Sylvania silver star bulbs . . . and other bulbs

[Russ Maki]

Great info! I would say from personal esperience that Osram Silverstars seem
particularly effective on high beam; jbrams doesn't specify which h4 beams
he's comparing. I think I may order up a set of Vision Plus bulbs just to
see how they compete. Update to come...

I'd expand upon jbrams' web site reference to say that Daniel Stern is a
highly reliable source for automotive lighting components. I got some h4
headlight bulb sockets with spring-loaded connectors from him that are a
headlight harness fabricator's dream. He really knows his stuff.

Russ Maki
Ixonia, Wis.
(200-lb whitetail country)

> From: JordanVw at aol.com
> Subject: RE: Sylvania silver star bulbs . . . and other bulbs
> To: quattro at audifans.com
> Message-ID: <d2.cfe27de.2ddbf1b4 at aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> 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