Silverstar bulbs

[jblackburn]

First one went out yesterday after 10 months. Not bad I suppose seeing I leave my running lights on all the time and do a LOT of driving.

[ojdorson]

I've got PIAA 10926 Intense White bulbs behind e-code lenses and I'm REALLY happy with them. I don't know about longevity, firsthand, because they've only been in for ~2 months, but there is a TON of light on the road and it makes the car look MUCH more modern.

[phat78ta]

I put the stars in my wifes car, and they made a huge difference. Much better long range lighting, and no queer blue neon glow like a rice rocket. They do say that they will not last as long, but they do come with a 1 year warranty from the manufacturer. It's on the package.

[jblackburn]

Really? Shoot if I'd known that I wouldn't have thrown out my old bulb. Oh well.

[Red-Arrow]

There is no magic it seems when it comes to bulbs and output. The brighter the bulb the shorter life span.

I just bought some HB4 -9006 Narva bulbs to replace my own Philips and Osram bulbs. I post the results.

[CAvolvoSD]

This web site also sells the Sylvania Xtravision for $8-$15 a pair. The price is much lower than the Silverstar. They look similar in the photos. What's the catch?
Look at them here:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/light-bulbs-an ... j1s19.jcwx

[zhenya]

Guys, sorry if I've been on a bit of a roll in the lighting threads this past week or so, but preventing people from buying in to the lighting hype of the month is one of my things, so here goes...

Bulbs like the Philips Silverstar or almost anything PIAA that have a coating to change the color output are going to by definition, put out LESS light than an un-coated bulb. Again, because they now produce a different output, the perception is that they are brighter; but the fact is, you can't overcome physics - these bulbs are a different color because they are blocking a portion of the light spectrum. The Silverstar bulbs have an exceptionally short lifespan because Philips has to drive them harder to maintain an acceptable level of output.

Fortunately, there are many excellent bulbs available for our cars. (And all of them at reasonable prices).

Locally available at most auto-parts stores, you should be able to find the Philips Vision Plus, GE Nighthawk or Nighthawk Plus, or the Sylvania Xtravision. The absolute best bulbs currently available for US-spec cars are the Philips Xtreme Power or Narva Rangepower +50 for low beams (9006) and, with a very simple modification to one of the mounting tabs, the Philips 9011 HIR for the high beams (9005), which are an honest to goodness 25% brighter than even a good quality (not over-wattage) 9005 bulb, while running at the same 65w and producing no extra heat. You can read a bit more about HIR here.

In general, with lighting, the more flashy the packaging or marketing claims, the more suspicious I'd become. In the case of PIAA, I think it's down-right criminal, charging insanely high prices for bulbs that are nothing special. In their defense, they do have a good warranty, and they aren't doing anything dangerous, like making over-wattage bulbs.

And again, in all cases, the most important parts of good headlights are (roughly in order of importance):

- lights aimed properly
- full voltage at the bulbs
- reflectors in good condition
- lenses in good condition


Those four things must all be taken care of before spending money on new bulbs is going to gain you anything of significance.

[jblackburn]

The results don't lie! Many people that have fitted them, myself included, can definitely tell a difference at night. I'm willing to put up with a somewhat short lifespan for that - but I also did 35000 miles of driving since last August when I put them in.

I have no idea what kind of Phillips bulbs were in there before, but they were awful. I needed to flip to my high beams to see anything at night. Now the high beams really aren't that much better than the lows.

I'll get new headlights and reflectors at some point (probably the jewel ones from a c70, but I've got other things to take care of first). Both assemblies were actually replaced in this car in 2005 before I owned it, so my reflectors probably aren't as bad as some of yours might be.

[zhenya]

That's the thing Justin, lighting is deceptively difficult to make subjective judgements about improvements. Most people when given the choice, will choose the light source that illuminates the area just in front of them as 'best', when in fact, automotive lighting is most important at a great distance in front of you, and excessive light in the foreground will greatly reduce your ability to see down the road. This is just one example, but the automotive lighting experts of the world know well that you can't trust perceptions, and that rigorous measurements are required.

I'm not saying that the Silverstar bulbs aren't better than what you had in there before, I'm saying that by design, they must put out less light than their non-coated counterparts. You can't filter a portion of the light and end up with MORE light than you started with! The good news is that the good un-coated bulbs are generally cheaper and last longer. They just don't say 'hey, look at me!'

[erikv11]

so zhenya, thanks for offering advice, what is your position on e-code lenses for headlights?