Ring Xenon Ultima

[Elfenstar]

My passenger side Osram Nightbreaker bulb just blew after approx 1.5years of use, and as a follow up from this thread Philips or Osram, I'm posting an initial review and comparison of the Ring Xenon Ultima's +120% bulbs that I just bought from Trex's store and changed. This is for the dual filament H4 fitting.

 

Bulbs

Have a look at the following image. The Nightbreaker is on the left, the Xenon Ultima on the right

As you can see the Xenon Ultima's have taken a design more akin to Philip's Xtreme Visions with a single more intense shade of blue, but in a strip just before the cap vs the more subdued metallic shade of blue on the Nightbreakers which cover the entire bulb leaving a strip untinted where the low beam filament is.

 

Aesthetics (Lights Off)

With the Nightbreakers, my headlamp assembly had a uniform steel blue/titanium-esque look. With the Xenon Ultimas, it has more of a mirror finish with blue highlights. I definately prefer the Nightbreakers in this regard.

 

Aesthetics (Lights On)

Have a look at this following image, the passenger side is using Xenon Ultima's, the drivers Nightbreakers

This is on low beam. Its only slightly noticeable, but when looking head on at the car, the Xenon Ultima's definately have a whiter look.

In my haste, I forgot to take a shot with high beams, however the Xenon Ultima's seem to remain the same, but the Nightbreakers have a whiter look.

Light output/throw colour wise, I find the Nightbreakers more white even though while looking at the headlight assembly, it seems more yellow. This is even more noticeable when high beams are on. Overall I do prefer how the Nightbreakers look in this regard too.

 

Brightness

This is where the Xenon Ultima's come into their own. Regardless of high or low beams, the Xenon Ultima's do look significantly brighter. Have a look at the second image again. The flare is a lot more noticeable on the passenger side. When driving out of the building, even when lit by overcast skies and building lights, I could at least see a shadow of the throw by the Xenon Ultima's. This is something other bulbs I've used haven't been able to do. Thus far I do far prefer the Xenon Ultima's in this regard.

One thing that everyone should note is that both bulbs output is more yellow when you first turn them on (like every other incandescent bulb), but get whiter after a few minutes of use.

 

Initial Take

Although I will update with another post on the brightness (though I strongly believe the manufacturers claims on light output to be correct) after I drive out and get back home tonight, for those who prefer a more overall aesthetically pleasing look, with increased brightness over stock, the Nightbreakers are it. In brightly lit Singapore they should be more than sufficient, and they have been very good on all my night drives to and from KL. For those who like me who do prefer the additional brightness and/or the whiter looking headlamp assembly as we're on low beams most of the time, you can't go past the Xenon Ultima's.

 

P.S. Just in-case anyone wants to know how the Philips Xtreme Vision bulb looks like in comparison to these two

Based on its design and gazillion comparisons between it and the Nightbreakers, I believe it should slot nicely between the the Nightbreakers in the Xenon Ultima's in most respects.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Elfenstar

[Trex101]

Thank for your feedback Elfenstar, brightness is definably important here as most highway and rural road are unlit unlike Singapore. The real differences for you i felt would be night-time NSH driving type of condition.

 

I definably felt the differences when i switch to Philips XV during my Great Ocean Road drive last Spring, it literally light up the whole road in front and most car are falling behind me for illumination.

 

[Unfair]

I can't tell the difference..

 

HID is still better and lasts longer

 

[Trex101]

I can't tell the difference..

 

HID is still better and lasts longer

 

HID is definably better, there's no doubt about it but not all cars came with HID, even here it is also illegal to retrofit HID lighting system to our car. Next best choice would be upgrade of bulbs, cheap and effective.

[Elfenstar]

Thank for your feedback Elfenstar, brightness is definably important here as most highway and rural road are unlit unlike Singapore. The real differences for you i felt would be night-time NSH driving type of condition.

 

I definably felt the differences when i switch to Philips XV during my Great Ocean Road drive last Spring, it literally light up the whole road in front and most car are falling behind me for illumination.

 

I know the feeling. Felt the same way on the NSHW after I swapped in the NB's. Will update the lighting after I reply to unfair on the HID's.

 

Btw, Nick said you will be visiting home soon. Drop me a line if you're free to catch up. Let me think, the last time I saw you was either 06 or 07 when you were visiting Melb.

[Elfenstar]

I can't tell the difference..

 

HID is still better and lasts longer

 

Yes factory HID's are quite a bit better, however I've used retrofitted HID's before (projector type headlights). You either end up causing glare to others, or once you adjust the headlamps to prevent this, you get a lot of light right ahead of you, but the throw becomes worse than using high end bulbs. Alternatively I could order and ship in the HID headlight assembly with the auto leveler, etc for far more than 10 years worth of high performance bulbs.

