Headlight bulbs

Soldato
Joined
7 Jan 2009
Posts
6,371
Hey chaps,looking to replace the H4 headlight bulbs in the MG3
Current ones are yellowish and are not very bright.

Im looking for the brightest ones from this list that are road legal,but confused by the (K)
  • 3400k
  • 3900k
  • 4200k
  • 5000k
What should i be looking at for brightest white light? (Im assuming 5000K)?

cheers guys much appreciated.
 

NVP

NVP

Soldato
Joined
6 Sep 2007
Posts
12,649
You've got the concept, although avoid anything cheap so you know you're getting what you want.

Maybe this will help, it's from one of those LED bulb sites:

xyqY8mA.jpg
 
Associate
Joined
30 Sep 2011
Posts
1,717
Location
Over the hills and.......
Hey chaps,looking to replace the H4 headlight bulbs in the MG3
Current ones are yellowish and are not very bright.

Im looking for the brightest ones from this list that are road legal,but confused by the (K)
  • 3400k
  • 3900k
  • 4200k
  • 5000k
What should i be looking at for brightest white light? (Im assuming 5000K)?

cheers guys much appreciated.
if yours is anything like the near side headlamp on a mg6 I hope you haven’t got chubby arms.

The k is not the brightness it’s the warm ness whiteness of the light. 3400 is warm has a hologen tinge 5000 is daylight white, anything more than 5000 and your going blue.

brought some 5000k led gu down lights for the dining room it’s like eating in a hospital operating room makes your eyes feel funny until you get used to it
 
Soldato
Joined
4 Mar 2003
Posts
12,450
Location
Chatteris
On my previous car with HID's I'm sure they were 4200k from the factory which just gave that wonderful, white light. I don't know where the LED headlights on my current car sit.
Cannot think why you'd possibly want anything in the 5k+ area unless you're aiming for "chav blue"?
 
Don
Joined
19 May 2012
Posts
17,190
Location
Spalding, Lincolnshire
What should i be looking at for brightest white light? (Im assuming 5000K)?

Colour Temperature "K" has very little to do with actual brightness.

Lumens is generally what is used to measure brightness, but again actual output is rarely stated and even where it is, it can be manipulated (e.g. including invisible wavelengths of light).

Best bet is to reviews of bulbs, or recommendations from other owners of your car.

Personally I've always gone with mid range bulbs e.g. Halfords Advance +50% or Philips VisionPlus 60%,
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/b...vanced-up-to--50-percent-brighter-single-pack
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-0730529-12342VPS2-VisionPlus-Headlight/dp/B005L9EZ92
which are normally around the 3200k range, offer better brightness than "stock" bulbs, but without compromising the longevity (e.g. with some of the 130/150% bulbs they can last a matter of weeks)
 
Man of Honour
Joined
26 Dec 2003
Posts
30,899
Location
Shropshire
Normally the bluer the light the less lumens are actually output even though to the human eye it looks very bright due to the colour temp IIRC. This is talking normal bulbs rather than the retina burning led/xeons.
 
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