Honda Car Forum

Hello;

Please see my previous post, and several answers, regarding
2004 Accord headlight illumination concern question.

Saw some posts where others have gone to "Silverstars".

My questions are:

a. anyone here make the swap, and is worth doing ?

b. are they the same electrical wattage as what's in there now ?

c. any warranty implications ?

d. life the same as the OEM bulbs ?

Any other thoughts would be most appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

> a. anyone here make the swap, and is worth doing ?

Done the swap from stock 9003 to Sylvania 9003 SilverStar and did see
some improvement. For me it was worth it.

> b. are they the same electrical wattage as what's in there now ?

Yes, they are the same wattage but somewhat more efficient.

> c. any warranty implications ?

None whatsoever

> d. life the same as the OEM bulbs ?

Don't know, my annual headlight expenditures ar low enough that I don't
care.

> Any other thoughts would be most appreciated.

I use 9003 bulbs, I do not know what you use. Osram SilverStar H4 bulbs
are brighter than the Sylvania SilverStar 9003 bulb and the two are
otherwise interchangeable. H4 bulbs are not DOT compliant.
http://www.suvlights.com sells both kinds.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob

I do not know about these specific lights but I can comment on the "cool
blue" lights that are mady by Sylvania I think. They can be up to twice as
much and the burn out rate was more than twice as fast as the stock bulbs so
the stock bulbs were less than a quarter of the cost of the cool blues. I
no longer buy any bulbs other than the less inexpensive stock bulbs and I
make sure my lights are adjusted correctly.

I do doubt however that the bulbs are brighter than stock because there is a
federal law that limits the light output of headlights. Of course this
doesn't apply to high wattage bulbs that usually state on them "for offroad
use only." It isn't like the cops would know what kind of bulbs you had.

My two cents.

CaptainKrunch


"Robert11" <rgsxrose@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:YPOdnYk5jdJta2SiRVn-tA@comcast.com...
> Hello;
>
> Please see my previous post, and several answers, regarding
> 2004 Accord headlight illumination concern question.
>
> Saw some posts where others have gone to "Silverstars".
>
> My questions are:
>
> a. anyone here make the swap, and is worth doing ?
>
> b. are they the same electrical wattage as what's in there now ?
>
> c. any warranty implications ?
>
> d. life the same as the OEM bulbs ?
>
> Any other thoughts would be most appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
>

I suggest you check out this site.
I found it "enlightening". (I know...bad one)

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/

Frank

Robert11 wrote:
> Hello;
>
> Please see my previous post, and several answers, regarding
> 2004 Accord headlight illumination concern question.
>
> Saw some posts where others have gone to "Silverstars".
>
> My questions are:
>
> a. anyone here make the swap, and is worth doing ?
>
> b. are they the same electrical wattage as what's in there now ?
>
> c. any warranty implications ?
>
> d. life the same as the OEM bulbs ?
>
> Any other thoughts would be most appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
>

Funny how things work out sometimes....I just replaced my PIAA lights with
the Silverstar bulbs (one PIAA was DOA & I couldn't find a replacement so I
switched both bulbs).

Now keep in mind that this was done on my 98 Accord....and I only did the
low beams.

Between the OEM bulbs and the Silverstar...the Silverstar bulbs give off a
MUCH more WHITE light. VERY noticeable when you put them side by side (OK I
was bored). The PIAA -vs- the SIlverstar...almost the same color. Both
very nice.

I perfer the light that is the most like daylight (the Silverstar are 4000K
and that's about as bright as DOT -approved lights can be folks).

Not sure what else to say... other than I bought mine at Auto Zone for $20
each and had MIR forms for another $5 off a pair.

