I've read all the old posts, and it seems like you can't go wrong w/ getting the SilverStar 9005s. However, I remember looking at them sometime last year, and they were $30 per bulb. Was at AutoZone tonight, and they had them there for $19.99. Is this the real thing? Did they drop in price that much?
I know others have bought them @ AutoZone, but they were next to the pseudo-HID-wannabe blue bulbs, so I just wanted to make sure before I splurge the $40.
Packaging and all looked authenthic, but ya never know.
-John
Yup, should be 19.95/bulb last that I can remember. Can't go wrong... wont be blue... wont be yellow... will be a nice white. You won't regret it...
Bob
I know it's probably been brought up a million times, but what are the main differences between the Silverstars and the Cool Blue bulbs?
The main difference is the brightness and color temperature of them. I personally have the Cool Blue bright bulbs in my Bright socket, and Silverstar bright bulbs in the Normal socket. The result? Headlights that are bright as hell, and me having to pay more attention to when there is oncomming traffic when I have my brights on! lol. -Nick
For a while, autozone was selling them in two-packs for $24.99. This was after I dropped $22 each a few months ago.
What's the difference? A blue coating that actually HINDERS the lights. See this link.
http://www.overboost.com/story.asp?id=102Every time I read it, I get cautious about buying fancy bulbs. Also, the reflector is an important part of the mix. SCC did a test on fog lights a couple of years ago, and their winner threw a lot of light further than most bright headlights. They used 55-watt bulbs. Of course they had huge reflectors. They ended up putting them on their project Sentra.
There has been a lot of talk (almost unanimously positive) here on the forums about the Silverstars. It has probably been posted before, but Sylvania has a $10 rebate available for Silverstars (when you buy two):
http://www.sylvania.com/auto/pdfs/coupon.pdf
Allow me to add to the negative.
If you want the max light output, get the Sylvania Xtravision. It's the same bulb and internal gas charge of the blue-filtered Silverstars without the light-filtering blue coating, or the increased scatter and glare of "blue" wavelength light (esp in bad weather.)
Better yet, get Philips Premiums, $30/pair from
http://www.autooptiks.com/front.htm. Even more light output, and available in high and low beam.
There is no inherent advantage to high "color temps" or blue-white light, and "looking brighter" doesn't mean it really is brighter.
But, if you want that fashionable faux-HID look, the Silverstars are an OK choice. Get the Cool-Blues if all of your friends have them, and you want to be laughed at by anyone over the age of 25.
Originally posted by RogerB:
But, if you want that fashionable faux-HID look, the Silverstars are an OK choice. Get the Cool-Blues if all of your friends have them, and you want to be laughed at by anyone over the age of 25.
Simon has the Cool Blues in his car, no blue tint whatsoever. Looks like a regular bulb, but whiter.
I thought the silverstars are ultrawhite (non blued)... ?
Originally posted by JVT:
Simon has the Cool Blues in his car, no blue tint whatsoever. Looks like a regular bulb, but whiter.
All of the Sylvania Cool Blues they have at my local Canadian Tire have a blue tint to the bulb...the light would come out white, but would lose some of its effectiveness.
What RogerB posted is true.
They give the "white light" appearance by filtering the blue light out. This drops their lumens output and actually makes them not as bright.
If you want the best output from your headlights I suggest the Phillips Premium 9005 bulbs in both slots.
The Silvania XV bulbs are another very good choice but they do not make them in a 9005 bulb so you are giving up some wattage.
Out of the "blued" light crowd I have tried Cool Blues, Silverstars, & APC's 4000k Plasma. The APC are the brightest and will likely last the longest (the have by far the largest bulb area)
Well, after reading the numerous threads on this forum and others, I went ahead and bought the SilverStars.
I originally wanted the Cool Blues, but turns out they're $14.99 per, vs $19.99 for the SS. No contest.
Add $10 mail-in rebate, and it's $30 for both. Not bad.
-John
Originally posted by JVT:
Well, after reading the numerous threads on this forum and others, I went ahead and bought the SilverStars.
