I was about to buy the Silverstars at autozone today for ($30 after mail in rebates) when I saw the "cool blue" bulbs and I was wondering what they would look like? Just wondering if anyone could give me some feedback on these bulbs. I know that the silverstars are good bulbs but I was wondering if anyone has the phillips bulbs. Let me know what you guys think!
I recently installed a set of the GE Xenon lamps. The glass is a cutsy blue, but the output is pretty much indistinguishable from the regular Halogen lamps. If you seek the annoying blue HID-type output, this ain't it.
Either put up with the more than adequate factory halogens & add some of those trendy driving lights, or if your goal is to simply piss off opposing traffic, spend big & get the real HID setup.
If the intent is to p*** people off then go to a place that sells off-road lamps (atv, snowmobiles, dirt bike accessories place). Illegal for road use but man they are bright. Bought a 80/110w xeon bulb for my sled and they really brighten up the trails.
Thinking of getting off-road lamps for the fog lamps so they can be turned on or off as needed.
__________________
2001 Frontier SE 4x4 Crew Cab
Mostly stock but always looking for mods...
Please don't get the bright bulbs and then go out on the street blinding people. Can you say road rage?
Go to danielsternlighting.com to get some good informa-
tion on lighting. I called him to see if he had anything for my '05 Frontier. He said that the '05 is difficult to upgrade
and that he did not have anything to sell me that was any better than the stock bulbs.
He also said if I wanted to change bulbs to get the GE Nighthawk as it was better than the Silverstars. He does not sell either so I assume what he says is true.
Consumer Reports did a test on replacement bulbs on a
Chrysler Sebring, A Honda Ridgeline, and a Toyota Camry.
On distance the stock bulb was as good as any of the replacement bulbs in all but the Honda.
The Nighthawk outperformed the Silverstar in two of the
vehicles and was tied with it in the third one. The Night-
hawk was the best light on the Honda.
They did not test a Frontier so we can't be sure which bulb is best, but if I were going to do one it would definitely be the Nighthawk. I'll wait until I have a bulb failure to make a decision.
The replacement bulbs did have a whiter light which I like the looks of but it did not light the distance as well as the
more yellow light of the stock bulbs.
OkieScot
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snafu
If the intent is to p*** people off then go to a place that sells off-road lamps (atv, snowmobiles, dirt bike accessories place). Illegal for road use but man they are bright. Bought a 80/110w xeon bulb for my sled and they really brighten up the trails.
Thinking of getting off-road lamps for the fog lamps so they can be turned on or off as needed.
Ok so my intent is not to blind people, I was looking for an opinion on the Philips "Cool Blue" headlight bulbs. They ARE street legal so that is not a factor. I was also looking into the HID conversion kit but I researched it and the aftermarket ones not matter how much you pay the igniters always burn out which results in no light! So I figured that was out of the question so now I am considering the two bulbs in the original post! Please respond.... THANKS
Consumer Reports had an article on these aftermarket bulbs. Their opinion was that they weren't much better than the stock bulbs. They did rate the GE Nighthawks slightly better than the rest though. I have a set of Silverstars in my truck, and while the distance they shine probably isn't any better than the stock bulbs, the light itself is whiter, which helps me with my night vision, so I'm satisfied. I really don't know anythng about the cool blue bulbs though.
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I cannot remember where I saw it, but I read something that said the blue light range is not as good as the yellow. It my have been on Daniel Stern's website.
I like the look of the blue, but as you get older you need the best lighting you can get. That is why I have so far passed up the blue and white look although I like them both.
Do you suppose the manufacturers know what they are doing? The white or blue bulbs would not cost them much more if they were truly a better bulb. I can see where they would not put the HID's in anything but the more ex-
pensive vehicles, but the Nighthawks and Silverstars would not be that much more in the quantites they would buy.
OkieScot
Last edited by Gerald : Dec 27th, 2005 at 12:13 PM.
the phillips cool blue suck, they are not any brighter, and aren't really blue either. one of the problems with a higher wattage bulb like someone mention is they will burn out alot faster, and draw more current which creates more heat and might cuase problems down the road. If I'm not mistaken the bulb is 9007 so any aftermarket bulb that size should fit with no problems, i went ahead and bought a true HID kit when i got my truck and there is a huge difference, next time my brother comes home with his 05 fonty i'll try and get some night pictures next to each other to try and show the difference. there was plenty of room under the hood to mount the ballast right by each headlight, and the wiring harness i got was pretty much plug and play.
I cannot remember where I saw it, but I read something that said the blue light range is not as good as the yellow. It my have been on Daniel Stern's website.
I like the look of the blue, but as you get older you need the best lighting you can get. That is why I have so far passed up the blue and white look although I like them both.
Do you suppose the manufacturers know what they are doing? The white or blue bulbs would not cost them much more if they were truly a better bulb. I can see where they would not put the HID's in anything but the more ex-
pensive vehicles, but the Nighthawks and Silverstars would not be that much more in the quantites they would buy.
OkieScot
you are correct, the bluer the light gets the less bright it becomes. i have an HID setup in my truck, i went with the 6000k color, although the brightest is around 4-5000k. i wish manufactor's would put HID headlights in everything it really does make driving at night safer.
What HID kits did you guys buy? I just found out today that Philips also makes bulbs called "Diamond Vision" which are suppost to be blue. Thanks for the input!!
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