SN95 headlight upgrade. Advice needed.

I replaced my stock headlights with Cobra (not Cobra style) headlights years
ago.  Its a very noticeable improvement in looks and in night vision.  Add
the Silver Stars and its better still.
I bought my headlights via one of the aftermarket suppliers.  I'd go there
or a Mustang salvge yard before I'd buy from ebay.

LJH
95GT

 

Sylvania silverstar are blue bulb junk. xtravisions from sylvania and a
few others mentioned in daniel stern's recent posts in rec.autos.driving
are the better bulbs on the market.

I recently put in '98 cobra reproduction headlamps (because I couldn't
find anyone who carried real ford ones at a reasonable price. Of course
now that I have them I found this northcoast performance has the real
ford ones for a $140 each. the repros were $110 for the pair. other
places wanted over $200 each for the real ford ones) with relays, new 12
gauge wiring and xtravision bulbs. The performance is rather good, second
only to the audi rental I drove in europe given the sampling of cars I've
driven at night. (which I admit isn't that big)

Silver Star bulbs are not blue they are WHITE.  Not junk either, they
perform flawlessly and use near stock current so you dont have to worry
about melting your headlight or wiring.

LJH
95GT  (have used Silver Stars for years)

Hepinstall wrote:

OSRAM silver stars are good. Slyvanias are blue tinted. If you have the
former, you are correct.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.autos.driving/msg/684db1648f866a5b
-> The answer to (a) depends on how well you want to see versus how often to
-> change the bulb. If you want the best possible seeing, you pick the Osram
-> Silver Star. If you don't care as long as it works and you don't want to
-> hassle with it, you pick the long life or Daytime Running. The answer to
-> (b) is determined by how rich your company's shareholders want you to be,
-> and is obvious: You want to sell the bulb with the shortest lifespan and
-> highest price. That'd be the Sylvania Silver Star.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.autos.driving/msg/8f200ad31d300732
-> GE NightHawk is an excellent new product line -- Tied with Philips
-> VisionPlus as the best 9000-series bulbs (and least-worst sealed beams) on
-> the general retail market in the US. And yes, good eye, they don't have
-> light-stealing blue coloration to the glass like the Sylvania Silverstar
-> junk.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.autos.driving/msg/2fa36a9b19494785
-> Sylvania XtraVision, GE HO, GE SUV, Philips High Visibility are
-> high-efficacy bulbs.
-> GE NightHawk, Philips VisionPlus, Narva Rangepower+50, Candlepower SBL are
-> ultra-high-efficacy bulbs.

at 12 Jan 2005, Brent P  [tetraethylleadREMOVETHIS@yahoo.com] wrote in

Thank you for this insight. I am well aware of the Philips VisionPlus
line being from Europe. Glad to hear they are available in the USA now.
Sounds like Cobra replica's or Cobra units are the way to go with
either the GE or the Philips bulbs.


--
 _                       1995 Mustang V6 Coupe (Bright Blue)
|_|                      Member Modern Mustangs of North America (MMNA)
|__|ofh@tampabay.rr.com  http://mustang.fdns.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Maybe Sylvania has changed them since I bought them (several years ago)?
I specifically did NOT want blue or blue tinted light (hate blue lights) and
my Sylvania Silver Stars are not blue.  They have a brilliant white light..
not a trace of blue or orange.. just white.

LJH
95GT


Hepinstall wrote:

Hepinstall wrote:

I dunno about how the light output looks, the description was for the
blub glass. Online pictures seem to indicate the glass is tinted blue as per
DS's posts.  Keep in mind Osram owns Sylvania. However the US product is
different than the european one despite the same name.  Maybe the older
ones were clear, I dunno.

Slyvania pics showing the blue glass color:
http://www.autobarn.net/silverstar.html
http://www.brightheadlights-hid.com/silverstar-Sylvania-Silver-Star.htm
http://www.revelenterprises.com/pt_cruiser_silverstar.htm
http://www.buytruckstuff.com/xenon-bulbs.htm
http://www.buytruckstuff.com/product.asp?selcategory=25&p_gpID=79

Osram silver star pics showing clear glass:
http://www.casporttouring.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=17184&Category_Code=new
http://www.murphskits.com/ss.htm
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/catalogue/product_detail.asp?CLS=MCYCLE&TLGRP=MCP019&CODE=OSRSILVERSTAR&PGRP=MCC08&GRP=MCC08&PCODE=OSRB0472SVS
http://www.elkparts.co.uk/product_info.php/products_id/1084
http://www.care4car.com/productdisplay/productid/56/Osram_SilverStar_+_50%25_Xenon_Bulbs.html

Just because the bulb is tinted blue does NOT necessarilly mean the light
will be blue.  Some bulbs do use the coating to make the light blue.  Some
bulbs use the coating for color correction.. to make it more white for
instance.  It all depends on the design goals and what the coating IS.. not
just its apparent color.  Actual in-use color can only be deternined at
specified voltage and current.

LJH
95GT


Hepinstall wrote:

http://www.casporttouring.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=17184&Category_Code=new

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/catalogue/product_detail.asp?CLS=MCYCLE&TLGRP=MCP019&CODE=OSRSILVERSTAR&PGRP=MCC08&GRP=MCC08&PCODE=OSRB0472SVS

http://www.care4car.com/productdisplay/productid/56/Osram_SilverStar_+_50%25_Xenon_Bulbs.html

Hepinstall wrote:

Nice arguement I didn't make. I said the bulbs are blue. The bulbs are
tinted blue. Therefore they are blue bulbs.


