Which halogen headlights should I buy?

[Wishmaster]

Hello all,

My driver's side low beam just died. I got just over a year's worth of usage from silvannia's silverstars... was happy with them originally, but after about 6 months the output seemed to begin to drop. Also just read an interesting article I found on this forum when searching for headlight suggestions about how these "white light" halogens actually put out less overall light compared with standard bulbs.

So, my question to my fellow 5'ers is this... what has your experience been with the different options of halogens? Which seemed to last the longest? And which put out the most light? Silvania? OEM? Other?

Also, please note that I will be staying with Halogen vs. the conversion to HID's.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[j3nsmz5]

Check out PIAA. I don't have halogens on my MZ5's headlight, but have used it on fog lights and other of my cars. They're slightly brighter and whiter than other halogen brands.

 

[Davicho]

Why are you so against HIDs? They are affordable, brighter and last as long or longer. I've got a set on my CX9 that is going on 3 years and not a single flicker. They look nicer too. Just get the 4500k - 5000k to get the most light output out of them

 

[mazdadude]

Hello all,

My driver's side low beam just died. I got just over a year's worth of usage from silvannia's silverstars... was happy with them originally, but after about 6 months the output seemed to begin to drop. Also just read an interesting article I found on this forum when searching for headlight suggestions about how these "white light" halogens actually put out less overall light compared with standard bulbs.

So, my question to my fellow 5'ers is this... what has your experience been with the different options of halogens? Which seemed to last the longest? And which put out the most light? Silvania? OEM? Other?

Also, please note that I will be staying with Halogen vs. the conversion to HID's.

Thanks in advance for the help!

I too have had a similar experience with the silverstars. I have even sent a couple pairs in for warranty replacement. I was thinking of trying the ultrastars, but the price is a turn-off. The longest lasting bulbs were the originals...

 

[mx-p5]

looked at Hella 100w bulbs? Running an 80/100 in my miata and it's MUCH better than OEM

 

[Wishmaster]

looked at Hella 100w bulbs? Running an 80/100 in my miata and it's MUCH better than OEM

No I haven't, I'll look into those.

 

[mx-p5]

not sure how they'll do with the factory harness, but i've had no problems with melting mine

 

[Wishmaster]

Why are you so against HIDs? They are affordable, brighter and last as long or longer. I've got a set on my CX9 that is going on 3 years and not a single flicker. They look nicer too. Just get the 4500k - 5000k to get the most light output out of them

Didn't say I was against them, I may actually do the conversion after my next set of halogens go. Just at this point in my life with work and 20 month old twins I have literally zero time to tackle, even though it's pretty quick and simple, the conversion.

In the meantime, just trying to get the best bang for my buck out of the available halogen options for now.

 

[mx-p5]

if you're taking the time to swap the bulbs, why not swap to HID? the time saved by having to replace the bulbs 2-3 times (halogen) makes up for just doing HID's

 

[Wishmaster]

if you're taking the time to swap the bulbs, why not swap to HID? the time saved by having to replace the bulbs 2-3 times (halogen) makes up for just doing HID's

You may have missed my answer to another comment - "Didn't say I was against them, I may actually do the conversion after my next set of halogens go. Just at this point in my life with work and 20 month old twins I have literally zero time to tackle, even though it's pretty quick and simple, the conversion.

In the meantime, just trying to get the best bang for my buck out of the available halogen options for now.

 

[eszoom]

i had osram silverstars before i changed over to hid. last years longer than silvannia's. beware of using cheap halogens with high wattage, might melt your wires. if you go with expensive halogens might as well go hid's cause they're pretty cheap now.

ps use gloves when touching halogens. body oil kills the bulb

 

[Wishmaster]

i had osram silverstars before i changed over to hid. last years longer than silvannia's. beware of using cheap halogens with high wattage, might melt your wires. if you go with expensive halogens might as well go hid's cause they're pretty cheap now.

ps use gloves when touching halogens. body oil kills the bulb

Osram is Silvania, Silvania is Osram, http://www.sylvania.com/ the bulbs you're talking about are the same as the Silvania Silverstars I've used. And yep, always use gloves. And see my two responses above regarding switching to HID's, thanks.

