New CR-V Owner with Headlight Lighting Questions

[Runninlow3]

When I picked up my 2012 CR-V I felt that the stock headlights in the 2012 CRV were poor. Then again, that may be my perception since my previous car came stock with HID's. Before doing a HID retrofit on my CR-V, I tried after market headlights and there was a significant difference. I tried the Sylvania SilverStars and PIAA Night Techs. Both were a lot better than the stock bulbs. I liked the PIAA's better (http://www.amazon.com/PIAA-10704-Nig...+Night+tech+h4). They seemed brighter to me. However, you may not like the PIAA Night Techs because they are in the 3600 kelvin range and may be yellower than you like. As you go higher in kelvin the whiter/bluer the light gets. However, our eyes percieve yellower light as brighter. Since you are looking for a whiter light you are probably better off going with the OSRAM's JustinTime recommended.

I do have the PIAA ion foglights and I like them (http://www.amazon.com/13511-12-Volt-...Crystal+Yellow). Again, it comes down to preference and some may not like it.

As for HID's, I stayed away from plug-and-play kits and went with a retrofit. I went through www.lightwerkz.net which is located in NJ. I went with the FX-R Stage 1(http://shop.lightwerkz.net/Complete-...it-Kit-Stage-1). www.theretrofitsource.com and www.hidplanet.com are great sites for HID information. Here is a thread I created on my HID retrofit: 2012 CR-V HID Retrofit. It has pictures and shows the light cutoff and reason why retrofits are the way to go, when it come to HID's, so you won't blind on-coming traffic. When I drive at night I don't even notice the foglights since my HID's are so much brighter. However, in the pictures with the cutoff against the fence you can see the yellow output of the PIAA's.

Hope that helps.

I'll check out your HID thread. Thanks for the info!

overwattage bulbs can lead to big problems, without glass lenses, relays and heavier wiring.

I've heard this too...unless you upgrade the factory wiring to a heavier gauge or add extensions.

As JustinTime recommended...I ordered the OSRAM headlight bulbs and will see how they are.

[PNutts]

The OSRAMs arrived today. I doubt I'll have time to install them tonight but I'll post the pics when I get them in.

[JustinTime]

Pnutts,

Make sure you do not touch the bulb glass with your bare fingers. Good luck.


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[Runninlow3]

The OSRAMs arrived today. I doubt I'll have time to install them tonight but I'll post the pics when I get them in.

Looking forward to seeing pics!
I ordered mine the end of last week so I probably won't get them til end of this week/weekend.

I assume this is a straight-forward remove & replace? I noticed that the fuse box is behind the driver side headlight, but have heard it can be moved for access to the bulb.

[textex]

Looking forward to seeing pics!
I ordered mine the end of last week so I probably won't get them til end of this week/weekend.

I assume this is a straight-forward remove & replace? I noticed that the fuse box is behind the driver side headlight, but have heard it can be moved for access to the bulb.

I upgraded to the OSRAMs and it was pretty straightforward. I didn't touch the fuse box and was able to work in the space available. It's tight but not impossible. There is a noticeable difference with these lightbulbs.

[Runninlow3]

I upgraded to the OSRAMs and it was pretty straightforward. I didn't touch the fuse box and was able to work in the space available. It's tight but not impossible. There is a noticeable difference with these lightbulbs.

Thanks for the info...will keep this in mind when I install mine. I'm still waiting for the bulbs to arrive! lol
Glad to hear you can notice the difference. My previous car (Acura)had factory HID's which was awesome...so it's a huge difference to these factory standard bulbs on the CR-V.

[PNutts]

JustinTime - Thanks for the reminder. It's "funny" that I put on a pair of latex gloves and the first thing I did was remove the power plug and got my gloved fingers covered with dielectric grease.

So... Driver's side was a bit of a squeeze but I didn't move the fuse box. I'd recommend doing the passenger side first since it's more visible and you'll have a better idea on what needs to be done on the drivers side where it's more difficult to see.

I'm not sure what order the pics will be in after posting but they are self explanatory. I used a couple of different exposures to try and capture the color and intensity of the lights. In all pictures the drivers side has the new OSRAMs and passenger side is stock Philips. In the picture of two bulbs side by side, I was surprised to see the Philips I removed (left) is noticeably hazy after only about a month of use. That's gotta kill some light output.

Anyway, enjoy the pics. The color is noticeably whiter both when the lights are on something (see pics) and when looking at the car (difficult to photograph). And as far as how much brighter they are I need to do a road test. My light meter was stolen a long time ago so I don't have a way to accurately measure the light levels.

[JustinTime]

So you finally got them, nice! I think you will like them. They are not going to be white as HID (which is what I like most), but then again, the most important thing is that they light up the road better - which these DO.

[JustinTime]

So you finally got them, nice! I think you will like them. They are not going to be white as HID (which is what I like most), but then again, the most important thing is that they light up the road better - which these DO.

[PNutts]

Yes, I can't wait to go for a drive! I've wanted HID for a long time and when buying the CRV asked if there was an HID option package available. By the time this car wears out HID will be more available (in my price range) or we'll all be using LED. Thanks again for the OSRAM recommendation. They saved me $$$ for what I believe is equivalent performance to the Philips I was looking at. It still baffles me how much better the headlights were on my 2006 Odyssey mini-van.