sylvania silverstar ultras (are they worth it???)

[steppinthrax]

Have you guys used these bulbs before? are they worth it. I'm thinking of getting these for my camry....

 

[MovingTarget]

I've used silverstars before, and I must say, the quality of the lights is much better than OEM. They were much brighter and of a better color temperature, much more pleasing to the eyes. However, that being said, they didn't last near as long as the el-cheapos. Pick your poison...

 

[jme5343]

I use them and wouldn't go back to OEM. Of course we live in the land of giant deer and I do anything I can to avoid smashing into one.

 

[Apex]

There tends to be better choices. What size bulb do you need for your application?

 

[NutBucket]

Osram Nightbreaker. Get those. You'll probably have to order them though.

 

[CRXican]

waste of money

read here:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/

 

[foghorn67]

I could only get...maybe 6 months from them before they burn out.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: CRXican
waste of money

read here:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/

Seconded. That site is full of science and win.

ZV

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: CRXican
waste of money

read here:

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/

You're confusing the new Silverstar Ultras with the old Sylvania Silverstars.

The Sylvania Silverstar Ultras are marginally brighter than the Osram Silverstars, which Daniel Stern likes:

+50 bulbs from the big four reputable European bulb makers (Philips VisionPlus, Osram SilverStar, Narva RangePower+50, Tungsram Megalicht) are functionally identical.

The original Sylvania Silverstar do suck mightily.

 

[chucky2]

I've read that link and understand the argument.

However...

My mom's car has very yellowed lenses. Rather than order her a pair of new lenses, and then new bulbs, I popped a pair of Silverstars in. The result was huge, and noticable.

If you still have clear lenses, then I'll leave you to make your own judgements. If your lenses are yellowed, then IMHO, the Silverstars are without a doubt worth it.

Chuck

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: chucky2
I've read that link and understand the argument.

However...

My mom's car has very yellowed lenses. Rather than order her a pair of new lenses, and then new bulbs, I popped a pair of Silverstars in. The result was huge, and noticable.

If you still have clear lenses, then I'll leave you to make your own judgements. If your lenses are yellowed, then IMHO, the Silverstars are without a doubt worth it.

Chuck

Lenses have the biggest effect on the light. Replacing them would have been the best bet.

Going with Silverstars would have been better than old, already dimmed bulbs, but a new generic clear bulb would have given you more light. Silverstar Ultras would give you a bit more light than that, but still won't match up to a new set of lenses.

The +90 bulbs like the Osram Night Breaker (which Daniel Stern sells) is even better. If you can use the Toshiba HIR bulbs, they're even better than the Osram +90.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Apex

Originally posted by: chucky2
My mom's car has very yellowed lenses. Rather than order her a pair of new lenses, and then new bulbs, I popped a pair of Silverstars in.
Chuck

Lenses have the biggest effect on the light. Replacing them would have been the best bet.

Why replace? Lenses can be polished. Worse case, scenario is wet sanding. No need to buy new lenses.

That said, I still like glass lenses. Sure I had one crack, but hell one crack over a 16 year ownership period is nothing for crystal clear lenses.

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: Apex

Originally posted by: chucky2
My mom's car has very yellowed lenses. Rather than order her a pair of new lenses, and then new bulbs, I popped a pair of Silverstars in.
Chuck

Lenses have the biggest effect on the light. Replacing them would have been the best bet.

Why replace? Lenses can be polished. Worse case, scenario is wet sanding. No need to buy new lenses.

That said, I still like glass lenses. Sure I had one crack, but hell one crack over a 16 year ownership period is nothing for crystal clear lenses.

In my experience, yellowed lenses yellow throughout the plastic, whereas lenses that have turned milky tend to be able to be polished out. I haven't polished that many different sets though, so you could have vastly different experience than me.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: Apex

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: Apex

Originally posted by: chucky2
My mom's car has very yellowed lenses. Rather than order her a pair of new lenses, and then new bulbs, I popped a pair of Silverstars in.
Chuck

Lenses have the biggest effect on the light. Replacing them would have been the best bet.

Why replace? Lenses can be polished. Worse case, scenario is wet sanding. No need to buy new lenses.

That said, I still like glass lenses. Sure I had one crack, but hell one crack over a 16 year ownership period is nothing for crystal clear lenses.

