Headlight problems

[V1 Dave]

I put a set of silver stars in my mazda, they both were fine for about 10 months, then the left burned out, then 2 months later right burned out. 50 bucks is too much for a bulb that lasts less than a year. Stock bulbs from now on. although, I did do a light war with a friend in his civic. Maybe that shortened their life. (cars face head on, and you flash brights as fast as you can, dont ask me why.) :roll:

Ultras last longer and many people don't know it but no not touch the bulb with a bare hand use latex or nitrile gloves, skin oil kills them.

[TSi+WRX]

^ I am approaching this with-caution - I think it's a bit too early to tell about the durability of the Ultras.

With the Sylvania (and to a degree, even the Osram) SilverStars, I've had them burn out anywhere from three weeks to 3+ *YEARS* (and still going on strong). I probably have a dozen sets installed between various of my personal vehicles and that of friends/family.

Typical reported life-span (scanning through various auto-related Forums/d-boards) is truly just as variable, if not even more so - anywhere between 7 *DAYS* to about 2 years.....

There simply seems to be a huge variability - and not all can be attributed to user/installer error. Certainly, I know that I always very, very carefully install mine, and yet, one of the two bulbs of my last set burned out in less than 6 months.

Also, it should be noted that their use in some of the variable-voltage DRL applications and also depending on the "longevity" of the bulb configuration (i.e. the noted shorter life-span of H7 bulbs) also will impact this issue severely.

As with *any* aftermarket lighting, I always recommend my friends/family to simply re-package their take-off factory bulbs in the aftermarkets' blister package, and carry that as back-up in their trunk.

I hope that the Ultras will see an improvement in this critical area, which is - in addition to expense, one of my often-cited downfalls of the Sylvania SilverStars.

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ELVATO -

Typically, a 10W difference isn't enough to melt plastic housings - however, when nearing the 25W-difference range, that becomes a possibility, based on various factors that can influence the amount of heat experienced in that area.

Usually, though, your factory wiring should easily be able to accommodate significant "overwattage" applications - upwards of 40W difference shouldn't be too much to ask, particularly if your vehicle is newer (< 5 years old). The problem often comes in trying to use overwattage bulbs to compensate for clouded/scratched lenses in older vehicles which may have compromised wiring.

Heat, though, from such high-overwattage applications should be carefully monitored, lest you do experience that "melted housing" scenario.

[Kremithefrog]

I have silverstars in one of my cars for many years with no problems but a buddy had one blow out in probably a year in his car.
I am now using GE Nighthawks. From my research at the time (maybe a year ago), they are a bit better than silverstars, no coating on them like silverstars. They're also cheaper. And in the car I use them in, I used 9005s instead of 9006s. The wattage isn't way higher so I'm not worried about melting anything and they are plenty bright.

[ELVATO]

I have silverstars in one of my cars for many years with no problems but a buddy had one blow out in probably a year in his car.
I am now using GE Nighthawks. From my research at the time (maybe a year ago), they are a bit better than silverstars, no coating on them like silverstars. They're also cheaper. And in the car I use them in, I used 9005s instead of 9006s. The wattage isn't way higher so I'm not worried about melting anything and they are plenty bright.

I had some GE Nighthawks on the passenger side headlights (I couldn't get the left ones off.) I did not notice any difference at all.

I guess the important thing to remember is that different car will "behave" differently with different headlights. I remeber reading an article in Popsci(?) about aftermarket headlights. They compared the Silverstars, Nighthawks, and another brand with different cars. On some cars, there was an improvement in distance with a certain brand, but a diminish in distance with another. Some cars, the Nighthawks lighted better than the Silverstars, and in others the opposite was true. And in some cases, the aftermarket lights were worse than the stock headlights.

I guess all I can say, in my personal experience with my car, I am pleased with my Silverstars. Headlights so far are about half a year old, while the fogs are a couple weeks.

[TSi+WRX]

...I used 9005s instead of 9006s. The wattage isn't way higher so I'm not worried about melting anything and they are plenty bright.

^ The 9005/9006 modification is an excellent one (no matter how one examines the compromises), and also very easy to do. I recommend it to all my friends who have that application.



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I guess the important thing to remember is that different car will "behave" differently with different headlights. I remeber reading an article in Popsci(?) about aftermarket headlights. They compared the Silverstars, Nighthawks, and another brand with different cars. On some cars, there was an improvement in distance with a certain brand, but a diminish in distance with another. Some cars, the Nighthawks lighted better than the Silverstars, and in others the opposite was true. And in some cases, the aftermarket lights were worse than the stock headlights.

EXACTLY!!!!



Remember that the "bulb" - the light-generating unit in and of itself - is only 1/2 of the equation.

The other half of it is the reflector/optics assembly of the complete headlight unit.

Certainly, a "brighter bulb" should, and will, give off "more light" in a quantitative sense, but without the ability to properly channel that new energy down-road, the effect is not only far from optimized, but also far from ideal.



To get the best lighting performance, you need not only bright light, but also a way to get the light to focus and "throw" in an optimal pattern. The optics and the bulb must work together.