Disappointed In Downgrade

[achr]

Shortly after purchasing my Versa, I installed Silverstar headlamps and have been favourbly impressed with the improvement in lighting. So I decided to give the Silverstar Ultra's a shot. The two lamps looked virtually identical including the tint color of the envelope and the only difference I could visually detect was the paint color on the tip of the bulb. The Silverstar has silver paint and the Ultra has gold paint on the tip. As near as I could determine, the placement of the elements inside the bulb were identical so I'm not sure where Sylvannia gets off stating that they throw a longer and wider beam pattern. In my mind, the only way to accomplish such a feat would be a repositioning of the element relative to the reflector of the headlamp assembly.

So much for observations of the lamps. The proof would be in the test drive. In short, the Ultras are NOT as good as the plain Jane Silverstars IMHO. They're just not as bright or as white in color temperature. My suspicion is that the temperature of the elements in the Ultras has been reduced, either through a resistance change for the elements or an alteration to the gas inside the envelope. Sylvannia is claiming a longer life for this lamp than the plain Silverstar's and a sure way to accomplish this is to reduce temperatures.

Interestingly, the Silverstars that I removed both had blisters on the envelope (one quite severe) and the interiors of each bulb were blackened along one side. Those bulbs were only 9 months old with approximately 9,000 miles on them. I'm actually surprised the one hadn't melted right through already. I was EXTREMELY careful to avoid touching the glass envelope with my hands or anything else when installing them 9 months ago. Yet in spite of these obvious deteriorations, they still cast a better light on the road than the new Silverstar Ultras. Interestingly, I've had an H4 Silverstar (same lamp as used in the Versa) installed in my motorcycle for 4 years and over 20,000 miles and it shows no evidence of deterioration or blackening.

It sure would be nice to have some TRUTH in advertising for a change. It appears the only thing higher about the Silverstar Ultras is the price! I'm REALLY feeling ripped off right now.

[Rockhound]

Your observations are interesting. I gave up after the third pair of Silverstar's (non-Ultras) gave out. The first two pairs only lasted 6 months or so.

You're probably spot-on about Sylvania's desire to extend the life of the bulbs...despite some instances of longevity (like the bulb in your bike), it would seem that a large percentage of Silverstar's fail relatively fast (say, a year or less). Sylvania probably wouldn't have tweaked the bulbs to create the 'Ultras' (and claimed longer life) had the Silverstar's not had longevity issues.

I wonder how long the average 'Ultra' will last, however. Some diminished output would be fine by me if the average bulb could have at least a two-year life. I'm fine with spending $40 per pair of good bulbs, but not once a year (or twice, in my case).

[MinisterofDOOM]

Regarding longevity, I've used at least 2 pairs of each (3 or 4 sets of Silverstars and 2 sets of Ultras) in the same car over the years.

The standard Silverstars tend to last from 6-9 months, similar to Rockhound's experience.The Ultras have been much better in this regard. My first pair of ultras just died (the first a few weeks ago, then the second yesterday) after about 13 months.(It's worth noting that probably 95% of my driving is done at night, so I tend to use my headlights more than most.)

I find that the Ultras provide better illumination than the standard Silverstars. The area that is lit is larger, and the light noticably whiter. When the first of my Ultras burned out a couple weeks ago, I put in a single spare standard Silverstar on that side until the other Ultra died. The difference was very noticable both inside the car and out. The Ultra's light is much cleaner, slightly blueish white, while the standard Silverstar looked yellow in comparison (both when looking at the headlights and when viewing the road being lit by them). The standard also illuminated less far ahead and in a narrower field than the Ultra it was paired with or the Ultra that replaced it (no adjustment to the headlight between lamps).

I suspect that a lot of this is likely to vary according individual car's headlight and reflector setups, though.