I spent some time examining the various 9006 and 9012 bulbs available in an auto parts store.
I noticed that the filament supports of the various 9012s in the Sylvania line-up differ.
The Sylvania basic 9012's filament supports look pretty much identical that of the equivalent Sylvania 9006.
The Xtravision 9012's filament supports looks similar to an H11's filament supports, but not quite identical.
The Silverstar and Silverstar Ultra 9012's filament supports look pretty much identical to an H11's filament supports.
I read on this site that the H7, H8,... bulbs were the product of relatively recent R&D expenditures and that their filament supports were designed to leave a metal-free region around the filament. I also read some lamentation about how the Philips 9011/HIR1 doesn't use the newer, H7-type filament support system and instead sticks with the older, 9005-type architecture.
My understanding of bulbs is extremely piecemeal, but I do believe that what's going on is that Sylvania is differentiating its basic/Xtravision/Silverstar/Silverstar Ultra bulbs through not just overdriving the filament but also through geometric improvements. It seems that the Silverstar/Silverstar Ultra bulbs have the most H7-esque support geometry, which makes sense, as these are supposed to be the highest performing bulbs. Whether they are is another matter, but it does appear that Sylvania has more than just blue glass up its sleeve for these bulbs.
Also, I noticed that all of the 9012s have an iridescent coating, which is indicative of the IRR coating, but the SS Ultra's doesn't have this iridescent sheen in its window of clear (rather than blue) glass. Could it be that the SS Ultra doesn't have the IRR coating, or am I just not observant enough?
Here are some pictures. Purple package is Xtravision. Deep blue package is Silverstar. You can see how the Xtravision doesn't look like the basic (light blue) or the Silverstars exactly.
Oversize by 303 vertical pixels
Oversize by 333 vertical pixels
Moderator Edit
Images must be a maximum of 800px vertically or horizontally.
--Alaric D
I noticed that the filament supports of the various 9012s in the Sylvania line-up differ.
The Sylvania basic 9012's filament supports look pretty much identical that of the equivalent Sylvania 9006.
The Xtravision 9012's filament supports looks similar to an H11's filament supports, but not quite identical.
The Silverstar and Silverstar Ultra 9012's filament supports look pretty much identical to an H11's filament supports.
I read on this site that the H7, H8,... bulbs were the product of relatively recent R&D expenditures and that their filament supports were designed to leave a metal-free region around the filament. I also read some lamentation about how the Philips 9011/HIR1 doesn't use the newer, H7-type filament support system and instead sticks with the older, 9005-type architecture.
My understanding of bulbs is extremely piecemeal, but I do believe that what's going on is that Sylvania is differentiating its basic/Xtravision/Silverstar/Silverstar Ultra bulbs through not just overdriving the filament but also through geometric improvements. It seems that the Silverstar/Silverstar Ultra bulbs have the most H7-esque support geometry, which makes sense, as these are supposed to be the highest performing bulbs. Whether they are is another matter, but it does appear that Sylvania has more than just blue glass up its sleeve for these bulbs.
Also, I noticed that all of the 9012s have an iridescent coating, which is indicative of the IRR coating, but the SS Ultra's doesn't have this iridescent sheen in its window of clear (rather than blue) glass. Could it be that the SS Ultra doesn't have the IRR coating, or am I just not observant enough?
Here are some pictures. Purple package is Xtravision. Deep blue package is Silverstar. You can see how the Xtravision doesn't look like the basic (light blue) or the Silverstars exactly.
Oversize by 303 vertical pixels
Oversize by 333 vertical pixels
Moderator Edit
Images must be a maximum of 800px vertically or horizontally.
--Alaric D
Last edited by a moderator:
