I would like to have brighter/whiter, but not blue, headlights in my 2006 Limited Coupe. I have seen in some sig files where individuals have Sylvania SilverStar Ultra H7 in both their bight and dim lights. Unless it is my imagination I have also read in this forum something about not putting them in both the bight and dim. I live in a rural area where the deer are abundant so I drive with my brights on a lot (not much traffic in SE Iowa) and I simply want to know if the Sylvania SilverStar H7 lights in both the bright and dim would be the way for me to go.

Sure hope this post does not cause the dispute that my vanity plates did.

 

Have SiverStars in the Low beams, just feel the stock high beams are enough. If I was going to replace would either be with 100W or HID.

ps I have SiverStars in everything.

 

One of the first things I did with my XF when I got her. Two sets of H-7 SS Ultra's. Super bright, and have yet to replace any of them. I keep hearing about SS not lasting long, same with SS Ultra's (they even have something about that on the rear card of the twin packs). I think it may be simply (DO NOT) let your fingers or anything touch the glass lamp module as you install them. They generate so much heat, hot spots develop. Hot spots on high power bulbs can severely limit its lifespan. When I bought my 01 Ranger (edge) truck back on 03 I put a set of them SS Ultra's in it. They are still performing SUPER. I even had to replace both headlight assemblies once, but not the SS Ultra's. I love em, and have em in all my vehicles.

 

The glass can shatter on HID bulbs if they get touched, never heard that happening on regular tungsten bulbs. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

 

Silver Stars are not that bright about 1300-1400 lumens, nothing spectacular. There are several brands that go as high as 2100 lumens and state for off road use only! I replaced my Highs with them, it looks like daytime, they are OSRAM brand. I have never been stopped for them.

 

I agree . . . I spent the bucks for Sylvania Silver Star bulbs (installed on the SRT6 coupe I refurbished) and was very disappointed. You really need to install an HID system to get any decent lighting from the Crossfire headlights.

 

I tried Silver Star Ultras and I was disappointed with them, frankly I could not see much difference. I may have one in right now.
SparkieSRT6 used the 100W bulbs and liked them, I have some and have yet to put them in as I thought they might damage the headlight lens. Sparkie said they were just fine.
I did try HID lows at one time and I did not like them too much either for some reason.
Should say 65w bulbs.

 

I've never had a filament bulb shatter unless dropped or sprayed with a cool liquid. The failures I am talking about with 'hot spots' on these types of bulbs, is limited to focused extreme internal heat buildup, leading to accelerated bulb burnout. The references about the SS bulbs failing were all about premature burnout of the filaments. You are correct in both statements above about HID shattering and filament bulbs NOT shattering during failure (except) when something causes it externally.




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I have seen many 'ratings' of power output on auto bulbs, especially sourced from a third world supplier. They sometimes screw up and list wattage and current draw to placate people into buying them. When they do, I laugh because it is easy to 'do the math' and see their claims are a bunch of BS. If they are using shorter strands of filament and drawing higher current, then that would explain the higher wattage load. The light produced in lumens and color temperature plus the voltage and current drawn (also) depends on the filament used and the gasses within. Osram bulbs (if not knockoffs) can be counted on for current/voltage/lumens/color temperature. If using a higher wattage bulb (for the voltages available, remember the lamp bus varies some), then you must be sure through diligence, that the wiring/fusing is adequate for the load being put on it. If not then the weakest link will be easily found. Sometimes, that is the base of the bulb or the housing it is installed in. The seller doesn't care if you melt your stuff or if you get a ticket. You haven't gotten a ticket yet because (we both know) your supposed to 'dim' you high beams when approaching others.









Having one in with another type of bulb must look interesting to oncoming traffic. I tend to try to balance the look others see when approaching me in traffic. I do not think I would ever use 100 watt lamps in my car, for the reasons you indicate (possible damage of housing). Having them as 'high' beams might be OK for a short period of time (on too long they may overheat), I don't drive with high beams just use them for a brief time to clarify or enhance (well, yes I do use them as revenge for people who do not turn theirs down when approaching me but that's another story for some other post right?). I would say (because I have excellent field of view with my regular headlights aimed as they are) that maybe some folks have their headlights aimed incorrectly. I also see that a lot with oncoming traffic. A hint to all who try adjusting their headlight aim. Have a full tank of fuel, and your normal travelling load in the vehicle. I cannot tell you how often people align theirs (or try to they never seem to get them even close according to the mess I see when they approach in traffic) and then stuff all sorts of stuff in the car/bed and they go down the road with their headlights above the horizon. Those guys actually look better with their high beams on because they aim much higher by design and do not blind as much. The real fun part of night driving lately, is seeing all the odd colors of headlights coming at me lately. Jeeze, gone are the days of yellow, white lamps. Now there is yellow, blue, purple, white, in various degrees of intensity. Poor cops have a time with the ordinances there unless they like handing out tickets to supply them with new cruisers every couple of years.