In my experience, yellowed lenses yellow throughout the plastic, whereas lenses that have turned milky tend to be able to be polished out. I haven't polished that many different sets though, so you could have vastly different experience than me.

I too have experienced this. Yellow=done. So far it's true.

 

[Arkaign]

I have Silverstar Ultras on my '08 Focus. They're decent, not that blue (which could be annoying if overdone), they aren't blinding to other drivers, and they light the road nicely.

Was it worth the hassle of buying/replacing the stock bulbs? Not really.

 

[Jugernot]

Originally posted by: foghorn67
I could only get...maybe 6 months from them before they burn out.

I used to use Silverstars and would get 6 months, now I use Silverstar Ultras and got 18 months. Living in Alaska, this says something as we regularly start our cars at -50F and the headlights go through quite a temp swing.

 

[chucky2]

Originally posted by: Apex

Originally posted by: chucky2
I've read that link and understand the argument.

However...

My mom's car has very yellowed lenses. Rather than order her a pair of new lenses, and then new bulbs, I popped a pair of Silverstars in. The result was huge, and noticable.

If you still have clear lenses, then I'll leave you to make your own judgements. If your lenses are yellowed, then IMHO, the Silverstars are without a doubt worth it.

Chuck

Lenses have the biggest effect on the light. Replacing them would have been the best bet.

Oh, I agree, and I did just that for my brothers '95 Tbird, since he does a lot of night driving. But this is a '93 Sable that sees mostly daytime across town driving...not really worth the added cost.

Going with Silverstars would have been better than old, already dimmed bulbs, but a new generic clear bulb would have given you more light. Silverstar Ultras would give you a bit more light than that, but still won't match up to a new set of lenses.

I did go with the Silverstars...the Ultra's were not out yet I don't believe when I bought them. A generic clear bulb did not produce, out of her yellowed lenses, more light than the Silverstar I put in. I tested it pointing right down my street, where the difference between the new Silverstar and the new Sylvania clear was marked - the Silverstar beam was without a doubt better. NOTE: The Sable we have has it's lenses boresighted at the same angles...one is not pointing a different way than the other. Wrong or right, that's how it is.

The +90 bulbs like the Osram Night Breaker (which Daniel Stern sells) is even better. If you can use the Toshiba HIR bulbs, they're even better than the Osram +90.

I'll have to keep those in mind next time one of our bulbs die.....

Chuck

 

[chucky2]

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: Apex

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: Apex

Originally posted by: chucky2
My mom's car has very yellowed lenses. Rather than order her a pair of new lenses, and then new bulbs, I popped a pair of Silverstars in.
Chuck

Lenses have the biggest effect on the light. Replacing them would have been the best bet.

Why replace? Lenses can be polished. Worse case, scenario is wet sanding. No need to buy new lenses.

That said, I still like glass lenses. Sure I had one crack, but hell one crack over a 16 year ownership period is nothing for crystal clear lenses.

In my experience, yellowed lenses yellow throughout the plastic, whereas lenses that have turned milky tend to be able to be polished out. I haven't polished that many different sets though, so you could have vastly different experience than me.

I too have experienced this. Yellow=done. So far it's true.

Before I bought my bro some new lenses for his '95 Tbird, I found a guy on TCCoA that sold refurbed lenses. He'd take all/almost all the yellow out of them, reseal them, and sell them...you'd send yours back as a core. They'd eventually yellow back up, but, that could be delayed by applying a coat of wax over them to keep them from yellowing back up.

Still though, the DOT approved lenses I got on eBay were pretty cheap, and, were absolutely clear. Definitely the way to go IMO...

Chuck

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: Jugernot

Originally posted by: foghorn67
I could only get...maybe 6 months from them before they burn out.

I used to use Silverstars and would get 6 months, now I use Silverstar Ultras and got 18 months. Living in Alaska, this says something as we regularly start our cars at -50F and the headlights go through quite a temp swing.

That is good to know. I was wondering about those.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: chucky2
I did go with the Silverstars...the Ultra's were not out yet I don't believe when I bought them. A generic clear bulb did not produce, out of her yellowed lenses, more light than the Silverstar I put in. I tested it pointing right down my street, where the difference between the new Silverstar and the new Sylvania clear was marked - the Silverstar beam was without a doubt better. NOTE: The Sable we have has it's lenses boresighted at the same angles...one is not pointing a different way than the other. Wrong or right, that's how it is.

