Sylvania Silver Star headlights

[onosqv]

I have silverstars also (for a while at least - I like changing out the style every so often) on my 89 240sx. Very bright. Not white, but that's fine .

Anyway, one reason that bulbs blow out sometimes (other than the touching part), is that some ppl turn on their headlights before turning the ignition. I bought my gf & aunt a pair a sylvania's, the highest end I could find. Both of em blew w/in 3 months, I had replaced it because they're other one's blew up.

Found out, after some discussion on this board, that the problem was with them turning on their headlights b4 or as then turn the ignition. There is a voltage spike while the starter is cranking, and that can cause it to burst. Been half a year now, one w/ sylvania's and the other w/ el cheapo h4's - both haven't blown out. .

One advantage of using ebay h4's is they're so cheap, so even if you burn them out, another pair is maybe $10. And you save the environment by not replacing the whole casing. Plus you can get the nice white (think nicest color is 4900K).

[RBpoweredSileighty]

you can also use the plasma bulbs

[skydragoness]

I have silverstars also (for a while at least - I like changing out the style every so often) on my 89 240sx. Very bright. Not white, but that's fine .

I have silverstars also (for a while at least - I like changing out the style every so often) on my 89 240sx. Very bright. Not white, but that's fine .

I don't find them to be blue at all. I find them to be an intense white (that probably seems like blue since regular halogens give off a yellow aura on the perimeter of the beam)

The replacement lamps for S13's are H6054's I believe.

PIAA bulbs are overpriced and overrated. 55W=110W of lighting? Keep dreaming.

PIAA (among other brands like Hiper, Matrix and Eurolite) bulbs are tinted blue/purple, filtering out the rest of the light. therefore not 100% of the light is getting to the road.

Modified by KDashy at 2:25 PM 11/28/2004

Kdashy? What Piaa model bulbs have you used? The Piaa Platinums are pretty bluish and don't light up the road much better than regular halogen. I agree they're overpriced, but I think the Piaa Extreme's I used are 1x brighter than the Silverstars I use now, which is negligible really. It's probably because the H4's may have been Euro-spec, who knows for sure. And yes the Piaa's are tinted, but so are the Silverstars, and they both come show up as an instense white IMO.

However, has anyone ever used Hella bulbs? I have a set of their amber fog bulbs and they're INSANE. I'm thinking of getting euro-spec Hella H4's when my silverstars burnout (they probably will next year).

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

if you wanna see a comparison of standard vs Sylvania Silverstars, check this link fer pix

http://www.nicoclub.com/zerothread?id=92703

I've been driving around with one regular and one silverstar for 4 nights now. The sstars goes have a nicer/whiter look when viewed from outside. They do llook brighter but ultimately they are giving off less light than stock. THe stock halogen lit up objects further down the road. (Ieven checked the aiming for both)

When you have your highbeams on, you will see a difference.

I've ordered a pair of Osram Silverstars ($35 for a pair) which are the best Euro H4s around. 50% more light output seems like a good thing.

I'll be taking more pix of regulars vs Sylvania Silverstars vs Osram Silverstars.

THe Sylvanias have a blue tint to them that deminish light output while the Osram bulbs are clear glass with Xenon gas inside.

BTW, for those who don't know, Sylvania is owned by Osram.

[KDashy]

Yes I did have the Piaa Platinums and I didnt like them too much. Perhaps the PIAA Extreme's are better. Currently I'm using Sylvania Silverstars and they seem to work well, until I get HID's at least.

The Sylvania website says that the German-made Osram Silverstar bulbs from europe are the same as the Silverstar ones made in the US, but I've read online from various forums that there is a night and day difference between them (that the Osram are better).

So let us know MAXIMUS, and pics! gotta have pics.

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

I will definately post pix. Now will someone tell me how to remove my headlight assemly. There is very little space to change the bulbs and my huge hands are getting eaten up.

[KDashy]

For my car I had to unscrew my headlights and take them off...

[Neejay]

I will definately post pix. Now will someone tell me how to remove my headlight assemly. There is very little space to change the bulbs and my huge hands are getting eaten up.

Yeah, dont forget to post pics.

