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Finally found someplace to buy these bulbs. According to eeeeeverything I have read these are about as [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/IMG] bright [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/IMG] as you can legally go. Very white. The debate continues....


Standard

CoolBlue

SilverStar


$24.95 each with a $10.00 per pair rebate. With $6.95 shipping and the rebate came to $46.85 for the pair.

Link to Auto Barn

ps. 9003 is the same as a H4.




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[IMG]/forums/themes/orbitz/paperclip.gif[/IMG] CoolBlue.gif (4 Kb)
[IMG]/forums/themes/orbitz/paperclip.gif[/IMG] SilverStar.gif (4 Kb)
[IMG]/forums/themes/orbitz/paperclip.gif[/IMG] Standard.gif (4 Kb)

 
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hmm.. these look to be promising, but I'm not gonna be the guinea pig. let us know how they are [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
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From the research I have done it would appear that a very slight blue tint is actually good as long as there is the necessary power to help cancel the light that does not get through the blue. Although the Sylvania site does not list the specific specs for the 9003/H4 SilverStar bulb as it does for 9004-9007, by using the Cool Blue & SilverStar charts as a reference I believe the wattage must be 60/65 or slighter higher rather than the normal 55/60. Lumens is 900/1500 and color temp is 4000° Kelvin. [IMG]i/expressions/demon.gif[/IMG]

Looks like US and Canadian laws allow for maximum 65/72 watts for the 9003/H4.

link to Sylvania

 
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me me pleas i wanna spent 47 bucks so my headlight will blow 3 weeks later. i swear those japs are laughing at us harder every day.

 
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Sylvanias don't do that. It's those crapped out PIAA ones that are junk.

The cool blues are great,

I'm willing to try the silvers now.

 
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I have seen those Silverstar bulbs at Autozone.

 

my PIAA's have been on since February and show no signs of degredation....IMO those silverstars are different from the european version that acutally looks white...the US version has a light output that is simmilar to stock...no diff in color either( its still yellow) we tried it in my brothers VW GTi and they looked no better than the $9 regular halogens that you can get

just my $.02

 
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I bought somt GE super blue lights last night, to the tune of 20.00... they suck,,not really any different than stock. They are less yellow, but certainly do not look like HID... I still cant belive that an HID conversion is 500.00. I think I am going to go to toronto and see what they have. They allways have the "cool stuff"

 
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i'm with panda, the ones you're looking at there aren't going to be as bright as they're making you think. you really have to see a bulb in action to get all the information. i've had my PIAA's since november of last year and they're still as good as the ones my friend bought last week for his truck. the PIAA's were well worth the $50 i spent on them.

 
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I figure with PIAA's you have about a 50-50 chance they won't go bad. I'll stick with the OE name brands, thanks.

Just went down to Advance Auto Parts and they have the Silver Stars. I got a pair. Will install and evaluate soon.

 
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I prefer my cool blues. I installed them about 6 months ago and have had no problems. I like the fact that they emit a white light and don't have that colored look. Imo, the colored bulbs, bulbs that emit a blue tint etc., are comparable to the neon washer nozzles....ricey...of course, this is just my opinion so no reason to get all pissy.. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
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has this ever happened to anyone? i used to have a 97 accord and i got blue tinted headlights from i think matrix. anyway, about half a year later one of my headlights went out. i checked the bulb but it looked fine. i tried putting that bulb on the opposite side, it worked. so it wasn't the bulb, it was the connection. i looked at the plug/socket that attaches to the bulb and it was partly melted. i took it in and they said that my wires probably shorted out. i had to ride around with my brights on cuz w/o the brights i had one light, with the brights, they came on all dim, it was weird! the guy said that it was probably cuz the bulbs had too much wattage and burned the connection and messed up the wires. so what's the deal?

 
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I had a problem like that about a month ago. Except mine managed to melt in the on position. I couldnt turn them off. It happened to both my headlights. I had a set of Hiper Super Plasma Whites in there. I put in the stock bulbs and brought it to the dealer and pretended I didnt know why it happened. They fixed it under warranty and I havent yet put the Hipers back in yet. I thought I was the only one with a problem like that. So many people have aftermarket bulbs that I would guess it would happen quite often.

 
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It's a common problem among people who put bulbs in that draw too much current and get too hot. I have heard a lot of stories about the harness melting.

 
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so was it just cuz mine was a cheapo brand (matrix) or will piaa's and sylvania's do that too? i want to make sure before i order these, it was sucha hassle.

 
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You'll be fine with the Sylvania cool blues. I have had them for 6 months and no problems. I am not sure about whether the cheapness factor played a part or not. You just don't want a bulb that is drawing a lot more current than the stock bulbs do.

 
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I just put in the Sylvania Silver Stars. The wattage on the base is the same as the stock bulbs. There should be no overcurrent problems with any of the Sylvania bulbs.

I agree that some of the higher wattage bulbs are just asking for problems.

 
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Those silverstars are still ricey. The silverstars to get are the european ones, which don't have tint and are actually brighter. Though silverstar isn't as bad as PIAA, they don't really offer better lighting than stock.

-Aki

 
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So what do they look like??

 
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hey bartkat, where'd you order them from? how much?