I originally wanted the Cool Blues, but turns out they're $14.99 per, vs $19.99 for the SS. No contest.
Add $10 mail-in rebate, and it's $30 for both. Not bad.
-John
I have posted on this a few times, so if you read carefully...;)
At least you avoided the PIAA's.
Originally posted by RogerB:
If you want the max light output, get the Sylvania Xtravision. It's the same bulb and internal gas charge of the blue-filtered Silverstars without the light-filtering blue coating, or the increased scatter and glare of "blue" wavelength light (esp in bad weather.)
Yep, I'm with you! Just put in a pair of 9006's last weekend and am very happy with them. $9.95 each with a $4.00 rebate for two. I tried the Cool Blues a few years ago (for about 2 days) and replaced them becaused they.....how can I say this.....oh yeah, SUCKED!
Originally posted by RogerB:
Originally posted by JVT:
Well, after reading the numerous threads on this forum and others, I went ahead and bought the SilverStars.
I originally wanted the Cool Blues, but turns out they're $14.99 per, vs $19.99 for the SS. No contest.
Add $10 mail-in rebate, and it's $30 for both. Not bad.
-John
I have posted on this a few times, so if you read carefully...;)
At least you avoided the PIAA's.
just out of curiosity why don't you like the PIAA's?
Follow the links in one of my previous posts, and one of his. Those should give you your answers. They make a fine driving light, but the bulbs are snake oil.
thanks, i'm gonna check the links out now.
i was just curious on your opinion, i've had the 510 superwhite fogs and matching low-beam piaa for about a year or so and i love them so far.
Just when I was all set to get a set of Silverstars (though the AutoZone I went to wanted $25 each) I came across this discussion and now I have to rethink the whole thing!
Then again, I'd rather rethink the decision than waste a bunch of money.
Installed them tonight, and it's pretty much what I expected. Good solid light and they're WHITE WHITE! I'm happy.
-John
they're worth the money in my opinion. (and i just got lows in my lows)
Glad you are happy with them, but I just want to clear up confusion for anyone else.
1) Total lumens is like a real dyno plot on a motor.
2) Whiteness, color temp, apparent brightness when you look at your headlights, or look at their light pattern against your garage door, are like, not even the butt-dyno, but more like trying to tell how much power you have by how the exhaust sounds.
Lots of people will testify to the "benefits" of one light or another based on their own experience, but the thing they don't have is that dyno plot, the measure of total lumens.
Real HID looks blue/white (really more purplish white) as a side effect, but puts out an amazing volume of light (big HP, much of which is not apparent).
By copying the glare and dazzle characteristics of HID, the blue-bulb guys are trying to copy the look of HID, but the end result is like, well, putting 30lb 19" wheels on an underpowered car. Great looks, but less go.
Well, more accurately, it could actually be more go than your stock halogens, but it won't be the max go available. For example, the Sylvania XtraVisions are supposedly about 20% brighter than stock bulbs. To make the "White" bulbs, Sylvania adds the filters, reducing the available light output, but the end result may still be, say, 5-10% brighter than stock (but I don't know this number). So, it's possible that they actually do put out more light.
Ironically, though, you could get even more performance from the cheaper, non-filtered versions.
I was looking at the Osram (Euro) Silverstars earlier. I found that the Osram models have a different gas and have a higher pressure. The combination of the two produces a brighter lamp. The Sylvania (US) Silverstars are the same bulb, but they have a blue coating to bump their color temp from the normal 3200K up to 4000K (HID temp).
The blue coating does hinder the output slightly, but the different gas and the higher pressure still allows the bulb to create more light then a stock halogen.
And here is a $10 rebate towards a set:
Clicky!
Quote:
From osram.com
Question:
What does "SILVERSTAR" mean in connection with headlamps? ?
Answer:
The successful technology of the "SUPER" - lamps was developed further. The luminance has been optimised in view of modern headlight systems. The effect: up to 50% more illumination (in comparison with the standard version) in 50m - 100m in front of the car and a longer illumination of 20m, a real Plus of security.
