Head lamp Bulbs.

Silverstares help a bit , A hotter bulb 120 watt may melt Lexan and bulb holders, Blue is a fad color to mimic HID no increase in output, Pia are good but I checked Lumen output and Silverstars on H3 were higher, E mail Piaa for Lumen rating of your bulb, They do have some that are better than Silverstar.

In my experience, the PIAA bulbs burn out faster.

I could argue this one! I put a set of the 'blue' bulbs in my Tercel. Holy Cow!!! I couldn't believe the difference in output! Just amazing. Unfortunatel, I can't remember which brand. They were either Sylvania Super Blues or APC Xenon. There was a dramatic increase in usable light.

The ones you are talking about are the ones that appear different colours depending on where you are in relation to them. They DO suck, and are just for 'cool'. Since I live and drive in rural areas, I want LIGHT!!!

Um, they were (the good ones, that is) only about $2-3 more than the regular replacements!

See my answer to m Ransley.

Also, I did this here (I take it you're in the UK. Over here the 100/120's are illegal).

Inside the headlight, look and see if there is a metal ring that encompasses the light bulb. I have NO IDEA what it is for, but on my '95 Tercel, I bent them down out of the way. Even with the Xenon bulbs, I wasn't getting 'flashed' by other drivers, and the range and width of the beam increased greatly. I was going to removed them completely, but I sold the car so I could buy a Supra...

To say one brand is better than another is meaningless, unless you have tried them all, which no body has except for Car magazines in testing. . Bulbs have ratings, Lumen = brightness. Kelvin = the color temp of the bulb, the higher Kelvin the whiter then blue the light. Piaa has maybe

3-4 different Kelvin models in one line, So you can pick a white light or go to blue. Blue is outlawed in some states as it is blinding. For H3 Silverstars have apx 15% more output if I remember correctly. For H4 Piaa may win and offers more options. I would like to read an indepandant test as I drive unlit country roads and use Piaa replacement bulbs and 2 pair Piaa auxilery lights with Silverstars. In H3 Silverstars are better, I dont recommend 85-100 watt bulbs, they put out alot more heat which in summer can cause problems. A friend melted their lights with 100w. Different brands may be even better but I do not know of others that seem to be. US DOT has a limit on what can be legaly sold.

Johnny,

I have tried all different kinds on multiple vehicles. From my experience, the "blue bulbs" sometimes provide more light because they have higher wattage, a tiny amount of xenon gas, or filaments that are brighter but wear out faster. Katz are bright but burn out fast. Mine blew at 4 months. PIAA's are good and last a long time but they're not the brightest. Had them for 4 years now and still good. The Silverstars are the brightest but can't vouch for its longevity. I've only tried them for about 15 months. Since I have multiple vehicles, they don't get used very much. They are reasonably priced though.

The best route for more light though is true HID conversions. But that's about $500. I'm guessing that you're not willing to spend this much.

Your Camry has 9006 for low beams and 9005 for high beams. Bulbs starting with H are typically fog lights (with exceptions of course).

Bulbs are painted blue so they look "whiter" when turned on. In actually this tinting of the bulb weakens the light, just like any other kind of tinting. The more expensive ones compensate by making the output higher. The cheaper ones don't they're ouput is actually weaker than standard halogens.

I would suggest to stay away from bulbs that use higher wattage than stock. It is possible that you may burn out your wiring system for having higher loads that what it is designed for.

I know you've received multiple responses here. So you have to think for yourself, which ones have made more logical sense?

Hi,

been using 100/90 without any problems for some time now. Unlikely to melt your lights. real issue is your wiring it may not handle the wattage back to the light switch, the wires can overheat but you can check this by looking at the lights. if the lights go yellow your wiring isn't high enough grade to handle it - you can get around this by installing a relay switch.

I used 4 100 watt aircraft landing lights on my 72 Celica for 5 years with no issue (relay switch used there).

Truck drivers dipped their lights for me...real quick.

Camry lights (low beam) are downright dangerous on the open road - can't see the road while car is passing in other direction.

rgds

Peter

Perhaps my earlier link posting wasn't clear (no pun intended).

The headlamp lenses can be polished and brightened improving optical clarity. I used a white polishing compound applied with a damp cotton cloth (baby diapers), beginning with light pressure then increasing force as the material absorbed into the cloth. In addition to giving the headlight enclosures a nice gloss the amount of light thrown forth onto the roadway is improved. Also, as mentioned before, you can use a ratchet handle and socket to adjust the headlight aim on marks on a wall 25 feet out, two inches below height as measured at the car, and beam pattern aligned with headlight centerlines. There's even a small raised bump on the headlights to help measure centers accurately. Pointing, or aiming correctly helps a lot. While they do burn out more quickly due to the being "over driven" to overcome color tint, Sylvania Silverstars (also more expensive) in combination with the above procedures give an entirely acceptable beam pattern and good visibility on a 1994 with 125,000 miles. Had occasion to drive in complete darkness last night and they work well. On an open stretch using high beam, illumination is excellent. Also on low beam, noticed they're working well - with no additional load on the electrical system, and meeting all US DOT regulations.

Hi,

the 2004 Camry's out here have bad lights - its a new car, older ones you could understand the reflectors within the headlight unit becoming "cloudy" and needing a clean - metho usually the best.

Lights are aimed correctly, dark nights not an issue its the half light effect with oncoming traffic - you can't see the road. Friend rented one and nearly stacked it along the ocean road.

Noticed the same in my 96 model on country road, magna in front of me had same issue, braked hard every time a car went past in opposite direction.

High beam is magnificent - its just the low beam which sucks.

rgds

Peter