Nighthawk Lights?

[smittyb]

Is anyone familiar with GE Nighthawk lights? Just ordered a set off ebay, they were cheap, supposed to be pretty bright and last like 3 times longer than Silverstars. I don't think they are going to be as white as Silverstars. Just wondering if anyone has used them.

 

[smittyb]

Anyone?

 

[90mustangGT]

I don't know what your talking about, but if you want bright and long lasting look into a HID conversion.

 

[Reed]

I have 'em in my car. They were a lot brighter than the generic whatevers that were in the car before, but not projector bright. I'm pretty happy with them.

 

[mob]

Your talking about bulbs? I have silverstars, they're pretty good. Would have been easier to just go to autozone and pick some up though instead of paying for shipping and waiting for it. IMO a bulb is a bulb, the only thing that will really make a noticing effect on how the light is, is if your headlights are old, yellow and faded or brand new and clear, or if you buy blue bulbs, or if you get a true HID kit.

Heres my silverstars at night

 

[smittyb]

Yeah, I just put in new headlights today. I put the stock bulbs back in for now, but I have the Nighthawks ordered. Could have picked up Silverstars at Autozone, but for the additional 20 bucks, I'll just wait a few days. Also the Silverstars are only rated at 50 hours runtime!
Just wondered what thoughts were on the Nighthawks.
I am not going to spend the money on HID's, hell, I can't even afford paint.

 

[90mustangGT]

If your headlamps are old, that might be half your problem. When I replaced my stock browns for some new 50resto news.... it was a night/day difference.

 

[mob]

Yeah, I just put in new headlights today. I put the stock bulbs back in for now, but I have the Nighthawks ordered. Could have picked up Silverstars at Autozone, but for the additional 20 bucks, I'll just wait a few days. Also the Silverstars are only rated at 50 hours runtime!
Just wondered what thoughts were on the Nighthawks.
I am not going to spend the money on HID's, hell, I can't even afford paint.

Yea my silverstars were free, Theyve been on my car for more then a year now, and that pic was taken a few weeks ago, definatly more then 50 hrs.

 

[smittyb]

Well, 50 on the high beams, 150 on low.
The nighthawks are supposed to be 150/320 hours.

 

[Kumm3]

had my Silverstars in my old truck for 3 years, and 60,000 miles.

thinking that 150 hours is a little off

 

[smittyb]

Straight from Sylvania
http://www.sylvaniaautocatalog.com/...chId=70&ProductNumber=9004 ST&PartNo= ST, ST
And this is for 9004's, if your truck used something else, obviously, this does not apply.

 

[Kumm3]

9007s, which give me an extra 40 hours on the high beams.

still think that 150 hours is a CYA attempt by sylvania

 

[Mustang5L5]

Also the Silverstars are only rated at 50 hours runtime!
.

That's not right.

I've had Silverstars in my 5.0 for 4 years and Silverstars in my GT for 2 years. Haven't had a headlight bulb burn out on me yet. They last a very long time. Lets say i used the lights 1 hour each night, that would mean i have approx 1500 hours on my 5.0's si;lverstars and about 730 hours on my '03 GT's silverstars. I prob have close to 1000 hours on my GT because i do a lot of night driving lately and have a habit of running the headlights in the daytime now


American Silverstars are just coated bulbs really. If you want truely brighter whiter light, try to snag a set of European-spec Osram Silverstars. They are not legal in the US so they aren't sold here but you can get them online or off ebay. They put out 50% more lumens than a US spec bulb.

 

[smittyb]

That's not right.

I've had Silverstars in my 5.0 for 4 years and Silverstars in my GT for 2 years. Haven't had a headlight bulb burn out on me yet. They last a very long time. Lets say i used the lights 1 hour each night, that would mean i have approx 1500 hours on my 5.0's si;lverstars and about 730 hours on my '03 GT's silverstars. I prob have close to 1000 hours on my GT because i do a lot of night driving lately and have a habit of running the headlights in the daytime now

Maybe you missed this the first time.
Straight from Sylvania
http://www.sylvaniaautocatalog.com/...chId=70&ProductNumber=9004 ST&PartNo= ST, ST
And this is for 9004's, if your truck used something else, obviously, this does not apply.
I said that is what they are rated for, obviously the set you got outlasted the projected runtime by 10 times the factories rating. Guess you got one hell of a set.