In addition for the first time the H7 has been designed with a silver cap.
This lamp generation fits harmoniously into the shiny look of modern transparent headlamp modules.
Even the coupon for the offer says that these lights allow you to "enjoy the look" of HIDs. That makes my decision a lot easier.....
And , if I am not mistaken, we can't get the Osrams in North America, can we.
I'd just go for the Philips Premiums (if their site told me where to find them in Canada!
).
Not from a Sylvania dealer. You would have to find a gray importer and the chance of finding a 9000 series (excluding the H4) would be slim. I was just posting that because I know that the Sylvania model is built off of the Osram idea and I couldnt find the info on Sylvania's site
Anyone confused yet?
I will dig around more tonite and see if I can locate the lumen rating for a Silverstar. I am curious to see just how much more light is hitting the ground.
Yes you can buy the SilverStars in Canada . I tried to get a group buy going for them but not much interest. You can do a search in that forum for the info. One CEGer posted a place in Mississauga that sells them for around $27 each bulb. As far as the difference in the SilverStars go, the Osram rep told me that ALL of the SilverStars sold in N.America come from their plant in Huntington (I believe that's the name she gave me) including the ones sold in Canada.
Jonnie
All of the Silverstars in N. America (incl Canada) are the blue-filtered variety, so I've read. The ones sold in other markets are clear.
There is a chart on this page:
http://hanker.tripod.com/headlights.htmAlthough it shows the same lumen rating for "Cool Blue" and "Silverstar," so I have to believe that the tint is somehow unaccounted for.
At any rate, compare these to the Philips Premium, and you'll see which is the better value.
Anyone see the Sylvania commercial spot with all the ricers talking about the Silverstars? I had never seen a sylvania commercial on TV before. I think they said something about a deal going on right now at their site.
Originally posted by RogerB:
There is a chart on this page:
http://hanker.tripod.com/headlights.htm
Although it shows the same lumen rating for "Cool Blue" and "Silverstar," so I have to believe that the tint is somehow unaccounted for.
At any rate, compare these to the Philips Premium, and you'll see which is the better value.
how about these Narva Range Power bulbs? are those available for the tour?
just added a pair of 9005 silverstars to the lows on my car last nite...my regular -who knows how old- sylvania highbeams look brighter (although much more yellow obviously) for a short distance....
but the stare like a deer into the headlights test seems to show much more intense light from the silverstars
haven't had a chance to see them in action on the road so we'll see tonight
now i gotta mail that rebate coupon
The highbeams will look/are brighter. The lows have a cutoff shield built in to reduce the glare to oncoming traffic.
Originally posted by ETayrien:
Originally posted by RogerB:
There is a chart on this page:
http://hanker.tripod.com/headlights.htm
Although it shows the same lumen rating for "Cool Blue" and "Silverstar," so I have to believe that the tint is somehow unaccounted for.
At any rate, compare these to the Philips Premium, and you'll see which is the better value.
how about these Narva Range Power bulbs? are those available for the tour?
When I went looking, I think (IIRC) that the Narvas did not come in 9005 or 9006. At least, I was unable to find them. What I did find were the Philips Premiums in 9005 and 9006, and the Sylvania XtraVisions but for the low beam only.
9005 and 9006 are the bulb sizes then? 9005 is the low beam and 9006 is the high?
Originally posted by ETayrien:
9005 and 9006 are the bulb sizes then? 9005 is the low beam and 9006 is the high?
Nope, just the opposite. I only know that cause I asked the same question a few days ago in a totally different forum.
Hey, I go to Sylvania's website to get that $10 coupon, and everytime I try it just locks up my computer...what gives? Anyone else having this problem? I just got my Silverstar 9005's today, can't wait for the sun to go down. Those little plastic things are a pain to file down.
Nevermind my little $10 coupon problem, I figured it out. Turns out when you reformat your hard drive then try to read a PDF file without FIRST downloading Acrobat Reader, it doesn't work so well.
