Sylvania Ultra Headlights...beware!

[pexford]

Took the advice of Trailer Life's Bruce Smith's article to upgrade my 2009 Silverado 1500's lights. I'm "of an age" where I need all the help I can get at night driving. Spent the $45 low beam and $45 High Beam plus $70 (as he warned some GM units are not simple). After $160, the Hi beams are just a little better than OEM's. The Low beams suck! the "cut off" is waay lower than the OEM's...now only about 200'. Any moose here in NH that steps in front of me will likely drop 60,000 ticks on my front seat. That $70 replacement back to OEM low beam has me thinking. 60,000 ticks? $70? Really wish Bruce did a little more homework! Peter

[Huntindog]

Some here apparently do not understand the function of the low beam cutoff. It is to keep one from blinding oncoming traffic.
It is much more defined in a high performance headlamp, as it needs to be.... Since it is a lot brighter, the blinding risk is more of a problem.

One really doesn't need the cutoff area illuminated with low beams anyways. Anything that needs to be seen with in a low beam situation can be. Unless these moose are floating off of the ground!!:B If you need more light, then you should be in a high beam situation.

[pexford]

Got them back to the shop for adj...told them to "cheat 'em high". No good. Cutoff is still lousy. Thanks for input. Moose and ticks win. Gonna go back to OEMs Peter

[rhagfo]

Any one have feed back on the Night Hawk bulbs?
Reg state 50% more light, and Platinum state 90% more.

[kevden]

I replaced the stock fog lamp bulbs in my Pacifica with Eiko vision supreme bulbs. They have very similar performance to silverstar bulbs, but have a longer life expectancy. Found a pair on ebay for around $27.

[PaulJ2]

Replaced the sealed beam lights on the 99 Cherokee with Silverstars. Much brighter, wider spred on low beam. Can see both roadside ditches now. High beam a little bit better than stock. Made sure to adjust then to the exact same place as the stock ones.

[PartyMarty]

Hella's are great !
Illegal ? in some places ?

[TurnThePage]

My first Silverstars lasted almost 2 years. The second are still going strong at least 5 years later. And they definitely light up the highway better than stock.

[campinginthewoo]

Hi I had Silver star headlights in my old 96 Silverado pickup with DRL's and never once burned out a bulb I had them in for 7 years that I owned the truck and my current 2004 F250 CC I bought silver star's and replaced the headlights and the fog lights and they are brighter than stock and I know that as I had just replaced the headlights and you could see a big difference between them now they match and that was 4 years ago and I won't use anything else prior I used to switch headlights to halogen's. Just my opinion and with any headlight you have to have the right aim or you won't see as well I have to adjust mine during the winter some due to the extra weight I use for winter.

[carringb]

I got good results from SilverStars in my van. I never burned them out, but probably after about 70,000 miles I replaced the full housing and upgraded further to HIDs.

We also put SilverStars in our Camry. Great light improvement, however we couldn't get more than a year out of them, so it has regular bulbs for now. I also order a full headlight/HID assembly for the Camry, but haven't put it in yet.

HIDs are a really nice way to go, but don't stick them in stock headlight housings or it will light up everything except the roadway.

[TECMike]

Been using Sylvania Silverstars in our 2002 F-250 for two years now. They have not burned out and have made a significant difference in me and my wife's ability to see and drive at night.

Guess the headlight assemblies are different in all makes and models of trucks. Each person must make their own choices as to what works for them and their ability to see at night.

[Lowsuv]

my experience is that i gained nothing from the Silverstars other than a color change .
2002 gmc duramax
i am currently running one silverstar and one normal on low beams only
the silverstar are no further out in distance .
the silverstar have a shorter service life than conventional
when the other silverstar burns out , i will not buy another .
i live in bend at 4100' asl .
the closest interstate is 140 miles away
i have the opportunity to drive relatively deserted 2 lane US highways frequently at night .

[dodge_guy]

My X headlamps suck. What i'm going to do is install a good set of driving lights. Either Hella's or similar. Maybe even a good set of LED driving lights!

[SCVJeff]

ExxWhy wrote:
If the cutoff is too low, then a quick adjustment of the aiming screws might get you back to where you want to be.

eggzactly.. And that's true technically with any lamp considering the tolerances. I've been running the Silverstars and Xtravisions for several years, and the difference is significant. Amazon or eBay has them WAY cheaper than the local store.

[ExxWhy]

If the cutoff is too low, then a quick adjustment of the aiming screws might get you back to where you want to be.