[Unfair]

Yeah, for the legal route there ain't much we can do.

I don't really go NSHW at night so prob can tell.

 

Enjoy ur new bulbs !

[Rogersk8ter]

Bros, if i install HID for my fog lamps which i will not turn on in SG road, will i get into trouble with LTA or during inspection?

[Elfenstar]

Ok. I've driven over 50k's just to check out the performance of the lights. They're quite different from the NBs.

 

Colour

Yup, I'm now very sure that the headlights look whiter when you look at it, but the light on the road is definitely more yellow than the NB's.

 

Brightness & Throw

This is the interesting bit.

 

When shining directly on a fixed object. They're definitely brighter than the NBs. Please see the two pics below. The first is on low beams, the second on high beams.

 

Whats noticeably different is the throw.

 

When driving, the main hotspot of light on the road ahead of me seems quite a bit dimmer than the NB's, maybe a little brighter than a 50%+ Vision Plus. HOWEVER, it looks like it starts a little further, and ends quite noticeably further. I.E. Dimmer but covers a larger area.

 

When I went over a couple of humps, I realised that reflective signboards approximately 250-300 meters away that the NBs never lit up before were now lit.

 

I tried capturing a picture of the throw, however my eyes seem to pick up light further than my phone cam.

If you look at the low beam and high beam pictures respectively below, you would think that the bulbs aren't very bright, however the area was illuminated far more than in the picture. In fact on low beams, I could see further, than what can be seen in the high beam pic. Past the trees, past the trees behind those, and al the way to the fence that circles Changi Ferry Terminal

Also notice the darker area before the main hotspot of light in the low beam pic? It would be around 1/2 to 3/4 of that with the NBs.

 

Anyhow, the best illustration of the throw is in the full cropped picture below. It is with the high beams on at my multi-storey carpark, my cam on full digital zoom. The flat is about 150-180 meters away, and if you look to the side of 2nd pillar from the left, you can even see its shadow on the flat.

 

Second Take

To be perfectly honest, I don't really know which I prefer. The NBs IMHO have a nicer colour, and lights up the first 30-50 meters better, however the Xenon Ultimas are kick arse in range, and illuminates more of the closer distance stuff. From a non-tinted perspective, in SG, either would be just as good, be it for being more noticeable on the roads or for lighting up out already very well lit roads more. For night driving on the NSHW, things further away being lit up would probably be more ideal. Thus I guess the ultimas are here to stay.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Elfenstar

[Elfenstar]

Yeah, for the legal route there ain't much we can do.

I don't really go NSHW at night so prob can tell.

 

Enjoy ur new bulbs !

 

HID's are a lot better, and I did consider changing the entire assembly, but unless its for looks, the cost far outweighed the benefits.

 

Thanks, I'm not sure if I'm enjoying them yet, though I suspect I will thoroughly on my next trip up to KL sometime in Jan.

[Elfenstar]

Bros, if i install HID for my fog lamps which i will not turn on in SG road, will i get into trouble with LTA or during inspection?

 

I think you will if they checked, but it shouldn't be too hard to hide the ballasts for foggies, and besides I haven't heard of them really checking foggies.

[Trex101]

I know the feeling. Felt the same way on the NSHW after I swapped in the NB's. Will update the lighting after I reply to unfair on the HID's.

 

Btw, Nick said you will be visiting home soon. Drop me a line if you're free to catch up. Let me think, the last time I saw you was either 06 or 07 when you were visiting Melb.

 

Yah, i think that would be around 2007 on my Aussie 1st entry visit, how time has pass, it's been 3yr since i moved here already. The kids are loving the school here, they actually want to go to school everyday :)

 

[Escksu]

I can't tell the difference..

 

HID is still better and lasts longer

 

HID is illegal.

[Elfenstar]

Yah, i think that would be around 2007 on my Aussie 1st entry visit, how time has pass, it's been 3yr since i moved here already. The kids are loving the school here, they actually want to go to school everyday :)

 

Almost 4 years since I've come back . I'll be away from 22 to 27 Dec, but other than that, if you're free, I'm good for a coffee. Are all of you back or just you?

 

Anyway yup did another long drive last night (can't beat doing it it Melb, but its been a while since I last drove around aimlessly so it was good). I'm sure the Ultima's do have a dimmer but larger hotspot area. The top cutoff seems to be about the same as when I changed to Nightbreakers, but the throw is much further.