Sylvania Silverstar headlights

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005, SRG wrote:

> I just bought the 9006XS 's (low beam) for my PT Cruiser. They look a
> little whiter and brighter than the 2.5 year old originals. They are
> 55 watts and the originals were 51 watts, I think. Has anyone else
> here got them? What do you think? DS could you explain what you
> think about them?

They produce *less* and *bluer* light than standard bulbs, and have a
shorter lifespan. The claim that "Whiter light helps you see better" has
no factual basis, and "brighter" is being misused. ("Brighter" is like
"Louder": It's a subjective term that doesn't mean you have more light or
more sound, respectively).

A bulb of given parameters with clear glass is ALWAYS better than a bulb
with colored glass -- always. Doesn't matter whose name is on the blue
bulb (Sylvania, PIAA, etc.), all of the bulbs with blue glass are gimmick
products that do not help you see better under any circumstances. (Ha ha,
joke's on the buyer, they don't fool anyone into thinking your car has HID
Xenon headlights, either.) The "brighter" impression is an optical
illusion, and these bulbs are _markedly_ worse in any kind of bad weather.
You'll run into people who swear they can see vastly better with
Silverstars or PIAA, etc. This is nothing more than self-delusion; I call
it the "Slick-50 Effect" ("Of _course_ my engine runs smoother and
stronger and gets 5 more miles per gallon; I just spent $40 on a bottle of
Slick-50!")

There aren't many options in the straight-base 9006XS and 9005XS bulbs
used by a lot of Chrysler products, but the PT Cruiser happens to
physically accept the regular angle-base 9005/9006 bulbs (it's just a
question of whether the angled base part will clear the housing, and in
this case it does). That opens up the options considerably. You might want
to go over and look at

http://bmwz.org/articles/lighting/0506trick/

And now the in-depth tech talk:

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. Though I've chosen H1 bulbs for
this comparison, the relative comparisons apply to any given bulb type:

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 Silver Star!): 1750 lumens, 350 hours

Osram H1 CoolBlue or Sylvania H1 Silver Star: 1380 lumens, 250 hours

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.

More? Su

AutoExpress finally released the results of their new H4 (=9003, =HB2)
bulb tests.

Standard and blue bulbs ("Osram CoolBlue" is what is sold in North America
as "Sylvania Silverstar"):

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product...y.php?id=39920

"Plus 30" high efficiency bulbs ("Osram Super" is what is sold in North
America as "Sylvania Xtravision", while "Philips Premium" is available in
North America as "Wagner BriteLite" and "Candlepower Bright Light"):

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product...y.php?id=39919

"Plus 50" ultra high efficiency bulbs (Osram Silverstar is available in
North America as Candlepower Super Bright Light, or -- like the Philips
VisionPlus -- can be ordered from one of the overseas websites that ships
worldwide):

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product...y.php?id=39917

The AutoExpress website will let you view up to two articles before it
wants you to "register" -- throwing phony info at it will make it shut up
and let you see more stories.

DS