What's the difference between an H4 and an H6?

[Incubus]

As in headlights. Same size, prong pattern. Can I use an H6 in this fine old bike? They seem brighter. I like brighter. More visible. Less chance of contacting bug on the windshield syndrome.

Patrick

[MaximPhil]

Hi Patrick.
2 Sorry could not resist
H4 are good so one can only hope 6 is better.
Phil

[Just In Case]

Sorry, but I can't find a H6 listed in my Hella catalogue. In the H4 style, you can get different watt bulbs (upto 100/90), but there are also different gases used, the XD1260/55XU lists as 50% brighter and gives 10-20m longer beam, but still only uses 60 watts.

Don't go with the bulbs that give a blue light, they are worse than standard for output. They just look "cool"

[webbcraft2150]

Either bulb will fit, but... Ya gotta watch the wattage 'cause of the wire size and our puny alternator output. I am running a H4, 65/100w. this is much higher than the the stocker (55/65). Since I usually only use high beam at highway rpm, I have not had any charging issues so far. The 65w low beam has not shown any problems either. (Gota remember, I have that nifty LED voltmeter). I have found that bulb wattage is not as big an issue as the optic quality of the lens. If you are running the stock square headlight fairing, the optics suck and it is a tough one to change due to the way Yamaha made the headlight. If you have a Windjammer, with the round lamp, you have some excellent options to change the lens. Both Hella and Bosch offer drop in upgrades for the round lamps. Couple that with a good bulb and you have a excellent headlight. The problem is, you hafta buy them in pairs so you end up with a high $ spare unless you can get with another member and share the cost.

And yes, those blue "HID" lookalikes are poor replacements. Son in law thought he did me a favor by putting them in my cage, I switched them back to regular bulbs. Also, "Silver Stars", work better but have a real short life, not good when you have only one light.

[Incubus]

I still consider electricity to be magic.

Is wattage the only concern? The only comparison information I've been able to find on the web shows that the two different bulbs have different wick configurations. Other light bulb stuff I found alluded to the fact that different lights have different amperage demands. I don't know that applies here, but I was concerned that one bulb might require more amperage than the other, frying my already taxed electrical system.

MY son No. 2 once almost set his car on fire after he installed a huge subwoofer that drew so much juice it fried his alternator almost instantly....

[Just In Case]

Originally posted by Succubus

Is wattage the only concern?Other light bulb stuff I found alluded to the fact that different lights have different amperage demands. I don't know that applies here, but I was concerned that one bulb might require more amperage than the other, frying my already taxed electrical system.

WATTS divided by VOLTS gives AMPS. So a higher wattage bulb uses more amps

65W/13.2V=4.9A
100W/13.2V=7.6A

I use 13.2V as that is what headlight bulbs are rated for, and allowing for voltage losses in the harness should be what is found at the bulb pins. For other bulbs (turn etc), they are rated at 13.8V

Hella state "5% over voltage = half the life of the bulb, 5% under voltage = twice the life of the bulb, but only 83% of the light output"

[webbcraft2150]

Ya can't fight the rules of 'lectricty. Using the mentioned math, your gonna be real close in amp draw regardless of what brand bulb you buy. Also, the more watts you run, the more heat you will generate. Make sure all your connections are clean and tight and the wire is not brittle. In your case, you have the additional problem of running your wiring thru your fairing. If you look in there, they do not give you very big wires. The smaller the wire, the less current it can carry. You also have a harness running from the fairing and plugging into the stock headlight connector, another place for heat to build and a couple feet more of wire to add to your voltage drop. I installed larger wires in both harnesses and made sure all connections were clean and tight.