Upgrading headlight bulbs of 2006 Sentra

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MoneyJohn

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The headlights of our 2006 Sentra are pretty much useless. Whether they are on or off, you as a driver don't notice anything. Yesterday, I had to run errands while it was pouring and it was a nightmare, to say the least.

I have never replaced headlight bulbs of this vehicle so I assume, they are OEM (got pre-owned). I am considering replacing/upgrading these bulbs, what options do I have?

I searched around the forum a bit and everyone seems to suggest Sylvenia Silverstar, but they blow out within a year. Some of the amazon reviews (FWIW) claim they go out even in months.
I don't want to go Chinese Plug-and-play LED lights and blind everyone on the road. There are enough b0z0s in my neighborhood. I would prefer a bright yellow light where the bulbs last at least a couple of years.

I looked around for retrofit kids for HID bulbs, found some on xenonHID website but not too sure if they are enough (if it needs reflector replacement etc).

Appreciate any wisdom in this regard.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: The headlight plastic has no oxidation and they are aimed almost correctly.
 
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I practically have tried every bulb out there and while my opinion might be controversial it's what I've found to be the best:

The BEST light comes from a QUALITY, well-designed LED headlight kit that is PROPERLY installed and if need be, aimed.

The 2nd BEST light comes from the cheapest stock replacement headlight bulb you can find. In my Ford Escape, when one of the originals burned out (I was doing a lot of night time driving) I installed Sylvania SilverStar Ultra. I then proceeded to basically never drive the car myself at night for about 6 months. When I started driving at night again I noticed the headlights were useless (in fact, I had a passenger mention how awful they were). While the SilverStar Ultras were still "working" fine, I returned them and exchanged them for a pair of yellowy regular Eiko brand headlight bulbs. The cheapest available at the parts store I work at. And the headlights are BETTER now. However, I do have an LED kit on order for the Escape because I put one in my Chevy truck recently and not only is the visibility so much better, I've done extensive testing to determine that they don't glare into oncoming traffic.

NONE of those "upgraded" halogen bulbs are worth the paper the receipt is printed on. I've tried EVERY option, SilverStar Ultra, even the new SilverStar zXe Gold (wow, they retail for like $70, the same price as an LED kit!) and the cheaper bulbs actually gave me better visibility. The white color bulbs are supposed to increase contrast for better night visibility but the problem is in the process, they use a blue coating on the lens, which actually reduces the lumens of light output... And yes, they do not last very long.

I don't think HIDs are a good option because in a stock housing meant for a regular bulb they don't distribute light at all the same way and yes, it'll blind everyone. With a quality LED kit they put the LEDs themselves in a pattern that resembles the regular bulb so the light doesn't blind people and you can still see well.
 
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Looks like your car takes a single H13 for the lows & highs. I'm not aware of any simple upgrades you can do to that, like you can with H11-->H9, 9006-->9012, and etc.

You can try overdriven bulbs. I've run SilveStar Ultras before and they were a little better than the stock bulbs, but not by much. They were still going strong after 3 years.

I'm currently running Philips XtremeVisions and they are pretty good.

You definitely want to make sure the aim is spot on. A few inches too low can translate to a loss of many feet out on the road.

Are your battery cables, battery & alternator in tip-top shape?
 
I used Silverstars in my Jeep. Complete overpriced garbage. They burned out super fast, one in only 2 months.

I'm currently running Phillips Racevision in my high beams and Xtremevision in my low beams on the BMW. They are definitely an improvement and have been good so far. Does this car have optional fog lamps or a place to mount them? Fog lights have made a difference on back country roads for me.
 
Over-wattage bulbs can create too much heat for the enclosure and tarnish the reflective material and warp the enclosure. Silverstar are trash, skip them. LED/HID bulbs in an enclosure designed for halogen bulbs is a no-no. It is not legal and performance will be awful despite any reviews you may see. Stay away from sub par chinese branded bulbs, stick with quality parts made from Philips or Osram. If you choose to replace the entire enclosure, only go with OEM. ALL other aftermarket replacement headlamp enclosures have been well documented by DOT as sub par for performance.

Upgrade the bulbs to premium such as found here: https://store.candlepower.com/9008h13lamp.html, they do make an improvement as much as legally allowed (which is +/- 15% of the rating...which may or may not be dramtically noticeable)

I would then look at quality aftermarket auxiliary driving lights. Stay with well known brand names with proven track records for beam pattern quality and construction, like Hella, Cibie etc such as found here: https://www.hella.com/hella-sg/en/Auxiliary-Lamps-1736.html then wire them with their own relay so they use the full wattage as intended.
 
