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Pre98 Depo's

K

KennyT772

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Jan 6, 2008
Messages
842
Does anyone know how these are in terms of fitment and quality? My oems are very hazed and in need of much work. If these are of decent quality I would rather just pick up a new set.
 
I have depo's and they are wonderful. You will need to keep your "u" clips from your old lights for mounting them, but they are great after 4 years, no yellowing or anything. Match those with silverstar bulbs and you will love them.
 
Skip the silverstar bulbs unless you just want a light that looks bright but doesnt put out much light.
 
I would be using the xv2's I bought when I first got the car. My headlights are just in horrible shape. There looks like an adhesive film may have been on them at one point, with chunks of it left on the lights.
 
the Depos are fine. i actually found a set of them in a JY and they still looked good so i snagged them. I still have them if you want them. Cheap.
 
Dyoel182 said:
Skip the silverstar bulbs unless you just want a light that looks bright but doesnt put out much light.
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I am telling him to get the silverstars because they have the best light output and visability of any bulb I have used. Let him decide if it has enough light output. I am speaking from experience, have you used those bulbs in a depo pre98 contour headlight?
 
blu_fuz said:
I am telling him to get the silverstars because they have the best light output and visability of any bulb I have used. Let him decide if it has enough light output. I am speaking from experience, have you used those bulbs in a depo pre98 contour headlight? Didn't think so.
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If I spent any money on new bulbs I'd be picking up a set of 6k hids.

Now this thread needs less bicker, more donated depo's to kenny.
 
sounds good, I took the bicker out of the post you quoted..... just letting you know what has worked, and worked well for me.
 
blu_fuz said:
I am telling him to get the silverstars because they have the best light output and visability of any bulb I have used.
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Then you havent used many bulbs. Just because the Silverstar looks bright doesnt mean its actually putting out that much light. When they color bulbs to get a blue or white light they're filtering out the yellow light you actually want for road visibilty. Plus the Silverstars are known for burning out relatively fast. Do yourself a favor and try a set of the Toshiba HIR bulbs which actually do put out a ton of light without upping the wattage which strains the electrical system or filtering out light to make the bulb look fancier.
 
Dyoel182 said:
Then you havent used many bulbs. Just because the Silverstar looks bright doesnt mean its actually putting out that much light. When they color bulbs to get a blue or white light they're filtering out the yellow light you actually want for road visibilty. Plus the Silverstars are known for burning out relatively fast. Do yourself a favor and try a set of the Toshiba HIR bulbs which actually do put out a ton of light without upping the wattage which strains the electrical system or filtering out light to make the bulb look fancier.
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What does "looks bright" mean to you?
When I am driving my car and I can SEE everything at night, that is a good bulb and it is putting out plenty of light.

Do you stare at the front of your car while it is sitting parked and the lights are on? Because that's when the lights would only "look bright" instead of driving while using them.

Have you used them in a pre98 depo headlight housing or not?

My silverstars are a clear glass not "blue or colored" so don't assume, and they come with a warranty and have never burned out in 4 years now. The wattage is not higher than oem it is just a better quality of light output.
What is the deal here. I simply stated what I was using and you tell him "don't use those because the light only looks bright"......

Like I said silverstars with depo housings work great. But get yourself some 6k HIDs :D
 
So I did a little searching on these fancy pants bulbs- $25 PER Bulb, plus it appears that you have to get them online. While they do sound quite impressive, I'd rather go down to the store, give the clerk a $20, and walk out with some other decent bulbs.


Kenny- As far as HIDs go, I really don't like my headlights on the 3L with HIDs. I'd rather drive my other one with normal bulbs. That might all change when I retrofit them with projectors though. ;)
 
Dyoel182 said:
Then you havent used many bulbs. Just because the Silverstar looks bright doesnt mean its actually putting out that much light. When they color bulbs to get a blue or white light they're filtering out the yellow light you actually want for road visibilty. Plus the Silverstars are known for burning out relatively fast. Do yourself a favor and try a set of the Toshiba HIR bulbs which actually do put out a ton of light without upping the wattage which strains the electrical system or filtering out light to make the bulb look fancier.
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I wouldn't spend more than $10 per bulb. I don't need any of these super high tech bulbs from the land of the rising sun. HID or stock for me.

TX if you decide you want out of the HIDs you got, lemme know what temp they are and I may pick them up off ya...
 
KennyT772 said:
I wouldn't spend more than $10 per bulb. I don't need any of these super high tech bulbs from the land of the rising sun. HID or stock for me.

TX if you decide you want out of the HIDs you got, lemme know what temp they are and I may pick them up off ya...
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HIDs in pre98 lenses work really well. the "facetting" on the lense helps focus the light and reduces the glare.
 
blu_fuz said:
Do you have pics of this, I am kinda interested in going HID.......?
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these are the best i have. unfortunatly i dont think i will be able to get any others.


101_0227.jpg


101_0232.jpg
 
blu_fuz said:
What does "looks bright" mean to you?

Do you stare at the front of your car while it is sitting parked and the lights are on? Because that's when the lights would only "look bright" instead of driving while using them.

My silverstars are a clear glass not "blue or colored" so don't assume, and they come with a warranty and have never burned out in 4 years now.
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"Looks bright" to me means bulbs that look bright like an HID bulb but are still only putting out a fraction of the light of an HID and only a fraction more than a regular bulb that costs less and lasts way longer. And no I dont routinely look at the front of the car I'm driving but other drivers do and a harsher white light is what blinds oncoming drivers sometimes even if the headlight looks properly aligned.

As for a warranty I'm not sure what store you got them from but that's rare for them to offer that and I hope you dont lose your receipt. I used to sell headlights so I'm not assuming anything about the Silverstars but it is filtered light which is how they get the whiter light. And if you've had a pair of silverstars for 4 years you must not drive that much at night because their hour life rating is pretty low compared to the rest of the bulb line.

TX00SVT said:
While they do sound quite impressive, I'd rather go down to the store, give the clerk a $20, and walk out with some other decent bulbs.

As far as HIDs go, I really don't like my headlights on the 3L with HIDs. I'd rather drive my other one with normal bulbs. That might all change when I retrofit them with projectors though.
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I understand the convenience aspect of buying off the shelf bulbs since I used to myself and used to sell them to folks. But no off the shelf bulb can legally do what the HIR bulbs can do because of how they're shaped. I say legally because you can run high beam bulbs in your low beams at a higher wattage or run "off-road" bulbs that are higher wattage but that also means much higher heat and possibly damaged wiring and lenses. I've seen several melted housings from those higher wattage bulbs and even had a customer ask us to replace a headlight even though he was the one running it on the road.

And I did look at running HIDs but I also decided that running them without the proper projectors wouldnt be any better than what I already had and if the laws do tighten up on aftermarket HID kits seeing on-road use then I'd be back to where I started anyway.
 
KennyT772 said:
Thanks for crapping all over my thread. I really appreciate it.
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Sorry. I was just trying to also give you some advice on bulbs and blu_fuz got me started on my roll. I just dont agree with people blindly (pun intended) recommending Silverstars as the end all-be all bulb.
 
KennyT772 said:
If I spent any money on new bulbs I'd be picking up a set of 6k hids.

Now this thread needs less bicker, more donated depo's to kenny.
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Enough now! Keep this on the original topic, which is, how are the fitment of Depot lights for the pre-98.

Kenny has already stated that he'll pick up a set of 6k HID's if he wants to spend the money. So, if you have knowledge of the fitment of the Depot lights, post your experience. We're done with the OT bulb issues.

Consider this your one and only warning.
 
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