I went to the Sylvania XV, which means extra vision and supposedly give you 20% more lighting. They were only like $15 for the pair and were a noticeable improvement over stock.

Does anyone know these compare to the Silverstars?

there are a lot of ways to improve the lights on your vehicle. but first i would suggest that you stay away from clored bulbs. meaning, those bulbs with colored lenses, because they become translucent, meaning less light will pass thru than clear ones which are transparent. meaning almost 100% light will be transmitted.

for cars with halogen bulbs, you install a relay harness. this will improve lighting by 50% over stock wires.

with non halogens change to halogen inserts. and add relays.

i use IPF 170/100 watt bulbs for m pick-up. and it it really bright, the box has label for off-raod use only. he he but i use it in the streets.

I would like to mention that I hate the headlights on my Trooper. It is what dislike the very most about my rig. I really need to do something my self. I have the Sylvania XV's in mine which helped but not much. Tell me more about installing a relay. Where do you get the ralay? What type? Where do you install it?...

Ok, just a quick reality check on bulbs before someone shells out hard earned cash on junk.

The HID look alikes burn around the 4000 Kelvin temperature. This is much higher than your typical halogen (2800-3200 K). What most people don't know is what this does to your color spectrum. Halogens make reds and yellows pop, or stand out. Guess what color all your warning signs just happen to be. Well with that said the 4000K bulbs no matter whose you choose will make red look maroon, and yellow look sort-of light tan.

I had a set of 4000K Xenon bulbs in my 97 F-150, they looked real cool and looking at the truck they looked like they were brighter, but driving was a different story.

Just a word to the wise, the Sylvania seems like a decent product, but buyer beware on all of the crap on e-bay and a lot of the other web sites selling junk.

Another thing to look out for, a lot of these bulbs are not DOT apporoved and you can and will get pulled over.

Look at the wattage rating and see if it's a true wattage or a "as bright as ___" rating. That's where a lot of the cheapies get you they say in big letters 80/100 watts. Well they aren't they are a standard bulb.

If you do happen to find a 80/100 watt bulb, beware unless you have the glass lens, you could be going down the road of burned lenses, and melted housings. Yeah they do burn hotter, 4000K remember.

Ok another thing about the 80/100 watters, if you do find them...Check your wiring and make sure you have big enough wire to handle the extra wattage. We don't need anyone stuck because their truck burned.

Stepping off soapbox now.

Oh one last thing, " Because these bulbs burn hotter, their life span is about 50 percent of a standard halogen."

That's straight from the Motor Trend article.

The first thing to check is the headlight aim. Have you had your headlights aimed in the last 6 months? If not then try that first.

With replacement bulbs you are usually safe using one from a major manufacturer, Philips, Sylvania and GE all have bulbs which are supposed to give more output.

It may be the most cost effective to get a set of auxiliary low beam lamps (NOT fog lamps or driving lamps). Look for a SAE Z label.

Finally, STAY AWAY from any HID upgrade. They are phenominally illegal and have caused serious problems in some vehicles. A consumer cannot legally upgrade any vehicle to use HID bulbs in a vehicle which was not originally designed for them. Plus, the output of HID upgrades sometimes really sucks.

ALso, any of the no-name plazma, or colored bulbs are usually illegal.

Good Luck,

Kevin Wolford

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Originally posted by Bigpoppax2:
<strong>Oh one last thing, " Because these bulbs burn hotter, their life span is about 50 percent of a standard halogen."

That's straight from the Motor Trend article.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">I was wondering about that...the Sylvania Silverstar website kept blathering about the "look" of HID and all that, but never mentioned longevity...

Made a 1AM impulse buy last night at walmart and got the sylvania silverstar headlights for 34.97 like previously posted. tested them on a wall in front of my car, first the regular then the silverstars, and then drove the silverstars home. The light is whiter, not as yellow, the beam on the wall seemed to have a larger area than the regulars. I would say they are a bit brighter than the regular bulbs, a noticeable difference, but nothing phenomenal. basically, glad I spent 35 and not 50 on them. worth it? maybe. just dont expect a huge change.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Originally posted by RichardPatrick:
<strong>Made a 1AM impulse buy last night at walmart and got the sylvania silverstar headlights for 34.97 like previously posted. tested them on a wall in front of my car, first the regular then the silverstars, and then drove the silverstars home. The light is whiter, not as yellow, the beam on the wall seemed to have a larger area than the regulars. I would say they are a bit brighter than the regular bulbs, a noticeable difference, but nothing phenomenal. basically, glad I spent 35 and not 50 on them. worth it? maybe. just dont expect a huge change.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Tahoma, Arial, Helv, Helvetica, Sans">Richard,

It could just be me, but that sure sounded like a rather luke-warm review of the SilverStars.

Was there really THAT little of a difference?

If so, then I might as well stick to my regular-old 9004s and save my money. --- I already have a set of aux. fogs, and a set of aux. driving lights too, so it's not exactly like I have to go around driving blind, as is.

If you would please, give `em a couple more night's of use and report back to us... I'd really like to know what you think of them after you've had a chance to try them in a few every day (every-night? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="images/icons/tongue.gif" /> ) real-world situations. - TIA

Cheers!
Smiley <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

Another informative link for your headlight edjumacation. Daniel Stern Lighting
Lots of good info.

HTH
Dave

early_cave,

funny you replied as such. As I pulled up to my barren, almost moved-out-of apartment last night, I noticed I did like the lights much better after a little more use. they are brighter than the regular sylv. 9004's i had in, though not a ton (not sure I can expect a whole lot more though). mainly, the whiter colored light and the larger beam area illuminate the immediate area in front of me much better, which is what I was wanting to improve in the first place (initial testing/comparing of lights was done in walmart parking lot against a wall some 50 or more feet away)
I put my lights on bright pulling into the complex and it illuminated most of my apartment building, i was actually impressed after playing around with them a little longer.
Dont be expecting HID quality lighting, but if you dont mind putting down 2x as much as regular lights I change my vote and say they are worth it.