sylvania silverstars

03v8sport

New member
Just wondering what some good HID bulbs are that will fit a 4th gen 4runner. I was looking at silverstars but was wondering if anyone had some experience with them. Also, where's a good place to buy these lights?
 
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Here's a thread that discusses it in length.

2003 4Runners use 9006 for lowbeams.

In short, life span for Silverstars are between six months to two years. I got two years out of Silverstars on my other car, my friends have seen six months to a year. Silverstars or any bulb for that matter will not come close to HIDs. Cheap bulbs that use a blue tint coating are even worst, reducing light output that makes them worst than the regular OEM halogen bulb. The light output from a Silverstar bulb is a bit whiter than a regular halogen. You might want to also look into HIR bulbs, they're brighter than halogens.

You can find Silverstars on eBay, your local automotive store, i.e. Kragen, Checkers, Autozone, Pepboys, etc.
 
Silverstars lifepsan is greatly shortened with DRLs and IMO make a poor chioice for those vehicles due to shortened life span. I've got 27 months on mine and alot of people make the mistake of touching them even just lightly which will kill the lights really fast.
 
The SilverStar Ultra are even brighter and last longer than the straight SilverStars. You can frequently find them on sale and with a Sylvania rebate. Got regular Silver stars for about $10 a pair at Pep Boy's with their rebate and the Sylvania $10 rebate. So they only last a year or so - that's cheap for better lighting!
 
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It seems like HIDs require some kind of conversion while a newtechnology - HIRs do not. Does anyone have experience with HIRs? Do they last longer? Are they worth the 55 dollars or so they cost per pair?
Below is a seller on ebay who has HIRs that will fit a 4runner with no conversion required.

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOSHIBA-HIR-9011-9012-BULBS-THE-BRIGHTEST-AVAILABLE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33710QQihZ007QQitemZ170099157732QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
 
03v8sport said:
It seems like HIDs require some kind of conversion while a newtechnology - HIRs do not. Does anyone have experience with HIRs? Do they last longer? Are they worth the 55 dollars or so they cost per pair?

Right. HID is a completely different type of lighting that involves ballasts and igniters in addition to the burners. HID does not have a filament like a traditional bulb. It works by the ballasts generating a high voltage arc in the burners between two electrodes which excites xenon salts that emit light. HID emit about three times the light over halogen bulbs, thus different optics are designed for use with HIDs. To go HID, there's retrofitting (proper way to convert to HID), which you're putting HID projectors into your existing headlights minimizing glare. Or you can do a rebase conversion, which a HID burner is taken and mounted on a halogen base. There's a lot of glare going the rebase route, especially if it's used with reflector based headlights.
 
Well said Uneek!!!

HID IS completely different. Think of it as a high output flourscent bulb in minature.

Now you can get regular headlight bulbs that contain different gasses like Xeon and what not that usually are a bit brighter than stock Halogen ones. I have PIAA xtra blubs that are 55watt low beam but burn a different gas so the output is more like 85watts. You wont gain a whole lot on brightness. The only way to do that is actually burn a hotter bulb in there (which will melt stuff) or go fully HID. I've had my PIAA bulbs for about 7 years now and they are still going strong. My suggestion to you is get the PIAA or like bulbs and then get some auxillary lights (fogs, driving light) on the front. That is the cheaper alternative to HID. That is the way I am going on my new 4Runner; Jaos Center Protector R with Challenger H4 off road lights. :D
 
awesome. I think I'd like to go the retrofit HID route. What should I expect that to cost? I know its more but I'm sure you get what you pay for and I really would like more light at night. The OEM lights just arent cutting it ater 4 years and I think its worth the investment.
 
03v8sport said:
awesome. I think I'd like to go the retrofit HID route. What should I expect that to cost? I know its more but I'm sure you get what you pay for and I really would like more light at night. The OEM lights just arent cutting it ater 4 years and I think its worth the investment.

Are you planning on doing the work yourself? I think retrofit labor is $200-300 depending where you go. My friend's brother has been doing retrofits for people for sometime.

Depending where you source your parts from, you're looking at about $350+. eBay, a pair of HID burners are about $75. Ballasts are about $100-200 with igniters. Projectors are about $150 for a pair. HIDplanet has packaged kits with almost everything you need to do a retro, except a wiring harness to prevent damage to your stock headlight wires. HIDplanet also has a forum with lots of good info for retrofitting. There's a few members here who also did retrofits for their 2003-05 4Runners.

