Best Replacement Headlights??

[Bwana]

I lost a low-beam in the Q yesterday so now I'm in the market for new bulbs.... Any input on what the best value is? I love HID's but don't have the time or $$'s to go about modding for them. I know PIAA and others offer some bulbs that supposedly get close to HID performance but I don't have any experience with them. Does anyone here have any thoughts to offer? Are these "ultra-white" specialty sorta bulbs worth the extra bucks and is their performance even close to HID lighting?

[HeavyDuty]

Most here seem to like the Sylvania Silver Stars, I haven't tried them, but will when I need a bulb.

I had HID's (the real headlamp assy & all) on my 98 F150. If I could only do one mod, those would have been it.

PIAA makes good bulbs too, IMHO. I've had them on several cars I've owned & haven't had one blow in 5-6 years, yet others have them blow all the time. If you do PIAA's go for the regular ones, not the Ultra HID or whatever they're called now, those are reaaal blue & might get you a ticket. The bulb should have a faint blue tint, not dark blue or yellowy-rainbow look.

[911/Q45]

I've had PIAA on my Q for 4 years, they work well and last too.

[Falkdesigns]

I've got the PIAA's that say, I don't have any idea, since it's all Japanese, but they have 50% up, and BMW on the box, supposed to give light similar to the new BMW's, which is kind of purple. Personally, I love them. They're brighter than stock, and I like the color. The high beam is pure white. I also got some bright white H3's for the fog lamps, so my light situation works well for me. The only downside to them is they cost a grip, like 75 bucks, but I got mine for much less than that.

[Bwana]

Falk,

What's the model #'s of the bulbs you're using? And where do you get them cheap?

[PoorManQ45]

I would suggest going to a junkyard and looking for a wreaked '02, '03 Nissan Maxima, or '03, '04 Altima. The Maximas' came standard with Xenon lightbulbs. They run about $1200 from Nissan, with the transformer. You could probably get them for under $100 at the junkyard.

I know that th light pattern would not be "correct", but I have seen a few cars with HID Xenon lights installed in them that did not have the proper pattern, and they were still at least 10x brighter than OEM.

[PoorManQ45]

Also, be careful when switching to HID or other lights that look like HID. There are people out there that will steal them from your car.

[AZhitman]

Silverstars.

No weird wattage issues (the Q's wiring is sensitive), just as bright as the PIAA's (although the marketing hype would have you believe otherwise), no problems in almost 3 years on my Q, and priced right (maxnix had posted a link to a mail-in rebate).

[maxnix]

Silverstars.

No weird wattage issues (the Q's wiring is sensitive), just as bright as the PIAA's (although the marketing hype would have you believe otherwise), no problems in almost 3 years on my Q, and priced right.

Tinted bulbs are dimmer as they filter the light. Silverstars are the whitest halogen bulbs.

My posted discount has expired, but there are frequently others.

[JoshIsSciFi]

I run PlasmaGlow Platinum's on my low and highs. BRIGHT lights, enough so that I get high-beamed all the time and have to show the people just how much brighter my high beams are than my low beams