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Looking for opinions on new headlights/fogs

D

dlphnfn

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Messages
687
Location
Central Iowa
I found through some searching that silverstars can tend to die after 12-15 months so I'm looking for alternatives. I've seen a couple good posts on Philips bulbs. This one in particular.
Post #9 speaks of Philips 9005 High Vision bulbs and 50W 885 for the fogs. Can anyone tell me how white the light is on these bulbs?
Also, I've not heard of running 885's in our fogs, only the typical 893's. What's the difference?
Has anyone ran the Philips 9005NG bulbs? Supposedly, they spread yellow light to the left to reduce glare, white light in the middle, and bluish light to the right for better reading of road signs. ??? Sounds gimmicky to me.
Thanks,
Erick --
 
I can't imagine those night guide bulbs can really work well. I don't see how one bulb could project 3 separate color beams like that.

As far as the 885s, I think people have had a problem with them melting the lens. The 885s are a higher wattage, and therefore, brighter.

There are plenty of cheap alternatives to Silverstars. Try even Cool Blue. For the fogs, you could go with the eBay ones anyways, if you're just looking for color. They just won't be as bright as Silverstars.
 
I've had silverstars in all 3 cars at one point or another. I was disappointed in the visibility from them. Sure, they have a bluish hue to them, but the problem with that is it dissipates much easier so you lose whatever you would have gained.

I'm currently running high beam bulbs in the low beam sockets and everything else just the regular bulbs.

At some point i'd like to get some nice fogs for the car. Maybe the pro burners from walmart that everyone seems to like.
 
"Whiter" light is not all it's cracked up to be. Often times to get this harsh white light to imitate HIDs, they use a blue coating (Silverstars), which actually RESTRICTS the light from coming out of the bulb, like sunglasses keep light from hitting your eyes. And, on top of that, the light is harsher, making it harder to see in adverse conditions. Like nighttime.

As for those night bulbs, I am willing to be that they have a tricolour tint on them, and that they produce light ranging from bad to really bad.

Here's a good bulb primer. There is a link to BMW CCA on there that no longer works, but the guy did lots of testing with light levels and the like. End result? Silverstars produced way fewer lumens than stock halogens. HIRs added about 20 percent.
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=954736

If you want better night vision, get one of the GOOD bulbs (GE Nighthawks, Philips Vision Plus) or HIRs. If you are only after looks, by all means, get some blue bulbs.
 
The Proburners have blue-tinted bulbs as well. If you're really looking for some change, especially in wet or foggy conditions, get some yellow bulbs.
 
Let's face it.....the design of our reflectors is poor at best. I've done the SilverStar thing in the past. Yes, the colour temperature is pleasing but as others have stated, light output in lumens is lower and life expectancy can be short. I'm using the Toshiba HIR bulbs now....not as white as the SilverStars, but combined with my new headlights, the output is pretty impressive. I'm resisting the temptation to throw a HID kit in the reflectors mainly because of the "untamed world" quality of that scenario. Of course a HID projector conversion would be nice, but I have a hard time justifying the expense.
 
Matt R said:
The Proburners have blue-tinted bulbs as well. If you're really looking for some change, especially in wet or foggy conditions, get some yellow bulbs.
Click to expand...

Where u get the yellow fog bulbs? It'll look real good with my 5k HIDs. :cool:

Just save your money and get some HIDs, its worth every penny.

Comparison: 5k HIDs on left and Silverstar highs in low socket on right
P5210057.jpg


Its like driving with two mini Suns on the front of your car.
 
funny my silverstar headlights are a few years old now and still good ... not the fog lamp bulbs I put in are a different story :mad:
 
Thanks for the feedback guys. I appreciate it. I'll probably roll with some good Philips and leave it at that.
Erick --
 
Brent372 said:
Has anybody used LED bulbs for Fogs with any success??
Click to expand...

I was considering using those. I can get the 5 watt ones for $12.75 each (you'd have to wire/mount it in)... they're supposed to put out 192 lumens. 893 Silverstar fogs are 990 lumens for reference. They'd be for appearance only.
 
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