Headlight bulbs

65ShelbyClone said:

Silverstars don't have blue tint on them.

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The Silverstar bulbs most certainly do have a coating on them. They are definitely not clear. It is called amethyst or something like that. In my opinion Sylvania should market the Xtravison as the superior bulb, but the always adverstise these. I also think they shouldn't be allowed or any colored headlight bulbs for that matter. Besides making it harder to see especially in bad weather, they are annoying to oncomming drivers. They also give off false colors of objects as you approach them.

We had the Silverstar Ultra bulbs in my Dad's Cobra. I thought it would help him see better at night. He said the visibility was worse than the old original bulbs. I had regular Silverstar in my F150 and I agree.

These type of bulbs are just more hyped up junk. The other thing that makes them inferior is that the coating actually holds in or absorbs heat which makes them burn out more quickly.

I just realized something. What you may have seen and thought they were clear is the sealed beam replacement Silverstar. The internal halogen bulb that you cant really see looks like these.

I also agree about LED flashlights and work lights. It really makes it hard to tell what color wires under the dash are, and similar situations like this. I like regular incandescant or halogen bulbs, it makes things so much easier to see.

Here are the Xtravision.

I just saw these in a different color package. Anybody seen these Xtravisions that look like newer packaging? They are now only saying 10% brighter, when they used to say 30% brighter. I bet its just trying to get more people to buy blue bulbs.

tx65coupe said:

The Silverstar bulbs most certainly do have a coating on them. They are definitely not clear.

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I just realized something. What you may have seen and thought they were clear is the sealed beam replacement Silverstar. The internal halogen bulb that you cant really see looks like these.

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The ones you looked up on Google Images are blue, but not all of them are like that. I had some that weren't and they were 9006 bulbs IIRC, not sealed beam. To be fair, that was about seven or eight years ago. It looks like Sylvania changes the bulbs and packaging like it's going out of style.

I may still have them if they weren't put in the round file already. They came in a hard plastic box, not the cheap blister packs they're in now.

The only Silverstar bulbs that are clear are Osram. Sylvania ones have always been blue. That is how they create the whiter light.

Thats true and I agree it can be misleading. Osram is a European bulb manufacturer. They had the Silverstar name before Sylvania did, but since they never mingled in the same markets, it was never an issue. Osram owns Sylvania, but the bulbs they make are different.

The Osram Silverstar is brighter than the Xtravision, but is harder to get in the US, only a few retailers carry them. The Sylvania Silverstar does have the tinted coating, and is hyped up junk, and yes they burn out quickly, partly because in order to make them in the legal brightness range they have to be designed so they are brighter than legal before the coating. This is created by running the filament hotter, which has an inverse effect on the lifespan of the bulb. After the coating is applied, the brightness comes out in the middle to low range of the legal brightness.

I also think that the clear GE Nighthawk is a bit brighter than the Xtravsion. Well at least in capsule bulb form.

I run sealed beam Xtravision in the 65 because the sealed beam Nighthawk is lower wattage.

Here are the good Nighthawks. I don't really see anyone carry them except Amazon and occassionally Ebay.



Something else I like is that GE makes Nighthawk wedge type and other small bulbs. I run them in all my tail lights and signal lights. They are barely brighter on dim, but noticably brighter on bright like the brake lights.

Sorry for all the posts. Here is the headlight relay setup that I run in my 95 F150 and our 97 Cobra. Just make sure you get the right one for 9004 or 9007. I don't know why I don't see it in any of the Mustang catalogs. Since fox body uses 9004, that would be the same as 87-91 F150. The relay is on page 60 and 62 of the LMC Truck catalog. On this same page are excellent examples of junk blue bulbs too, as well as junky euro lights. LOL...