So far the SSilverstars are much brigther/whiter...but since I got the ebay H4 headlights, there doesnt seem to be much of a "projection". Its more so directly in front of me and slightly on the sides (even after playing around with the aiming). Ive had a couple of people flash me thinking I had my brights on. lol

I need H.I.D....or I wish projectors were available.

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

For my car I had to unscrew my headlights and take them off...

The thing is I do not know how many screws there are and where they are located. Do i have to remove the front bumper? And if so, how do I go about removing it? Man the civic was so much easier to dismantle. maybe 'cause it was built like a jigsaw puzzle

[KDashy]

lol no you shouldn't have to take your bumper off, there should be a few screws holding the plastic headlight brackets to other parts of the car.

All I had to do was take off my grille and unscrew my headlight.

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

All I had to do was take off my grille.....

Ok, I tried that last time. There were 2 screws I could access from the top but hte grille seemed like it was being held by 2 more from the bottom (inside the bumper)

BTW, what the hell are you doing up this ungodly hour? !!!

[skydragoness]

Simple, he lives in a different time zone! :P

So supposedly OSRAM silverstars cannot be beat? I'll have to give them a look-see.

Honestly, as far as things go HID is the shiznite, and prices for kits aren't as high as they used to be, that's not including the crappy ricer kits.

[Thrwnsprkz]

I will definately post pix. Now will someone tell me how to remove my headlight assemly. There is very little space to change the bulbs and my huge hands are getting eaten up.

its tricky, I went numerous frustrated hours trying to get mine out... you gotta unscrew most of all the visual screws you see behind and on top of the light brackets this will make the headlight loose but not release it, then unscrew the screw holding the corner lamp to the headlight. the corner lamp should appear to have one screw still in it but accually its just wedged in with a ball joint, you REALLY have to yank on it outwards to get the corner light out. (thats the part i never got) finnally their should be two screws behind the cornerlight. unscrew and the headlight shoul pop right out.

[Eddie]

Bulbs are a pain to change in the Zenki s14. I currently have the sylvania silverstars and they are really good. Before the silverstars I went through 2 pairs of raybrig bulbs in less than a year. That was really frustrated since I could not buy them individually and they cost $100 a pair. On top of that they weren't DOT approved. I would say that the silverstars are equally as bright and cost less than half the price.

[skydragoness]

Bulbs are a pain to change in the Zenki s14. I currently have the sylvania silverstars and they are really good. Before the silverstars I went through 2 pairs of raybrig bulbs in less than a year. That was really frustrated since I could not buy them individually and they cost $100 a pair. On top of that they weren't DOT approved. I would say that the silverstars are equally as bright and cost less than half the price.

How were the Raybrigs? I really love their fog light kits, they're uber hot, and i'm thinking of taking the fogs out of the pockets underneath my turn signals (see sig) and putting some squarish ones in the center (i don't want to, but it's a more solid mounting spot).

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

they cost $100 a pair. On top of that they weren't DOT approved.

Damn.! 100 clams a pair? Those things beter come with a solar flar installed to cost that much. Were they far superior to the Sylvania Silverstars?Man so many screws, so little time before night falls.

[SILVER97LE]

are you guys serious about the light bulbs being hard to get out? Not sure the difference on 95-96 models, but my '97 is easy. I have a regular injen intake, so the driver's side requires no removal of parts. The passenger side does require that the battery be taken out, but that takes like 5 minutes max. after that it is just like any other car.

[HashiriyaS14]

Raybrig products = teh pwn

I had one blue dome light bulb and it sucked, produced almost no light at all. Then I got a Raybrig bulb and it was like a nuke had gone off in my dome light enclosure, a really badass blue nuke, bathing the entire interior in cool blue JDM tyte o\/\/n4g3.........ph34r........

[skydragoness]

Raybrig products = teh pwn

I had one blue dome light bulb and it sucked, produced almost no light at all. Then I got a Raybrig bulb and it was like a nuke had gone off in my dome light enclosure, a really badass blue nuke, bathing the entire interior in cool blue JDM tyte o\/\/n4g3.........ph34r........

ROFL!!

okay. so the raybrig fog lights probably will shine thru walls like that episode of the Simpsons when Marge gets the 'Canyonero' suv.

