Silverstar Ultra's?

[spingdaddy]

I buy Osram Silverstars from overseas at powerbulbs.com
They offer free shipping, and are a little over $30. They have no blue film over the glass enclosure. They're said to be better and brighter than the Sylvania Silverstars over here.

 

[oilnoob425]

Quote:

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What is the verdict on the SilverStar Ultra's?

What is the differance between regular SS, SS Ultra, and XtraVisions?

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According to Sylvania it suppose to be like this:

XtraVisions - good

Silver Star - better

Silver Star Ultra - best

here is the link to their website's comparison chart it's pretty selfexplanatory:
Sylvania

 

[SSQ]

I have the ultras and they are fine. I personally like my XtraVisions more, but since I spend close to 50 on these bulbs, I am keeping them. I somehow think that the Silverstars and the Ultras just coated Xtravisions.

 

[Jet]

I can't say anything about the Ultras as I have never used them. The original Silverstar sealed beam types is what I have experience with and they ARE much brighter and whiter than a regular sealed beam halogen. Mine have been on both cars for TWO PLUS YEARS.

 

[97prizm]

I personally called sylvania, and their rep told me that the Ultras had a different type of coating. The lumens(or light output)is Eactly! the same 1000 lumens + or - 10% GE came out with their Extreme Bulb which is supposed to be the brightest on the market, but no luminous output is given.

 

[ewetho]

My Silverstars were much brighter too until I had to replace one about 4 months old and the remaining one was no brighter than the new $7 normal bulb. Never again.

 

[casper]

Strange to see peoples bulb-life posted. I have run silver stars in my 4runner for over two years now and they havent burned out. I recently swapped over to the Ultras and they are brighter and whiter...and if they last 30% longer, well i guess ill be into the next decade before I have to swap them out again. My GTO runs Hoen and im more impressed with the Silverstars versus the Hoen.

 

[DaveL]

I recently bought a pair of Silverstar Ultras when one of my OEM bulbs burned out, and they will be my last, no matter how long they last. I am currently running one Ultra and one OEM because I haven't gotten around to changing the hard to reach bulb yet (need to pull the battery - maybe this weekend). The Ultra is whiter light, and in some ways seems brighter, but the OEM seems to provide more total illumination, though with a yellower color. In my view, the whiter light is not worth paying more than twice the price, when it doesn't seem to actually improve my ability to see what is in front of me. I may try the Silvania Xtra visions or GE Nighthawks next time around, but will stay away from color coated bulbs.

 

[ScottB]

I finally replaced the SilverStars in my wife's RAV4 and they were over three-years old.
They're very bright.
Not blue.

I think some of you guys have your heads up your arses.

Another brand that I like are the "GP Thunders" which do offer the "ricer" versions, but I buy the 4500 (color) which are white.
When you see the blue bulbs, they're running 6k, 8k, 10k bulbs which are a joke.

 

[y_p_w]

Here's Sylvania's rated life for their 9006 bulbs:

http://www.sylvaniaautocatalog.com/sylva...ber=127,130,131

It's 1000 hours for the standard (9006 HB4), 200 for the Cool Blue (9000 CB), 1500 for the long life (9006 LL), 150 for the Silverstar (9006 ST), and 850 for the XtraVision (9006 XV).

I conversed with any number of people who think the XtraVisions produced more usable light in real use. It's really hard because Sylvania will never actually do a real luminence test, and "brightness" really has no technical meaning.

Regardless of what any says, that's a tint on the Sylvania Silverstar (haven't seen the Ultra yet). It filters out what would otherwise be usable light. It's also pretty evident that the hotter and slightly overdriven filiments in the blue tint bulbs don't last as long. I actually ran on my original Stanley 9006 bulbs in my '95 Integra for almost 4 years. I replaced them with the XtraVisions that lasted until my car was stolen/recovered/declared totalled in 2004.

 

[Challenger71]

I'm very satisfied with them and I switched over from the standard silverstar's. It comes down to individual opinion and perceptions irregardless of how many statistics and numbers you throw at the issue.

 

[y_p_w]

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I'm very satisfied with them and I switched over from the standard silverstar's. It comes down to individual opinion and perceptions irregardless of how many statistics and numbers you throw at the issue.

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Frankly I don't know enough about the "numbers" because Sylvania didn't include the Ultra in that list.

It's just some of the language thrown around here is rather imprecise. "Brightness" and "whiter" really has no single technical meaning and the marketing types can jump on that to make their most expensive offerings sound great. The star system that Sylvania uses to market their different bulbs doesn't actually state what their criteria is.

Certainly the Silverstars are "less yellow". That blue tint is removing some of the yellow light. However - I certainly feel (along with others) that what Sylvania puts out as the "Silverstar" seem more a marketing exercise than anything designed for a technical/safety superiority. If anyone wants a 9006 bulb, I'd suggest saving a few bucks and get the GE Nighthawk if you can still find it.

 

[Challenger71]

I'm currently using the nighthawk's in both of my vehicles' tail, brake, park, & turn locations and I agree they are a marked improvement over any other bulb I've used in those spots before. I'm sure I would have bought the nighthawks for the headlamps as well but I did not see them available when I bought the others. Some weeks later I decided to upgrade to SS Ultra's for the headlamps since I liked the output from the regular silverstars and even they were a marked improvement, not alot mind you but enough to notice. Overall I'm happy with the GE's & Sylvania's that I have, I'd buy both again.

Quote:

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Frankly I don't know enough about the "numbers" because Sylvania didn't include the Ultra in that list.

It's just some of the language thrown around here is rather imprecise. "Brightness" and "whiter" really has no single technical meaning and the marketing types can jump on that to make their most expensive offerings sound great. The star system that Sylvania uses to market their different bulbs doesn't actually state what their criteria is.

Certainly the Silverstars are "less yellow". That blue tint is removing some of the yellow light. However - I certainly feel (along with others) that what Sylvania puts out as the "Silverstar" seem more a marketing exercise than anything designed for a technical/safety superiority. If anyone wants a 9006 bulb, I'd suggest saving a few bucks and get the GE Nighthawk if you can still find it.

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[Jet]

I bought mine when they had a rebate. They are brighter by far then a standard halogen. Slightly brighter than the
X-tra Vision as I have both on my vehicles. Been on there several years.

 

[Turk]

$$ 10.00 Rdabate un Ultra's until the end of January......

I bought 9005 ultra's Sunday & ran 3 trips in the dark with 'em.

It is obviously different & better, but not sure if I totally like them yet.

VERY bright right in front of my GMC Sierra's hood

My Fog lamps are std Halogen 9145's and turning them on with the 9005 SSU's actually make a good mix !!

Anyone else feel the same ??

 

[chuckerants]

I've had the original SS, the OSRAM SS and the Sylvania XtraVision on the SAME car within a period of a week or so.

I can't tell the difference between the Osram SS and the XtraVision. So why pay for the extra "bling"?