Blue/white "HID" Headlights: Silverstar, Coolblue,Bluevision

[This was supposed to be a reply to the thread about headlights bulbs which people were currently posting to. But since it became such a long reply and I digressed a bit, I figured it deserved a thread of its own ]

If you guys think Sylvania silver stars and all the rest of the suggestions above is good you should really check out Eurolights's bulb It is actually a lot better.

I really liked the HID "white/blue" coloured lights which I saw in expensive cars. Now I know there's no cheap way to get the same brightness and colour of HID lights. Those HID kits costs upwards of $700+. All I wanted was the brightest, whitest "normal" halogen bulb out there for my Integra.


Sylvania Cool Blue & Philips BlueVision:
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All this was a year and a half back. The first place I checked was Canadian tire, bought the Sylvania cool blue. And I went to Walmart and bought the Philips BlueVision. These two were <$15 if memory serves me right. Sylvania coolblue and Philips Bluevision was around the same pricepoint and I figured that I can afford to blow one or two of these bulbs in 1-2 years.


PIAA:
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I looked at the PIAA bulb too, but those were way too expensive ~$100. I read a lot of reviews on the net about the PIAA bulbs and I did'nt find very satisfactory reviews. Essentially the bottomline was that the burnout rate of the PIAA bulbs was nothing that spectacular (1-2 year or maybe even lesser) and the whiteness was there but nothing exciting. To me it was all about a combination of price and performance. I would pay that much only if it was REALLY good. Otherwise I might as well go for real HID Xenon kits. So I stayed away from PIAA bulbs.


Xenon bulb from Pacific mall:
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I tried the ~$20 pair xenon bulbs from Pacific Mall and I was not happy with the tint. It was too "blue". Now I know a lot of you guys out there are looking for exactly that, but that would get you a ticket. Two friends of mine got tickets for having blubs which are "too blue". Cop's arguement was that it was non standard and a safety hazard for other drivers. Anyways. These bulbs was not as bright as the Philps bulbs I was testing with. But of course there are lots of these "xenon" bulbs with Japanese labels out there, so your experience with these may be different.

The test I did was nothing fancy, I just shined the two different bulbs at the same time at my white garage door. On a side note, the Integras uses projector headlight casings using 9006/9005 headlights. The highbeam and lowbeams are seperate, making it a total of 4 bulbs. It brings out the best in bright headlights by focussing through lens, rather than the reflected scatter in most other cars. Anyways, I compared the Cool Blue, Bluevision and the "xenon" bulb from pacific mall. The Philips Blue vision was actually brighter than cool blue and the xenon. In terms of whiteness, the bluevision was whiter than cool blue and the xenon was blue instead of white.

The one I decided to keep was the Philips Bluevision. It was not as white and as bright as I wanted but it was the whitest of all the ones I tested. So I used these for about half a year and I came across these eurolights on the net. It was really not that much more expensive than the other ones. I read the stuff on the site and I decided to take a chance on these. It came in about 2-3 weeks. I was actually quite happy with the results. It was the whitest, brightest of all the others bulbs I tested. I mean its just white. Not pale yellow. And also, these guys cheated a bit by giving me a higher wattage bulb which made it brighter. The low beam headlights (type 9005) of Philips Blue Vision is 65 watts. The ones Eurolights sent me was 80 watts. But in any case, my car seemes to be happy with it and I've been using it for about a year now.

So for the past year I was using the low beam (9005) bulbs from Eurolights and the high beam (9006) from Philips Bluevision. Was pointless for me to waste my old bulbs and the 9006 was rarely used anyways. Its used as daytime running lights and high beams in the integra.

Anyways, just a few weeks ago, one of the eurolights was burnt for the first time. So I changed all the 4 headlight bulbs since eurolights was having a $10 off if I bought 2 pair of headlights. And also they are having a free shipping deal at the moment.

There is a drawback to their payment process though. I already had a paypal account so it was no problem for me. Checkout takes you to a paypal page. You can inquire them if there's any other way.

Anyways, I'd like to know if you came across a really good bulb and what you guys think about this.


P.S.
Sylvania Silverstar:
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I bought the new Sylvania Silverstar product recently from Canadian tire and I returned it. I think its crap. Thats because it costed about ~$20+ each if i remember correctly and it was not as white as Philip Blue vision Which is cheaper and whiter. The silver star is not even white. I was disappointed with the pale yellow. Definitely a ripoff at that price. I was so convinced by the picture at the back of the box and the fancy chart. It was still not as good as the Philips Blue Vision which came out over a year back. Try it out and you'll see what I mean. IMO, the cheaper Blue Vision is a better buy.


Links:

Sylvania Silverstar

Sylvania Coolblue

Philips Blue Vision

Eurolights Xenon charged Blue/white

odd the CTs i went to do not carry the Silver Stars, just the cheaper Cool Blues.

i searched high and low for the Silver Stars and finally found a pair at some out of the way car place. previous to them i had the PIAA bulbs. they lasted about 1.5 yrs - definately not a good value compared to standard bulbs.

the SS aren't bad. i think they're just as bright as the PIAAs (on paper they have nearly the same colour temperature).

those eurolights seem interesting but a quick scan didn't reveal any info with regards to being DOT compliant.

in the end none of those bulbs can match the brilliance of true HIDs. then again they're also a fraction of the cost

The SilverStars you can buy at Canadian Tire are the Sylvania ones, and they are not very good compared to the Osram Silverstar (which doesn't have the light robbing coating). The Osram ones are highly rated in many instrumented tests.

