Sorry if this has been asked before. I need new headlights and almost bought the Silverstar bulbs but I had to question if they were worth it. I have a 97 Mazda B2300 if that makes any difference.

 

They are about three times whiter, and about two times brighter than the standard bubls. I've had them in two vehicles and loved them. First bulbs I've found that will illuminate fresh wet pavement.

 

Great bulbs! I have them in all my vehicles.

 

Thanks guys. There's parts of Florida down here that I travel through regularly that don't have street lights so these sound pretty good to me.

 

The webpage below is a very informative and well-written post about the Silverstars and blue-tinted bulbs in general. It is definately a must read for anyone considering "upgrading" their headlamp bulbs and may make you reconsider purchasing them altogether...
http://www.talkaboutautos.com/group/...es/525825.html
More info from the same author...
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...lbs/bulbs.html

From what I learned from the above sites, the Sylvania Xtravisions appear to be a better buy than the Silverstars. The Xtravisions are the exact same bulb as the Silverstar but don't have the blue tint on the glass. The Xtravision and Silverstar both utilize a higher output, overdriven filament, but operates at the same wattage as the stock bulb. And despite being identical in construction, the Xtravision's intensity is higher than the Silverstar since the latter's blue coating cuts down on the total light output by filtering out the yellow spectrum of the total light emitted from the filament. This blue coating is what produces the "whiter" light associated with the Silverstars. People tend to perceive this "whiter" light as being "brighter," when in reality it is not the case.

It's the subjective nature of light brightness that accounts for the large variation in opinions regarding Silverstars or any other blue-tinted aftermarket bulb. Some people have said the difference between stock and Silverstar is like "night and day," while others have said they see little if any difference in brightness. Light intensity, on the other hand, is objective and quantifiable using a light meter.

From this info, if you want the most light intensity for your money and don't care for the trendy "HID" look, the Xtravisions are the way to go. The run about 1/2 the price of Silverstars. But keep in mind that the higher output filament in both the Xtravisions and Silverstars will reduce bulb longevity when compared to a "stock" bulb. Here is a quote, taken verbatim, from Sylvania's very own website...

"The life expectancy of a SilverStar halogen light source is dependent on the driver’s use of the lights, which vary by season, time of day and number of miles driven. We estimate the SilverStar halogen lights to have a life span of up to one year under average driving conditions."
http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...skedQuestions/

 

What the heck... I have silverstar's on two of my vehicles and i've never noticed a "Blue tint"...... Your post says something about people perceiving the whiter light as brighter..... Yes it is brighter.. I know that for a fact. Its easy to tell the difference between my old halogen lights and the silverstars. My grandpa wanted to get driving lights for his F-350, but I told him to try silverstars... He likes them alot more than the regular halogens, and he doesn't want the driving lights anymore.

 

The blue tint is on the bulb itself. It's this blue tint that filters out the "yellowness" from the light output of the bulb, making it look whiter than stock uncoated bulbs. Alot of people tend to perceive the whiter light as "brighter" and more aesthetically pleasing, especially when they just have spent $40 on the bulbs. I bet if you where to measure the light intensity (lumens) of stock vs. Silverstar using a light meter, there probably would be little if no difference in the readings.

But hey, if people are happy with the way the light output of the Silverstar's look, I guess that is all that really matters in the end. :-)

 

When I put Silverstars in my Grand Am, the difference was like day and night (pun intended). The stock bulbs had horrible output, and the Silverstars completely lit up the road. I dunno how the lumens compared, but the visual difference was considerable.

 

i also upgraded them and highly reccomend them.

 

For the cost, first of all, Silverstars aren't worth it.

Your average clear bulbs rated at 55 watts do just as well as any Silverstar, also rated at 55 watts, if you just want to go by that alone.

Let's not suddenly believe that a 55 watter will put out 85-100 watts worth of light just because creative advertising says that will happen. Reality say, "Not likely."

From what I have read on consumer tests on the subject, your average clear bulb puts out 3x the lumens (what we should really be focused on) a Silverstar does, mainly because the blue tint filters out the beefy part of the light spectrum we use most. To simplify, would you rather read under a lamp with a blue bulb or clear or even yellow? Exactly. Your eyes pick up yellow better, like it or not.

I have had the blue tinted bulbs and I could not tell any difference for the better. This was with 100 watt bulbs, to boot. I only used them because I swapped to a sealed beam conversion in my old truck...until I got clear bulbs.

Of course, PIAA, which is pure junk in my opinion, sells these bulbs for $84.99 a pair, so they must be "all that". Right? Mix Silverstars with yellowed factory lenses and you get this really interesting pink and greenish concoction for light output. That's healthy.

So, to round it up, a good clear bulb and good headlamp assemblies (i.e. clear lenses) will do just fine. You can put blue painted bulbs in them and not cure the real problem....and very very few factory headlamp assemblies can be accused of being top notch these days.

P.S. Any good clear bulb is Xenon charged, so this "yellow" thing I have always heard of is a thing of the past. Of course, in my case, I have Euro clear assemblies on the Ranger, so they're doubly good. No old yellowed waterlogged factory duds for my truck.

 

If you do your shopping and time your purchase right, you can get Silverstars for very close to the same price as standard bulbs..
If there is a blue tint to silverstars, it's not visable... So if you had to choose between a regular bulb in a reading lamp and a silverstar bulb (which obviously has hidden blue tint) I would still chose the silverstar.. not that they make a silverstar bulb in a reading lamp.

If you stand infront of my truck (which has Silverstars) while the headlights are on, they don't appear to be significantly brighter than regular lights. When I first put them in and did that, I was dissapointed because I expected to be blinded by them. As soon as I drove it around I could tell a huge difference. Even people that drive with me that don't know I have silverstars always comment on how much better they can see.

 

The blueish tint on the bulb glass is quite faint but clearly visible if you look closely.

While not Silverstars, you can buy slightly blue-tinted halogen bulbs for the home. I have GE "REVEAL" bulbs and they produce a nice whiter light. Like the SS's, they cost more than "regular" bulbs. I think I got them at Lowe's.

 

When you look at lighting you have to remember that these coatings influence the colors that appear better. They follow the principle of flourescent bulbs. If you buy a cool flourescent bulb it will show whites, blues, and greens much better than a warm flourescent bulb, which shows reds, yellows, and oranges better.

 

For the cost, I believe that Silverstars are well worth it.

This isn't about creative advertising, it's about user testimonials such as mine. I have a 90 Bronco II and have been running Silverstar's for over 2 years now. I recommend them to everybody. Before I had them I had stock halogens which put off what I thought was "ok" light. Maybe the lumens were more than the Silverstars but as soon as I put in the Silverstars I could see the entire road <b>clearly</b>.

If you're trying to tell me that watts is everything, it's not. Compare a 60w incandescent and compare it to a 15w florescent (sp?), they'll be very close in light produced, but the florescent will also appear brighter due to a "crisper light". On the standard halogen bulb a lot of the energy is wasted in heat, Silverstars don't get as hot yet they're using the same amount of energy, it's not being wasted in heat.

 

I love the silverstar bulb but started using PIAA bulbs a few months ago. very nice and very bright. a little more expensive but IMO well worth the money