Sylvania silver star bulbs . . . and other bulbs

[JordanVw at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/16/04 3:51:06 PM Eastern Daylight Time, jbrams at yahoo.com 
writes:


> 
> I've looked into this for a while and although the reports of bulb 
> quality/luminosity vary, the general impression I got was as follows in order of 
> quality (for halogen bulbs, this conversation excludes the option of HID systems 
> which are MUCH more costly):
> 
> First place: Philips VisionPlus. They are noticiblly brighter and provide 
> significantly more light even compared to other top contenders like the 
> SilverStar bulbs.  They are not marketed nearly as well, but the light output really 
> is greater, visibly brighter to the naked eye.  They are not too costly 
> either!  I got mine for $25 shipped, though usually they are closer to $40/pair 
> plus shipping.  
> 
> Second Place: Osram SilverStar and a possible tie with the Philips Premium 
> (some say the Osrams are better, the difference is nearly impossible to detect 
> without a lumen detector, like the kind used by photographers, in the real 
> world they look basically the same).  Bright bulbs compared to stock, very 
> noticible difference.  The Osram silverstar bulbs are NOT the same as the 
> Sylvanias!  Sylvania and Osram are the same company essentially, but the Sylvanias 
> (made for north america) are tinted blue and produce less light overall, the 
> Osrams are not tinted and produce slightly more light.  
> 
> Third place: Sylvania SilverStars.  They are significantly brighter than 
> stock bulbs, but they don't work miracles.  You will have increased light in the 
> range at which your lights are aimed, but this does not often translate into 
> dramatically increased range of sight.  These bulbs are tinted blue and like 
> all blue tinted bulbs this decreases the overall light output.
> 
> Fourth place: Philips Crystal Vision Extreme Blue/White - not as bright as 
> the philips visionplus bulbs because of the blue tint, probably VERY similar 
> to the sylvania silverstars, but not quite as bright according to some, same 
> according to others.  
> 
> Fifth place: Philips BlueVison, Osram/Sylvania Cool Blue, Osram/Sylvania 
> Halogen Plus, and OEM bulbs like GE. Generally, these are about as bright as 
> stock bulbs, they might be a bit brighter, especially if they were not tinted 
> blue.  Basically you get the blue tint and stock lighting levels, which are not 
> too shabby by most accounts.  I believe that Sylvania Xtra Vision blubs are 
> in this category, though perhaps a bit brighter than the "cool blues".
> 
> Bulbs to avoid: APC, eBay generics or "best from Japan!" or similar.  They 
> are bright, but rarely last very long and are not brighter than the Osram SS 
> or Philips VP.  Some people have good results, but they are not consistent or 
> long lasting generally.  Since you have to pay high shipping costs, usually 
> the savings is very small when considering the risk involved.
> 
> Caveat: The above list considers simply the quality of the bulbs and how 
> much white light they produce.  If you are seeking the "blue" effect, then I'd 
> go with Sylvania SilverStars or Philips Crystal Vision Extreme Blue; though 
> they produce slightly less light than the Osram SilverStars or the Philips 
> VisionPlus bulbs.  I also didn't include Hella Optilux or PIAA because they are 
> pretty expensive.  The Hellas are great quality and great light for just a bit 
> more money than the Osram Silverstars or Philips VP, but the light and 
> quality are about the same so the extra cost is probably not justified.  
> As for the PIAA bulbs, there some great information available here:
> http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/superwhite/superwhite.html
> 
> I hope this helps someone, it took me a while to gather all that info =)
> Jbrams
> 
>         
>