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Okay, I ordered two sets of Sylvania SilverStar Ultra H7 bulbs so now how do I put them in. I have been searching and reading the posts on this forum concerning installation and have found confusing and conflicting procedures. So in 25 words or less (or thereabouts), how do I change them?

 

easy/hard way : remove the headlight assemblies and you can see what you are doing.
hard/easy way : use a mirror and manipulate the retainer clips with the headlights still in the car. ( not too bad on the drivers side, a real bi*ch on the passenger side )

 

I tried the SilverStars for awhile but was disappointed with the light output. They eventually burned out after 2 months (what a joke) and upgraded to HID.

I bought a cheap HID from eBay which last about 2 months as well. Finally ditched all the crap and educated myself on HIDs. Heres my cliff notes:

1. Get AC ballasts over DC ballasts. If they're cheap, under $50, they're probably DC. If they don't say which they are in the description, they're DC. AC ballasts last longer and have better output.
2. Get 5000k for pure white and no ricer blue look
3. Get 35w ballasts as the 55w dont last as long and get really hot (potentially burn/melt plastic)

I bought mine from Alpha HID, their website is HID Headlights, Projectors, Bulbs and Xenon Kits I think I paid $79. Much higher quality than the plastic ebay kit I bought. just my .02

 

I believe what JEFASOLD is referring to are the Osram Rallye 65w H7's that list output at 2100 lumens. I have had these bulbs in my highs and lows for almost 2 years and no issues with bulbs, lenses or wiring. Color temp is listed at 3200k. no hint of blue just brighter light. I have been very happy with them, to me they are bright enough, and brighter than any other "upgraded" bulb I have used.

You will get many differing opinions on this subject, you just have to pick where you want to spend your $$ and how much you want to spend. I have seen HID setups I like but in the end I wanted a little more light without reinventing the wheel so to speak, and for me the Osram Rallyes did the trick without defeating the light out indicator's purpose or having to live with it on all the time.

Good Luck!

 

When I did mine, I took out the facia and then headlight assemblies. My suggestion to you is 'Very Carefully', and DO NOT TOUCH THE GLASS BULBS.




27 words (not counting these). LOL






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[QUOTE=Thornh;838213]I believe what JEFASOLD is referring to are the Osram Rallye 65w H7's that list output at 2100 lumens. I have had these bulbs in my highs and lows for almost 2 years and no issues with bulbs, lenses or wiring. Color temp is listed at 3200k. no hint of blue just brighter light. I have been very happy with them, to me they are bright enough, and brighter than any other "upgraded" bulb I have used.

You are correct that is exactly what I have and no issues so far. Another reason that I have not had any problems is that I live in a rural area, traffic is light and I do not drive at night a lot. But when I do, I can see.

 

Several posters said they were disappointed with the Sylvania premium bulbs. I also tried them on another car and was not impressed, so I stopped buying them. I remembered reading recently there was a lawsuit relating to the misrepresentations to the performance. I did a quick google search and found this:


https://autolightclaims.com/mainpage/Notice.aspx


It says a proposed 30 million settlement has been reached with Osram Sylvania.

 

I put in a pair of SS Ultra H7s in my roadster and the driver side seems brighter and extends quite a distance. The passenger seems to be pointing down at the road, maybe 15-20 feet in front of the car. I have re-installed twice with no better luck. What am I doing wrong or could I have a defective bulb?


BTW, I have three Audis with Xenon lows and HID high beams. I wish I could get the HID bulbs from my A6 for my Crossies. They light up gobs of road. Now you have me thinking about changing over to Audi oem H7s. Anyone ever try Nokya bulbs (I think they are Korean)?

 

The glow from each headlight seems different no matter the bulb, as each headlight is focused on a different spot on the road. The drivers side points down the road and the passenger side points more to the curb. Coming towards the car this should be noticeable more with our type of headlight as the beam is more concentrated.

 

Thanks for the quick response. Not sure I explained it well. My SRT6, with oem headlights, whether on low or high beam, they seem to stetch down the road together with the passenger aimed a little more to the side of the road. There is convergence several hundred feet down the road.


The roadster, with the newer SS Ultras, is different. The driver side still stretches down the road. The passenger is hitting the ground 15-20 feet in front of the car. A bight spot, like a spotlight aimed at the ground. There is no light down the road. When I line them up on the garage door at night, the driver blazes straight ahead while the passenger is way lower.


I have re-installed twice. I believe I have the tabs right, but I did not want to take the drive side off and risk screwing that up. Does anyone recall whether they go in tab down or tab up. Right now it feels seated and there is no movement. I guess my next step is to replace the passenger side with my spare oem bulb to determine if there is something wrong with the SS bulb. My mini-project for tomorrow night.

 

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Huh? Not sure what your saying or how your post got all messed up like it did with a lot of my comments in it. Can you try again?