What is the difference between the Sylvania Silverstar and the Osram Silverstar?

Osram Sylvania is one and the same company, within the US they use both Osram and Sylvania, outside the US its Osram. The Osram Silverstar is a clear bulb with Xenon gas boost to increase brightness up to 50%. Color is similar to standard halogen though it is slightly whiter. The Sylvania Silverstar is the same bulb but with an amethyst blue coating with 30% more light than standard halogen and 4000K light color which is comparable to Xenon/High Intensity Discharge Light Systems as seen on high end cars from Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Porsche to name a few.

If you actually want a bulb that performs well, don't bother with the Sylvania version because it's obvious they designed it for looks by adding that coating to look like HID. Any coating is going to rob the bulb of performance. If you like the look of HID, you're probably just as well to use the cheaper Cool Blues, or the Philips Bluevision at half the price.

And they aren't cheap either, at Canadian Tire the Silverstars were $22 to $29 depending on the size. Seems like a lot of money to pay for a bulb when you can buy a Philips Vision Plus that works just as well for half the cost.

Also keep in mind that that some of the "apparent" brightness switching to a blue bulb is mostly just an illusion. Read this:
http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html
That fact is: every blue bulb on the market actually reduces light output despite that claims on the packaging.

I purchased a pair of Osram Silverstars from www.powerbulbs.com for about $45 CDN last year w/ free shipping. No crappy blue tint. Just bright pure white light. Pretty satisfied with them.

I would not spend the money on the Sylvania-Osram Silverstars they sell in Cdn Tire. Their commercials seem to be quite misleading as any tinited bulb of equal wattage will NOT give off more light than a clear bulb.

Another brand name to consider is: GE Super Blue District.

I haven't tried them myself, but when I went to the 2003 Autoshow, I was impressed by the bulb. Don't know the price but here's some information on locations that are selling the bulb.:

East: CarQuest
West: Acklands Grainger
BC: Lordco Auto Parts

National: Zellers, Best Buy Auto Parts.

Here's the only link I could find.:
Link: www.autoshow.ca/promos/super_blue_district.htm

Originally posted by robattoronto@Nov 12 2003, 11:43 PM
[If you guys think Sylvania silver stars and all the rest of the suggestions above is good you should really check out Eurolights's bulb It is actually a lot better.

Eurolites are not DOT approved, and thus illegal, and they are just plain s***. Any bulbs that apply a coating (the blue is a result of the coating) reduces the amount of light that the bulb produces.

Did I mention Eurolites suck ass? They belong in the pile of VTEC stickers, flashing blue LED lights and air fresheners.

The Osram bulbs mentioned by 1.7EL are great. They cast an impressive amount of light.

Originally posted by henryh+Nov 13 2003, 02:32 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (henryh @ Nov 13 2003, 02:32 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--robattoronto@Nov 12 2003, 11:43 PM
[If you guys think Sylvania silver stars and all the rest of the suggestions above is good you should really check out Eurolights's bulb It is actually a lot better.

Eurolites are not DOT approved, and thus illegal, and they are just plain s***. Any bulbs that apply a coating (the blue is a result of the coating) reduces the amount of light that the bulb produces.

Did I mention Eurolites suck ass? They belong in the pile of VTEC stickers, flashing blue LED lights and air fresheners.

The Osram bulbs mentioned by 1.7EL are great. They cast an impressive amount of light. [/b][/quote]
Yeah I did notice at the time of purchase that the eurolites were NOT DOT approved. However I recommended it just because first of all its bright and the colour of the light is white, there's no tint of yellow or blue. Just white. Even though the glass is has a blue tint. In the end thats exactly what I was looking for. I've used it for a year now and I've yet to get a ticket. Not that I think I would get one anyways.

But anyways, in the end, its your call. Whether it being DOT approved is a factor in your purchase or not. I can only vouch for its performance and price. Hey, I was just excited about the find and I thought I'd share it with you guys. I can take some pictures if you'd like.

Originally posted by Vancouver 1.7EL@Nov 13 2003, 12:48 AM
I purchased a pair of Osram Silverstars from www.powerbulbs.com for about $45 CDN last year w/ free shipping. No crappy blue tint. Just bright pure white light. Pretty satisfied with them.

I would not spend the money on the Sylvania-Osram Silverstars they sell in Cdn Tire. Their commercials seem to be quite misleading as any tinited bulb of equal wattage will NOT give off more light than a clear bulb.

unfortunately the osram silver stars do not come in the 9006 size (or at least that site does not sell them in that range)

how are the phillips blue bulbs?