 
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I got em at the local Advance Auto Parts store. $24.95 each. No shipping, of course.

 
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What do you mean, ricey? They aren't blue. They are white. You can see that from the pics at the top of this page. They are much whiter than stock, ie higher color temp., so they do give better light. I hooked mine up to the Catz transformers and they are even brighter than with the std 12 volts. Sorry buddy, but no rice in my garage.

 
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bartkat, you know where i could get them online? for a decent price?

 
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Actually, it is a proven fact that it *IS* brighter. There are premium bulbs out there, that actually puts MORE LIGHT on the road (increased lumens). Examples includion Philips VisionPlus (+50% lumens in Europe, and +30% in N. America), and Sylvannia High Output (+30%). SilverStar's faint purplish coating does tax an extra 10%, resulting in their claim increased lumens of +20%.

If you must go with a whitish bulb, the Sylvannia SilverStars are the ones to go with. As for people who diss Sylvannia, you should know that these guys built their dynasty making light bulbs. They provide lumination for all industries, including construction, military, housing, entertainment and automotive. They supply lighting for some of the most premiere auto makers, including Lincoln and Lexus. I think it's safe to say that they know how to make good H4 bulbs.

 
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Yeah, Sylvania is awesome, they are a major OEM provider of lights. Why do you think they have the OEM sticker on their replacement halogens that you can pick up at Autozone or Checker?

Anyway, I got the Silverstars (9003ST) in today and all I can say is that they are awesome. Bright white with no blue color to them, very sharp. Also brighter than stock and way whiter and crisper than stock. I was going to take before and after shots of the bulbs in my garage but the digi cam was lacking good batteries. I got them direct from Sylvania too. There is an order form on their website. When they finally ship them they ship FedEx 2-day. I spent about 30 on each. I would have spent 3 bucks less had i gone to the Yahoo Auto Barn shop. I just felt more comfy giving my money directly to the manufacturer.

But they are awesome looking lights and I highly recommend them.

 
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Auto Barn . Com Select the 9003ST in the order box.

 
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I got my Silver Stars hooked up to the Catz 13.5 volt system. Catz says it's OK to use OE Halogens so I figure the Silver Stars are good to go since they are Halogens. We have a 10 mile section of highway with new blacktop and no painted lines yet. I went out that road and the headlights did much better than the previous Catz "bluish" lights. The beam pattern is great and gives a good view of the road edges as well. The only more rigorous test I could think of would be if it was raining. But for this test on black road, no lines, on a black night I am very happy with the Sylvania Silver Stars.

PS: If you ain't tried it, don't knock it. The proof is in the driving.

My ratings for the lights I have personally tried in my Civic.

Stock = adequate

PIAA =

Catz = good enough

Cool Blues = a little better than stock

Silver Star = better than any of the above.

Only thing that could be better is HID. I'll try those later on when the prices become more reasonable.

 
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anyone here ever heard of Farenheits? hearing of sylvania silverstars looks very interesting.

 
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I just got a digital camera yesterday! ill try to post pics in a day or two.

 
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Since I started all this I guess I better report my results as well.

I agree with Bartkat. The SilverStars are brighter [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/IMG]. Slighter different beam pattern and not blue. Very white, not HID white but something in between... sorta. Somebody post pics please. Actually the pictures at the start of this tread are pretty accurate in my opinion. Only now my Licht Technik H11 fog bulbs look reeeealy blue.

The bulbs have a slightly light blue tint in them, but not like my Eurolites. Actually I would think that there should still be a blue color light but it is white. I believe the bulbs are actually 60/70watt rather than the advertised 55/60watt. This is perfectly legal.

As for the beam pattern difference, the bulbs were ever so slight different than the Eurolites. The low beam filiment's shield was slight different as was the placement of the filiments themselves. This must redirect or change the pattern of the beams a bit. This may be old news to you but it was new to me.

Standing in front of the car at varied angles I saw very little glare. I expected this bright a bulb would have glared quite a bit but no. All in all I would say Sylvania has a winner as long as you don't want blue color. For me they are perfect. I wanted to see farther and brighter. And if I get pulled over I can tell the cop... "hey, they're Sylvanias".

One last thing, these bulbs conform to the very strict "E" code for Europe. It's marked right on the bulb. Very surprised at that. From what I have read "E" bulbs must be very long lasting, very bright and be very precise. Although I have heard and read that these are not the same SilverStars as in Europe which are supposed to be the ultimate halogen bulb it does make you wonder???

By the way, I also installed a Tsudo axleback and love it. It's very deep and throaty and not real loud. Although I have a hard time explaining it in "import terms". I described it to PiCASSO as sounding like a MustangGT VTEC 4". Very nice. And I don't really think there's any performance gain sure sounds like there is. And before you ask, it's a Tsudo "Greddy SP Style" which is discontinued, although I don't know why. Looks nice sounds good and was a breeze to install. 2 bolts and 1/2 hour work. It's oval and the tip is a 4" double rolled slant cut which fits perfect. Also added a DC short shift adapter. Tomorrow it's the RSX sway bar and maybe the K&N FIPK. What's next? Eibach Prokit springs and a camber kit along with a very good alignment.