Replaced All Signaling Bulbs At One Time

[Deontologist]

I don't recommend parts-store bulbs, especially the Sylvania "extra bright" bulbs, like the Silver Star Ultras. Silver Star Ultras are low-performing, over-hyped bulbs. Plus, Sylvania has pretty sloppy quality control. Next time at the parts store, look at the Sylvania headlamp bulbs and observe how many of them will have crooked, bent, twisted, or otherwise distorted filaments. Filaments should be completely straight, not crooked or distorted in anyway. Then, go to a Pep Boys, which doesn't sell Sylvania bulbs like most parts stores, and note that even the cheapest Philips bulbs have straight, non-distorted filaments. Philips takes QC a little more seriously than Sylvania.

Replacing the turn signals and headlamp bulbs as part of preventative maintenance is always a good idea, even if none of them are burned out. They lose intensity over time, and it's always worth being as visible as possible in traffic.

The best turn signal, brake light, and other small bulbs are Japanese. Not Sylvania or whatever you find in a parts store. Japanese, as in Koito and Stanley bulbs. Koito and Stanley bulbs are generally extremely high-quality and last extremely long while resisting blackening of the bulb glass. Parts store bulbs are generally sloppily made, don't put out as much light, and blacken quicker. Plus, you can find Koito and Stanley bulbs on Amazon for less than the parts store bulbs.

 

[Deontologist]

Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by RayCJ
If I had to take a guess, I'd say the filament is doped or the inert gas is tainted. Possibly a doped coating on the inside... something along those lines.

No, not really. In order to shift it more towards blue (or a whiter light) you have to increase the filament temperature. This reduces life which can be compensated for by a halogen gas which redeposits the tungsten back onto the filament. However, you can't escape the recrystallization of the tungsten which makes it more brittle and prone to breaking in an automobile application. This always leads to a shorter life for brighter bulbs. Once you get a whiter light you can filter it with coatings on the envelope, but this ends up reducing the overall brightness if you do that.

I looked it up and yes the bulbs are brighter, but the design of the housing prevents you from seeing farther.


Most high-color temperature halogen bulbs rely mainly on an absorption coating. The bulb glass is either completely or partially shaded blue. The coating absorbs yellow light and allows blue to pass through. The issue is that a halogen filament creates relatively low amounts of blue light, and relatively large amounts of yellow light. The absorption coatings really take away a lot of the light from the filament. As a result, the filament has to be overdriven to bring the bulb back to legal levels of lumen output. This reduces the life of the filament. You are right that overdriving the filament similarly creates a cooler, whiter light.

The halogen cycle actually increases the life of the filament. The halogen cycle enabled the transition from dim, incandescent headlamp bulbs to halogen bulbs; halogen bulbs could be driven to put out more light while keeping an acceptably long lifespan. You are right that redeposition of the tungsten filament isn't perfect; it leads to dendritic growth, which destroys beam focus over time. It also leads to thick and thin spots on the filament, and the thin spots eventually snap.

 

[RayCJ]

Originally Posted by Deontologist
I don't recommend parts-store bulbs, especially the Sylvania "extra bright" bulbs, like the Silver Star Ultras. Silver Star Ultras are low-performing, over-hyped bulbs. Plus, Sylvania has pretty sloppy quality control. Next time at the parts store, look at the Sylvania headlamp bulbs and observe how many of them will have crooked, bent, twisted, or otherwise distorted filaments. Filaments should be completely straight, not crooked or distorted in anyway. Then, go to a Pep Boys, which doesn't sell Sylvania bulbs like most parts stores, and note that even the cheapest Philips bulbs have straight, non-distorted filaments. Philips takes QC a little more seriously than Sylvania.

Replacing the turn signals and headlamp bulbs as part of preventative maintenance is always a good idea, even if none of them are burned out. They lose intensity over time, and it's always worth being as visible as possible in traffic.

The best turn signal, brake light, and other small bulbs are Japanese. Not Sylvania or whatever you find in a parts store. Japanese, as in Koito and Stanley bulbs. Koito and Stanley bulbs are generally extremely high-quality and last extremely long while resisting blackening of the bulb glass. Parts store bulbs are generally sloppily made, don't put out as much light, and blacken quicker. Plus, you can find Koito and Stanley bulbs on Amazon for less than the parts store bulbs.


Good info! Thank you!

Ray

 

[Warstud]

Thats Crazy....I would have just replaced them when they burned out.

 

[HangFire]

I got in on the Sylvania Ultra short life bulb class action settlement. The check was a buck or two IIRC. I'm sure the lawyers did better. I got mine cheap on an Amazon price jag, and my bulbs are easy to change, so no big deal for me.

If I was changing on a difficult car like that, I would do them all as well, but use only Phillips LL (long life) bulbs.

 

[Deontologist]

There were two settlements and the total was like $15-20.

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit...nia-headlights-settlement-checks-mailed/

Max of ~$10 for second settlement; max of ~$11 for first settlement.

 

[Hall]

Originally Posted by supton
Seems like a lot of work and money for bulbs, but, for 13 year's of service, I guess that's the tradeoff.

Who thinks the replacements can/will last another 13 years ? Not me !

 

[Deontologist]

I got a 98 Sienna still on its original Japanese Koito headlamp bulbs. That car has permanently on DRLs too...

 

[Y_K]

I cannot agree more on Koito bulbs. Even the glass they use looks different, looks like treated optical glass.

 

[nleksan]

I know it's not for everyone, but HID and projector retrofits have gotten so cheap over the past few years that I think it is an option that should be given serious consideration. You get a big increase in usable light output, the bulbs last forever (OE bulbs from a '00 BMW still worked when I replaced them with Osram CBI D2S last year for my brother), and quality equipment properly installed will not cause problems for other drivers.

I can't wait til LED retrofits are a viable option...