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low beam bulbs.....whose liking what?


c-lo

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F'in silverstar blew out tonight on drivers side, been in 3 months. whose liking what aftermarket bulbs they've put in?? thinking about switching to the PIAA's.
258k miles - Stock engine/minor suspension upgrades/original shocks/rear struts replaced at 222k/4 passenger side wheel bearings/3 clutches/1 radiator/3 turbos
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Maybe the design of the light housing causes the blown bulbs? Too much vibration? Why do these cars go thru light bulbs like this? Mine is 18 months old and both low beams have been replaced. I've had many cars and not all new never had this problem.
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having a hard time convincing myself to spend that much on bulbs. how much to replace them when they blow ?
258k miles - Stock engine/minor suspension upgrades/original shocks/rear struts replaced at 222k/4 passenger side wheel bearings/3 clutches/1 radiator/3 turbos
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About $20 for Silver stars

 

no I mean the hids. I have silverstars already so I know how much those cost to replace.

 

 

Laz, why do you say piaas will burn out at the same rate as silverstars? I heard (and experienced) the short life of silverstars, but piaas too?? Everytime I've put silverstars in they last about 3 mo. tops.

258k miles - Stock engine/minor suspension upgrades/original shocks/rear struts replaced at 222k/4 passenger side wheel bearings/3 clutches/1 radiator/3 turbos
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I think I have an extra SilverStar sitting in the tool box. I swapped to a xenon kit, so I don't need it....I can drop it off next week sometime.

 

FWIW - I saw no difference between the stock bulbs and the SilverStars.

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Because it is not the bulb, it is the DRL's that are burning your bulbs. I had another car with DRL's before and tried every single type of bulb from cheap ebay bulbs, to PIAA's, to Silverstars and they all had the same 3 to 5 month lifespan, and one will always go first, and then the other would go about 2 to 5 days later. It was the DRL's that would burn them out. Once you disable teh DRL's the lifespan of the bulbs raise dramatically.

 

To replace HID's bulbs is about $150 bucks for both, but they should last you almost 5 years +. I am not sure if the Xtec warranty covers the bulbs, but I know it covers everything else for lifetime (ballasts). I am very happy with my Xtect premium HID's that I got from RPM here on the site.

 

If anything I would say that you disable DRL's if you want the bulbs to last you longer.

 

X

 

no I mean the hids. I have silverstars already so I know how much those cost to replace.

 

 

Laz, why do you say piaas will burn out at the same rate as silverstars? I heard (and experienced) the short life of silverstars, but piaas too?? Everytime I've put silverstars in they last about 3 mo. tops.

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I have been using PIAA's since the late 90's and I actually still have the first pair of superwhites that I bought in 1998 on my wife's Honda and are still working. My dad has PIAA's on his forester for the past two years I have a year on my Legacy.
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Replacement H7 bulbs are not only a waste of time, but you'll have problems eventually. The entire reflector assembly is plastic, even with 65W bulbs the plastic on top started discoloring. Even stock wattage is baking the plastic.

 

On the plus side the fogs seem to be all metal.. yay.

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I think I have an extra SilverStar sitting in the tool box. I swapped to a xenon kit, so I don't need it....I can drop it off next week sometime.

 

FWIW - I saw no difference between the stock bulbs and the SilverStars.

 

thanks, If you got it, I'll take it. I'll even give you some $$ for it.

 

good thought on disabling the DRL's. thought about doing that, but on part of my daily commute there is a mandatory headlight area.

 

 

BTW, how do you disconnect the DRL's??? :icon_tong just kidding, I already know.

258k miles - Stock engine/minor suspension upgrades/original shocks/rear struts replaced at 222k/4 passenger side wheel bearings/3 clutches/1 radiator/3 turbos
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Quick burnout should be the exception not the norm. We have 5 years on a Sequoia with original bulbs (and DRL). 4 years on BMW Bi-Xenon. Have Silverstars in the GT because they were $29 for a pair at the local Advance Auto. About 50% of PIAA with same 55W and 4000k. If consistent data proves that these burn out in months and PIAA lasts for years, then the PIAA is the best, lower budget solution. My Silverstars certainly illuminate better and look whiter than stock, as they should when moving from 3200-3500k up to 4000k. No, they don't compete with the Bi-Xenon, but we're talking $29/pr and a couple of minutes to install.
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I thought the Sequioa did not use the main headlight as DRL, but a separate lighbulb? Also the BMW has high beams as DRL's (If so equipped). The problem comes in when you use the low beam as DRL's. As for the other user that has 14 months and 24K miles on the same bulbs, consider yourself lucky. Just yesterday I saw an Outback XT with one side burnt out.

 

X

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Stock, Sylvania H-7 low beams have a rated life of 275 hours. If you drive an average of 1.5 hours per day (a commute back and forth to work and then a short trip in the evening) with the DRL's you can expect a life of 275/1.5 hours-day = 183 days or about 6 months. Also, each turn-on cycle shortens the bulb life. Since the DRL's are tied to the emergency brake (if you haven't noticed, setting the brake turns them off) usng the E-brake with the ignition on, such as when stopped on a hill with a manual trans., will further shorten the bulb life. It's just part of living with a DRL equipped car.

 

Solutions:

 

(1) disable the DRL circuit (cheap and easy)

 

(2) Buy Hella Optilux Xenon 55W. H7 bulbs.

These are about US$ 24/per pair, but come with a lifetime warranty. Get (2) sets so you can send one back for replacement while driving on the others.

Lighting is stock looking. The Hella's don't last any longer than Slyvania or Philips bulbs, but do have the lifetime warrantee. Philips used to also offer a lifetime replacement warrantee on their premium bulbs, but now seems to have dropped that in the U.S.A.

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For the record:

 

HID lamps do not have "infinite" life either. HID lamps have a gradual fall-off in efficiency as the bulb ages. The U.S. standards for published "optical efficacy" for HID lamps specify that the bulbs can be rated for "Initial efficacy" (the amount of lumens produced at 40% of typical lifetime) or "Mean efficacy" the integrated average light output over the full life cycle).

 

The typical lifetime of a automotive HID lamp is around 3000 hours, but can vary greatly depending on the design of the high voltage inverter circuit used to start and then power the lamp. Cheap inverters may not be able to ignite a used HID bulb, that will otherwise work fine with a better inverter circuit.

 

HID lamps are not like tungsten halogen bulbs in that they don't have a filament which is either "good" or burned out. As a HID lamp ages, it just gets harder to start (and dimmer), and the ability to "start" the lamp, greatly depends on the inverter design.

Heavy Metal Killed Beethoven

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