I'll second that! The passenger side is a ball buster ( or knuckle buster ) !

 

Just got back from the store. Purchased the silverstar 9005st bulbs, and they fit perfectly. The 9005st are the 65watt bulb and the 9006st are the 55 watt bulb. All I can say is what a differance they make. Took about 2min to install both, didn't have to remove anything at all. I highly recommend these bulbs , worth every penny.

Bigfinn

 

I just installed them. I went with the 9005's because the 9006's do not fit can't wait till the drive home tonight I changed the headlights too.

 

if ou guys 2want to do a real accurate eval.uation of your headlight output between these bulbs there is a pretty accurate way to do it.

Find one of those hand held light meters photographers used before there was digital or built in light meters on cameras. One with a hood is preferable as it lets in only a small amount of light and you can hold it 12 or 18 inches from thr lens for an accurate and comparitive reading. I did this on a motorcycle headlight once and found I only actually got a couple of percentage points more light with the higher price bulb. Certainly not what is advertised and not worth the extra money. Admitedly, the color was different but not actual illumination on the road.

The output is registered in "lumins" I think, on a pretty easy to read meter and you can tell a lot about your bulbs that way. Replace one bulb and read the difference between one lamp and the other. Doing a good cleaning job of the lamp reflector gave me about as much gain as anything else.

 

If you want the most out of your upgrade, might want to look into a lighting harness like those over at suvlights.com

 

I love extra light. Where I live it helps spot those deer at night before they jump out in front of you at 60 mph, etc. I've added some serious off-road lights to both my Jeeps, etc.

BUT--- I was talking to the aftermarket installer at the dealership the other day (they install everything from lift kits to GPS navigation systems) and he said, "the only thing we can NOT install is higher-wattage replacement headlight bulbs, fog light bulbs, etc!"

I asked him, "why not?" of course.

His reply: "We've had too many vehicles nationwide catch fire and burn up when the wiring harness overheated. It specifically voids the warranty and we are not allowed to install them under any circumstances. What the customer does on his own is up to him but he's taking a very expensive risk!!"

True? Urban legend? BS? I don't know- but that's what I was told for what it's worth.

Who knows?!?

Steve

 

Well I'm calling BS! How would an aftermarket bulb with the same watts catch your truck on fire? Maybe if you exceeded the wattage.

 

I'm with KingRanch I'll second that BS call. These are direct replacement same wattage, just a bit brighter light. Most dealers are full of crap and if they don't sell or install the product then its no good. B/c they don't get your hard earned $$.
Manny

 

The fire danger is probably true and anyone who doesn't know any better than to try and upgrade headlights with high watt elements without also upgrading the wiring deserves government supervision. It's easy (sort of a no brainer) to install a separate circuit that includes a relay and new, heavier, correct wiring to handle the higher wattage. The new wires feed through a fuse from the battery to the headlights and the relay controls the switch from your OEM wiring to the high watt side.

Think about it guy's - your not going to get any more light on the road from one blue 55 watt bulb than you will from a white or yelllow 55 watt bulb. It just looks different and the aftermarket people are counting on your believing your getting more light. I'm not a electronic expert but my reading on this tells me that color is nothing more than a dye on the bulb in some cases.

Even if you upgrade from a 55 watt to a 65 watt that's only a 1.2% increase in wattage and I doubt that degree is very discernable to most people

If you gotta have more light you have to increase your wattage not the color. Increasing wattage means either you rewire or you bolt on some 150 watt off-road blinders like Hella. Of course, in most places you'll get arrested if you light then up on the highway looking for deer. IMHO, learn not to overdrive your headlights and put the $$$$ in you pocket for something that really works for you - not just looks sexy.

 

I think you might've figured that one out wrong, I think it's more like an 18% increase.

Also, does anyone know how to do the harness upgrade in trucks with daytime running lights? My truck was originally sold in Canada so it has DRLs.

 

yr' right, I had my decimal in the wrong place.

 

different colors do help you see better insertain conditions. I run a blue tint light in my sled because you can see better in the snow dust.

 

What am I missing here? Fiveinarows' post said they can't install higher wattage bulbs.

Anyway, I been thinking of getting some of these myself. From the looks of all the positive comments here, I guess it is safe to say these are a good upgrade.

Anyone had a problem with these lights(Fog or headlight)?

Thanks

Scott

 

I was thinking of getting some Stars for my headlights and after reading this thread when it first started I went out and grabbed some.

At first I was disappointed driving around town since they didn't seem that much better.

Well, where you will see the huge difference is where there is no other lights like on a highway or country road. Awesome improvement!

Now I have to find some for my fogs!

 

OK just to add my two cents as an electronics tech. It is indeed possible to get more light from a bulb with similar wattage. When electrical current is passed through a light bulb the filament acts as a resistor and resists the electron flow. This creates heat, enough heat to cause the gas touching the filament to glow (it has to to with the chemical properties of the gas and changing electron states). Exactly what color or brightness is related to what gas is in the bulb. Think about it, have you ever taken a standard bulb out of a flashlight and replaced it with a "Krypton bulb"? The change is obvious, it's the same thing with the Silverstars. The same amount of current is passing through the same value resistor, the only difference is the gas being affected. The problems with possible fire hazards is a holdover from previous "upgrade bulbs" which had a lower resistance filament that was a little heavier gage to resist burnig-up. Less resistance=more current=possible fire.

On a non-technical note, the Silverstars do seem to be a lot more relaxing on the eyes, just something to consider considering even daylight doesn't help if your eyes are too fatigued to focus. Also they seem to make pavement markings stand-out more, especially in rainy conditions.