I need to replace my headlight bulbs and usually use SilverStar, but got tired of how they’d burn out within a year or so.

I’m just using stock now, but they are terrible and combined with my headlight covers going cloudy again, the light output is pretty dismal.

I plan to polish and clear coat the covers again and want to put in something with decent light output that’s reasonably priced.

Does a SilverStar alternative brand exist?

I went with LED headlight bulbs in mine. They put a lot of light out and have worked fine for the year that I’ve had them, so far. These are the brand I have: https://www.amazon.com/Cougar-...motor+led+headlights

Just make sure you buy the right number for your vehicle.

I’ve had good experiences with Osram Night Breakers...you can get them on Amazon.

My new bimmer has xenon bulbs, and the lights move with the steering wheel...I’ve never been happier.

Used Silverstar bulbs for a while on my truck. Too many deer to use regular bulbs.

A few years later, I bought the headlights off of an Infinity Q-45 at a junkyard and got them to work in about 3 weeks.

HID projectors are where it is at. Getting the shutters to work properly and then needing a CANBUS harness in the middle of it is probably not for the beginner.

On the plus side, with these and the fog lights, my truck is rated with an output of ~13,000 lumens.

Very interested now that it's dark to dark work schedule time. I've got new housings and bulbs in the Nissan Xterra, but they are not that great. My Toyota with the fogged lenses has better light output.

It didn't help that I drove the wife's Subaru the other day, it has nice lights!

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
I went with LED headlight bulbs in mine. They put a lot of light out and have worked fine for the year that I’ve had them, so far. These are the brand I have: https://www.amazon.com/Cougar-...motor+led+headlights

Just make sure you buy the right number for your vehicle.

Please don't do this in reflector housings. All you are doing is blinding oncoming traffic. If you have projectors it's not near as bad.

Philips X-treme vision Halogen +100 or +130 on Amazon. Fantastic regular halogen bulbs. I would avoid LED for sure.

x2 on the Philips X-treme Vision. I get a couple years out of them, running the headlights any time I drive, day or night. About equal output to the Silver Stars.

installed silver star ultras in my Accord 3 yrs ago and they are working very well

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
I went with LED headlight bulbs in mine. They put a lot of light out and have worked fine for the year that I’ve had them, so far. These are the brand I have: https://www.amazon.com/Cougar-...motor+led+headlights

Just make sure you buy the right number for your vehicle.

Please don't do this in reflector housings. All you are doing is blinding oncoming traffic. If you have projectors it's not near as bad.

+1 !

Just bought another set of silverstars for my daughter's car ('08 Buick). They last about a year but it's better for her. If you switch to LEDs, another +1 to make sure it's got some kind of projector in your headlight assembly. It's gotta direct the beam. I was always an HID believer but my new BMW has LED headlights and taillights and it's amazing.

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
I went with LED headlight bulbs in mine. They put a lot of light out and have worked fine for the year that I’ve had them, so far. These are the brand I have: https://www.amazon.com/Cougar-...motor+led+headlights

Just make sure you buy the right number for your vehicle.

Have a friend who put similar in his truck, and might as well put floodlamps in.

Headlights are precision engineered to deliver light without blinding traffic. Unfortunitly, you cant change out to a completly diferant light source without changing the way they project light. Its getting extremly damgerouse. Im seeing people putting led lamps into 10-20 year old vehicles, and they blind you even in the day. There is no beam pattern.

I found this site interesting. Lots of ratings and reviews.

http://bulbfacts.com

The Philips Xtreme Vision did well. I’m thinking to try theses and replace on an annual schedule like I do my wiper blades.

quote:

Originally posted by Mountain Man:

Headlights are precision engineered to deliver light without blinding traffic. Unfortunately, you can't change out to a completly different light source without changing the way they project light.
Its getting extremely dangerous. I'm seeing people putting LED lamps into 10-20 year old vehicles, and they blind you even in the day. There is no beam pattern.

^^ THIS! ^^

Early lights were gas powered. Had to be lit with a match. Fancy lights had a flint striker.

Cadillac presented us with the first workable electric headlights. Corning and Osram came in to play later.

A few years down the road, the lights were dimmed by getting out and lowering the housing. Fancy rides had a lever to do this from inside the car.

Traditional dual beam lights were invented by Bilux in Germany about 80 years ago. All of them have the light source (filament) from one side of the bulb to the other.

HID bulbs have the light source from front to back. Think of it as an arc welder in an itty bitty vacuum tube.

LED lights are on the front only. Heat dissipation is huge with LEDs, not so much with any other light source.

It makes just as much sense to convert back to acetylene as anything else. They aren't interchangeable.

A year or 2? I would be lucky to get 3 months from mine. Every time. I went back to oem even if they are not as bright.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PASig:
I need to replace my headlight bulbs and usually use SilverStar, but got tired of how they’d burn out within a year or so.

quote:

Originally posted by SIG4EVA:

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
I went with LED headlight bulbs in mine. They put a lot of light out and have worked fine for the year that I’ve had them, so far. These are the brand I have: https://www.amazon.com/Cougar-...motor+led+headlights

Just make sure you buy the right number for your vehicle.

Please don't do this in reflector housings. All you are doing is blinding oncoming traffic. If you have projectors it's not near as bad.

I’ve never had a problem with mine. No one has even flashed their high beams at me. I think it depends on the vehicle. There are some out there that are terrible.

Silverstars are probably the worst bulbs out there in terms of throw and longevity. Here is a pro tip - if the bulb has a blue tint while still in the package it's not a good bulb.

Blue is used to filter white light into less then super bright. The bulbs always die an early death from being overdriven. I think the lifespan is about 150 - 200 hrs.

The Phillips Xtreme are about the brightest in the spectrum you can go while getting good life of around 500 hours. Factory bulbs are around 1,200 hours.

Silverstars put out a wall of light but they don't project as far as the Xtreme.

I put the Phillips Xtreme 100% in the Xterra. While I’m not sure it’s a 100% brighter, they are quite a bit brighter with a better spread and a little more white. Better than the Silver Stars I’ve used in the past.

I’m hoping for decent life, I always have my headlights on.