Anyone tried IPF "fatboy" "balloon" bulbs ? (aka super low beam)

[malecoke]

http://www.ok4wd.com/images/product/1089/images/ipf_fatboy_blue.jpg

Experiences to share ? Requires extra harness ?

[B0000rt]

Are these HIR (http://hirheadlights.com/)light bulbs?

Check this out:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=2873861&postcount=6


nnn watts optical effect": No. There's no such thing as "optical effect" in this context, it's a meaningless buzzphrase. Remember, lumens are not hard-linked to watts. There are (normal, plain, regulation-spec) bulbs nominally rated 12v 55w that produce from 910 lumens (9003 low beam) to 1820 lumens (H2). Different filament, fill gas, and bulb capsule parameters determine whether any given bulb design is optimized for longer life or higher output or somewhere in the middle. Which brings us to all the noise IPF makes about the great big large-diameter glass on their "Fatboy" XX bulb. It certainly is visually impressive, and it's an easy sell since we tend to associate bigger with stronger/better, but that's wrong in the case of halogen bulbs, which work better with a smaller glass tube. A smaller glass tube is closer to the filament, so it heats up faster and runs hotter, which means a more efficient halogen cycle, which means the filament can be driven harder without tungsten boil-off exceeding the rate of tungsten redeposition by the halogen cycle. And a smaller tube is physically stronger, so it can safely withstand higher gas fill pressure, further improving bulb efficacy.

[l69norm]

+1, stay away from these. They are (very expensive) junk. The IPF fatboys are made to look just like much more expensive Toshiba HIR bulbs, but are really just regular technology halogen bulbs.

The biggest clue that this is a scam is the packaging. It implies the bulb uses 60/80W of electricity but has the same lumen output as a 145/185W bulb:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/superwhite/superwhite.html

...The "55W = 85W" type claims are a sham. Here's how these kinds of pretend wattage numbers are cooked-up: The blue or purple filtration coating on the glass tints the light so that it is "whiter". Most bulbs that actually produces more light (i.e., higher-wattage bulbs) also burn with a whiter color than standard-wattage bulbs. With these color-coated bulbs, only the light color, and not the actual light output, imitates a high-power bulb....

OP, spend your money on real high output bulbs instead like Toshiba HIR, Philips VP/XP, OSRAM Nightbreakers, GE Megalight, Narva Rangepower, etc ...