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Old 12-30-2002, 01:19 AM   #1
gtguy
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Member#: 2184
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Highland Park, Ill., USA
Vehicle:
2005 Legacy GT wagon
Platinum Silver Metallic

Unhappy Prodrive vs. SilverStar vs. stock (no pics...sorry)

My digicam isn't quite up to the task of capturing things. I kept getting the white wall of windshield glare.

But perhaps the nattering will help some folks. Went to Pep Boys, and bought one SilverStar bulb in 9007, and off I went. First up, the SilverStar is about 10% brighter than stock. The light is whiter, with a bluish tinge that makes me wonder how the SSes will perform in inclement weather. The beam is longer by a bit, but not any wider, really.

The biggest difference between the SilverStars and the stockers is the color temperature. As speculated, you don't really get that much more light.

The Prodrive lights with the Philips VisionPlus bulbs put the smack down on the SilverStars. The beam was a purer white, bereft of bluish tint. The beam was farther, wider and more focused (projector lenses....duh!).

I'd consider the SilverStars a fine upgrade for the dosh, for those who want to keep their bugeyes, without going to HID.

The comparo took about an hour, and no, I'm not doing it again!



Kevin
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Old 12-30-2002, 01:46 AM   #2
Hank3
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Vehicle:
'03 Mazda P5 <><
'02 WRX & '08 MS3 SOLD!!!

Thumbs up

Kudos to you Kevin for taking time to do this for us. Any ideas if the Vision Plus bulbs would be a good choice for the fogs? My VP bulbs should be here soon. Can't wait...
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Old 12-30-2002, 09:50 AM   #3
gtguy
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2005 Legacy GT wagon
Platinum Silver Metallic

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Quote:
Originally posted by Hank3
Kudos to you Kevin for taking time to do this for us. Any ideas if the Vision Plus bulbs would be a good choice for the fogs? My VP bulbs should be here soon. Can't wait...
Should be...what are the fogs, H3? I've never needed more light from the fogs, really. I don't even use them since installing the Prodrive projectors.

Kevin
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Old 12-30-2002, 09:58 AM   #4
Hank3
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'03 Mazda P5 <><
'02 WRX & '08 MS3 SOLD!!!

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Hmmm...I think they are H3's. I'll wait until my current Piaa's bulbs burn out in my fogs. I don't use them that much either, but they sure do fill in that darker gap quite nicely at night
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Old 12-30-2002, 11:11 AM   #5
ruiner
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Location: Dallas, TX
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2002 Impreza WRX
WR Blue

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This really isn't a comparison of Silverstars versus the VisionPlus bulbs, this is a matter of the fact that as most everyone knows, projector headlights do exactly like the name states, they PROJECT light. I'd estimate the light output of the Silverstars closer to a 20-25% light increase over stock bulbs. Even based on the lumens versus the stock bulbs, the yield is quite a bit more than 10%.

Human perception obviously is just like decibels with sound. Every 10 dB increase is an increase of 10x in sound pressure, however, humans perceive this as twice as loud. In order to make a sizeable difference in light output, obviously lumens is not a 100% accurate way to go but the light output is definitely improved over stock, more than 10%.

Just my .02.

Chad
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Old 12-30-2002, 02:53 PM   #6
gtguy
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Quote:
Originally posted by ruiner
This really isn't a comparison of Silverstars versus the VisionPlus bulbs, this is a matter of the fact that as most everyone knows, projector headlights do exactly like the name states, they PROJECT light. I'd estimate the light output of the Silverstars closer to a 20-25% light increase over stock bulbs. Even based on the lumens versus the stock bulbs, the yield is quite a bit more than 10%.

Human perception obviously is just like decibels with sound. Every 10 dB increase is an increase of 10x in sound pressure, however, humans perceive this as twice as loud. In order to make a sizeable difference in light output, obviously lumens is not a 100% accurate way to go but the light output is definitely improved over stock, more than 10%.

Just my .02.

Chad
I think that it's easy to react to the color temperature, and mistake different light for more light. It was easier to see with the SilverStars vs. the stock lights, though I would be curious to see how that difference holds in inclement weather.

The Prodrives were thrown in more as a "more information is always better" aspect, in case someone was wondering about the difference between the stock lights with SilverStars, vs. the Prodrives. I thought about putting the stock bulb back in the Prodrives, but ran out of ambition.

Kevin
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Old 01-01-2003, 02:02 AM   #7
Ken Levin
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2012 STi Hatchback
Ice Silver

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I started a new thread when I should have added to this one. Check it out. Psst.....I have pictures, do you want to see them?

I guess I need someone to host them. {pm/email OK}
(http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=294895)

Cheers for the New Year!

Last edited by Ken Levin; 01-01-2003 at 08:09 PM.
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Old 01-01-2003, 10:44 AM   #8
bogtrotter
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2003 Silver
WRX Wagon

Default Silverstar vs. Xtravision?

All,

Thanks for the information. I'm looking to increase the lighting performance on my car, in the short term it will be a bulb upgrade of the stock 9007's, maybe later I'll have enough scratch to jump from reflectors to projectors .

I've found some info on Xtravision bulbs posted by Neoterix, but I'm still unclear as to the behind-wheel performance compared to the Silverstars.

So as a lighting-challenged, must-use-9007-type-bulb, saving my $ for Prodrives/Morettes new owner, any advice you could lend would be much appreciated.

One more thing, I'm not looking for extreme-wattage bulbs (anything that would strain the stock wiring) so I've limited my choices/budget to the Xtravisions (or the GE equivalent 9007HO's) or the Silverstars.

Given that the Silverstars are a 'whiter' light, does that (in your experience), increase or decrease visibility in inclement weather, e.g. rain/snow/sleet?

From what I could find on the Slvania site, the Xtravision benefit is low beam only, but it appears that the Silverstars have increased low and high beam output - is there a *noticeable* high beam benefit?

Kevin, stock lighting harness with the upgraded headlamps, or did you change to an aftermarket harness?

TIA and Happy New Year.

Eric
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Old 01-01-2003, 11:14 AM   #9
Ken Levin
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2012 STi Hatchback
Ice Silver

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SSS increased visability in both rainy and dry weather, both low and high beams. Did not increase sight distance. (See other thread.)

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=294895

Happy New Year
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Old 01-01-2003, 12:13 PM   #10
gtguy
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2005 Legacy GT wagon
Platinum Silver Metallic

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Stock harness, Eric, a plug-and-play from RallyPerformance.

Kevin
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Old 01-01-2003, 12:13 PM   #11
gtguy
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2005 Legacy GT wagon
Platinum Silver Metallic

Default

Stock harness, Eric, a plug-and-play from RallyPerformance.

Kevin
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