Originally posted by RogerB:
Allow me to add to the negative.
If you want the max light output, get the Sylvania Xtravision. It's the same bulb and internal gas charge of the blue-filtered Silverstars without the light-filtering blue coating, or the increased scatter and glare of "blue" wavelength light (esp in bad weather.)
Better yet, get Philips Premiums, $30/pair from http://www.autooptiks.com/front.htm. Even more light output, and available in high and low beam.
There is no inherent advantage to high "color temps" or blue-white light, and "looking brighter" doesn't mean it really is brighter.
But, if you want that fashionable faux-HID look, the Silverstars are an OK choice. Get the Cool-Blues if all of your friends have them, and you want to be laughed at by anyone over the age of 25.
Making a fast-pass of the Autooptiks Automotive Lighting Info webpage, right away, the first thing there that made me say "Hmmm?" was this:
"...the human eye has evolved over billions of years."
One billion can also be expressed as 1000 million. The earliest known humans date back no more than two million (.002 billion) years.
The fact they positioned a bogus, over-hype statement in the front of their "Info" page makes me wonder which other elements of their "test-data" may have been similarly exaggerated. Bottom line is, it damages the credibility of all the information that follows. 
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
humans arent the first ones with eyes, you know. its not like we evolved them from scratch.
Originally posted by Drumbo:
Originally posted by RogerB:
Allow me to add to the negative.
If you want the max light output, get the Sylvania Xtravision. It's the same bulb and internal gas charge of the blue-filtered Silverstars without the light-filtering blue coating, or the increased scatter and glare of "blue" wavelength light (esp in bad weather.)
Better yet, get Philips Premiums, $30/pair from http://www.autooptiks.com/front.htm. Even more light output, and available in high and low beam.
There is no inherent advantage to high "color temps" or blue-white light, and "looking brighter" doesn't mean it really is brighter.
But, if you want that fashionable faux-HID look, the Silverstars are an OK choice. Get the Cool-Blues if all of your friends have them, and you want to be laughed at by anyone over the age of 25.
Making a fast-pass of the Autooptiks Automotive Lighting Info webpage, right away, the first thing there that made me say "Hmmm?" was this:
"...the human eye has evolved over billions of years."
One billion can also be expressed as 1000 million. The earliest known humans date back no more than two million (.002 billion) years.
The fact they positioned a bogus, over-hype statement in the front of their "Info" page makes me wonder which other elements of their "test-data" may have been similarly exaggerated. Bottom line is, it damages the credibility of all the information that follows.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
The only information I quoted from that site is the price and availability of what is confirmed elsewhere as a very good bulb with no blue-white hype.
Originally posted by RogerB:
Allow me to add to the negative.
If you want the max light output, get the Sylvania Xtravision. It's the same bulb and internal gas charge of the blue-filtered Silverstars without the light-filtering blue coating,
Roger,
NO no no...
I seriously wrestled with whether I should buy SilverStars or not, because I thought they were just a coated version of Sylvania's other bulbs.
So I wrote an email to Sylvania and got a technical explanation back. Cool Blues and SilverStars share a special filament and higher gas charge to offset the filter. Without it they'd be illegal. Sylvania tech admitted that this combination will likely yield a bulb that does not have the same life span as a "normal" bulb, because the filament is wound tighter.
The XtraVision bulbs, while they may produce the same amount of lumens, due so through a more conventional bulb w.o the filter.
I can't absolutely say that XtraVision lumens are higher or lower than SilverStar, they wouldn't answer that question. But they're a brighter bulb internally, and for me that was 'good enough'.
Brian Dors
1999 SVT
OK. I stand corrected, at least in part.
What we know now, though, is that we don't really know anything about total lumen output (horsepower) of Sylvania's offerings, but we have the extra glare and scatter of "blue/white" light to make us think we have more (a la "butt dyno").
Regardless, total lumen output is still the only measure that matters. Not "color temperature."
