Silverstars any better than before?

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Years ago I installed some low and high beam Sylvania Silverstar bulbs in my 2003 Subaru. I like them but the problem was they lasted between 1 to 6 months before they would blow. No, I wasn't handling them by the bulb but the base.

After the third low beam bulb blew (at over $20 a pop), I put the factory bulbs back in and they are still burning to this day. I left the high beam Silverstars in and they have not blown.

My guess is these bulbs burn hotter so they tend to blow quicker than typical halogens.

My question is I actually like the bulbs but they are not worth $20 a piece if they don't last more than 6 months. I was just wondering if anybody is using these recently and have got more than 6 months out of them. When I installed them, they just came out and maybe they last longer.

Consumer reports says they don't cast a beam farther (of course) but do burn whiter which is what I liked about them.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/01/halogen-headlight-bulbs/index.htm
 
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I used Silverstars and had the same results; a short bulb life. I was thinking about going to an LED changeover but a lot of people say they blind oncoming traffic. I switched to PIAA bulbs which are costly but don't blind other drivers. I've had them a few years and they seem to last. The light is noticeably better than stock but not as good as Xenon or LED. When I drive next to cars with Xenon lights at night, my vehicles lights are put to shame.
 
My Silverstars are still going strong after 18 months. I'm prepared for them to burn out any day now.
 
Which Subaru do you have, or rather which bulb numbers are you looking at? The Phillips Xtreme vision are usually the brightest in those common halogen numbers like 9003/9007.

If you have H1 the Phillips Xtreme power or Osram Night breaker is the best you can get.

If you have 9005 high beams, the absolute most lumens will be from swapping in a Phillips 9011 after you trim the tab per multiple Internet guides.

Silver stars are over driven junk even though they finally removed the blue coating from the part where the filament lines up with the glass.
 
HIR is the best modification you can do for lighting. Although H11 to H9 for low beam (if you have a glare shield) is a close second. When one of my high beams burns out I plan to go to HIR
 
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