2013+ halogen headlight upgrades (S or SV w/o QC + LED package)

[cwerdna]

I've seen a bunch of other headlight threads, but I'm interested in just upgrading the stock halogens w/o going LED or HID. This should apply to all S trims and SV w/o the quick + LED headlight packages.

Is the advice at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.p ... 67#p350667 re: H13 bulbs any good? He has only a single post.

Philips Xtreme Vision
Philips Xtreme Power

The manual says H13 for the bulbs. 9008 and H13 are the same, right?

The reason why I'm shying away from LED or HID is having to make modifications. And, it seems like some are coming from kits made in China. If they're not from a reputable manufacturer, I have no idea how reliable they are.

[LeftieBiker]

I posted in the other topic that Philips "X-Treme Power" H13 bulbs added a little bit of extra light to the high beams. It is only noticeably in dark conditions without street lights, though. They also highlight how much light the Leaf reflectors waste by putting it up in the trees.

[AutoHaulersinc]

I tried that before I went LED....its wasn't worth it...as Leftie said it was a bit of extra light. Even my LEDs are sorta...meh...and they weren't cheap or a breeze to install

I think the only real way to get some decent light is to swap in the factory LED pods but they are still quite expensive and who knows what it will do an S canbus or cause any other gremlins...maybe they are plug and play..IDK

I know my next Leaf is going to be a SL or SV loaded...really didn't plan on liking the Leaf so much lol!

[Arlington]

If upgrading the halogen headlight is a dead end, how about supplementing it?
II have a 2013 S and am considering some sort of LED "always on" solution to supplement the headlights in the following ways:
1) As supplement to headlights: put more light on the pavement straight ahead, the better to see pavement markings
2) As supplement to headlights: put more light into the "pedestrian crosswalk blindspot" (most critically, on the driver's left at a 45 degree)
3) As replacement for the front-facing parking light I apparently don't have
4) As always-on fog lights (which is essentially (1)+(2) for low-and-near-and-wide vision
5) As daytime running lights (DRL)

My choices seem to be:
Something mounted in the currently-empty Fog Light position
Using the COB LED DRLs fully-discussed in the DRL thread here

[cwerdna]

Bumping... at first I couldn't find this post and was looking into brighter Sylvania bulbs.

The stock halogens on the SV (what I have now) are a lot worse than the stock LEDs on an SV w/the QC + LED package, which I had before.

After going thru http://www.osram-americas.com/en-us/app ... px#fldYear and selecting a '13 Leaf, it tells me that the "brightest downroad + whiter light" would be the Silverstar Ultras. Bottom of the barrel would be Basic.

Funny enough, when you click on the link for specs that leads to http://www.osram-americas.com/en-us/app ... number=H13, they ALL have the same primary and secondary light output, both in MSCP and lumens. I found out that MSCP per http://www.electrical-online.com/lighting-terminology/ means "Mean Spherical Candlepower. Some light bulb data sheets list the MSCP. This is a way to represent the total light in the beam pattern by assuming that the beam pattern is equally bright in all directions. If you multiply the MSCP by 12.57, you have the lumens. (See “Lumens.”)"

Really? So all these bulbs have the same rated brightness? It's just the fancier bulbs have whiter lite and burn out WAY more quickly?

Going back to Philips, http://www.philipsautolighting.com/bulb ... 013&trim=7 says the X-tremevision would give "100% more light on the road". Yet, I can't find any brightness specs. http://www.usa.philips.com/c-p/9008XVB2 ... light-bulb lists none.

Grr!

Anything else I should consider, given my requirements/restrictions in the last paragraph of the OP?

[gshepherd]

Anything else I should consider, given my requirements/restrictions in the last paragraph of the OP?

I had upgraded my 2000 Honda Insight to the Sylvania Silverstar Ultras. There was a modest improvement in color temperature and pattern evenness vs. the old, dim, OEM bulbs. How much of that was a result of fresh bulbs vs. aged, I don't know. I suspect all DOT-approved halogen bulbs must meet a stringent specification, and that there really is no way to improve on it by simply swapping to another DOT-approved bulb. On top of that, the LEAF allows the 12V bus to settle down into the mid-12's, which noticeably reduces the brightness and color temperature of the halogens (unless the wipers are operating, and then we're up at 14.2 and nice bright lights, arguably when you need them the most in foul weather).

Although you stated you did not want to move to LEDs due to modification requirements and country-of-origin, I will report that my 2016 SV is running Hoshi Automotive H13 LEDs. No modification was required due to the integral power drivers. They are spec'd at 9-36 VDC, 3000 lumens with a lifetime warranty. I just noticed today that unlike the dual-filament halogens, when activating high beams, these LED units keep the main beams activated simultaneously, which is probably why I like these so much on dark country roads.

Not sure what else to suggest, especially while trying to avoid modifications. It would be neat if someone made a simple plug-and-play voltage boost module for the halogens to run them at their rated voltage all the time. Halogens to give 100 CRI color rendering and were state-of-the-art not too long ago.

[cwerdna]

Anyone have any updates for '13 to '17 Leafs with halogens?

I had upgraded my 2000 Honda Insight to the Sylvania Silverstar Ultras. There was a modest improvement in color temperature and pattern evenness vs. the old, dim, OEM bulbs. How much of that was a result of fresh bulbs vs. aged, I don't know. I suspect all DOT-approved halogen bulbs must meet a stringent specification, and that there really is no way to improve on it by simply swapping to another DOT-approved bulb. On top of that, the LEAF allows the 12V bus to settle down into the mid-12's, which noticeably reduces the brightness and color temperature of the halogens (unless the wipers are operating, and then we're up at 14.2 and nice bright lights, arguably when you need them the most in foul weather).

I took a look at https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/pictures/ ... our-car/4/ which mentions "Phillips CrystalVision Ultra headlight bulbs: 20 percent off" at Amazon from Nov 19th to Dec 2nd.

Unfortunately, as before, I couldn't seem to find any brightness specs. I found http://bulbfacts.com/halogen-bulbs/revi ... s-oem.html (don't know how reputable they are) claiming they're actually 5% dimmer than OEM. They also have a table at http://bulbfacts.com/halogen-bulbs/chart/, again not knowing how reputable they are.

I tried to look for H13 (9008 bulb) versions of the OSRAM Night Breaker Unlimited and they don't seem to exist. Ditto for some of the other ones that allegedly had got low beam brightness results like Philips RacingVision, Nighthawk Xenon and Nighthawk Platinum.

Allegedly, the Sylvania SilverStar Ultras did well on low beam brightness on their tests. Maybe I should bite the bullet?

Although you stated you did not want to move to LEDs due to modification requirements and country-of-origin, I will report that my 2016 SV is running Hoshi Automotive H13 LEDs. No modification was required due to the integral power drivers. They are spec'd at 9-36 VDC, 3000 lumens with a lifetime warranty. I just noticed today that unlike the dual-filament halogens, when activating high beams, these LED units keep the main beams activated simultaneously, which is probably why I like these so much on dark country roads.

Still am wary of modifications and those from unknown manufacturers. The above still working ok?

[LeftieBiker]

If you want a very modest improvement with no modification needed, the Philips "X-Treme Power" (IIRC) H13 helped fill in the blotchy OEM high beam pattern, although it was really only noticeable on unlit highways.

[Leaf15]

I am very happy with this LED upgrade and oncoming drivers are happy too. I posted info here: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.p ... 69#p531369