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FIRST:
Make sure that the headlights are aimed properly. By "properly" I mean that, if it's still not enough light pattery for your liking then, tweak'em headlight housings to your liking. I have found that this was the problem 100% of the time. But, don't go toooooo high!

SECOND:
Then if you STILL don't like the light pattern, get new standard bulbs as they may have lost their mojo & standard bulbs are the best value in terms of cost per light output. AND as "dogememe" said, nothing else is really worth it.

Here is Consumer Reports (Talking Cars) segment and they actually talk about headlight performance and what to/what not to do. What works, what doesn't and how much is involved in changing to HID or LED. See 10:45 into the video. Coincidently, the video just came out today.
smile.gif


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwGlHSWSFuY
 
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I replaced all the halogen bulbs in our car and trucks with Chinese LEDs (Opti7) and never looked back. Annual Hawaii safety check inspectors say headlights are properly aimed though I see the bright light in the cabin of the car in front of us and that's even when I aimed those lower than the factory specs. My wife has difficulty seeing in low light even with those thick hyperindexed glasses so the LEDs helps a lot.
 
Originally Posted by mclasser
Looks like your car takes a single H13 for the lows & highs. I'm not aware of any simple upgrades you can do to that, like you can with H11-->H9, 9006-->9012, and etc.

Yes, you are right, high and low beam in the same bulb

Originally Posted by mclasser
Are your battery cables, battery & alternator in tip-top shape?

I have no idea exactly but I assume they are. I have not had any problem with these regards, but next time I pay our mechanic a visit, I will explicitly ask him to check those.

Originally Posted by jeepman3071
Does this car have optional fog lamps or a place to mount them?

Yes, they do, They take H11, but current bulbs are useless. I didn't use to use them but after noticing lack of light on the road, I started using them and absolutely no change. I will have to replace those bulbs too.

Originally Posted by Smokescreen
Over-wattage bulbs can create too much heat for the enclosure and tarnish the reflective material and warp the enclosure. Silverstar are trash, skip them. LED/HID bulbs in an enclosure designed for halogen bulbs is a no-no. It is not legal and performance will be awful despite any reviews you may see. Stay away from sub par chinese branded bulbs, stick with quality parts made from Philips or Osram. If you choose to replace the entire enclosure, only go with OEM. ALL other aftermarket replacement headlamp enclosures have been well documented by DOT as sub par for performance.

I don't plan to change the enclosure. The current enclosure is pristine (at least the way it looks).
Originally Posted by Smokescreen

Upgrade the bulbs to premium such as found here: https://store.candlepower.com/9008h13lamp.html, they do make an improvement as much as legally allowed (which is +/- 15% of the rating...which may or may not be dramtically noticeable)

Some of the amazon reviews (FWIW) are not great. They seem to have gone kaput in less than a year.
Originally Posted by Smokescreen

I would then look at quality aftermarket auxiliary driving lights. Stay with well known brand names with proven track records for beam pattern quality and construction, like Hella, Cibie etc such as found here: https://www.hella.com/hella-sg/en/Auxiliary-Lamps-1736.html then wire them with their own relay so they use the full wattage as intended.

This is a great idea and I actually considered it but I will first try replacing the bulbs and see if they change anything.

Originally Posted by Char Baby

Here is Consumer Reports (Talking Cars) segment and they actually talk about headlight performance and what to/what not to do. What works, what doesn't and how much is involved in changing to HID or LED. See 10:45 into the video. Coincidently, the video just came out today.
smile.gif


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwGlHSWSFuY

I actually watched this episode a few minutes ago. Do you know which issue Jen was talking about where she said CR compared these bulbs? I don't have online subscription but I do have a paper magazine subscription.

Originally Posted by diyjake
If you want quality and want to improve your visibility, order a HID kit or LED kit from this web site, I recommend HID kits: https://www.theretrofitsource.com/headlight-conversion-kits/nissan/sentra/2006

These guys are awesome!


I actually checked the link. Its first google link if you search retro HID kits but I didn't find any kit in the link. Did I miss it?

Originally Posted by anndel
I replaced all the halogen bulbs in our car and trucks with Chinese LEDs (Opti7) and never looked back.

Wouldn't these be Plug-and-play type? And if you enclosure if made for halogen lamp then in theory, LED light would be scattered blinding oncoming traffic. Have you checked if it blinds oncoming traffic? I live in a rather crowded suburb and blinding oncoming traffic is big no no. As I said in the OP, we have really a lot of them who don't care about anyone else but themselves. Don't want to add myself to the group.



