Has anyone used the new Sylvania Silverstar Ultra's? I one to get them to replace my stock bulbs, but I have heard to many horror story's about bulbs melting the sockets.
Thanks
Rich

 

The bulbs won't melt the sockets but they are over priced and over rated. If you want good bulbs get GE Nighthawk or Sylvania Xtravision. Amazon has GE Nighthawks for buy one get one free and free shipping. Any bulb that has the blue tint will make the light appear more white but will actually reduce the amount of light comming out. Xtravision bulbs are less than 20 bucks at WallyWorld and just over that at auto parts stores. The Xtravision is brighter than the regular bulbs. I had Silverstars and was not impressed at all and took them back. Silverstars are really just Xtravisions with tinted glass.

 

Thats all I needed....Thank Texasguy

 

Your welcome.

While I had the Silverstars installed, I noticed that they suck in bad weather.

As long as you run the same wattage, you shouldn't have any wiring/heat issues.

Here is some info I found interesting.

I have Xtravisions in my truck right now. Our Cobra has Nighthawks. Given it is in 2 different vehicles, I do think the GE Nighthawk is a bit brighter than Xtravision, but its not readily available at auto parts stores etc.

I did alot of research over the last month or so. These 2 bulbs seem to be the best choice for North American bulbs. I have seen some plus 50 percent bulbs that are from the UK, but their life span is not that long. Any of these upgraded bulbs will have a shorter life span than the regular bulbs though. I have found that both Nighthawk and Xtravision are approximately plus 30 percent and increase on road lighting by about 20-25 percent.

As far as Silverstar goes, there is Orsam Silverstar from the UK which is supposed to be a bright bulb and it is not the same as the Sylvania Silverstar. Nightbreaker is supposed to be good as well. I don't know where we can buy these bulbs though except for maybe Ebay.

Keep in mind that any difference may not be very noticable when looking at the headlight while its on. The biggest difference I see is when the high beams are on on a dark highway. Don't expect it to be like KC off road lights. I have heard many complain because I guess they are expecting that.

One other thing. Both of these bulbs are rated at the same wattage as the regular halogen. They have an improved filiment and a halogen and xenon gas mixture instead of just halogen.

 

You can also get the headlight relay kit that gives full power to the bulbs.

I don't know if it would make a difference on your truck or not. On the older trucks the power runs through the switch and due to resistance the bulbs only get 10-11 volts. With the relays they should get 12 or more volts.

I thought about doing this to my truck, since its only about 20 bucks.

Dont touch the glass part of the bulb when installing. If you do rinse it with isopropyl alcohal.

 

Great advice. Texas Guy001. I have been down the same road as you and come to the same conclusions. Leave the blue bulbs alone.
Also HID kits are becoming more and more available. They don't work with factory(fluted) lenses not desighned for them. Don't waste your money.

 

Thanks whalebird. I just thought I would share what I learned and my experience.

I agree about the HID kits. The headlight housing is not designed for them.

 

The problem with the "white" white bulbs, like the Silverstars, is that they really aren't white. They are essentially a standard halogen bulb that has been brightened by thinning the filament and lowering the resistance. This causes the bulb to burn very bright at the expense of the bulbs life. It also increases the heat output. They then coat the glass with a filter that removes some of the yellow light, giving the bulb a slightly bluer and brighter appearance, but in reality it is dimmer than the Xtravision. Our eyes perceive a hot shift, or bluer light as brighter. That is why those LED flashlights look so bright, but can't light up a very large area at all.

I am running Xtravision bulbs and relay harness on my Aerostar, and vehicle normally known for a poor light output. I can see everything just fine with properly aligned headlights and the proper bulbs getting full power. I rarely need to use my brights, the regular lights are good enough most of the the time.

 

Did you get the regular replacement Nighthawks or the Nighthawk Sport? Thanks.

 

Nevermind. I just bought the regular GE Nighthawks. 4 pairs with 1 day shipping for $88.76! Way cheaper than Silverstars. Thanks for the info.

 

I was talking about the regular Nighthawks. The sports have a tinted blue glass.

Did you get them from Amazon?

 

What relay kit are you running? Is it a home made one or one for LMC Summit etc.

The only one I can find is the one from LMC.

I wonder if one of them is better than the others.

As far as comparing Xtravision to Silverstar I was under the impression that they were basically the same thing except Xtra's don't have the blue tint. Are they a different bulb entirely?