[jcourcoul]

Time for a few minor mods before the winter. Parrot + Connect2 harness is on the way, to make driving and talking safer under demanding conditions. Stealth bulbs for the corners are on the way as well. Just finished giving the leather interior its seasonal saddle soap scrubbing so next weekend it can be properly conditioned with Lexol.

So, what's with the Silverstars? Well, it would be nice to have high beams that really appear to be high beams, cause the stock H7's are no match to the unshuttered HID's, but I won't go for those bluish ricer HID-wannabe bulbs whose main output is glare. So:

• A good replacement to the originals?
• Won't burn up the reflector (I think my ALS headlamp high beams have metal reflectors; I know for a fact that the HID reflector is metal but didn't pay attention to the high beam when I did corrective surgery on the levelling mechanism)?
• Will balance somewhat the output of low vs. high?
• Other similarly priced alternatives?
• Will these also be a good idea for the foglamps, in lieu of going full-European with yellows on the fogs ?

 

[fcpeuro]

The silverstar bulbs are excellent bulbs. I used to have them on my Volvo 850. The reason I say used to is because, for the money, they did not produce much more light over the much cheaper XtraVision bulbs I used, and currently use now. Being your car is a BMW with projectors, you may get more light out of them.

 

[jvr826]

I use regular silverstars in another vehicle and they work great. I have read a lot about them over the years and general consensus is, the ultra is not worth the premium cost.

 

[KrisL]

I hear the Osram silverstars are better than the Sylvania silverstars (OSRAM owns Sylvania, but the Osram-branded bulbs are truly brighter and not DOT-legal here in the US. The Sylvania silverstars have an ugly blue coating on them). You can find Osram silverstars on eBay if you're in the US...

 

[Pendulum]

i've heard that they have a very short life span but do provide a lot of light.
i opted for GE Nighthawks and they work great (cheaper and longer life, but brighter than stock)
GE has the new Nighthawk Platinum which are supposed to be good or better than the Sylvania Silverstar Ultras

 

[jcourcoul]

Thanks, so this would be a good replacement for the stock bulbs. Now I have to decide whether I want yellow Euro-style foglamps (excellent for very foggy conditions which we may or may not get this winter) or just brighter whites. No, I am NOT putting HID's in the fogs or the highbeams; I want something that can switch on and off in quick succession without committing electrical suicide.

 

[roverT]

I just switched my OEM inner beam bulbs to Nokya 2500K yellow's. The light output in pour driving conditions is awesome. It cuts through the dark/wet/rain better than the OEM white colour. Now if i could find a way to safetly turn these on with the lever pushed forward, instead of bi-xenons that would be great! My bi-xenons don't do the job that the inner beams can do in most conditions I drive in. For now I can pull back on the lever and hold it there for short periods when I need 'yellow' highbeams.

 

[jcourcoul]

I just switched my OEM inner beam bulbs to Nokya 2500K yellow's. The light output in pour driving conditions is awesome.

Are you talking about the 80 watt HyperYellow's? Won't that hyperwattage end up burning a reflector bowl designed to handle just 55 watts?

 

[roverT]

Oh wow I just looked at the packaging. Luckily I mainly use the lights to flash people because the horn doesn't work good enough nowadays with such sealed passenger compartments. And Since I can't leave my inner beams on without holding the lever, it'll only be used for a short while. I'll keep on top of checking the condition of the reflectors. Thanks for letting me know!

EDIT: I just checked the box and it is this one here (70watt):

 

[tamvegas]

I've used the SilverStars for a few years now. My only complaint is a short life.
Seems they usually last less than a full year.
Going to look at some of the options mentioned here.

 

[jvr826]

I've used the SilverStars for a few years now. My only complaint is a short life.
Seems they usually last less than a full year.
Going to look at some of the options mentioned here.

So you drive a lot at night? Auto-on headlights in your car?

I have a set in my truck for over 6 years, but it's not driven every night either.

 

[TrippinBimmer]

I'm using M-Tech Comso Blue H7 Bulbs in Mine Good stuff...Matches with my M-Tech 6700k Bulbs and Orion 6000k AE...

-TrippinBimmer

 

[jcourcoul]

An update: got the pair of Sylvania SilverStar Ultras I finally ended up ordering, yesterday. Kris, the Ultras are marketed as Sylvania, but are really Osram and made in Germany. Inspecting and comparing them with the stock Phillips H7 that came with the car, it seems that the Ultras are really a modified kind of HIR bulbs, which explains the extreme brightness. While the Ultras don't have the bulbous shape of traditional HIR's (see here), they appear to have a similar internal coating that causes the filament to get hotter and produce more light. They also come with a warning: "bulbs with a higher output intensity will have a shorter lifespan".

More info on HIR technology.

Also got and installed NASA stealth bulbs, so no more eggyolk. Yes, the silver bulbs are about 75-80% as bright as the stock yellow bulbs. But since the car came with white LED sidemarkers that only work as turn indicators (Euro coding), they do compensate for the reduced brightness up front.

 

[Coconutpete]

Does your car have xenons and not bixenons?

I know we were chatting about angel eyes in the other thread .... I'd say pickup a set of bixenon projectors on eBay for $100 for when you have the headlights cracked open - high beam problem solved.

You won't get a positive comment about Silverstars out of me. I had them in my 1999 328 - light output was the same and they both burned out after 3 months.....

 

[kunal_D]

The Silverstars are good for light output, I had them on my Acura, but they seem to burn out very quickly in about 6-7 months. I tried the regular and ultra and both did not last very long.

 

[jcourcoul]

Yep, I've got bixenons, wanted the high beams to have comparable to the lows especially in terms of color. Good for their intimidator properties: dork tries to cut in front of you, give'm a blinding flash of light to scare them back onto their lane.

Still have to repair the broken leveling "suspension" in the driver's side headlamp, jury rigged for now, when I bake it open to put the AE's. But since the CVV may be starting to fail, will have to see to that first before spending on more appeareance niceties.

 

[jeff618]

best halogen replacements

Sorry to bump an old thread but I came here to soley complain about the ultras...

If you are disappointed in Sylvania Silverstar Ultras like I was because they only last under a year, get the SOLUX bulbs. They're a noticable improvement in brightness and a fair amount whiter than OEM (similar to the ultras), but they don't burn out real fast. Their claim is they last as long as standard OEM bulbs. At $50 a set for ultras, I wish I would have realized that the ultras burn out so fast. The solux are about the same price, but (according to solux) they last up to 4x longer than ultras. Oh, and they're not illegal and they're not obnoxious/blinding...just better lighting.

 

[TerraPhantm]

I'm using the Osram Rallye 65W bulbs. They're technically not street legal since they use 65W instead of 55W, but the wiring can handle it fine. They're considerably brighter than standard H7 bulbs, and have about the same lifespan.

 

[jeff618]

They're technically not street

Naughty, Naughty!! So its like having high-beam bulbs in the low beams...?