Not Happy With 9008 SilverStars' Life

[RWEST]

Just changed the second 9008 SS this week in my '07 Expedition. They lasted just over one year.

I've read a number of posts about their shorter than expected life, and even responded to a number of such posts about how I'd used them in the past for years with no problems, how much I liked them, etc...

If memory serves, the ones I had good luck with were 9007's, which did last over 2 years.

The SS's DO seem to light the road better than the OEM's, as long as they're actually working, but it's a bit frustrating having to change 'em every year. Oh, well, I have a set of the Philips "Crystal Vision ULTRA's" on order from suvlights.com, so we'll see how they do.

 

[qship1996]

No surprise here.... if you take the time to dig{and I mean DIG} through Sylvanias website, you will see they rate the Silverstars life expectancy about 200 hours or so {Iforgot the exact number, but 200 is real close, look it up} compared to 800-1000 hour life of typical "normal" bulbs .


The reason for the short life is simple.....because the pretty blue tint on the bulbs reduces light output, they overdrive the bulb filiament to try to recapture some of the lost brightness.Same with almost every other tinted glass bulb.

 

[tom slick]

I experienced a short bulb like with the SS's. My car has a short bulb life anyway, they made it noticeably shorter.

Edit: I just looked it up. The SS in H7 are listed as 85 hr life. regular halogen is rated at 270 hrs.

 

[Buffman]

Based on Sylvanis own information all of their bulbs that claim to be brighter than a standard halogen produce the same amount of lumens.....

 

[rszappa1]

Bull...

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted By: rszappa1
Bull...


Nope. DOT regulations regulate the lumens output (with tolerance) for all bulbs sold in the US. There is a similar regulation for Europe also.

That means, if they advertise a bulb of higher than specified lumens, it does not meet the standards, therefore not street legal.

This is why Phillips & OSram/Sylvania would revert to instead of x% brighter, they advertise up to y ft/m longer beam, to get around the regulation.

 

[Buffman]

With that being said, the XtraVision bulbs do appear to light more of the road up in past vehicles I've had them in. SilverStars just made the light whiter, and the bulb life shorter...

 

[97prizm]

Buffman is right. I called sylvania two years ago and after waiting on hold forever I was transferred to one of their lighting engineers (designers). He told me that they produce the same amount of light but that the SS ultras put more light further out. And yes buffman is right about the US having a limit on lighting intensity, 28,000 candelas for the US 38,000 candelas for Europe. The reason is that by U.S. law the DOT mandates some of the light produced to be thrown upward to light up road signs, where as in Europe they don't.

 

[labman]

Hummmmmmm! I tried to buy 5006 silver Stars today at Orielly's. They couldn't get them. I settled for halogens. Perhaps just as well.

 

[postjeeprcr]

Originally Posted By: qship1996
No surprise here.... if you take the time to dig{and I mean DIG} through Sylvanias website, you will see they rate the Silverstars life expectancy about 200 hours or so {Iforgot the exact number, but 200 is real close, look it up} compared to 800-1000 hour life of typical "normal" bulbs .


The reason for the short life is simple.....because the pretty blue tint on the bulbs reduces light output, they overdrive the bulb filiament to try to recapture some of the lost brightness.Same with almost every other tinted glass bulb.


How do they overdrive the filament? The wattage of the bulbs is exactly the same. Also why would they put a blue tint on a bulb if it decreased the light output?

 

[1sttruck]

"Just changed the second 9008 SS this week in my '07 Expedition. They lasted just over one year."

Duh ..... are you really surprised ? Did you check the maker's data on light output vs bulb life ?

Why would a maker tint a bulb for lower actual output that also burns out quicker ? Because people are running over each other to buy them because they're fashionable, and they can sell more of them at a higher price.

 

[tom slick]

Originally Posted By: postjeeprcr
How do they overdrive the filament? The wattage of the bulbs is exactly the same. Also why would they put a blue tint on a bulb if it decreased the light output?


From what I've read the tint makes the filament burn hotter; more perceived light, less life.

 

[Smokescreen]

Tint always steals light. They boosted the wattage a bit to make the bulb actually perform closer to the lumens of a standard clear halogen bulb, although it is still less. Cost of boosting....shorter life.

You guys should check out http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
D.S. advises the govt on lighting standards etc. He is the authority on all the hype and facts of the performance bulbs. There are performance bulbs that are 20-30% brighter that are still legal...of course they have clear glass bulbs though...blue bulbs perform worse in inclement weather too. Its pretty much a lose-lose situation....

 

[postjeeprcr]

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Tint always steals light. They boosted the wattage a bit to make the bulb actually perform closer to the lumens of a standard clear halogen bulb, although it is still less. Cost of boosting....shorter life.

You guys should check out http://www.danielsternlighting.com/
D.S. advises the govt on lighting standards etc. He is the authority on all the hype and facts of the performance bulbs. There are performance bulbs that are 20-30% brighter that are still legal...of course they have clear glass bulbs though...blue bulbs perform worse in inclement weather too. Its pretty much a lose-lose situation....



The bulbs are the exact same wattage, I do not know where you keep coming up with they boosted the wattage from. The lighting manufactures don't recommended putting any light with a higher wattage then what came stock in. So if you look a stand Slyvania bulb that is 55/65 watts and then you look at same part number is a SilverStar is

55/65 watt as well. Also the tint is not window tint. Tom Slick I get the feeling you read it in posts by this guy.

 

[1sttruck]

If you look at the 9007 lamps on the Sylvania site the rated life for the regular one is 500 low / 250 high, for the long life it's 1500 / 250, and for the Silverstar it's 150 / 90. The Silverstar has 1/10 the life of the long life bulb, and obviously it doesn't have 10 times the light output.

 

[rszappa1]

Not surprised...They are a gimmick bulb that burn out quick...

 

[fillitup]

i tried the 9004 silverstar i would not waste my money on them again burn out fast and the light is no better than reg 9004 just a diff color. in my truck i have hellas h4 1 bulb is over 22 years old and is still quite brite.they can be made to last but no money in doing that.