Replacement bulbs?

[nfafan]

Hello all,

Looking for the brightest OEM stock-wattage bulbs I can find, but without that fake HID blue...

Anyone tried the GE Nighthawk Halogen/Xenon OEM replacement bulbs? Supposedly brighter than stock, and without the bluish-tinted glass in the very good but way-too-short-lived Sylvania Silverstars.

Also tried Narvas in the past, another bright bluish-white bulb with a short lifespan.

Also, anyone try the Phillips Vision Plus? The Phillips verbage leads me to believe this is another GE Nighthawk type bulb - bright without the fake HID blue.

Thanks all!

 

[moribundman]

I've used Philips Vison Plus bulbs until I switched to marginally brighter Osram Silverstar bulbs. My Silverstar bulbs have so far lasted at least 3 years. The Vision Plus bulbs also didn't suffer from premature burn-out. Neither one was tinted. The Philips bulbs yellowed more than the Silverstars with age. All halogen bulbs yellow with age. Cost was about 9 Euros per bulb in the H7 configuration.

 

[keith]

If you have 9005 and 9006 bulbs, halogen infra red are the brightest e.g.

HIR

Somewhat expensive but cheaper than many of the boutique blue bulbs.

 

[JHZR2]

do a search for daniel stern lighting. He is famous in MB circles for knowing his stuff.

Osram/ sylvania silverstars sold int he US dont last. Those sold in europe seem to be quite good.

Standard GE bulbs last decenly for the most part, but can be hit-or-miss.

JMH

 

[PandaBear]

Don't want the fake HID look? Get Sylvania XtraVision, it is the silverstar without that fake HID look coating and it is bright. Cheaper too.

 

[moribundman]

Maybe the Sylvania XtraVision is the non-tinted Osram Silverstar?

quote:

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Osram/ sylvania silverstars sold int he US dont last. Those sold in europe seem to be quite good.

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Since Sylvania and Osram are the same maker, I don't see why one version of their bulb would be better or worse than the other, but who knows. For some odd reason premium bulbs also cost much less in Europe. I just got me some Osram H1 Silverstars for my foglights at under 3 Euros each. They cost more than double here, and they aren't even clear but tinted. Go figure!

 

[Kestas]

Be careful that the increased wattage doesn't melt the lamp housing. A client of mine who manufactures lamp housings for cars and trucks keeps running into these problems which are disguised as warranty problems.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Kestas, he did state that he wants to stick with "OEM stock-wattage".

I've also heard positive review of Phillips Vision Plus as far as light output.

 

[nfafan]

Quick FYI...

After searching countless Autozones and KMarts (only places I've seen that even stock Phillips brand auto bulbs), plus other autoparts stores, I finally found the elusive Phillips Vision Plus bulbs.
They are sold in a per-pair package for $19.99 at Meiers of all places.

For those folks outside the mid-west, Meiers is kinda like WalMart, without the unwashed masses.

Anyway, earlier I had stopped by a WallyMart and they had the usual selection of Sylvanias and the GE Nighthawks - in a per-pair package for around $27.00.
At least thru the package, the German-made Phillips bulbs look nicer than the Made in Hungary Nighthawks.

Neither the Nighthawks or the Vision Plus bulbs have the blue tinted glass that we see on the Sylvania Silverstars.

 

[99 GASE2]

I have the GE Nighthawk headlight bulbs in my car right now.

The glass is clear (no tint on them).

The colour temperature is about 3400°K.
(Regular tungsten is about 3200°K.)

They are brighter than stock.
They use about the same wattage as stock.
They are HOTTER heat temperature wise, the headlight housing gets hot.
They are much short life than the stock LL bulbs.
About 425 hours on average (vs 1000-1500 hours on LL bulbs); but much longer life than the Sylvania Silverstars bulbs.