If for some strange reason, you wanted to know the photometric efficiency of various colours, check here: http://www.phlox-gc.com/eng/pdf/Photometry...ry_Training.pdf

Blue light @ 475nm is perceived to be ~11% the brightness of yellow (555nm) light even though the luminance is the same. Or something to that effect.

So, those rice boy blue lights that's on every riced up car needs to be some 9x the luminance of standard "yellow" light to be perceived to be the same brightness.

You should shine your lights on a dim or dark street to compare the brightness. I don't know about you, but I don't normally have very many things 2m in front of my car when I'm moving...

Originally posted by robattoronto@Nov 13 2003, 12:47 PM
Yeah I did notice at the time of purchase that the eurolites were NOT DOT approved. However I recommended it just because first of all its bright and the colour of the light is white, there's no tint of yellow or blue. Just white. Even though the glass is has a blue tint. In the end thats exactly what I was looking for. I've used it for a year now and I've yet to get a ticket. Not that I think I would get one anyways.

But anyways, in the end, its your call. Whether it being DOT approved is a factor in your purchase or not. I can only vouch for its performance and price. Hey, I was just excited about the find and I thought I'd share it with you guys. I can take some pictures if you'd like.

Sorry dude, didn't mean to crap on your thread. What I wanted to say was be careful of what type of bulbs you buy. I noticed Eurolites have only been sold in the car toys shops in the malls, and those shops aren't known for carrying high quality products; just ones that sell, including the oh-so-popular blue light bulbs, air fresheners, cell phone holders and flashing LEDs.

I have never owned a set of Eurolites, but from riding in some of my friends' cars with Eurolites installed, I was not impressed. I take it you have had different experiences, which, as you said, is ultimately your decision.

Drive safe, and keep the rubber side down...

Originally posted by henryh+Nov 14 2003, 10:07 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (henryh @ Nov 14 2003, 10:07 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--robattoronto@Nov 13 2003, 12:47 PM
Yeah I did notice at the time of purchase that the eurolites were NOT DOT approved. However I recommended it just because first of all its bright and the colour of the light is white, there's no tint of yellow or blue. Just white. Even though the glass is has a blue tint. In the end thats exactly what I was looking for. I've used it for a year now and I've yet to get a ticket. Not that I think I would get one anyways.

But anyways, in the end, its your call. Whether it being DOT approved is a factor in your purchase or not. I can only vouch for its performance and price. Hey, I was just excited about the find and I thought I'd share it with you guys. I can take some pictures if you'd like.

Sorry dude, didn't mean to crap on your thread. What I wanted to say was be careful of what type of bulbs you buy. I noticed Eurolites have only been sold in the car toys shops in the malls, and those shops aren't known for carrying high quality products; just ones that sell, including the oh-so-popular blue light bulbs, air fresheners, cell phone holders and flashing LEDs.

I have never owned a set of Eurolites, but from riding in some of my friends' cars with Eurolites installed, I was not impressed. I take it you have had different experiences, which, as you said, is ultimately your decision.

Drive safe, and keep the rubber side down... [/b][/quote]
I had a set of those or equivalent "hyper white" or whatever generic brand they were. I paid $40 for them and yes, you are right, they were terrible...

My buddy: "Hey, dude, you might wanna turn on your headlights. It's kinda dark on this road."
Me: "Huh? My lights ARE on..."

I would guesstimate the range of the lights at around 5m or so.

Sorry for my ignorance, but what are HIDs? Are they the flouresent bulbs?

Originally posted by mrken@Nov 15 2003, 03:13 AM
Sorry for my ignorance, but what are HIDs? Are they the flouresent bulbs?

HID = high intensity discharge bulbs.

HIDs offer brighter, whiter light, stretching for metres ahead of the car, ensuring improved clarity of vision in comparison to halogen lighting systems.

HID is a technology that replaces the filament of the light bulb, with a pea sized, high-pressure glass capsule, utilising a combination of Xenon, Mercury and Sodium metal halide technology.

When a voltage of 23,000 Volts is applied across the HID gas capsule, it initiates an arc of ionised Xenon gas, which heats the enclosed metallic salts to vaporisation point. Once vaporisation of the salts has occurred, then the HID capsule produces its full light output.

It only takes around 4 seconds to initiate the ignition process. Once this has happened and the HID capsule has reached full intensity, the igniter automatically shuts off. (i believe BMWs use a normal halogen to bridge the gap until the HIDs come online).

The HID inverter then maintains the correct operating maintenance voltage, drawing only 35 Watts of power - yet producing 3 times the light output of traditional 55 - 60 Watt Halogen wire filament bulbs

True HIDs cost a fortune and even more so to retro-fit it. Therefore the trick is finding a standard bulb which can approach the blue-white 'look' of a HID but without the cost and retrofitting. many bulbs are simply crappy and some are OK.

Originally posted by mrken@Nov 15 2003, 03:13 AM
Sorry for my ignorance, but what are HIDs? Are they the flouresent bulbs?

in addition to what mrdisco said..

they are the super bright lights that you see on almost all NEW bmw's, mercs, some acuras, audi,etc,etc

Oh, so that is why the new car headlights flicker like a CFL when they first start.