bapuga
08-21-2009, 05:55 PM
I know that there are several discussions about these two headlight replacements on here, but i wanted to share my reviews of them, and also share some insight from Sylvania on their product...
The short version is this: BUY THE GE NIGHTHAWKS!! (Amazon has a great price.)
My review on Amazon..
If you but these bulbs after reading all the negative reviews on
here, you deserve what you get.
In May of 2008, I purchased my first pair of Silverstar replacement
bulbs on Amazon for my 2007 Honda Ridgeline. I had wanted to increase
the brightness of my headlights, and thought that Sylvania was a company
with superior products. By September 2008, one of them had already
burned out. I contacted Sylvania customer service, and was told that
because of their brightness and high heat, the life expectancy was less
that other bulbs. But because of the extreme failure rate of my bulbs,
they would sent me a replacement pair.
While waiting for the replacement pair, I purchased another set at
Kraagen, thinking I would keep the free pair as a backup. Shortly after
installing the bulbs from Kraagen they burned out, so I had to resort to
using the free pair I received from Sylvania.
BY MARCH OF 2009, LESS THAN A YEAR LATER- the third pair of bulbs burned
out. Yes, I went through 3 sets of bulbs in less than one year. And it's
not like it was the same headlight burning out, either. I was
experiencing failure on both headlights, and replacing them together as
a set, as recommended by Sylvania. And NO, I do not touch the actual
bulb with my fingers
I ordered GE Nighthawk Sport bulbs from Amazon in March 2009, and have
had them in my truck ever since. No burnouts, and the color and
brightness is outstanding.
DO NOT BUY THESE BULBS, UNLESS YOU HAVE MONEY TO "BURN!
The response from Sylvania:
Thank you for taking the time to follow-up with us regarding your
additional product concerns. I assure you that we take Customer
Satisfaction very seriously and apologize for the inconvenience you've
encountered while using our SilverStar(r) high performance lamps.
We offer a wide variety of products to satisfy customer needs including
brightness, durability, color options and increased visibility. All of
our high performance halogen lamps, including the SilverStar(r), are
made to the same specifications for amperage and voltage draw as their
original equipment counterparts so they create no more heat than
standard halogen lamps. The primary goal with our SilverStar(r) product
line is to produce brightest, whitest light that still complies with all
guidelines for on-road use. Research has shown SilverStar(r) headlights
improve driver visibility and reaction time. However, since the
SilverStar(r) products are up to 35% brighter than standard halogen,
they will have a shorter life span compared to some of our other
products. The life of any halogen bulb varies based on proper
installation, vehicle type, vehicle voltage, and the amount of time the
bulb is on. The average life for the SilverStar(r) headlights is
approximately one year and may be further reduced if the lamps are used
in a daytime running light application. It's possible that given your
personal driving habits you're exhausting the life span more quickly
than most.
Additionally, halogen bulbs are designed to perform at a nominal 12.8
volts DC to achieve optimal performance. However, some vehicles are
running much higher, in some cases at 15+ volts at start-up. Such
over-voltage is typically not an issue for general vehicle operation,
but an increase in voltage by as little as 5% will reduce the rated bulb
life of a halogen lamp by as much as half. Unfortunately, no
adjustments can be made to the operating voltage since it's a function
of the alternator output and electrical architecture of the vehicle, but
if you find the operating voltage to the headlamp to be higher than 13.5
volts, that may also explain why the SilverStar(r) lamps are failing shy
of the one year average.
For those consumers who are particularly concerned about product
longevity, we suggest our XtraVision(r) product line. The XtraVision(r)
lamps have a color temperature of approximately 3200K, compared to an
average color temperature of 4000K for the SilverStar(r), so they will
not produce the crisp white light found with the SilverStar(r).
However, the XtraVision(r) lamps leverage the technology of a
specifically engineered filament and a proprietary gas mixture to create
up to 30% more illumination than standard halogens. This increased
light output allows drivers to see more clearly at night and enhances
driving safety. Our XtraVision(r) products have been designed for
maximum durability and performance without as much of a tradeoff in
terms of the life span.
