Moderator Note: Original posts where off-topic in this thread - https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...ght-bulbs.html

According to a review of after market headlight bulbs by Consumer Reports:Link to Consumer Reports forum thread about after market bulbs: Maintenance & repair

 

Hi,

I really don't want to piss people off, but in an attempt to get some additional info out there..... Please consider that marketing and marketing induced ignorance run rampant all over the place.

IMHO, the following are open to question as to what they actually accomplish:

Silverstar
PIAA
Consumer Reports

For research only, please take a look at the H4 bulbs:
Headlights

I'm fond of the Osram Rallye 70/65

The foglight bulbs can also be 'brightened' by modding H9's and putting them in place of the OEM H11's.

There are pro's and con's to both these mods. One is legality and your yearly vehicle inspection. On the other hand there is additional light which doesn't bother oncoming drivers. This may depend upon the design of the reflectors and lenses of the vehicle.

Foglightbulb mods:

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=119161

YMMV and you're on your own.....

John

 

Consumers Reports is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. The organization was founded in 1936 when advertising first flooded the mass media. Consumers lacked a reliable source of information they could depend on to help them distinguish hype from fact and good products from bad ones. Since then Consumers Reports has filled that vacuum with a broad range of consumer information. To maintain its independence and impartiality, Consumers Reports accepts no outside advertising and no free samples and employs several hundred mystery shoppers and technical experts to buy and test the products it evaluates. Consumers Reports is one of the top-ten-circulation magazines in the country, and ConsumerReports.org, which has the most subscribers of any Web site of its kind.

Video: Consumer Reports Video Hub - Miscellaneous

 

Yup and the AMC Gremlin was their recommended car one year.
They tested bicycles by rolling them down a ramp and seeing how far they would go before falling over.
They didn't like a Fiat sports car, not because it was junk, but because it was too responsive.

I didn't mean that they were fibbers. Just often mis-guided. And, I actually included them as a joke........

John

 

Can you support your claims with proof? No disrespect intended.

 

Sure just go to your collection of the last thirty-five years of Consumer Reports. Take them out of the cardboard jackets where they are stored in numerical order and start reading them..........

John

 

So we should rate the current Consumer Reports staff and how they do test and automatically consider them a joke because the staff of 30 years ago did a few stupid tests?

 

Why, yes, of course! <LOL>

Before "It must be true, it's on the Internet!" there were magazines that filled the same role and still do.

No matter what the source, it is important that the reader actually THINK. I realize that thinking is an out dated past time, but "What the Heck!", I still enjoy it.

If you are selling a product, you do your best to promote it. You put it in the best light. Sometimes sellers get a bit carried away describing their products.

Consumer Reports has a product. Their product is consumer reviews, testing, and accounting. Their reviews are based upon what they believe to be important. What if their criteria doesn't match my criteria?

Take for an example a chair. Which is important to you? Immediate comfort? Or comfort after 8 hours at work? Price? Wear and tear after two weeks or five years? I go by how my back feels after 12 hours of straight usage.

How about a car? My criteria definately ain't the same as CR.<LOL> I believe they are honest and competent. I read their reviews, take them into account and tuck them away. I read other reviews and then form my own opinions based upon my own experiences with different products.

I also tend to listen to folks who specialize in certain fields rather than generalists. The folks at Candlepowerforums.com who play with lighting of all types carry a lot of weight with me. I value their educated opines on lighting and headlights more than someone who has just purchased their first set of 'Silverstars'. BTW, I bought my first halogen bulbs in 1972 and have owned about 50 pairs of different types and origins.

So, no, I don't consider CR to be a joke. For jokes I look to comedians.....

Thanks for asking,
John

 

Prior posts where moved as off-topic from:
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...ght-bulbs.html

Hopefully this off topic topic will stay on topic :-) (sounded funny when I wrote it)

 

Here's my thoughts:

1. Consumer Reports is a non-profit organization. Sure, they need readers to survive, but other than that there motives ought to be somewhat pure. They don't accept advertising.

2. While a dedicated group (Car & Driver, say, or a website dedicated to lighting) may have more expertise in a particular field, CR is a good general-purpose source of information.

3. Nobody except you is going to know what's best for you- CR may love the Fit or Camry, but if you want a car that goes 0 to 60 in 4 seconds it's not the place to look for a recommendation. That said, they do pretty sophisticated testing of their products. When they tested mattresses, for example, they built a machine that pounded the mattresses to simulate years of sleep. Same goes for sneakers. That's a whole lot more beneficial than simply resting on a mattress in a store for five minutes and making a decision.

4. In this specific case- well, they're suggesting that aftermarket lights aren't wonderful. But for our cars, with rather less-than-wonderful low beams, the generalization may not apply.

5. At least with CR somebody's looking at who's doing the testing. With some random website posting info, not so much.

6. Everybody has some bias. In the case of CR I remember hearing that their reviewers preferred some brand of something (I don't remember which appliance) but it was the most popular one and probably the one most reviewers were used to. For example- if you were used to the Garmin GPS you'd naturally find its menus more intuitive than the Tom-Tom, because that's the one you're used to.

And yes, for jokes, comedians are the best place to look.

 

Actually, you can find 0 to 60 times in their car specs section. If it's 0 to 60 in 4 seconds that you're interested in, you might want to look at this list of vehicles:

 

anyone that insists the common stock halogen bulbs are great and on par with reputed and quality after market with higher lumen output are stupid.

 

"Since then Consumers Reports has filled that vacuum".

True, I think they test vacuums every year or so.

Thevilone hit the nail on the head. To get more and better light the bulb has to emit more lumens AND the filaments have to be properly located so the reflector, etc, can get them to where they are needed.

Much of the hype over "whiter" bulbs is a result of a blue coating applied to the outside of the bulbs which filters part of the light out resulting in fewer actual lumens escaping. Blue coating means less light. Possibly traps more heat and burns them out quicker? And, you get charged more for the privelege.

And, the bulbs made in a country that almost rhymes with 'whiner' (like with a Boston accent) have such cruddy quality control, who knows what they emit and where......

Fortunately, there are good bulbs, just hard to find.

John