White/Blue lights

[DamageINC123]

I like the look of the HID lights but I am not interested in converting mine. Does anyone recommend a brighter buld that looks like the blue HID. I was looking at the Silver Star Sylvania and the HELLA that are suppose to look more like the blue HID. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Also I am not against putting in non DOT approved brighter lights if recommended. This car is second car and is not driven often. Thanks

1997 986

[al83s]

I tried silvania silverstar in my accord and thought it was $40 well spent, since visibility increased noticebly. The bulbs are blue, but the light is just white, not really blue. Only problem - they burned out every 5-6 month, which shouldn't be a problem since you dont drive your car often. I later switched to silverstar ultras - they worked great about a year, but I stoped driving my accord because of blown tranny (who said hondas are bulletproof? )
I would not advice installing more powerfull bulbs, since I heard they melt our plastic headlights and speed up headlight's yellowing.
On boxster - I went with a 6000k hid retrofit (not litronic), since I do alot of night driving and wanted the best visibility I could get. That really was best $100 and 30 minutes spent on my car so far.
Alex

[Adam]

I have Silvania Silverstars in my Mazda and they put out a decent amount of light, but they are not blue at all and not as bright as the HID's that came on the Boxster. They are what I expected, but if you're looking for true HID lighting you won't find that with a halogen bulb. If you just want the blue look then there are bulbs out there, just not the Silverstars.

[Matt Fredrikson]

I had Silverstar low beams and PIAA High beams in my Talon before I switched to projector housings. I would deffinatly recommend the PIAA bulbs, you get a good clear hyper white but again you won't get the bluish light unless you go HID. The blue replacement bulbs your looking for are at any parts store on the cheap but I've tried them and they are total garbage they may look cool but you get very little usable light.

[stateofidleness]

the blue bulbs/brighter bulbs are terrible

not sure what the reason is for not wanting HID, but it is a VERY easy install (maybe like 15-20 minutes) and you actually IMPROVE night vision and you won't burn the housing either.

Those sylvanias aren't exactly cheap either.. just get a good HID kit. It has been the single best upgrade I've done to my car thus far.

[Johnny Danger]

There is no substitute for Litronics. However, if I were to recommend a high quality bulb
that does the best job of replicating an H.I.D system it would be Hoen.

hoen-usa.com

[Adam]

Originally Posted by stateofidleness

the blue bulbs/brighter bulbs are terrible

not sure what the reason is for not wanting HID

Those sylvanias aren't exactly cheap either.. just get a good HID kit. It has been the single best upgrade I've done to my car thus far.

Aftermarket replacement halogen bulbs are $5-$75 typically. I paid $40 for the Sylvanias. Last time I checked the litronic HID kit was over a $1,000 so I'm sure price is a factor for some people.

[ekam]

Closest thing to HID is HIR bulbs, google "hir bulb". Unfortunately they only come in 9005 and 9006 sizes.

Any of those halogen bulbs are basically bumping the output anywhere from 5-10% with disadvantage of decreased bulb life. They usually have a slight blue tint on the bulb to it appears brighter but in reality it only increases the temperature rating (appears whiter) while decreasing output.

I've "been there, done that" with bulbs from PIAA to Phillips to Sylvania to $500 HID retrofit kits (they were expensive back in the day), to converting high beam bulbs on low beam, etc etc...

[JTP]

Those replacement blue bulbs are just annoying from an oncoming traffic standpoint. The Litronics and other true HIDs have a mellow blue hue, not overtly blue like the cheap bulbs. It's 22 hours of darkness here right now and I have the Silvania Silverstars on my DD and they are a big improvement over stock bulbs and put out a nice white light.

[70Sixter]

I hate blue lights. Flashing in my rearview.

[Quickurt]

Originally Posted by JTP

Those replacement blue bulbs are just annoying from an oncoming traffic standpoint. The Litronics and other true HIDs have a mellow blue hue, not overtly blue like the cheap bulbs. It's 22 hours of darkness here right now and I have the Silvania Silverstars on my DD and they are a big improvement over stock bulbs and put out a nice white light.

Also, true HID. whether litronic or other manufacturers, have a very distinct pattern with a rigid cutoff of where they shine. These other aftermarket crap copies are what give drivers a bad attitude toward HIDs. When people complain, I tell them they are complaining about ricer copy crap and if they ever drove a car with true HID lights, they'd never own anything else.

[JTP]

Originally Posted by Quickurt

Also, true HID. whether litronic or other manufacturers, have a very distinct pattern with a rigid cutoff of where they shine. These other aftermarket crap copies are what give drivers a bad attitude toward HIDs. When people complain, I tell them they are complaining about ricer copy crap and if they ever drove a car with true HID lights, they'd never own anything else.

I agree. My Boxster came with Litronics and I was amazed during my first night driving experience. I only wish I could be driving that up here.

[henryclarke]

Well sometimes blue colour is also look good. It is also depend on people choice and their view to utilize them.