The short version is this: BUY THE GE NIGHTHAWKS!! (Amazon has a great price.)
My review on Amazon..
If you but these bulbs after reading all the negative reviews on
here, you deserve what you get.
In May of 2008, I purchased my first pair of Silverstar replacement
bulbs on Amazon for my 2007 Honda Ridgeline. I had wanted to increase
the brightness of my headlights, and thought that Sylvania was a company
with superior products. By September 2008, one of them had already
burned out. I contacted Sylvania customer service, and was told that
because of their brightness and high heat, the life expectancy was less
that other bulbs. But because of the extreme failure rate of my bulbs,
they would sent me a replacement pair.
While waiting for the replacement pair, I purchased another set at
Kraagen, thinking I would keep the free pair as a backup. Shortly after
installing the bulbs from Kraagen they burned out, so I had to resort to
using the free pair I received from Sylvania.
BY MARCH OF 2009, LESS THAN A YEAR LATER- the third pair of bulbs burned
out. Yes, I went through 3 sets of bulbs in less than one year. And it's
not like it was the same headlight burning out, either. I was
experiencing failure on both headlights, and replacing them together as
a set, as recommended by Sylvania. And NO, I do not touch the actual
bulb with my fingers
I ordered GE Nighthawk Sport bulbs from Amazon in March 2009, and have
had them in my truck ever since. No burnouts, and the color and
brightness is outstanding.
DO NOT BUY THESE BULBS, UNLESS YOU HAVE MONEY TO "BURN!
The response from Sylvania:
Thank you for taking the time to follow-up with us regarding your
additional product concerns. I assure you that we take Customer
Satisfaction very seriously and apologize for the inconvenience you've
encountered while using our SilverStar(r) high performance lamps.
We offer a wide variety of products to satisfy customer needs including
brightness, durability, color options and increased visibility. All of
our high performance halogen lamps, including the SilverStar(r), are
made to the same specifications for amperage and voltage draw as their
original equipment counterparts so they create no more heat than
standard halogen lamps. The primary goal with our SilverStar(r) product
line is to produce brightest, whitest light that still complies with all
guidelines for on-road use. Research has shown SilverStar(r) headlights
improve driver visibility and reaction time. However, since the
SilverStar(r) products are up to 35% brighter than standard halogen,
they will have a shorter life span compared to some of our other
products. The life of any halogen bulb varies based on proper
installation, vehicle type, vehicle voltage, and the amount of time the
bulb is on. The average life for the SilverStar(r) headlights is
approximately one year and may be further reduced if the lamps are used
in a daytime running light application. It's possible that given your
personal driving habits you're exhausting the life span more quickly
than most.
Additionally, halogen bulbs are designed to perform at a nominal 12.8
volts DC to achieve optimal performance. However, some vehicles are
running much higher, in some cases at 15+ volts at start-up. Such
over-voltage is typically not an issue for general vehicle operation,
but an increase in voltage by as little as 5% will reduce the rated bulb
life of a halogen lamp by as much as half. Unfortunately, no
adjustments can be made to the operating voltage since it's a function
of the alternator output and electrical architecture of the vehicle, but
if you find the operating voltage to the headlamp to be higher than 13.5
volts, that may also explain why the SilverStar(r) lamps are failing shy
of the one year average.
For those consumers who are particularly concerned about product
longevity, we suggest our XtraVision(r) product line. The XtraVision(r)
lamps have a color temperature of approximately 3200K, compared to an
average color temperature of 4000K for the SilverStar(r), so they will
not produce the crisp white light found with the SilverStar(r).
However, the XtraVision(r) lamps leverage the technology of a
specifically engineered filament and a proprietary gas mixture to create
up to 30% more illumination than standard halogens. This increased
light output allows drivers to see more clearly at night and enhances
driving safety. Our XtraVision(r) products have been designed for
maximum durability and performance without as much of a tradeoff in
terms of the life span.