bulb choices / wattages?

[snowman23]

Hey all,

First off, Happy Turkey Day!

I was thinking about adding HIDs to my car, but the amount of night driving I do coupled with the numerous issues with "drop in" kits and the cost of "doing it the right way", makes me think I will just change out the stock bulbs if I do anything at all.

Is there any risk of harness or wiring damage with the Sylvania Cool Blue (which I used before and was happy with) or Silverstar bulbs? Are there any other choices for a "whiter" light. I know NO bulb will be like HIDs but cost +use vs. benefits make new bulbs only the way I am leaning.

Thanks

 

[EvilTurkey]

Look up DDMTuning, they have HID kits that are guaranteed for life, and only cost $40 shipped. LOTS of people on here run them, and you should too

 

[PULMEOVR]

There is a thread on a Subaru board that I am a part of that covers this issue of bulb choice. It's a good read and has tons of info, and is mostly NOT Subaru specific. It's a good read, even if you only read the first post.

The Ultimate Bulb Lighting Thread: All You Ever Need to Know About Bulbs - NASIOC

 

[COBRA90GT]

If you are just replacing the conventional bulbs with a different set of bulbs, be wary of running higher wattage versions. Try to keep it close to the stock rating, or you *MAY* overheat and melt, the bulb harness/wiring. ie. - be careful if replacing the stock 55w bulbs with say, 100w bulbs.


YMMV

 

[snowman23]

Look up DDMTuning, they have HID kits that are guaranteed for life, and only cost $40 shipped. LOTS of people on here run them, and you should too

this was my original intention. However, after reading hours of posts on the pros / cons of putting HIDs into standard housing and the number of people (family included) that have had these kits and are continuously sending back bulbs b/c they burn out (under warranty but still a hassle) I decided against it.

 

[snowman23]

There is a thread on a Subaru board that I am a part of that covers this issue of bulb choice. It's a good read and has tons of info, and is mostly NOT Subaru specific. It's a good read, even if you only read the first post.

The Ultimate Bulb Lighting Thread: All You Ever Need to Know About Bulbs - NASIOC

GREAT resource. Thanks. Really not sure what I am going to do now

 

[snowman23]

If you are just replacing the conventional bulbs with a different set of bulbs, be wary of running higher wattage versions. Try to keep it close to the stock rating, or you *MAY* overheat and melt, the bulb harness/wiring. ie. - be careful if replacing the stock 55w bulbs with say, 100w bulbs.


YMMV

Our stockers are 55w low / 65 high, correct?

 

[COBRA90GT]

Our stockers are 55w low / 65 high, correct?

Not a 100% sure, but I *think* that's the case. Pull your stock bulbs and doublecheck, just to be make sure...

 

[40oz]

A xenon bulb (not HID) provides a white light with more blue in it than hologen. Blue light shines farther, so you get reflections from farther down the road. Essentially, the whiter the light, the more light is refleted back to you.

I've used an Asian brand, Cuzo I believe, that worked great on a Honda Civic. They weren't as blue as you cold go. The light behind the wheel looked white, making things look similar to daytime, but from the side of the road in front the lights looked bluish. And the amount of light was a huge improvement over stock Honda headlights.

However, the stock headlights in my Mustang are far better. I swapped in Sylvania SilverStars, and didn't notice any real difference. New headlights are usually brighter than old ones, but the difference I saw between stock and SilverStars was minimal and not worth a new set of headlights "just because." That said, I didn't try the SS Ultra's, which are supposed to be whiter.

Hella and PIAA make bulbs very similar to the Cuzo's, but I haven't tried them. They're all about $50, compared to ~$40 for the Sylvanias. If I had a burnt out bulb, I'd give serious consideration to them. Cosmetically, they are bluish from the far lane\sidewalk, but the cars in front of you will only notice a distinctly white light vs. the yellow color of everyone else. They aren't the ridiculous blue or purple ricer look.

I would be surprised if you did any damage to your wiring with them, as well. The bulb package may say something like "65W=100W," that doesn't mean they use 100W of current, only that the amount of light given off is similar to a "standard" 100 watt bulb. This is marketing, based on a whiter bulb giving off light in a wider spectrum than a "standard" bulb, ergo more total light from a similar power consumption.