RE: PIAA Bulbs and the Demise of the Digest.

[mcmpconstcorp@xxxxxxxxx]

I also find that these Japanese bulbs run a lot brighter, wider, and of
course, a lot hotter compared to my stock bulbs. However, the bulbs I
installed in my E36 are not made by PIAA (I couldn't find any PIAA H7's
and H1's in my area), rather, from their competitors, Raybrig and IPF.
The "clear" H7's (for the headlights) are made by Raybrig and are
claimed by its manufacturer to deliver 100 watts at a consumption of
only 55 watts. The H1's that I bought are IPF's and are called "White
Max Bulb", and exhibits an extreme white light, however, its outer lens
appear to be blue when it's not lit. Likewise, the manufacturer claims
the same as with the Raybrigs (55W->100W). One thing immediately
noticeable between this and the stock is that the coils within these
Japanese bulbs are around 1/6th longer, which is probably the very
reason why its seems to run brighter.  

I just had these installed last week and from what I noticed from my
VDO volt gauge (this is the one that comes in a set from BMP) is that
there's seems to be a slight drop of voltage as compared to my previous
reading with the stock bulbs installed. That's why whenever I get into
a halt, like in a traffic jam, I tend to switch down to my dim lights
(park lights) and turn it on only when the traffic start to move.
Although, the reading hasn't drop to 12 volts when the engine is
running, sometimes I just can no longer endure the uneasiness caused by
checking my battery gauge every now and then. It's obvious to me that
these "suckers" run on a higher current to produce such an intense
light. I might have a better indication of this if I have an ampere
gauge instead of my battery gauge. 

It is most likely that I'll switch back to my stock bulbs if any small
foul ups occur, and of course, I don't want to crack my fog lamps again
(both my fog lamp lenses cracked last year for no apparent reason).
Also, on 2 lane streets, in coming cars seem to get bothered by my
bright lights and they flash their high beam on me assuming that my
headlights are on high beam. Oh well, if I won't be able to send this
back and get a refund, then it's $130 down the poop hole.

John Martinez
'95 318i Turbo (Mosselman Turbo Systems)

P.S. I will surely miss this digest. It has been long while since my
last post (almost 2 and a half years ago I think), and it's really
unfortunate to be witness to its demise. I did unsubscribe at one
point, due the countless repetition of resolved issues/topics, and I
just got overwhelmed by the increasing number issues that I received
everyday.  Anyway, I would like to convey to Richard, along with the
rest of the digesters who seem to be unanimous in their sentiments with
his work for the Digest, my deepest appreciation. Reading every issue
has become a daily routine for me and it'll sometime before I get used
to having for myself a longer "free-time". Again, thanks and goodbye.

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