i want to ask to those who have swapped out the h7 halogen bulbs in the mini to aftermarket ones..

ive been thinking of doing my lighting next.. and was hoping to get some piaa H7 xtreme white halogen bulbs, i do have the question though as the mini uses low voltage as its day time running lights in canada, anyone see a problem with the piaas when running on low voltage? in other words... would running lower voltage on the bulb reduce it's life?

also, what does everyone think of raising the stock 4k xenon capsules for 5k GE xensation bulbs.... am i crazy to spend 200 bucks on 2 bulbs and add only 1000k?

 

As a movie lighting tech. I think I can answer your question. The life of an incandescent filament is voltage sensitive. Any incandescent lamp, halogen or tungsten (they're called 'globes' in the movie biz) will experience a shortened life when you INCREASE the voltage. This is due to the higher temperature at which you are causing the filament to burn. Sometimes on a film set we will 'over volt' a fixture in order to compensate for color temperature or to increase the range of a dimming cue.

A 10% increase in applied voltage will reduce the filament life to only 30% of its design value, while a 10% decrease in applied voltage will multiply the design life by a factor of approximately three. It is often feasible to "derate" an incandescent lamp for the sake of increased life.


I know...too much info..


So go get em. Please just make sure they behave as your stock ones did when it comes to focus and beam pattern so as not to blind oncoming drivers with your new lights.

As far as your 5k xenons. 1000 watts is 1000 watts and would be definitely noticeable at night when it matters. That's a 25% increase in light output. Can your ballasts power that?