Actual brightness is incredibly difficult for the human eye to judge accurately. The exact same amount of lumens from a yellow tint will always be "less bright" than those same lumens from a blue tint. The blue tint always makes light seem "brighter", but that is because blue causes much more glare which is perceived as "bright" even though the actual ability to distinguish objects is reduced.

A yellow tint is actually superior for vision, especially in bad weather which is the reason that almost all truly serious fog lights are yellow (and no, the "fog lights" that manufacturers build into most cars today are not serious fog lights). Blue tints create serious backscatter problems in bad weather.

In the end, the best bulbs are always un-tinted. Sylvania's "XtraVision" bulbs are excellent choices as they are un-tinted yet provide significantly more lumens than standard bulbs.

ZV

 

[chucky2]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: chucky2
I did go with the Silverstars...the Ultra's were not out yet I don't believe when I bought them. A generic clear bulb did not produce, out of her yellowed lenses, more light than the Silverstar I put in. I tested it pointing right down my street, where the difference between the new Silverstar and the new Sylvania clear was marked - the Silverstar beam was without a doubt better. NOTE: The Sable we have has it's lenses boresighted at the same angles...one is not pointing a different way than the other. Wrong or right, that's how it is.

Actual brightness is incredibly difficult for the human eye to judge accurately. The exact same amount of lumens from a yellow tint will always be "less bright" than those same lumens from a blue tint. The blue tint always makes light seem "brighter", but that is because blue causes much more glare which is perceived as "bright" even though the actual ability to distinguish objects is reduced.

A yellow tint is actually superior for vision, especially in bad weather which is the reason that almost all truly serious fog lights are yellow (and no, the "fog lights" that manufacturers build into most cars today are not serious fog lights). Blue tints create serious backscatter problems in bad weather.

In the end, the best bulbs are always un-tinted. Sylvania's "XtraVision" bulbs are excellent choices as they are un-tinted yet provide significantly more lumens than standard bulbs.

ZV

I'm not disagreeing, or agreeing, with any of that...just not interesting in getting into a debate about it.

Here's what I can tell you, with no uncertainty: I put one of each in lenses that are quite clearly equaly yellowed. They're aimed, whether right or wrong, the same exact way.

On the Silverstar side, I could see the left side of the street farther down much better than the Sylvania clear side. Period. End of story. It was so much better, I had my bro and mom come look.

Suffice to say I pitched the Sylvania clear and went and bought another Silverstar.

Now...maybe if she had new clear lenses, like I got my bro, the light would have been too bluish and harsh, whatever. All I'm saying is: If your lenses are yellowed up, dropping Silverstar's in them instead of clears, would, to me, produce better results.

Chuck

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

In the end, the best bulbs are always un-tinted. Sylvania's "XtraVision" bulbs are excellent choices as they are un-tinted yet provide significantly more lumens than standard bulbs.

ZV

IMHO, if you're buying, I think it's worthwhile to skip over the XtraVision (a +20 choice) and go to the +50 or +90 choices whenever available. The difference in performance is insignificant with the XtraVision.

Sylvania XtraVision

From Daniel Stern's own site, the +30 H4 puts out 1075 lumens low beam, and 1700 lumens high beam. A standard bulb does 1000/1650. The human eye can't even readily perceive a difference in brightness under 10%.

Despite Daniel Stern's hate for all blue tinted bulbs, one of his favorite high performance ones THAT HE SELLS is the Osram Night Breaker +90:

Daniel Stern's store, "CandlePower Inc"

He also carries a bunch of Narva tinted ones:

Narva "Bright Light Blue Extra" bulbs

 

[vshah]

get HIR bulbs if they come in your size

 

[swtethan]

I have used silverstars and they SUCK, they blow out in less than six months and theyre expensive to replace.

This is why I went to HID's. I bought a HID kit from ddmtuning.com after hearing great reviews about their kits, and they start at $40!!! I got my kit for $95 shipped and boy are they ever so bright .



http://ddmtuning.com/ap55wwesa.html



A bit of warning though, they are SWAMPED with HID orders since they are in high demand, it took my friend 2 weeks to receive his and im still waiting for my second set for my brother to ship but they are a reputable site.