BTW, anybody has experience with Vosla bulbs on Candlelight store or Voltage Automotive bulbs on Amazon? Voltage Automotive bulbs are cheap and reviews seem to be good.
 
I like the Philips VisionPlus. I agree that any of the blue-tinted ones are useless, whatever they say.

I've yet to see an LED retrofit that could be aimed so as not to blind oncoming traffic. They don't focus properly. LEDs should only be used in a housing/lens designed for them.
 
Phillips XtremeVision are among the best you can get legally. They last a long time for me. Stay away from the blue coated ones, they actually filter (reduce) the light output.
 
HID retrofits are illegal, but if you go that route do it the ethical way and get a custom housing with a projector lens, otherwise you will blind everyone.
 
Originally Posted by Kage860
Phillips XtremeVision are among the best you can get legally. They last a long time for me. Stay away from the blue coated ones, they actually filter (reduce) the light output.


This. I'm running Philips Xtreme Vision's in my Caliber which is also H13. Made a noticeable difference... put them in back in 2015 and they're still going strong.
 
C&P from Consumer Reports.org:

Sylvania Silvestar halogen headlight bulbs
Higher-priced lights shine more brightly but not farther
Consumer Reports magazine: January 2013

A website touting the Sylvania SilverStar headlight bulb says it provides "up to 30 percent" greater visibility down the road. That sounds impressive until you read the fine print: "compared with worn standard halogen" bulbs. Still, such claims are making premium-priced halogen bulbs an alluring choice for drivers.

To see how those premium bulbs stack up against one another, we put eight of them, costing $20 to $80, through a range of tests in our labs and at our test track. We tested the low-beam performance of single-filament (9003) and dual-filament (H7) bulbs from GE, Hella, Philips, and Sylvania, and PIAA's dual-filament bulb. We also compared their performance with that of two standard bulbs from GE and Helio, costing $20 and $10, respectively, and to the original-equipment (OE) bulbs that came in our 2012 Hyundai Accent and Volkswagen Passat test cars.

We found that the premium bulbs, as a group, deliver a whiter light and up to 19 percent more output than the standard or OE bulbs, and that can be more pleasing for drivers. But none of the premium bulbs allowed us to see farther on our headlight test course than the standard or OE bulbs. That's because distance is determined more by the size and shape of the lamp's reflector or lens than by the bulb. We also found little difference in light output among the premium bulbs; no more than the differences normally experienced from power fluctuations while driving.
*****
*****
Bottom line. Premium bulbs might be a good choice if you prefer a more intense or whiter light, but don't expect big changes in the distance you can see compared with standard or new OE bulbs. For the premium bulbs we tested, shop by price.

The illumination of any bulb fades with time, so we suggest replacing your bulbs every few years, not waiting until one burns out. We don't advise mixing premium and standard bulbs. Output can also decrease if lamp lenses become hazy or dirty. Have them cleaned by a professional or do it yourself with a product such as the Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit, which costs about $20. Check out our buying guide to headlight-restoration kits for more information.

What we tested
Headlights appear in alphabetical order (performance among bulbs was similar).

Product
Bulb type
Price
GE Nighthawk
9003/H7
$25
GE Nighthawk Platinum
9003/H7
40
Hella
9003/H7
35
Philips CrystalVision Ultra
9003/H7
25
Philips VisionPlus
9003/H7
20
PIAA Xtreme White Plus
H7
80
Sylvania SilverStar
9003/H7
30
Sylvania SilverStar Ultra
9003/H7
40
 
AND:

Are HID and LED Headlights Worth Buying?
Brighter lights might not necessarily let you see farther down the road
By Jen Stockburger
November 03, 2017
4.3K SHARES

You can't help but notice high-intensity discharge (HID/xenon) and light-emitting diode (LED) headlights—the light they produce is noticeably brighter and whiter than halogen headlights.

These high-tech headlights have become a signature look of aftermarket upgrades, and they distinguish the styling on many new vehicles, in particular cars with LED headlights, which can be grouped in signature looks. Many models from Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and others are equipped with these stylish headlights.

But as appealing as these headlights can be to people whose car is equipped with them, they can be a discomfort to other drivers, who might flash their lights, mistakenly thinking that the other driver's high beams are on even when they're not.

In its ongoing headlight tests, Consumer Reports has seen an increase in cars equipped with these technologies. But do these brighter, whiter HID/xenon and LED headlights help you see any better when you're driving? The answer: Not necessarily.