[UncleBen]

Without reading this entire thread, my Silverstars are amazing. At least once everytime I drive at night I have someone flash me their brights thinking mine are on; wrong. I then flash them mine and give them a little kick in the balls, heh. I recomend them, the headlights on a s14 are bright in the first place but those silverstars are even brighter. Awesomeness.

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

OK, so I installed teh OSRAM silverstars today. Holy freaking jebus these things are bright! They do not have the blue tint the Sylvania Silverstars have but they do give out more light. If only they had a blue tint.. (the ricer in me yearns for the "look of hid")

I'll post picks soon as I upload em.I also installed a set of Air horns. Nice improvement over the stock horns.

[WeldingHank]

your last post is worthless without pics!

[KDashy]

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

your last post is worthless without pics!

Good lord, can't a guy go watch a movie and come back?

Anyway, here they are. anyone know how to take better pictures at night?

Sylvania - Regular Halogen

Sylvania - Osram 1

Sylvania - Osram 2

Low beam

High beam

Here is a little movie I made with my crappy digi cam. These pics really do not do the lights justice. They have to be seen with the appreciate them.

Dammit. not enough disc space for the 10.5mb video file. Anyone know where i can upload it?

I also installed a pair of Air horns today. Very nice.


Modified by MAXIMUS Nismo at 2:08 AM 12/12/2004

[phuphyter]

I'm planning on buying the Osram Silverstars too. I just have a quick question about headlight housing brands because I'm gonna do the e-code H4 conversion. Which one is better?: Bosch or Hella. I'm sure they both perform well, but has anyone had any experience with either?

[WeldingHank]

H4 conversions seem to get mixed reactions. some people rave about them, some people say they are going back to sealed beam. Bosch and Hella seem to be the 2 better conversions you can get. i have also heard good things about Autopal.

[phuphyter]

I just want an improvement over the stock lighting I have right now. I'll look into Autopal too. Thanks

I don't know how true this is, but I read on some website (I forgot which site) that headlight manufacturers usually spend less on a sealed beam's lens and/or housing design to keep costs and prices down. That way they can sell both the sealed beam version and the bulbs at the same price, as in the case of the Silverstars. So either you're getting overcharged for the bulbs, or you are getting an inferior designed sealed beam if (and thats a big if) that statement is true. Even if it was true though, I think the differences would be imperceptible to the average person.

[brisknfade]

since evreyone is pitching in... My silvarstars are great. Just put them in 2 days ago, and they are way brighter then my old bulbs which sucked. The first night i had them in, my freind drove in front of me and i drove next to a Lexus SUV with real HID's in them. My freind said they looked remarkebly similar minus the purpilish tint that HID's have.

When i turn on the Highbeams...GOD DAMN! I see EVREYTHING. It's great. So yea, they are good headlight bulbs, atleast compared to my old ones, which i think were some regular sylvania's anyways.

And i have to ask the other Zenki 14 owners. What's the purpose of that little aluminum cover inside the headlight? Is it just to block out some of the light. Its not really all that reflective, so do you think it would be ok to just hack it off and try and make the already bright lights brighter? Maybe aim them a little more towards the floor if they are too bright.

[WeldingHank]

i love my silverstars, but one of them just went out on me. only lasted about 6 months. i think i am going to try an Autopal H4 conversion, with some Raybrig bulbs.

[brisknfade]

One thing that bugged me about the silverstars is how they made the sidemarkers look even more like crap then they already are. The headlights being a blueish white and the sidemarkers being an ugly yelllow. Well, today while at a "speed shop" checkin on some prices for some Falkens. I came across some of those Polarg bulbs imported from japan. The 194's that fit in the guages, sidemarkers, liscense plate light and pretty much everywhere else. Bought a pair for 8 bucks and put them in the sidemarkers in the parking lot.

I got to say, woah! Those suckers make the silverstars look yellow again. Ha. I guess the yellow sidemarkers made the headlights look whiter then they were. But yea. Ill take some pics. It makes the car look wayyyy different. Bought another pair for my guages too, and they look great. Blueish bright white. Almost H.I.D. looking.