GE Night Hawk

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Has anyone tried these? How do they compare to the Sylvania XtraVision. I am not a fan of the blue coated 'super white' SilverStar.

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They're not much better than OEM bulbs, just a little bit whiter.

The main thing I've learned from knowing people who have tried all the fancy bulbs is just to stick to OEM bulbs.

However, there are fancy new HIR bulbs from Toshiba I think?? Supposedly the 'bee's knees' for lighting efficiency, but kind of pricey...
 
The GE Nighthawks are supposed to be on par with the Philips Vision Plus which is a well-respected bulb. Either one should be a noticeable upgrade from the Xtravisions, which I've found are like stock bulbs.

I'm not a fan of the coated bulbs either, they're more for looks than actual performance.
 
Recently i went shopping for new headlamp bulbs. I decided not to go with the GE Nighthawks, so i can't say much about them. However i can 100% recommend wagner truview bulbs which can be found at napa. Excellent visibility at a great price. They also look pretty cool since the light is a very pure white. Although these do sound similar to the silverstars, so i'm not sure if these are for you
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I tried Nighthawks but the beam had some dark spots. I like Silverstars better. Both were noticeably brighter than my 4 year old OEM bulbs. Neither has the blue tint.
 
I don't know what they use in my 04 saab 9-3, but this car has the absolute best lighting (standard bulbs, no less) that Ive ever seen.

Some of it has to do with the efficiency of the overall packaging, Im sure, but I am also sure that the bulbs are top-notch too.

They are likely some sort of a european Philips bulb. When I find out wha they are, Ill post back. Very white, no gimmicks, long lasting... what more could you ask for?

JMH
 
I have the nighthawks, a bit better then normal bulbs, but nothing to brag about.
 
Silverstars arent really blue coated.. its their cool blue line thats really blue.

I ran silverstars for 4 years in my ranger
and they were great. The only thing bad about them
is they use a thin-er wire for a whiter lite so
if you beat on your car or truck they may burn
out sooner (I had 2 foglights and 1 headlight go in 2 years ) I did however wheel that truck pretty hard.
 
The dual filiment version of the NighHawk is the best standard wattage bulb out there for North American vehicles. About 15% brighter than OEM bulbs, but their advantage varies from application to application.

The 9011 and 9012 series bulbs (single filiment) are the best standard wattage bulbs in the world. About 40 to 70% brighter than standard bulbs!!!!

Richard.
 
I have purchased silverstars from the website Powerbulbs.co.uk. This is a European (U.K.) company that ships directly to the U.S., and I believe their prices were cheaper than the American Internet sites that I looked at, even taking into account shipping rates.

I believe the European-version silverstars are not as blue as the ones sold in the U.S., but they may be brighter (I am not 100% sure).

They also sell other brands. After checking out their website, I came to the conclusion that the Europenas are pretty serious about their vehicles' lighting, and the European-version bulbs MAY be superior to some of those sold in the U.S. - even under the same name.

BTW, Sylvania may go by the name "Osram" in Europe.
 
There is a huge difference between US/Sylvania Silverstars and the Osrams coming from Europe.

The US Silverstars are coated and have grossly overdriven elements, with correspondingly short lifespan. They do look nice, but don't offer all that much more usable distance. The Osram Silverstar is a much better performing uncoated bulb, on a par with Philips Vision Plus and in the +50 range.

There are some places here in the US that can source the +50 Osrams and Vision Plus bulbs. There is no comparison when you get a chance to see these burn in a good fixture. These are the best in breed. Only a good HID setup will better them.

The Nighthawks are comparable to the Sylvania Extravision: a decent unfiltered +20 to +30 bulb and a nice step up from OEM.

To get the poop on the color-filtered bulbs, Daniel Stern Lighting has a very good discussion on his website.
 
I have them, they're fine but imo 10% more output or whatever is not worth the $10 more over $17 for a pair at walmart.

keepin in mind with claims that X is brighter that the previous Y, that all bulbs dim over with age/use/time so both can only be compared side by side when new bulbs are used for both models.
 
european osram bulbs are what is used in my saab.

The profile of the beam amazes me every time I drive the car at night... cant beat it. Ill likely buy the replacements from Europe if I cannot source the exact bulbs here.

JMH
 
Osram is a German electrical products conglomerate based in Munich. What's left in the U.S. of Sylvania manufacturing facilities are owned lock, stock, and barrel by Osram. Any Sylvania consumer electronics products (radios, TVs, boomboxes, etc.) you find at K-mart are brought in by Taiwan-based Funai - and often actually manufactured in mainland China.
 
quote:

Originally posted by JHZR2:
The profile of [my Saab's headlight beam amazes me every time I drive the car at night... cant beat it.

I'm not making a comparison with your Saab's headlights - I'm sure they're every bit as good as you state they are, but the best headlights I ever encountered were those on my '96 Accord. Nothing fancy, but Honda's people had a pretty good idea how design the reflectors to throw a beam down the road, too. The worst have to be the ones on my '03 Sonata. The Koreans seem incapable (indifferent?) to engineer decent nighttime illumination for some reason - even with projector style headlights. (They've been re-adjusted twice by two different Hyundai dealers. Has not helped a bit.)
 
quote:

Originally posted by Ray H:
Osram is a German electrical products conglomerate based in Munich. What's left in the U.S. of Sylvania manufacturing facilities are owned lock, stock, and barrel by Osram. Any Sylvania consumer electronics products (radios, TVs, boomboxes, etc.) you find at K-mart are brought in by Taiwan-based Funai - and often actually manufactured in mainland China.

Correct in the context of this thread. Many of Sylvania's automotive bulbs now come from China. Although, I have seen several sizes sourced from Europe, and even a couple from the Fatherland.

By the same token, I've seen European-market Vision Plus bulbs made in China that performed magnificently.

And our present 850 had a bucket of prematurely burned out Japanese and German-made bulbs.

This is a very mature industry from a manufacturing perspective. So made in Korea, India and China isn't necessarily the kiss of death. The fundamental performance differences seem to be driven principally by the engineering.

Unfortunately, here in the US, color-filtered elements are now "in".
 
I have the Wagner BriteLite bulbs in my Durango, and they're noticeably better than stock. Not a real "HID" looking white, but whiter than a stock bulb.

I refuse to run Silverstar bulbs anymore after all the failures I've had with them in other vehicles.
 
What do you guys think or Euro Narva bulbs? Supposedly they're up there with the better Osram/Phillips stuff.
 
Google Dan Stern Lighting. In addition to all the "tech" he provides, he sells the right stuff. I purchased Japanese Stanley H-4 lamps for my Chevy S-10. I know the Cibie's he also sells are better. But the Stanley's are an order of magnatude better than the OEM garbage mandated by USDOT.
 
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