Scott Wallace

"Robert11" <rgsxrose@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:YPOdnYk5jdJta2SiRVn-tA@comcast.com...
> Hello;
>
> Please see my previous post, and several answers, regarding
> 2004 Accord headlight illumination concern question.
>
> Saw some posts where others have gone to "Silverstars".
>
> My questions are:
>
> a. anyone here make the swap, and is worth doing ?
>
> b. are they the same electrical wattage as what's in there now ?
>
> c. any warranty implications ?
>
> d. life the same as the OEM bulbs ?
>
> Any other thoughts would be most appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> Bob
>

"Robert11" <rgsxrose@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:YPOdnYk5jdJta2SiRVn-tA@comcast.com...
> Hello;
>
> Please see my previous post, and several answers, regarding
> 2004 Accord headlight illumination concern question.
>
> Saw some posts where others have gone to "Silverstars".
>
> My questions are:
>
> a. anyone here make the swap, and is worth doing ?

Yep, just did it. 91 Accord. Very happy.

>
> b. are they the same electrical wattage as what's in there now ?

yes.

> c. any warranty implications ?

No

> d. life the same as the OEM bulbs ?
Dunno.

> Any other thoughts would be most appreciated.

Would have prefered to get the untinted Osram Silverstars, but I really
don't want to have to special order or mail order light bulbs. Sylvanias are
available at Canadian Tire. $24CDN a bulb.

> there is a
> federal law that limits the light output of headlights.

Which is probably why, in the US, Sylvania (which is the same company as
Osram) is selling SilverStar with 30% more light than stock and not the
European SilverStars which give off 50% more light than stock.

I would like to see how they are measuring light and what loophole they are
jumping through. Is it total lumens or lumens at a given distance or is it
temperature or what? Perhaps they are able to get more light from the same
wattage bulbs and they are following the wattage laws.

CaptainKrunch


"Randolph" <trash@junkmail.com> wrote in message
news:3FFA4F9C.654F87D@junkmail.com...
> > there is a
> > federal law that limits the light output of headlights.
>
> Which is probably why, in the US, Sylvania (which is the same company as
> Osram) is selling SilverStar with 30% more light than stock and not the
> European SilverStars which give off 50% more light than stock.

The light appear brighter because the bulbs are coated blue. This filters
out the blue light and makes the light appear whiter as opposed to the sort
of yellowish tint of normal hallogens. They have the same lumen count as
the factory bulbs though. Both emit 1000 lumens for the low beams (2003
Accord, older models' bulbs may vary). Even though they aren't really
brighter from a lumen stand point, I still like the Silverstars in my car
because of the whiter light. I find it easier on the eyes at night.

"CaptainKrunch" <nothing@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:xMKdnRpuwdGxr2aiRVn-gw@comcast.com...
> I would like to see how they are measuring light and what loophole they
are
> jumping through. Is it total lumens or lumens at a given distance or is
it
> temperature or what? Perhaps they are able to get more light from the
same
> wattage bulbs and they are following the wattage laws.
>
> CaptainKrunch
>
>
> "Randolph" <trash@junkmail.com> wrote in message
> news:3FFA4F9C.654F87D@junkmail.com...
> > > there is a
> > > federal law that limits the light output of headlights.
> >
> > Which is probably why, in the US, Sylvania (which is the same company as
> > Osram) is selling SilverStar with 30% more light than stock and not the
> > European SilverStars which give off 50% more light than stock.
>
>

CaptainKrunch wrote:
>
> I would like to see how they are measuring light and what loophole they are
> jumping through. Is it total lumens or lumens at a given distance or is it
> temperature or what? Perhaps they are able to get more light from the same
> wattage bulbs and they are following the wattage laws.

Me too, so I contacted Sylvania, asking about the differences between
standard, XtraVision, CoolBlue and SilverStar. This is what they
replied:

"The XtraVision is a brighter product in terms of lumen output. The
increase in output on the XtraVision is by gaining a wider beam pattern
for better peripheral vision. The Cool Blue is a slightly higher color
temperature than the standard version, which gives it a whiter
appearance. A standard product is 3200 degrees Kelvin and Cool Blue is
at 3500
degrees Kelvin. The higher the color temperature the whiter the light
will be. The SilverStar has a color temperature of 4000 degrees Kelvin
and as I mentioned in the previous email, SilverStar also has the
redesigned filament and gas mixture to maintain a fuller beam pattern.
Down
road distance on all these products are the same. The difference is in
how intense the light output will be and the color of the light output."