Ping: Daniel Stern

Dan, thought I'd give you a change of pace and give you a chance to reply to a "real" question. I've gone through 2 sets of Silstar bright white bulbs in my 2002 Chevy Trailblazer in 16 months. What is your recommendation for a brighter headlamp that will last a reasonable amount of time, vehicle has dtrl's. Thanks. shep

Reply to
Shep
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Not surprising.

Here's manufacturer data for output and lifespan at 13.2v for all the Osram/Sylvania H1 bulbs. Lifespan is given as Tc, the hour figure at which

63.2 percent of the bulbs have failed. (Your Trailblazer doesn't use H1, but this pattern holds for every different bulb format -- I just chose H1 as an example):

Osram or Sylvania H1 (regular normal):

1550 lumens, 650 hours

Osram or Sylvania H1 long life:

1460 lumens, 1200 hours

Osram H1 Super (if Sylvania Xtravision line included H1, this'd be it):

1700 lumens, 350 hours

Osram H1 Silver Star (NOT Sylvania Silverstar!):

1750 lumens, 350 hours

Osram H1 CoolBlue or Sylvania H1 Silverstar:

1380 lumens, 250 hours

(Yes, Virginia, Sylvania's claims of "brightest" are BS)

Now, looking over these results, which one would you rather:

(a) Buy? (b) Sell?

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.

How much brighter are you trying to get? What are your driving conditions like? My database (and my memory!) are silent on which bulb the '02 Trailblazer uses for daytime running in the US.

Shoot me an e-mail, dastern "at" torque "dot" net.

DS

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

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