Sylvania Silverstars, I gotta admit...

[fredster34]

the first nite i brought home my Gen 5, i dropped a pair of 9006 Silverstars in it. i must admit, Silverstars in a clear-lens, multi-reflector headlamp housing looks awesome. they have that HID white color when u look at them head-on, and they put out a nice white color on the road at night. they dont look "ricer" at all, and believe me, i've bought my fair share of those bulbs.

i used 9003 Silverstars when i had a Gen 4, but they looked "okay", becuz the headlamps were fluted-lens. it didnt do the bulb justice, i suppose.

for color output, Silverstars are dope. who knows how much "usuable" light they give, but it doesnt seem too bad. the only negative about them, they're almost $20 each, ha!

[epinionator89]

I've heard a lot of good things about those bulbs. When I get enough money I'll probably get some.

(And since they're that expensive, thank God the Gen4 Camry only needs two bulbs. Just one of the reasons why I like the 4.0s more than the 4.5s)

[mystickid]

Fred,

Could you post a couple pics of them fom a few diff angles.

There are so many bogus blu-ish bulbs out there on cars on the road that I don't know if I have seen what silver stars look like actually.

[TbombsGen3]

i put those in my gen3 not to long ago and was amazed as well. Got "lucky" and got 'em for $30/pair.

[LunarMist]

I dont know where you got your Silverstars from but I've never seen any for under $35 before. In fact, most people on here said they've paid at least $50 for theirs. Mine cost $38 and I love them too. They make the car look a lot nicer at night and more sophisticated. Its funny when I pull up to another Gen 5 with stock bulbs and you can clearly see the yellowish-tint that the stock bulbs output and then my lights completely dwarf theirs and illuminate everything!

[TbombsGen3]

Advance Autoparts had them "buyone, get half off" . reg. price was 19.98 each

went in to get some oil and other stuff, saw the bulb sale and picked up a set

[jhbhatia]

I was happy with my pair as well, until a year of usage equated to non-operational bulbs! Then i went cool-blue's! (cheaper and similar).

[iaussi]

Dude get them off eBay. 2 for 30 bucks w/ shipping.

I dropped them in on my gen 5 SE. Some people thought they were HID because of the color.
The only complaint I got with the lights is that because of the color and the height of the camry, my low beams are like high beams. I mean its good for me but bad for other drivers . Overall super lights!!

[anoiel]

they were 29.99 at pepboys for the past month thats where i got them for my car

[cam2Xrunner]

Originally Posted by fredster34

the only negative about them, they're almost $20 each, ha!

..and they probably won't last longer than a year.

[touringcamry]

Just remember that whiter != brighter and that you're paying $5-$10 premium per bulb for the color.
Sylvania XtraVision is the same bulb without the bluish coat on the bulb. They're normally $20 a pair regular price
What ever floats your boat though.

I was at Walmart a week ago and they had SilverStars on the clearance rack for $30 - no rebate. Dunno if they're doing this at any other store though.

[slosh]

Copied the following from another website. I personally can't comment on the silverstar's since I haven't tried 'em. That said, this is what consumer reports has to say:

Consumer reports article on white headlights

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

January 2006
Replacement headlight bulbs: A bright idea?


GREAT WHITE HYPE Premium
replacement bulbs may be cosmetically pleasing, but when they’re compared with less-expensive standard halogen bulbs, there’s often no performance advantage.
Premium replacement headlight bulbs are marketed as a functional and cosmetic improvement over the conventional bulbs found in most cars. The bulbs try to mimic the whiter, brighter light of the high-intensity-discharge (HID) lights found on some pricey vehicles. However, while these bulbs emit whiter-looking light, they don’t provide a consistent performance improvement in our tests.

Changes in lighting regulations in the mid-1980s allowed automobile designers to create aerodynamic headlight assemblies. These assemblies use a replaceable halogen bulb rather than an entire replaceable assembly. Headlight performance varies considerably depending on the assembly’s design, including reflector design and lens shape.

