headlight upgrades??

[Bdr1783]

I have a jeep liberty with driving lights i just replaced the headlights and driving lights with silver star ultra and silver star driving light. now it is a good bit brighter the cut off is far more noticable. I have read where these bulbs have a short life of less than a year. I was just trying ot line me something up once they fail. i've been wondering abut going with a higher watt bulb like the 100 w or going with a hid kit i found this set up http://www.suvlights.com/product_info.php?products_id=50&osCsid=0590676b6de92e1c712397a0bd7bf2cd

just wondered if anyone has any evperence with either a higher watt blub and what i need to do as far as replacing the wires or if anyone has used this headlight projector? thanks for any input!!

 

[-Virgil-]

Silver Star bulbs, like all other blue-glass "whiter light" bulbs, are a scam. They do not improve your seeing; it's an optical illusion. This has been covered previously in many threads, and is a result of simple basic physics (you cannot filter light and wind up with more light, always only ever less light on the other side of the filter). High-wattage bulbs will burn up your wires and melt your headlamps, and before that happens you'll be producing dangerous levels of glare. "HID kits" in halogen-bulb headlamps do not work safely or effectively, which is why they are illegal. See here. If you're talking about the auxiliary lights near and below your headlamps on your Liberty, they're fog lights, not driving lights - not the same thing. The best bulbs you can install are the Philips Xtreme Power items, which are just becoming available.

 

[Taliano]

I've heard that SilverStar are junk.

Most high-output halogen bulbs with filters are useless, but there are some out there that work very well.

I always tell people to try PIAA brand. They are expensive, but they are the only ones I know of that are worth trying. The higher output overcompensates the blue filter, so the light is very white and usable. These come with a one-year warranty too, so if they burn out quickly, you'll have them replaced. The warranty also makes the higher price more reasonable. In the long run, you will have spent less replacing these even though they cost more.

I'm not guaranteeing you'll have a good experience with PIAA, but most people are satisfied with them, and they are better than SilverStar, Nokya, etc.

The additional heat assoc. with high output bulbs is a problem. I only recommend them for occasional-use and non-constant-on applications. So for your constant-on low beams, they could cause heat damage. Are you a member of the Jeep forums? Ask members with the same car as you if they've tried it. I wouldn't do it unless someone with the same car as you has had them for some time without damage.

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

Are you a PIAA sales rep?

 

[-Virgil-]

...or maybe an Amsoil sales rep? ;-) It doesn't matter whose name is on the blue-glass bulb, it's still going to put out less light, over a shorter lifespan, than a bulb with clear (uncolored) glass. Light obeys the laws of physics even if the PIAA guy tries to ignore 'em.

Bdr1783, you don't mention what year Liberty you have, but the very good new Philips Xtreme Power bulbs come in both the 9007 type used in the early Liberty and the 9008 (H13) kind used in the late Liberty. I have a set of the Xtreme Power bulbs (9003/H4) in my daily driver, and I like them quite a bit; they noticeably improve headlight beam focus and brightness without playing silly games (no blue glass to tint the light "whiter").

 

[Bdr1783]

it's a 2005 with the 9007 bulb in it. the ultra's at 1st seemed ot be an improvment over the stock now after reading all this about the blue /purple tinted bulbs i might of just been telling myself they were brighter.

 

[Taliano]

No I am not associated with any bulb companies. That is ridiculous. I don't work for companies for personal reasons.

If you can find clear bulbs that are high output, then they will be brighter than the blue-filter high outputs like PIAA. I've never seen them, but you'd be smart to look for those instead of the PIAA though.

Blue filtered bulbs are darker than their non-filtered counterparts when you hold all other factors constant. But if the light produced under the filter is brighter, then the blue filter can be overcompensated for. That is a known fact in 'physics' too. PIAA does this while most other blue filter bulbs don't.

I'm not saying PIAA makes the best bulbs. I'm just saying that they are the only ones known among the car community I am a member of to actually put out more light than most OEM bulbs. It is a well known and refined fact. I wouldn't be afraid of them because of the blue tint. I would be afraid of them in terms of the heat issues.

Although PIAAs tend to be brighter, I still wouldn't get them for low beams. They will still have the heat related problems associated with high output bulbs. I didn't tell you to get PIAA. I just threw it on the table for you to consider since they will output light.

Look for a clear high output bulb first, and beware of the heat issues when dealing with ALL high outputs... including PIAA.

By the way, a salesman wouldn't have even mentioned the heat issues in constant-on applications like I have.

Good luck OP with your pursuit of headlight upgrades.

 

[-Virgil-]

No I am not associated with any bulb companies. That is ridiculous.

It might be an incorrect conclusion, but I donno that I'd call it "ridiculous". Your advocacy for PIAA products sure looks sales-y, particularly your making a claim repeatedly with nothing but additional repetition (no data) to support it, so I can certainly understand someone thinking you're a PIAA salesman.

If you can find clear bulbs that are high output, then they will be brighter than the blue-filter high outputs like PIAA. I've never seen them

Whatchya mean you've never seen them??? There have been numerous links to exactly such bulbs.

Blue filtered bulbs are darker than their non-filtered counterparts when you hold all other factors constant. But if the light produced under the filter is brighter, then the blue filter can be overcompensated for.

Not while staying within the prescribed limits on wattage and reasonable expectations of lifespan, no, it can't.

I'm not saying PIAA makes the best bulbs. I'm just saying that they are the only ones known among the car community I am a member of to actually put out more light than most OEM bulbs. It is a well known and refined fact.

Actually, it's an opinion repeated again and again until some people decide it's become "well known". Until you or somebody else provides data —*actual test data showing luminous flux and lifespan for the PIAA bulbs you assert somehow manage to zig and zag their way past the known laws of physics...it's still going to be just an opinion, no matter how fervently anyone wants to believe otherwise, and no matter how cool anyone thinks PIAA bulbs (or their packaging and promotional materials) are.