white everywhere...fk it, if it wasn't a perfect match, I'd rather they really not match.
Gary...love you, man.
