PIAA Xtreme White Plus Bulbs

[Judd]

Hard to really call this a mod - it took about as long to install the new bulbs as it did to get them out of the box from Amazon and remove from the PIAA packaging - but this was an easy, affordable upgrade.

I went with the Xtreme White Plus bulbs, the ones with the blue tips, and they are brighter and whiter than the stockers, which have that yellow tint. I wanted these to be more visible to cagers, and on that score this seems like $65 well spent. Nighttime vision was improved too, but not dramatically IMHO.

H4 bulb was part # 70456 ($36) and the H7 # 70755 ($30).

The pics do not do them justice. These are all low beam only (did the DB43 mod). The first is stock, then with the PIAAs, and then with 1 and 1 (stock bulb on the left).

Cheers

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I've been running these for about three years and have been very happy with them... That's also with the BD43 mod too...

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Although they are great bulbs, very bright. I have had bad luck, they don't last very long and are expensive to replace. I have resorted back to the $25 dollar range bulbs that you get at the auto parts store. But again, you may not ride as much as I do.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Although they are great bulbs, very bright. I have had bad luck, they don't last very long and are expensive to replace. I have resorted back to the $25 dollar range bulbs that you get at the auto parts store. But again, you may not ride as much as I do.

I had the above bulb (H4) in my old Kawasaki KLR250.

Whenever we went to the Smokie Mountains (on vacation), two times out of three, the bulb burnt out(LB element). Very odd... The only thing I could think of was the elevation change. I usually got a year and half or so out of it. It was a commuter, about 10,000 miles a year..

Now, the FZ, I haven't been to the Smokies (any elevation to speak of) and have about 3 years on them W/O issue. The H7 wasn't ever an issue, the dual filiment(in the KLR-only one headlight), was..

I suspect the shorter life is the downside of the higher lumen output. I actually have a spare H4 (PIAA) hanging on my tool box (along with about 5 regular H4's...)

 

[Erci]

Although they are great bulbs, very bright. I have had bad luck, they don't last very long and are expensive to replace. I have resorted back to the $25 dollar range bulbs that you get at the auto parts store. But again, you may not ride as much as I do.

No one rides as much as you, Kenny Blah

I've been running Silverstars for many years. They can be had for ~30 for the set and have given me great longevity. In 3 years on FZ1, I burned them out once, but that was only because of taped headlights for the track.. too much heat.

I also run them in my SUV.. 4 years / 80k miles so far on original set

 

[iSteve]

I didn't have very good luck with these bulbs either, only got about 10k miles. I replaced them with bulbs from the Harley Davison shop. Figured any bulb that can withstand those moto-vibrators should last forever.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

I still have the stock bulbs which should last a LONG time. They definitly aren't as bright as the PIAA's.

Not that I wanted to spend that much for a bulb, but I figured drop X$'s on a bulb and possibly be seen better or risk a potential, "not being seen" crash.. Anything I can do to be seen better, I'll do.

Obviously, I sprung for the PIAA's.

BTW, just checking my vehicle log, I put them in 8-14-11 with about 10,000 miles currently on the bulbs...

(I've several bikes at one time, thus the lower mileage)..

 

[Judd]

+1 for trying to be more visible to other drivers. My simple thinking is slightly brighter = slightly better.

Can't speak to longevity yet but they are supposed to be "anti vibration" powersports bulbs. That may just be a meaningless label on the box but PIAA is normally a good quality product.

(Reminds me of that line from Tommy Boy, "I can take a sh*t in a box and slap a guarantee on it, but then all you got is a guaranteed piece of sh*t.")

If I get 3 years/15k miles out of them I'll be happy. Will try to remember to report back when/if they fail.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I think it was around 10-12,000 miles too. I went with the Silverstars too.

One thing about trying to be visible during the day, you can always ride with your high beams, or get yourself a headlight modulator or even a yellow bulb. MxGolf has yellow bulbs combined with a headlight modulator which makes him a great lead rider for group rides. His bike definitely stands out when he's approaching you.

At night, your ability to see becomes more of an important factor which I believe the PIAA or other high end bulbs comes into play versus just ordinary or cheaper bulbs.

 

[Mexi-can't]

While the PIAA are good bulbs they got too expensive to replace on the regular. I use these now, $17 a bulb h7 and h4 (9003) from Amazon and similar light output, better resistance to vibration In my experience. The orange glow thing probably doesn't make much difference but it's there. It's just shy of a mile of dirt gravel road for me to get to the hwy from my house so lots of vibration and bouncing.