 

[thaxman]

No one's mentioned it so far, but the more expensive Ultras and super ultra whatevers may be brighter, but they burn out much faster. Unless you live deep in a swamp or at the North Pole, the trade off may not be worth it, since you'll be changing them ever 6-mos to 1 yr.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Osram is Silvania, Silvania is Osram, http://www.sylvania.com/ the bulbs you're talking about are the same as the Silvania Silverstars I've used. And yep, always use gloves. And see my two responses above regarding switching to HID's, thanks.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html

Wait a Minute, Earlier You Said Silver Star Bulbs Have Blue Glass!

It's a name game: Osram, the well-established German lampmaker, sells a line of automotive bulbs they call "Silver Star". These are Osram's top-of-the-range headlamp bulbs, equivalent to Narva RangePower+50, GE Night Hawk, Philips VisionPlus, and Tungsram Megalight Premium. They produce the maximum legal amount of light while staying within legal power consumption limits. They have colorless clear glass.

Osram bought the well-established American lampmaker Sylvania in the early 1990s, so Osram is now Sylvania's parent company. Sylvania also sells a line of automotive bulbs they call "Silver Star", but it's not the same product. The Sylvania Silver Stars have blue glass. Light output is of legal levels, but as with all blue-filtered bulbs, you do not get more light from them. The Sylvania SilverStar bulbs have a very short lifetime, because the filament is overdriven to get a legal amount of light despite the blue glass.

Some quality and hard to find bulbs below. You can support the guy or google the name and find it elsewhere.
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html

Personally, I'd go HID bc it looks nicer and they are cheap + quality yellow halogen fogs, which I still haven't done. HID in projector headlights work out really well IMO. Not so much in standard reflector headlights.

 

[Silentnoise713]

looked at Hella 100w bulbs? Running an 80/100 in my miata and it's MUCH better than OEM

Looks like you have an NA. Stock lamps are sealed so I can safely assume you also swapped the lamp housing, which you did not mention and is a bigger factor to lighting. I hope you are not using the generic/ebay housing b/c you'd be missing out. I swapped my Miata's OE lamps with Hella lamps + Hella 100w bulbs. RIDICIOUSLY bright in a very good way with a sharp cut-off (euro E-code lamps). My buddy has generic/ebay lamps on his Miata. Granted I'm not sure what bulb he used but there is NO comparison. IMO, it is better than HIDs (not that they’d work well in a reflector halogen housing) but one bulb blow out after ~1.5 years so that was a turn off. Then again, I also did the wink mod (flash to pass), which I use and possibly contributed to the short lifespan as well.

This talk about lighting reminds me to do my fog lights.

 

[MAZDASPEED MX5]

German Osram 65w H7 Rallye lights. http://store.candlepower.com/osraulhiouh7.html I'm running them in my 2009 MX5 and I love them. Look OEM but 20% brighter and no risk to the housings. The bulb is really a 65w H9 lamp on an H7 base so it's designed for the increased output. I toyed with HIDs before finding these bulbs: http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=393678 If you are looking to move towards HIDs, I would consider buying from here: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/

 

[Davicho]

If you are looking to move towards HIDs, I would consider buying from here: http://www.theretrofitsource.com/

Waaay to expensive!! Get them from here: http://www.ddmtuning.com/Product-Categories/HID-Kits-Lighting/HID-Kits

My CX9 is on its third year with them on and not a single flicker.

 

[j3nsmz5]

These: http://www.ebay.com/itm/PIAA-H7-Intense-White-Head-Fog-light-Bulb-JDM-10907-/271055477558?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3f1c2a5b36&vxp=mtr These have a 4100K light output. OEM HIDs for major automakers are 4300K. PIAAs are superior and outlasts average halogens. IMO.

 

[Wishmaster]

All great info guys, thanks!

 

[MAZDASPEED MX5]

Waaay to expensive!! Get them from here: http://www.ddmtuning.com/Product-Categories/HID-Kits-Lighting/HID-Kits

My CX9 is on its third year with them on and not a single flicker.

Did you read my post, see the link I shared...There is a four page forum thread where I discuss the pros and cons and ultimately decide they are crap.