 

[Kumm3]

like i said, its a CYA technique of Sylvania. since 9 times out of 10, the consumer is installing the bulb, there is a large chance of them touching the bulb itself putting it in.

As im sure you know (since you are such an expert) the oils from peoples hands on the bulbs spells early faliure.

So, the lower the rating, the less odds of them having to replace bulbs under "warrentee"

Get it?

 

[smittyb]

Yes, I did know that oils from the skin on the bulbs will reduce the lifespan. No, I am not an expert on Vehicle light bulbs.
Search the internet for feedback on Silverstars. Most people complain of having to replace them after 4 months.
Like I said I am no expert, maybe you think I am, but I assure you, I'm not.
5L5 siad it was not right that the 9004's were rated at 50/150 hours. I say really. The info came straight from Sylvania'a website. Hard to argue that. A CYA attempt? Maybe. But seriously, has anyone had a bulb replaced under warranty?

 

[Mustang5L5]

Maybe you missed this the first time.
Straight from Sylvania
http://www.sylvaniaautocatalog.com/...chId=70&ProductNumber=9004 ST&PartNo= ST, ST
And this is for 9004's,

The Fox uses 9004 ST's. Like i said before, i am WELL over the rated life.

I even put four 9006's in a Lincoln Mark 8. (had separate high and low beam bulbs) Had them in for over a year before I sold the car.

My GT uses 9007's,

So that means i've bought three different style bulbs of Silverstars and surpassed the ratings on all.

I even have the silverstar 3157 front turn signal bulbs. I don't know what they are rated at but i've had them in the car for at least 2 years as well. I drive around with my parking lights and fog lights on at all times so anytime the car is driving they are on. I've put 35K miles on with them

 

[Mustang5L5]

But seriously, has anyone had a bulb replaced under warranty?

Yes.

When Sylvannia first came out with the 893ST fog light bulb for the 99+ GT i bought a pair. They had problems and I burned both out within a month. I sent the bulbs and receipt to sylvania and got a full refund since it was under their rated lifespan on their site. I think those ratings are more of a warranty period more than anything.

I since bought some ricer white fog lights that match the silverstar headlights. The new fogs are supposed to now last longer, but i have no probs with my fog bulbs now so why fix what isn't broke.

But i've never had a prob with the headlight bulbs and i've had them for a LONG time.

 

[HISSIN50]

Mike, are you using an Ebay fog light bulb? I run 893's in the '94 (spec was 885, IIRC, at a whopping 37 watts, and I think the 893's put out 50 watts or so. I might have the part #'s backwards).
Anyhow, with fogs on, they take away from headlight-output reaching the road - they're like black holes. When I turn fogs on, I want to see them light something up in front of the car (instead of checking the switch to see if they're on).
If you found some decent bulbs, lemme know.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Well the 893's are 37.5 watts. They are the same as the stock 899 bulbs.

The are HILITE brand bulbs, honestly i bought them because they were cheap. I think i got the headlights and fog light bulbs for $20 for all 4. The headlights are junk though, they look blue and have ZERO light output when on. I tried them just for the hell of it as i had the silverstars at the time. The foglights are supposed to be the same but as expected they are not. They are actually a decent white color and match the silverstars perfectly. I expected them to last maybe 6 months or so but they are going on 2 years.

I think i'm gonna try something different though. I'm gonna pick up a pair of amber 899 bulbs and try running yellow fogs. I like the look of it on Lexus's and have seen a few stangs like that.

I got zero light output from my stock fogs anyway so i just consider them for appearance. I can be in a dark street with just the parking lights on and then turn on the fogs only and see it barely light up a small area directly in front of the car. With the headlights on flicking the fogs on and off i can't tell a difference. Only way i know they are on is the button.