Osram (Not Sylvania) Silverstar H4 Bulbs

[AMCJeepMJ]

To make a short story long, on Christmas Eve, my SO and I went last-minute Christmas shopping in her Ford Escape. At the end of our journey we stopped at a Rite Aid [yuck] for odds n ends. Coming out of the store and starting the car, we had the driver's side Sylvania Silverstar Ultra H4 headlight burn out. After getting back to the house, I replaced both bulbs [at 9pm on Christmas Eve] with the stock H4 bulbs that were in the rig originally from the factory. The following day we were returning form a relative's place with my SO and girls and night fell, only to discover how weak an dim the original bulbs were in comparison to the Sylvania Silverstar Ultras. I had decided to get a new set of bulbs that put more light on the road but didn't want to spend $45-$50 on another set of Ultras.

 

Doing some research on alternatives, I ran across a lot of choices [Philips, El Cheapos, Hella, other Sylvanias, etc.] but settled on a set of Osram Silverstar H4 bulbs. Now, I know Osram and Sylvania are a single company, but it appears Sylvania is the name used in North America, and Osram is used in Europe... they also carry different bulbs under similar names for different markets. I picked the Osram bulbs up from Ebay shipped for about $25.

 

Fast forward to yesterday. The headlights arrived and I installed the 55/60w H4 Osram Silverstar bulbs in the Escape. Easy plug n play. After night fell I took the Ford for a spin and HOLY COW these things were BRIGHT and WHITE. I kept thinking I had left my high beams on as I drove but hadn't. I wasn't flashed by any oncoming traffic on my 20 minute test drive.

 

After getting back to the house, I put the one good Sylvania Silverstar Ultra bulb back in for comparison, and it appears just as white but not as bright as the Osram bulb. The Sylvania bulb is larger and has a blue tint to the lens whereas the Osram is a smaller bulb with clear glass, both dual-filament as an H4 should be. After reinstalling the Osram I called it a night.

 

So, how this relates to MJs is as such: I have Hella H4 headlights with the Hella 55/60w bulbs that came with them. I intend to pick up another set of these Osram Silverstars to put in my MJ, but am pondering the following two questions: as the headlight switch/harness could melt or destroy itself when used with high powered bulbs [ex: fatboy 100w bulbs], would it be prudent to upgrade the wiring harness [such as with the Putco harness] prior to installing the new Osrams, or would it be safe to use as they are rated to draw 55/60w? Would upgrading the harness cause the headlights to burn brighter, causing them to burn out faster?

 

For reference, the packaging for the Osrams I picked up can be found HERE. Freakin' awesome bulb.

[Mountain Dude]

The 55/60 watt rating is for the power consumed by the bulb, not the light output...so if you are already running 55/60 watt Hellas, your MJ wiring will see the exact same current draw - 3.9 or 4.2 amps at 14 volts. Upgrading 25 year old wiring is always a good idea though!

[cruiser54]

But, it's ALWAYS a good idea to upgrade the harness as the switches fail and harness connector melts with stock headlamps due to the crappily designed and under-engineered wiring.

 

Not to mention the lights will be about 30% brighter.