Headlight Bulb Opinions

trd_style said:
the micro-lens is the main part for the HID. it spread the light out further and stretch it wide. that's why it's brighter. plus, the lens uses less glare and more light. i know it's kinda confusing but that's how it works.

i currently running on stock lights. i did plan to get better bulbs for my headlights but somehow my friend encourage me to keep my stock bulbs just because it last longer. what do you guys think about PIAAs? good or no?
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Good info...

I've had PIAA Hyper Whites in my jeep (for aux driving lights) for about 2 years now and they are still going strong.... knock-knock.... Since I put those in, I've gone through 2 IPF Magic J bulbs and 1 Silverstar in the jeep's headlamps. And those Aux lights are on about 80-90% of the time that my headlights are on too. AND they are in a really cheap plastic housing too. I recommend them IF you can get a good price... ebay. I think I got them for like $45-50 for the pair and they are normally at least that price individually (retail).
 
I just got the January edition of Consumer Reports and they tested aftermarket headlight bulbs (like 5 major brands) in three different cars and put them up to several tests. Guess what........they all did *WORSE* than OEM bulbs in nearly every test on all three vehicles!

Well doesn't look like I'll be going for any of these aftermarket options once my Silverstars burn out.
 
January 2006
Replacement headlight bulbs: A bright idea?


GREAT WHITE HYPE Premium
replacement bulbs may be cosmetically pleasing, but when they
 
In my personal comparison of my Silverstars to my mom's '99 Limited with OEM bulbs my Silverstars give much more overall light with a tad better forward distance especially on high beam.

Now compare the Silverstar fogs (H3s on a 3rd gen) replacements with OEM and there's a considerable difference. The OEM bulbs give off such little light you wonder if you even have them on but the Silverstars illuminate the immediate ground right in front but their distance could be better but I'm sure that's part in due to the OEM lens also.
 
From doing a little investigating, it seems some are saying that the newer bulbs from GE and Philips are nicer/brighter than the Silverstars.
 
i just changed out my low beams and my fog light bulbs to silverstars. i'm not sure how they will turn out cuz i haven't driven at night yet. i just installed them this afternoon. as i was changing out the bulbs, i noticed that my factory installed bulbs were sylvania and the fogs were koito. is this the same for every 2004 4runner or does it depend where the vehicle was put together?
 
I have the PIAA Xtreme White bulbs in my Acura and have been very happy with them. They aren't blue or purple like the bulbs "trying" to look like HIDs. They're very bright white with just a tinge of blue for an improved look over stock. The light output is probably the same as the stock bulbs, but everything looks clearer, as if it's daylight. Definitely an improvement for those late night drives.

As far as longevity goes, I think the PIAAs tend to outlast the Sylvania Silverstars, at least from what feedback I've read. I've had the PIAAs for almost 3 years with no problems and I hear many people with the Silverstars complain that they burst within about a year.

Just my $.02 Hope it helps...
 
in my opinion, the silverstars were much better at lighting up the road than the stock bulbs. and in the supra, the luminics bulbs lit up the road better than stock as well... *shrugs shoulders*
 
personally, i like the stock lights. why you asked? because it last longer than any other bulbs plus it has that yellow crisp color with the white-ish color together. hehe. but about brightness, you can always get fog lights :D
 
...two days ago I burned out ANOTHER Silverstar. 2nd one this month, and now it's official: the pair lasted 10 months.

I still have the receipt, but I wonder if Sylvania will honor their warranty even if I converted their 9005's to 9006's by removing some of the plastic and using those 65w ones for the LBs.
 
Solice said:
I have the XD5's in both of my foglights and right now neither are working very well. At first I thought they burned out my harnesses but if I jiggle the wires around the lights come back on. As soon as I hit a bump though they go off again. Looks like I got some looses connections, but on both sides? Seems a little funny.