Good luck.
 
Sorry, didn't read too much into this thread. There are new kits out there that produce more lumen output at 5K than before.

If you have an 03-06, (9006 headlight bulb) check ebay for a D4R kit. It's the stuff they put in lexus.

They also have 50watt HID kits on ebay, but I much rather prefer to use something authorized and made for toyotas.

I bought a d2r (reflector housing - non projector) kit from integra9006hid off of ebay. He seems to have the d4r kits now.

Oh and by the way, the d2r kit uses denso (Toyota's OEM) ballasts.

The d4r/d4s ballasts are smaller, sleeker and are also made by denso.
 
well after doing some research on some high output standard bulbs and HIDs and reading this - reviews.ebay.com/quot-Xenon-quot-and-quot-HID-quot-and-quot-Plasma-quot-bulbs-the-truth_W0QQugidZ10000000001832221 - I think I will go with HIR bulbs.. now I need to find a good place to buy them.

The HIDs looks so nice but not only will I need to spend 318+s/h, but I'll need a new lense so I'm sure that will cost more than $400. I can get plenty of light without totally blinding other drivers for around 60 bucks which will last about 80% the time of an OEM bulb - the silverstars only last 15% as long and arent as bright.

So for those of us who arent interested in shelling out several hundred bucks, hopefully Toshiba will live up to their promise.

Thanks all for helping
 
03v8sport said:
It seems like HIDs require some kind of conversion while a newtechnology - HIRs do not. Does anyone have experience with HIRs? Do they last longer? Are they worth the 55 dollars or so they cost per pair?
Below is a seller on ebay who has HIRs that will fit a 4runner with no conversion required.

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOSHIBA-HIR-9011-9012-BULBS-THE-BRIGHTEST-AVAILABLE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33710QQihZ007QQitemZ170099157732QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Yes I put them in an 04 4runner and an 04 accord. Love them. Brighter and slightly more white than stock. They are not a direct fit, you have to trim the base, no big deal, just use a nail clippers. 9011 and 12s have a slightly different base than 9005 and 9006s. I highly recommend these bad boys. Go for it :bigok:
 
hid

i spent a 100 buck on a full set(head light and fog) of "7000K" halogen bulbs from NOKYA. worst investment ever. they burned out within 4 months.

then i got hid in my stock projector housing and i couldnt be happier. i only paid 250 for the H11 6000K kit. when i lit one hid and one fake hid halogen lamp. the halogen looks green next to the hid.
no glare. havent been flashed by oncoming traffic yet. it has been 5 months now

you guys with the 03-05 runners are getting the short end of the stick because the headlights dont come with a projector type housing
 
Uneek said:


2003 4Runners use 9006 for lowbeams.

You can find Silverstars on eBay, your local automotive store, i.e. Kragen, Checkers, Autozone, Pepboys, etc.

what is the part number for the fogs?
 
Iron Clad Lou said:
what is the part number for the fogs?

You need 9006SU for Silverstar Ultra or 9006ST for Silverstar.

Fog/Driving light
9006
9006SU Silverstar ULTRA for Ultra Night Vision - The Whitest and Brightest Halogen
9006ST Silverstar High Performance Lighting: The Whiter and Brighter Halogen
9006XV XtraVision Halogen - The Brighter Light
9006CB Cool Blue Halogen - The Whiter Light
9006LL Long Life Halogen Upgrade: Lasts one and a half times longer

From Sylvania.com.
 
What's difference between cheaper SilverStars and ULTRA SilverStars? Had read ULTRAs last longer - but are they whiter? moreowerful? About $20 difference. PepBoys seems to always have a $20 rebate going making the ULTRAs $20-30.
 
Uneek said:
You need 9006SU for Silverstar Ultra or 9006ST for Silverstar.

Fog/Driving light
9006
9006SU Silverstar ULTRA for Ultra Night Vision - The Whitest and Brightest Halogen
9006ST Silverstar High Performance Lighting: The Whiter and Brighter Halogen
9006XV XtraVision Halogen - The Brighter Light
9006CB Cool Blue Halogen - The Whiter Light
9006LL Long Life Halogen Upgrade: Lasts one and a half times longer

From Sylvania.com.

thanks man...I was havin trouble with the sylvania site last night
 
I just picked up a twin pack of 9006ST at Advance Auto on sale for $27. I'm going to install them and see if they make these Depo Blackouts work any better.
 

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