Any advice on improving headlights legally?

[PhilA]

I was reading around when one of the headlamp bulbs burned on my old truck. the "100% Brighter!!!*" ones have this big wad of small text at the bottom (* 100% brighter refers to old bulbs in poorly-maintained headlight fixtures) but upon taking the old, still-working bulb out and inspecting it, the filament had gone from a nice clean spiral to looking something like an old sports-sock.

 

I'd used Osram SilverStars which, as has been said, use a blue filter deposited on the lens to change the colour of the light. I found that the new bulbs were brighter because the filaments hadn't collapsed but the main difference seemed to be the perception- the contrast was better to my eyes, making the road appear more brightly lit.

 

Either way, stick some cheapo bulbs in there because I found mine only effectively did one year. Definitely make sure the wiring isn't sapping the light output by being higher resistance than it should be. Adding higher wattage bulbs to small projector lamps can help, but make sure they aren't going to melt the housing...

 

--Phil