I'm going to put the factory bulbs back in and take it to the dealer and see what they say about it. Really sucks though.
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I just had to send my Hella fog light (3rd Gen factory style) back to Performance to get another one because the XD5 H3 bulb must have overheated . The clip that holds it in welded itself shut and the glass broke from the inside. I have the xd5's in both the fogs and the heads. I think it was the bulbs and not so much the light housing that caused it to break. They are great at first, but the wet weather SUCKS!. So, I think I am going to try either the SilverStars or the PIAA's. Then someone else on pg 5-6 said something about bulbs that were 30 I think the SPP's? Whatever, I will let you know. Can you buy these at Wal-Mart and return them if they suck? Is Wally the cheapest place?
P.S...I had the 5800K XD5 in both and the fog lights were whiter than the headlights...Why?
 
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Dude, don't waste your money on Silverstars.
Go buy some $5 bulbs on ebay instead. Either way you'll be replacing them in 12 months or so, so why not save yourself $30/pair??? That is, unless you save the receipt, send them back, etc, etc, but that's a pain in the ass and not worth the hassle in my opinion.

My real advice is if you're going to spend $40 a pair with the Sylvania "We design our bulbs to burn out like clockwork on the 13th month" Silverstars, then toss in another $20 and go PIAA or IPF because those SHOULD last alot longer.
 
THE VERDICT IS IN!

Ok...So I have had these XD5 5800K (fogs and heads) since April. They were ok, but hard to see the beam, dark streets, and especially in rain. So I finally had to do something. I just so happened to be in Advance Auto, and I just thought I would look to see how much a pair was. $24.95 (after $5 rebate) on sale, So I was like lets try them and just see. Thats much better than $40. When I put them in, the were just like 24Runners pics on page 7. So I wasn't so impressed. But......When I got behind the wheel..JEEZ...much better. I see more light and road with just my heads than the fogs and heads together when I used xd5's. I am ok with the longevity of them because I disabled the DLR's. I will say that the XD5's had a better look when outside, but the Silverstars ARE BETTER FOR DRIVING. I think it's still a good idea maybe to try the XD5's because they are so cheap. But I know where I stand. If the XD5's had a lower (say in the 4300K range) beam, then I think they would be a better alternative Just how I feel....But remember I drove with these for 8 months, so I have a good feel for the XD5's......P.S. The High Beams are multiple times better with the silverstars. Man....If I didn't have to do so much work to properly put in HID's, I would!
 

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atomic punk said:
Dude, don't waste your money on Silverstars.
Go buy some $5 bulbs on ebay instead. Either way you'll be replacing them in 12 months or so, so why not save yourself $30/pair??? That is, unless you save the receipt, send them back, etc, etc, but that's a pain in the ass and not worth the hassle in my opinion.

My real advice is if you're going to spend $40 a pair with the Sylvania "We design our bulbs to burn out like clockwork on the 13th month" Silverstars, then toss in another $20 and go PIAA or IPF because those SHOULD last alot longer.
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I agree, my silverstars burnt out about 12 months and 1 day after I bought them. I'm done with the 'premium' bulbs. Gonna save up and do the HID retro.
 
cdoyle said:
I agree, my silverstars burnt out about 12 months and 1 day after I bought them. I'm done with the 'premium' bulbs. Gonna save up and do the HID retro.
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ME TOO.

I'm sick of trial and error.... mostly error... in finding out what bulbs light up the road most, which ones are whitest, guessing how long they will last, etc, etc.
 
...what, you don't think the stock headlight housing reflectors have a good sharp cutoff? I think they'll be fine. All HID reflectors/lenses have that one angle where it looks SUPER BRIGHT to the opposing driver. Same thing would apply here. Of course, those are my assumptions. I guess you never really know until you try. Some others in this forum have done the retrofit without any glare or problems blinding other drivers. Not sure "who", but the search function will yield the names.
 
wsudu said:
So are you going to do something about the glare/cutoff or are you going to just put them in? If it were that easy, i would have done that a long time ago.
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people have posted pictures after adding HIDs and the glare isn't that bad. Cut off seems fine.
 
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