It's called _marketing_. 'brightest' 'whitest' etc and so on are
marketing terms with no engineering basis.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/superwhite/superwhite.html


The tint of the glass lowers the actual light output. After all it is
filtering out light.


So why not put in a set of relays and some heavier gauge wire to
minimize voltage drop?

What the hell are you talking about.. wires, relays...????????

I'm done.  Think what you will of Sylvania Silver Stars.  I have them, have
used them for years, and guarantee you they are NOT blue in use.  Not a bit
blue.. total pure white.  They are reasonably priced, made my Cobra
headlights perform better, and are totally compatible.

PS:  If you're judging a bulbs light by their unpowered physical color
instead of  judging their light when powered up correctly.. you are
________________.

I am SO done.  Adios amigos

Hepinstall wrote:

You started commenting on powering up bulbs fully, so I assumed you knew
something about it.

Wire gauge is the thickness of the conductor, the copper. Thinner wire
has more resistance per unit length, and therefore a higher voltage
drop. Relays are simple electromechanical devices that switch a high
current with a small current.

On my mustang I have rewired the headlamps with 12 gauge wire fed
directly by the alternator. The headlamps are switched on and off by
relays. One for low beam, one for high beam. This way there is little in
the way of voltage drop. The bulbs get as close to alternator output
voltage as possible.
 
http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

Ford like many manufacturers uses wire that is too thin to power the
headlamps and routes the current through the headlamp switch on the dash.
That's alot of distance of thin wire. It only gets worse with age. My
mustang is 8 years old. The wiring could no longer feed the headlamps
anything approaching properly. Thusly I put in the relays. The headlamp
switch now just operates the relays which in turn switch on the headlamps.


They still are blue tinted, and this tint reduces available light for
actually seeing where you are going. I did not say they were blue in use,
I stated the blubs were blue. And they are blue in every photograph of
said bulbs I could find. The last ones I saw in the store were blue as I
recall.


Ahem. You are the one using subjective standards. I haven't compared
light by 'color'. You're the one parroting the 'brightest and whitest'
and other subjective judgements. I have not made any such judgement and
have remained in the realm of fact.

The fact is slyvania silver star bulbs use blue tinted glass. That's a
fact. I have supported this with photographs of said bulbs. They are
made with blue tinted glass. This tint will act to remove light. There is
no way they can put out more light than an equal clear glass bulb.

I have slyvania bulbs in my mustang, xtravisions. They are clear glass.
As I hear more about the new GE bulbs I may switch, but the xtravisions
were at/near the top of the 9007s for some time, still arent that far
behind the better newer competition and were like $18 for the pair. I may go
for the new GE bulbs that have taken over at the top in the future.  I
just don't see paying more for blue tint on the glass that removes light
and gives some people the appearance of better performance.


http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/superwhite/superwhite.html
"The reason why the scam fools people into thinking their headlamps
really work better has to do with the interaction of light that is tinted
blue (to any degree) with the human eye. This kind of light has been
shown in rigidly-controlled scientific studies to create almost 50% more
glare than untinted light from a bulb with clear glass. But there's no
50% increase in seeing to go along with the extra glare; there's no
increase in seeing at all, and in most cases there is a moderate
reduction in actual seeing light. More glare, less seeing: Everybody loses."


whatever, I tried to be informative. You prefer marketing hype, not my
problem.

More info:

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

much more detailed. I wish I had noticed it earlier.

Brent P wrote:


     What EVER you do. do NOT get involved in a conversation about
politics or how Mustangs do or don't resemble other makes of cars.

--
Is this supposed to impress me in some insignificant way?
Are you trying to pull rank on me? You have tenure?
Seniority? Maybe some stripes sewn on the side of your monitor?

Try to imagine how little I care! - SVTKate

This is nothing. Take a look at the various K&N air filter threads
throughout usenet over the years.

at 14 Jan 2005, Brent P  [tetraethylleadREMOVETHIS@yahoo.com] wrote in


Thank you for that link. Seems the 'SilverStar' confusion is because of
the US version and the non-US version of this bulb being two diffent
beasts...

Looks like I'm going with one of the ones recommended at the end of the
article as soon as I can find a set of decently priced Cobra styly
headlights for my car.

Thanks to all for replying and I apologize for opening this can of
worms. I'll try to avoid that next time. :-)



--
 _                       1995 Mustang V6 Coupe (Bright Blue)
|_|                      Member Modern Mustangs of North America (MMNA)
|__|ofh@tampabay.rr.com  http://mustang.fdns.net
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Paul wrote:

     Sounds like the best thing to do is choose something from PIAA.
But who can afford those....

--
Is this supposed to impress me in some insignificant way?
Are you trying to pull rank on me? You have tenure?
Seniority? Maybe some stripes sewn on the side of your monitor?

Try to imagine how little I care! - SVTKate

Are you trying to start something up again?  

I did the Osram Sylvania Xenarc HID upgrade to my four-eyed car. It's a true
HID kit, not just colored lights. I was very pleased.
Try,
http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/LampReplacementGuide/default.htm
to see what they have for your car.

If Sylvania doesn't have anything, try a place like,
http://www.brightheadlights-hid.com/

to find out what else is available. After you find out what's available, see
if your local parts store has it or can order it for you, it'll be cheaper.

HTH,
Jim S.

Paul wrote:


     I think I'd avoid Ebay for that. I've gotten where I only use
Ebay for used stuff.

--
Is this supposed to impress me in some insignificant way?
Are you trying to pull rank on me? You have tenure?
Seniority? Maybe some stripes sewn on the side of your monitor?

Try to imagine how little I care! - SVTKate