Hi all

I bought some Putco H4 (4000 K) lights. I installed them. I tried them out. They are not very good. My old OEM`s were better.

What gives?
Is Putco a crap light company?
Are PIAA much better?

 

Aren't those a different color compared to stock? I don't think they put out as much light, something with the different wavelengths or something.

 

Interresting you mentioned wavelenght. I was thinking the same thing. the Putco`s are 4000K while the OEM are in the 3200K range if I recall. It is true that the higher the wavelenght the less distance the wave (light) travels but this problem is usually solved by boosting the wattage.

In theory if they are both 55 watts and the wavelenghts are different then they will have different distances but after installing them the difference is so....evident! Makes me wonder something else is at play here. It's as if they've lost half their humpf!

Before I invest more cash I would like to know the experience of other owners who have *upgraded their lights. I will gladly take a recommendation.

 

If you're talking about those "whiter" or "cool blue" bulbs, it's because they get that color, or wavelength, by filtering OUT the rest. And the filter reduces the overall brightness of a standard bulb. Some manufactures use filament that burns hotter to make up for the filter... but they risk melting your sockets.

I know, because it melted the socket on a Nissan Pathfinder. In fact, the socket melted because the wire fried itself up, into, and through the engine bay's wiring harness. It probably burned its way up to the fuse panel... but since the damage stayed to just the one wire and is somehow able to still conduct electricity... a normal H4 bulb works.

Otherwise, I would've had to replace the whole harness... which is something like most of the wiring in the engine bay.

You've been warned.

 

At first I was disapointed with your answer. I didn't like to be told what I knew about my bulbs to be well....so wrong. But I am a big boy and I can admit when I am wrong.

I bought the wrong lights.....I was soooo WRONG!!!!

I did some research on my own. Here's what I came up with.


XENON lighting:

I now know the difference between the three kinds of HID XENON bulb types: Single/Hi-low/Bi.

If the cash is there and you don't really care about other drivers then the BI-XENON HID KITS are the best money can buy for a 2012 FIT sport.

Pro: OMG! lighting
Con: OMG $$$! There are so many online dealers. Quality can really fluctuate between them all. Be careful.

Results : Bi-Xenon = B-careful = not for me!

HALOGEN BULBS

This is where it gets interesting.

If I am looking for a bright white upgrade to my OEM bulbs whitout risking burning up my wiring here is the list in order. The top of the list are the best and brightest bulbs and all must have a one year warranty.

PIAA series

Pro: that bright white look without investing in HIDS. 1 year warranty
Con= $$$$. Specialty store. Online.

Sylvania Silverstar Ultra

Pro: That nice bright white look. 1 year warranty. 75% of the cost of PIAA. 1 year warranty. Available everywhere.

Con= they are not PIAA.

In the end I will put in the Silvertar Ultras. I really can't justify the cost of the more expensive PIAA's. The Silverstar Ultras will get rid of that ugly OEM yellow-ish light. If they crap out within the year I can return them easily at Canadian Tire and get them replaced pronto.

So Goobers am I on the right tract now?

 

What was the point of PMing me, just to say you responded to me here? Please don't do that.

Just for clarification, when i say "it" melted my wires, I meant "cheap" bulbs, not necessarily the the Putco brand, since I have no experience with them.

I've never used PIAA bulbs, since I never came across any in local shops. The silverstar ultras don't last me a very long time (I do deliveries in evening, so my headlights are on a lot). These burn hotter than OE bulbs, but seemingly not as bad as the "cheapie" bulbs.

I currently have HIDs, installed in July of last year.

 

Dont even waste your time with silverstars, they are JUNK. Only good ones they make are the sealed beam silverstars. Dont even waste your time with different halogen bulbs. If you want bright, get HIDs. Ive been running them in my 2012 sport since the first week I got it. Makes it much brighter and easier to see at night. Though, you will get a bunch of people here saying you are blinding oncoming drivers at night, Ive never had that problem thought, and they can suck it up, because the stock lights on these cars SUCK!

 

I don't have any experience with the PIAA nor the Putco brands. But yes I do know that the PIAAs are a bit on the expensive side. Currently I'm on my 2nd set of Sylvanias. Why, because they are readily available at the store and are indeed an upgrade to the OEM bulbs as far as brightness. If you get a chance take a look at the back of the carton of the Silverstars that are sold in pairs.

Printed there is a rating system on the different kinds of Sylvania bulbs in bars by brightness, down road, side road and life. 5 bars being highest and 1 bar being lowest. Didn't pay attention to this my first go around when I bought a pair of Silverstar Ultra.

Here are the bar ratings per Sylvania bulb type by order of brightness, down road, side road and life
Standard ~ 3100k -> 1, 1, 1, 4
Xtravision ~ 3200k -> 3, 2, 3, 2
Cool Blue ~ 3500K -> 2, 2, 1, 2
Silverstar ~ 4000K -> 4, 3, 4, 1
Silverstar Ultra ~ 4100K -> 5, 4, 5, 1

Now I'm on my 2nd bulb and switched to Xtravision. So far so good. As you can see by the bar ratings, the Silvanias are definitely short-life type bulbs.

On my other car, I've upgraded my OEMs to Philips Night Guides (tri-color beam). I was intrigued by the tri-color (left yellow, white center and blue right) design so thought I'd try them out. I like them and looks kinda neat. Had them on for a while now also.

So when the Sylvanias burn out on the Fit I'll probably switch them to Philips as well. The down side is they're not as readily available at all auto parts stores. Hope this helps.

As far as 1 yr. warranty on the Sylvania bulbs, not sure about that. You might want to double check.

 

The only way to make a 55w bulb brighter is to play "filament games" and that equals a shorter bulb life/

 

Don't know if this is going to help but I run Nighthawk Platinum on all 4 of my Honda's and haven't had a single problem at all. Visibility is always good not matter which car I'm driving.

 

I ended up buying the Sylvania Silverstar Ultra's from Canadian Tire. I got a set of H4's and H11's they are awesome. they give off a nice white light. Much brighter than the old OEM or even the Putco ones I purchased.

I got all 4 bulbs for $134 taxes in. They come with a 1 year warranty. It's on the package and I can return them to the store for a free set if they crap out as long as I keep the receipt!

I am so done worrying about which headlight bulbs to buy!

 

Personally I can't stand HID lights. They came in my Altima and I had to suffer with them for 10 years, glad to be back to halogens. Couldn't see shit when it rained, and the warmer halogen bulbs give much better visibility during twilight.

 

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...warning-2.html
been using them for almost 2 yrs now and they're still working... will be upgrading to the newer xtreme vision