Headlight Bulbs - Stock/XtraVision/Cool Blue/Silverstar

[islandboy57]

On a whim, I bought a pair of XtraVisions and put them in..but there was no difference from stock! Same color (naturally) but also same brightness. I thought it was odd. I had ordered some Cool Blues about two weeks ago as well cuz it was only $6/bulb - couldn't resist. I put those in and the light was noticeably whiter, but there was a noticeable loss in brightness.

Are stock bulbs really similar to XtraVisions, or was my pair just defective? I have SilverStars on my mom's gen 3.5 [been there for 2 years now cuz I don't drive the car anymore and she rarely drives at night] and it's white AND bright. I think I'm going to keep the Cool Blues in the glovebox/trunk and put the stock bulbs back..and save the XtraVisions for when my mom's SS go out.

Any thoughts? My car is built in Japan if that matters as far as what kind of stock bulbs they use. I love the whiteness of the Cool Blues but it's just not practical due to its brightness/intensity. I'd get SilverStars but I already have my stock pair, XV pair, and a CB pair.

[thoots]

Originally Posted by islandboy57

On a whim, I bought a pair of XtraVisions and put them in..but there was no difference from stock! Same color (naturally) but also same brightness. I thought it was odd. I had ordered some Cool Blues about two weeks ago as well cuz it was only $6/bulb - couldn't resist. I put those in and the light was noticeably whiter, but there was a noticeable loss in brightness.

Are stock bulbs really similar to XtraVisions, or was my pair just defective? I have SilverStars on my mom's gen 3.5 [been there for 2 years now cuz I don't drive the car anymore and she rarely drives at night] and it's white AND bright. I think I'm going to keep the Cool Blues in the glovebox/trunk and put the stock bulbs back..and save the XtraVisions for when my mom's SS go out.

Any thoughts? My car is built in Japan if that matters as far as what kind of stock bulbs they use. I love the whiteness of the Cool Blues but it's just not practical due to its brightness/intensity. I'd get SilverStars but I already have my stock pair, XV pair, and a CB pair.

I think we can generalize and say that what you get "stock" in a new car these days is really quite good -- indeed, probably more in line with "XtraVisions" than with "normal" intensity bulbs. I believe it was Consumer Reports who did a test, and even stuff like SilverStars really didn't consistently beat stock bulbs in the vehicles they tested. Of course, something like SilverStars will indeed give you a "whiter" light. And, something like the Cool Blues indeed won't be as bright, because they don't "boost the output" to make up for the bluish tint, which really only achieves a whiter light by filtering out the yellow light -- thus "cutting" the bulb's light output.

So, probably nothing amiss here -- it's just that the new "stock" bulbs are indeed very good ones!

[desi_prodigy]

i got some crappy philips bulbs in my Gen5 camry,,they werent that bright,,really shit,,so i got the Eurolite Xenon bulbs,,there pretty good,,but only lasted me about 8 monthz,,thinking of switching to silverstars now

[fredster34]

I have Philips "High-Visibility" 9006 bulbs in my Gen 5.5. I think u can only get them at K-Mart or online. I got them for about $9.99 each. They supposedly give 30% more light, as opposed to 20% more with Sylvania XtraVision. BTW, I tried Xtra's before, I didn't notice much difference.

With Hi-Vis, the light is brighter and whiter. It's whiter NOT because the bulbs are tinted, but because the light is actually brighter than stock. I had Sylvania Cool Blues prior. I liked the color, but they were dimmer.

I really like my Hi-Vis bulbs. If I wanted to go even brighter, I'd go with the Philips "Vision Plus", which give 50% more light. You can order them online here...

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/aid-auto/viplrebu90.html

I heard GE's "Nighthawk" give as much light, but I've never tried yet. They're at Wal-Mart for about $27/pair.

So far, Hi-Vis have been my fav bulbs. Hope that helps.

[darksparkz]

Somewhat related to topic.

I switched from stock light bulbs in my 97 Camry, it uses 9003/H4 bulbs. I switched to silverstars and didn't notice a huge white difference. It was just a bit brighter, but wasn't as "xenon white" as I'd want it to be.

