Osram Silverstar +50% bulbs

[BUZ]

I've been wanting to get some new brighter bulbs for my car and was told these are pretty high quality (and very bright too)! Anyone here use them or ever heard of them, from what I can tell they use the same wattage so I shouldn't have any problems with the light housing of harness melting.

 

[Monolith]

If it matters, H4's are not DOT approved.

 

[BUZ]

If it matters, H4's are not DOT approved.

My car came with the h4/9003 aren't they the same?

99' civic

 

[Monolith]

My car came with the h4/9003 aren't they the same?

99' civic

9003's are DOT approved. H4's and 9003's are the same, just a certification difference. You'll also notice that outside the US the brand is Osram and inside the US it's Sylvania. I've had better longevity with the Osram branded bulbs.

 

[electromage]

If it matters, H4's are not DOT approved.

H4 is the same as 9003 and HB2. I've seen my local auto shops selling Sylvania lights in both "H4" and "9003/H4" packaging. The "9003/H4" bulb was $1 more, yet contained the exact same bulb, identified by the printing around the base (which only said H4 and not 9003!). The person at the counter couldn't explain the logic behind that .

I have H4 bulbs in my (Hella E-code) headlights, and they work well. I believe they're a 50% xenon mix, but it could be 100%. I don't know what exact percentages that works out to. I'm sure there are some differences in the interpretation between manufacturers, but mine are Hella.

As long as the wattage and voltage are the same, the current draw is the same. The only difference might be the temperature of the bulb itself, but I wouldn't worry about it.

Matt

 

[leeleefocus]

These are my favourite bulbs because they are brighter(you can actually see the difference when you put them in although the difference is not massive you can see it though) they are long lasting and i love the colour tempreture of the silverstar bulbs. They are very very white.

 

[soffiler]

They won't last as long. They are drawing the same 55W yet they produce more light (+50%) and they do this by running the filament hotter. You'll probably like the results of the extra light, so go for it... just carry spares.

 

[unclearty]

I had an interesting experience with them. Bought them for my wife's Camry...looked great..nice...bright..white. Ten months..one bulb blows out. She mentioned that she thought something was wrong with her headlights..Checked them on Saturday, 4 days later.....both were blown!. I pulled them out and put the factory originals in for the moment. I called Sylvania's customer help line. I was told .."Yeah..they're only good for about 11 to 12 months"! I was curious about the price to performance ratio..."how come they only last less than a year...for that much money???" She was nice,..and even set me a new set..but said..they only last about 11 months of normal use.
I did a little more research and found that the next bulb down..the EXTRAs are almost as bright...and people are getting 2 to 3 years out of them. I sold the replacement set to a kid at work and bought the Extras for less than half the price.

 

[Phaserburn]

I like to mod as much as anyone, but to me my car's headlights are NOT a place to fool around exchanging dependability for brightness. My life and those of my family depend on those lamps; dependability is KING for this application. Less than a year's life is just not acceptable to me. I would strongly encourage anyone thinking along these lines to look elsewhere for improvements. If you want to go HID for the $$, that's ok. But having what amounts to hotwire mods in your headlights is potentially hazardous. Carrying spares is simply not practical, as changing them in a storm, etc, will be difficult. It's not just you losing a light here; it's suddenly becoming potentially less visible to nighttime traffic, as well, should you lose them both together. Unlikely, true, but I'm not willing to stake my life on it, either.

 

[65535]

I personally prefer HID headlights, when I get my car they will be on there I feel HID is more reliable brighter and I prefer the blue tint personally.

 

[PursuitSS]

If you REALLY want to shorten the life of Silverstar bulbs, upgrade your wiring harness. If they are hit with 13.2 - 13.8 volts...........the life is double digit hours!

The finest H-4 bulbs on the market are German manufactured Narva bulbs. They are a true WHITE light at around 4000 - 4300 kelvin. They can be purchased from Automod in Atlanta GA. Here is their contact info:

Automod
[size=-1]5940 Peachtree Rd
Atlanta, GA 30341
(770) 457-9663[/size]

 

[ryball]

9003's are DOT approved. H4's and 9003's are the same, just a certification difference. You'll also notice that outside the US the brand is Osram and inside the US it's Sylvania. I've had better longevity with the Osram branded bulbs.

I agree. I've had both the Osrams and the Sylvania's and the Syl's are garbage. The Osrams are much better quality and will last much longer. I will not buy, nor will I recommend the Sylvania's.

 

[2xTrinity]

I personally would stay away from halogen replacement bulbs that are filtered to look more "white". All this does is reduce the amount of usable light on the road for the sake of cosmetics -- it's not the same as an HID bulb that naturally runs at 4000-5000k, which can have its benefits. A standard halogen will run at around 3000-3200k (distinct yellow tint). To make a filtered bulb (like the silverstars) look brighter than stock they need to be heavily overdriven, since they already lose a significant fraction of their light in the filter.

the EXTRAs are almost as bright...and people are getting 2 to 3 years out of them. I sold the replacement set to a kid at work and bought the Extras for less than half the price.

Sylvania Xtravision bulbs look like they are a better choice. They are unfiltered halogen, so they can make it noticeably brighter than stock without making it run so hot that it severely compromises the lifespan of the bulb.

 

[BUZ]

Thanks everyone for all the great info!

Found this link, pretty good info here too:
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html

 

[PursuitSS]

I personally would stay away from halogen replacement bulbs that are filtered to look more "white". All this does is reduce the amount of usable light on the road for the sake of cosmetics -- it's not the same as an HID bulb that naturally runs at 4000-5000k, which can have its benefits. A standard halogen will run at around 3000-3200k (distinct yellow tint). To make a filtered bulb (like the silverstars) look brighter than stock they need to be heavily overdriven, since they already lose a significant fraction of their light in the filter.

That is why I run Narva's, they are NOT coated. A lot of the HID bulbs are now in the 6000k to 9000k range which can run to a purple color.

PursuitSS

 

[270winchester]

I'm running Silver Star Ultras, and they work quite a bit better than the Silver Stars I had. The coating is less agressive(but then again the original Silver Stars did not have that much coating on them in the first place) and more usable in wet conditions. I think they are phasing out the SS for the SSUs which would address some of the life-time issues.

in this pic I'm running the SSUs but they are devestated by my auxiliary light setup.

Oh yeah I carry a set of Xtravisions in my car as spares. They are good bulbs but I like the SSUs better.

 

[BUZ]

270...............that's quite the setup you got there!

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

It should be known that in the European market Osram/Sylvania's Silverstar line is completely different than the US market Silverstar line. In Europe, Silverstars are respected bulbs, on par with Hella, Cibie, Narva, or Phillips, and have no coating. In the US Silverstars are of debateable utility and respect; they have a coating.

:buddies:

 

[270winchester]

does anyone know of how the Xtravisions compare to the osram Silverstars?

 

[soffiler]

It should be known that in the European market Osram/Sylvania's Silverstar line is completely different than the US market Silverstar line. In Europe, Silverstars are respected bulbs, on par with Hella, Cibie, Narva, or Phillips, and have no coating. In the US Silverstars are of debateable utility and respect; they have a coating.

+1 !

an interesting site that gets into this subject in detail, a must-read for photon fanatics:

www.danielsternlighting.com