And the Philips Premiums still put out more.
Light vs. hype. You choose.
Originally posted by bxd20:
I can't absolutely say that XtraVision lumens are higher or lower than SilverStar, they wouldn't answer that question. But they're a brighter bulb internally, and for me that was 'good enough'.
No offense, but the coating is a big factor. I could paint a bulb black, and it won't put out anything. But it will still be brighter internally.
I don't wan't to slag the SilverStars too much because I know a lot of people on these boards have them, but in researching them with an eye towards buying a set, the Overboost.com article I posted before and the other information presented make me want to hold on to my cash.
Now, does anyone here know where I can buy the Philip's Premiums in Canada?
Originally posted by ETayrien:
humans arent the first ones with eyes, you know. its not like we evolved them from scratch.
So, you're pretty much convinced that there's no real difference between the human eye and the eye of, say, a housefly ... ?
And especially a housefly with a driver's license ... ?
Originally posted by RogerB:
Originally posted by Drumbo:
Originally posted by RogerB:
Allow me to add to the negative.
If you want the max light output, get the Sylvania Xtravision. It's the same bulb and internal gas charge of the blue-filtered Silverstars without the light-filtering blue coating, or the increased scatter and glare of "blue" wavelength light (esp in bad weather.)
Better yet, get Philips Premiums, $30/pair from http://www.autooptiks.com/front.htm. Even more light output, and available in high and low beam.
There is no inherent advantage to high "color temps" or blue-white light, and "looking brighter" doesn't mean it really is brighter.
But, if you want that fashionable faux-HID look, the Silverstars are an OK choice. Get the Cool-Blues if all of your friends have them, and you want to be laughed at by anyone over the age of 25.
Making a fast-pass of the Autooptiks Automotive Lighting Info webpage, right away, the first thing there that made me say "Hmmm?" was this:
"...the human eye has evolved over billions of years."
One billion can also be expressed as 1000 million. The earliest known humans date back no more than two million (.002 billion) years.
The fact they positioned a bogus, over-hype statement in the front of their "Info" page makes me wonder which other elements of their "test-data" may have been similarly exaggerated. Bottom line is, it damages the credibility of all the information that follows.
Dumb, dumb, dumb.
The only information I quoted from that site is the price and availability of what is confirmed elsewhere as a very good bulb with no blue-white hype.
Fair enough. I make no bones about what you said.
In fact, the reason I immediately followed your link to autooptiks was because your post was totally in-line with my skepticism about gimmick bulbs.
Although my "math lesson" may seem like nit-picking, having once been in advertising, I assure you, when you're trying to sell something, the first thing you learn in Copywriting 101 is: Don't blatently insult the intelligence of your target-market.
Ad-jabber about humans being on the planet before the sun ignited screams two things: (1) BUSH-LEAGUE OUTFIT!! and (2) CAUTION! BOGUS INFORMATION AHEAD!!
Bottom line: My criticism was directed at autooptiks' over-hyped sales pitch, and not at your well-intentioned information.
Drumbo
okay, i've had a few nites of driving now with the 9005 silverstars in the lowbeams...first nite i wasn't sure i liked them but now i do...seems that they've gotten a little brighter since that first nite...most likely its because i've gotten use to the color of the light...very good imo, much brighter than my stock sylvania 9006 bulbs i put in last summer and much better peripheral vision so to speak
but now i seriously need better bulbs for the fogs...the brighter headlights make my fogs look like nite-lites
Originally posted by gdub520:
but now i seriously need better bulbs for the fogs...the brighter headlights make my fogs look like nite-lites
Replace the fogs bulbs with a 885 series bulb this is what I have been told.
i was going to do it last this past monday...i stopped at a schelp boys to pick up a wrench or two and was gonna get new fog bulbs...the only 3 packages of 893's or whatever the stock bulb is had been opened (an autozone last week tried to sell me silverstars from behind the counter that had been opened too
)
i was gonna upgrade to the brighter bulbs but couldn't remember the number...maybe now i'll go find a pair