[LunarMist]

Absolutely DO NOT GO WITH SILVERSTARS!!! I repeat DO NOT GET SILVERSTARS! I bought some Silverstars six months ago (mid-October) and imagine my surprise when last week, my left headlight blew out! I couldnt fuckin believe it! I could have killed Sylvania. And I did EVERYTHING right. I didnt get Silverstars until I heard everyone on here talkin about em and I did everything that was suggested. I didnt drop the bulb; i didnt touch the bulb; i didnt even breathe on the son of a bitch! And it still blew! And I know that Silverstars had a low lifespan but from what I've heard you should at least be able to get a full year out of em. I got SIX FRIGGIN MONTHS! And the even dumber part is that was with MINIMAL use. I don't do too much night driving and i'm not one of those idiots who drive around in the daytime using their low-beams when their car is equipped with DRLs. So I barely used em! NEVER AGAIN SILVERSTARS!

I had to breakdown and buy some Sylvania Cool Blue's because I cant go back to that ugly stock yellow but these Cool Blue's are bullshit too. They look almost exactly like my original stock bulbs and they aren't the slightest bit blue! But I solved all that, I bought some fake-me-out Xenon lights off ebay and as soon as I get those these crappy Cool Blue's are going back to the store! I don't think i'll be buying another Sylvania product ever again.

[TRDGen5.5camry]

all i can say is that your guys suck at installing bulbs lol. Dude install my silverstars like 2 year ago and it still run

[terrastrife]

heh yeah, its bad to install bulbs when its cold, himid or if theres wind around lol.

NOTHING must touch the lens of the bulb... NOTHING not even a small whim of your own breath.

ive only had one bulb change since the car was new in 1994. and that was maybe 2-3 years ago when i swapped for the fake hid bulbs because the stock ones were aging.

[Old Dood]

I know pretty much nothing about car headlights....however, I have noticed with the 2007 Camry the headlights seem way brighter then anything I have owned before. My Buick doesn't come close.

So these newer bulbs in the newer models are more intense? And they are legal? I thought the laws were determend on "Candle power"? Do they get around that somehow?

[Zandro]

If you want a tip on good bulbs Philips and GE electric makes some of the best ones.
Ive tried Sylvania bulbs (Osram here in Europe) and they stink. Philips have the
Bluevision bulbs, they are equally bright to regular bulbs as they are 30%
brighter than normal bulbs, so no loss of light. The bulbs i found to give the best light output is the GE Megalight plus bulbs, it`s not as white as the bluevison bulbs but
the light output is superior.

[Alloy]

My 04 SE came with Sylvania stock bulbs, they weren't that bad, but they were too yellowy to my liking, so I changed my DRL to LITECH SUPER PLAZMA XENON BULB (fake HID) and my low beam to POLARG B1 HALOGEN VIP STYLE SPECIAL WHITE (HB3 instead of 9006, shines brighter but slightly more expensive)

[jaymz11]

I have had Silverstars in my 92 300 ZX for over 2 years now and still look sharp in stock projector headlights. I also have them in my 97 Camry and was definately pleased with the upgrade from stock. I am gojng to try the HIR Toshibas in my 2005 when it gets back from the body shop(hit a wheel flying off of a car at 80mph last week). Will take pics when I get them in.
From the sounds of some of you it seems like you are expecting a little too much from a bulb. It isnt like you are going to catch a nut or something every time you turn on the lights.
$$=performance.

[midnightmach]

Originally Posted by Alloy

My 04 SE came with Sylvania stock bulbs, they weren't that bad, but they were too yellowy to my liking, so I changed my DRL to LITECH SUPER PLAZMA XENON BULB (fake HID) and my low beam to POLARG B1 HALOGEN VIP STYLE SPECIAL WHITE (HB3 instead of 9006, shines brighter but slightly more expensive)

What do you think of the Litechs i have them too they gave me the color i wanted but the brightness could be a little better.

[Alloy]

You are right, they are not that bright, that's why it works its purpose as changing the colour of my Daytime Running Light. however, for nighttime illumination (Low beam), I would not recommend them.

[eecc]

You guys should check out HIR bulbs if you want brightness. I did a review on them a while back.
http://toyotanation.com/forum/t126438.html