Expensive HID lights are a more recent innovation. CR’s tests have shown that HID lights can be brighter, but illuminated distances are often comparable to those of halogen bulbs. Premium halogen replacement bulbs attempt to offer some of the benefits of HID lights while retaining the vehicle’s original headlight assembly.

Bulb replacement is usually a simple task for most backyard mechanics.


MEASURing The LIGHTs

CR tested five premium replacement bulbs, one from each of the top-selling brands: the APC Plasma Ultra White, GE Nighthawk, Philips CrystalVision, Sylvania SilverStar, and Wagner TruView. The bulbs are priced between $26 and $40 a pair (two to three times more than standard bulbs) and are sold in discount or auto-parts stores. All tested bulbs claim Department of Transportation-standard compliance; noncompliant bulbs may be marked as “for off-road use only.”

Tests were both subjective, to determine how well distant objects could be seen by the human eye, and objective, measuring bulb illuminance, or brightness.

Three test vehicles, a Chrysler Sebring, a Toyota Camry, and a Honda Ridgeline, were used to provide a variety of bulb sizes and original equipment (OE) performance.

Headlight distance is vital because the sooner an object is illuminated, the better the chance of avoiding it. Distance is measured outdoors on a moonless night, from a stationary vehicle. Black, unlighted signs were set up at various distances, and engineers recorded which were visible from each vehicle with each set of bulbs. Only one set of bulbs, the Nighthawk, improved low-beam sight distance for one tested vehicle, the Ridgeline. However, they reduced distance on the Camry. Generally, low- and high-beam distance either remained the same or decreased with replacement bulbs.

To test claims of increased brightness, CR measured illuminance, the quantity of light that reaches a particular area. Inside a dark building, a light sensor was placed at a distance 50 feet in front of each vehicle at different heights both on center and 8 feet to the right to simulate a roadway shoulder. Results showed some localized improvements, but no one bulb scored consistently better than OE. The Nighthawk and Plasma Ultra White improved illuminance in more tests than the other bulbs, some of which did not perform as well as stock bulbs.

Subjectively, all five bulbs emitted a whiter light than OE bulbs, which could appeal to buyers seeking the look of HID lights. Studies show that some drivers prefer driving behind whiter light than the more yellow light of most OE halogen bulbs, but that doesn’t mean you can see farther.

Some manufacturers claim that their premium halogen bulbs improve brightness without causing oncoming glare, a common complaint about HID lights. Oncoming glare is caused by a combination of bright lights and an inherent sharp light cutoff. This combination can exist in HID or halogen lights. Most of the tested bulb-vehicle combinations did not cause high levels of oncoming glare. But using whiter premium bulbs in the Honda Ridgeline increased glare to where it could be a discomfort for oncoming drivers.


Bottom Line

Our tests showed that while they do yield whiter-looking light, premium aftermarket halogen bulbs don’t offer a consistent performance advantage over original equipment bulbs, and they can perform worse. Much of a headlight’s distribution of light is dictated by its reflector and lens, factors that remain unaffected by changing the bulb. And the combination of higher cost and some manufacturer specifications of a shorter life span than standard replacement bulbs add up to increased costs.

Premium bulbs show no distance advantage

Only one replacement bulb, the GE Nighthawk, improved low-beam distance, and only on one tested vehicle, the Honda Ridgeline.

[TRDCamryCL]

Are they comparing all the bulbs to each other or are they comparing them to the OEM counterparts?

[BlueFusion6851]

I still like my LazerBlues. At least I don't have that yellow-ish tinge to them!

[DOHCammer]

Aw, good old CR putting down our beloved bulbs. Those do-gooders would probably have a fit if they knew we were modifying 9005's to fit in the low beam slots. My 9005 Nighthawks do a fine job illuminating the road and stretch out further than the stockers. I've used SilverStars before and the are definitely better in some cars than others. I say go to Wal-Mart and buy either SilverStars, Xtra-visions or Nighthawks (they sell all three) and if you don't like them return them and try the next set. Just make sure you don't ruin the packaging and keep the receipt.