MORE ON CAR TECHNOLOGY & SAFETY
The Positive Impact of Advanced Safety Systems for Cars
Cars With Advanced Safety Systems
Winter Driving Survival Guide
There is no clear-cut, standout technology winner among among HID, LED, and xenon headlights. While there are poor and very good performers in each variety, none produces greater forward-seeing distances than the others. Based on our testing, the differences depend on the car, not the headlight technology.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety agrees. "In IIHS testing, LEDs and HIDs typically perform better than halogens, and projector lenses do better than reflector designs," says Matt Brumbelow, a senior research engineer at IIHS. "Unfortunately, there are many exceptions, so consumers can't [choose] a specific headlight system and be guaranteed that they'll get good performance on the road."

Shining a Light on CR Test Results
The main criteria in Consumer Reports' headlight ratings is safety, meaning how well they allow a driver to see what's ahead. Testing takes place on dark, moonless nights at our track, where experienced staff assess how well they can see a series of flat, black signs arranged in specific locations on our track with both low and high beams.

Low-beam visibility counts the most in our ratings, since people drive with low beams on most often. Aspects such as headlight brightness and a uniform pattern of light that make the headlight more pleasing also factor in to our ratings, but to a lesser extent. While HIDs and LEDs are typically brighter and often illuminate better to the sides of the road, the straight-ahead visibility differences vary in our tests.

For example, the 2016 Buick Envision equipped with halogen lights earned a Good overall score for its headlight performance, driven mainly by the low-beam seeing distance. Conversely, the 2018 Audi Q5 with LED lights rated only a Fair overall, as its low-beam seeing distances are short.

Our ratings of two Limited trim 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees—one diesel, one gas—showed nearly identical overall headlight performance, even though one was equipped with high-intensity discharge xenon lights and the other with halogens.

Best Headlight Performance
Our ratings for headlight performance on recent vehicle models also illustrate how performance cannot be predicted by the technology alone. Your best bet is to check our new-car ratings—and to be wary of paying extra for a headlight upgrade.

Each of the vehicles below scored an Excellent or a Very Good overall for its headlight performance; they rank in order as the top 10 among those we've tested over the last five years.

VEHICLE
LOW-BEAM HEADLIGHT TYPE
HIGH-BEAM HEADLIGHT TYPE
2015 Cadillac Escalade LED LED
2014 Toyota Corolla LED Halogen
2013 Toyota Avalon HID Halogen
2012 Acura TL HID Halogen
2012 Fiat 500 Halogen Halogen
2016 Honda HR-V Halogen Halogen
2012 Nissan Versa Halogen Halogen
2017 Chevrolet Bolt HID HID
2012 Toyota Prius V Halogen Halogen
2016 Chevrolet Malibu Halogen Halogen
As our years of test results show, there are good and bad performers across all types.

The key takeaway is not to assume one technology is superior to another. This is especially important when considering a model whose headlights are part of a pricey package. Before being drawn to the bright, white light that HID, LED, and xenon lamps produce, check our ratings, available on the models pages for all tested vehicles.
 
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Update: I got these bulbs today and there are no blue rings on these bulbs as the picture suggests on Amazon listing. The package otherwise is the same. Can anyone confirm if there are indeed blue rings on the bulbs?

The light is just like my old Sylvenia basic bulbs. The reviews on Amazon suggest slightly whitish color.

I am not too sure if I got counterfeit bulbs.
 
Originally Posted by MoneyJohn
Update: I got these bulbs today and there are no blue rings on these bulbs as the picture suggests on Amazon listing. The package otherwise is the same. Can anyone confirm if there are indeed blue rings on the bulbs?

The light is just like my old Sylvenia basic bulbs. The reviews on Amazon suggest slightly whitish color.

I am not too sure if I got counterfeit bulbs.


Philips has an authenticator online, otherwise mine have the blue ring. The tops are also shiny instead of the normally more matte looking coating.

1CA6FB4F-D226-4F6C-8FAE-D6E23DBEB7C5.jpeg


D2A493CA-DA7C-4DC7-AE84-9EFE0F1DCD96.jpeg
 
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Originally Posted by Skippy722


Philips has an authenticator online, otherwise mine have the blue ring. The tops are also shiny instead of the normally more matte looking coating.


I found a link to British Authenticator and I do not have the codes they are looking for on the box. http://www.chk.philips.com/gb_en/

I do have a shiny silver top but will have to pull the bulb out and make sure of the blue ring. The ring on your bulb is also not like the one in the picture. The bulb that I bought is the same link that Philips provides from their website.
 
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