Silvar stars and cool blue headlights

[mdwatkins]

Silverstars are worse then IPF's, but better then stock. They are much brighter then stock but have a fairly crappy beam pattern.

-Scott

I just bought a CJ with the Silverstars in it...wasn't impressed at all...they were deffinitely brighter but nothing near the IPF's in my XJ...For the amount of money you'll be spending on the Silverstars you might as-well upgrade and go to the IPF's

Matt

 

[OT]

H-4 conversion is the way to go IMHO. I brag on 'em every chance I get. Here's a pic. Light up your life.

 

[GI-John]

The way I'm understanding all of these posts is that;

Stock sucks (DUH)
Silverstars are a nice upgrade
H4 conversions rule...

Is it necessary to upgrade the wiring harness for the aftermarket setup or is it just recommended?

 

[Xjman1]

The way I'm understanding all of these posts is that;

Stock sucks (DUH)
Silverstars are a nice upgrade
H4 conversions rule...

Is it necessary to upgrade the wiring harness for the aftermarket setup or is it just recommended?

I'm reading this the same way and it appears a wire harness is "required" for best performance. Now is 14g large enough or should I go with 12g? I am going to get the Silverstars it seems you cannot beat the price and they are legal.

 

[XJguy]

You can get Silverstars as an H4 that way you can use your housing of choice. Like the ones I have:

XJguy

 

[Wiley Coyote]

I saw Eagle Eyes in JC Whitney for a fairly decent price. Were these lights glass and metal in construction? Don't want any plastic to be melting when I put them 100W H4 bulbs in!
Is the front of the lamp clear and can you see the reflector? I can't remember if they were off-road only or DOT-rated? How do you like them. If you are running 100W Xenon or Plasma bulbs are they near HID?
Inquiring minds want to know,
BLUTO


I got my Eagle Eyes & the bulbs from JC Whitney. They are actual clear glass and you can see the reflector. It looks like a weird bluish halo. A buddy told me that they were Ecode lenses (European spec). When I ordered them the lady on the phone told me that they weren’t street legal. There is nothing on the box that says anything about DOT approval, so I assume that means that they are not. The 130/90 watt Xenon bulbs really light things up. This combination is considerably better than stock or silver stars. I’m using the factory harness and haven’t had any problems. I’m sure that an aftermarket lighting harness would make them even brighter, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. As good as they are, nothing I’ve seen will ever equal HID. Then again I only paid $78 for my whole set up including shipping. The HID system that I was looking at started at $500.

 

[GI-John]

You can get Silverstars as an H4 that way you can use your housing of choice. Like the ones I have: [
XJguy

I'm currently piecing together a H4 set (waiting on bulbs, contemplating a harness)
I have the Pilot clear plastic lenses and to me they look a little shoddy. I'm considering going and buying a true diamone cut or E-spec lens....

who/where do you get those lenses from?

 

[woody]

Wow, this topic is getting around the forums (presently this here, one on OEM Tech, and one on Street Performance)

Way back in 2000, I popped for a set of Hella E-Code lenses and 100/80 Hella H4 halogen bulbs. Shortly after, I built a relay harness. Very big improvement over stock sealed beams -both in sheer brightness but more importantly in beam focus.

These have migrated to my trail jeep and then to my DD XJ, along the way trying 130/90 (halogen) Hella, 60/55 (xenon) Hella, IPF "Magic J" 60/55, and 60/55 (halogen) Sylvania from the auto parts store. I also bought my daughter a set for her car and my mom a set for her truck (60/55 xenons for both those, then went to 100/80 in the kid's car)

In order of brightness, I'd say 130/90, 100/80, IPF "J", 60/55 Xenon, 60/55. The J bulbs were very pricey@ $75/pair shipped, but also lasted the longest. The others ranged in price from $18/pr to $25/pr.

Recently bought a set of IPF H4 Lenses (#820H), their relay harness (#M002), and a pair of bulbs in 170/100 (#HHC12170100) This full IPF 'kit' cost in the neighborhood of $170.00. Can we say HUGE difference??? I stepped up from low-rung 60/55 halogens - don't recall exactly how I got stuck with those in there, might have given the kid my 100/80s? The difference is pretty amazing. 170w high beams just plain rock. I've only had a couple opportunities to try them out...but the only thing I have used that are brighter/further are 150w sealed beam/clear spot lens KC Daylighters. I may reinstall those KCs using one 100w 'flood' beam and one 150w clear spot beam, and have them triggered off the hi-beam switch.

The jury is still out whether or not the IPF lenses are as efficient as the Hella E Code (on low beam) it seems the Hella might have a little sharper 'cutoff' line, but it's hard to say without a real test (side-by-side, same bulbs, with one lens of each covered with alum foil.)

I will go out on a limb though, and say that I'd put the 170/100s up against any other standard (non-HID) headlight bulb available. Have a 'Battle of the Blinders' LOL

I got my IPF stuff through Rusty at www.rustysoffroad.com ,
and my Hella stuff from Susquehanna MotorSports at www.rallylights.com

One thing I found is that IMHO super-bright lights aren't any advantage off-road in the deep woods. Too many weird shadows for stuff to hide in, too much glare for my tastes, and very distracting/annoying to the folks ahead if one isn't the lead dawg.

 

[woody]

The differences between the IPF lenses and the Hella E Code is that the Hella's have a metal cup that sits in front of the bulb (reflects light back at the housing then through the lens?) where the IPFs do not. I dunno what that means in engineering terms / end results though.

Also the IPF are stamped 'SAE' where the Hella's are not, again :dunno: neither are stamped 'DOT'

Both share a lens cut that has many flutes, and an upward flare to the RHS. I'm guessing this has to do with the low beam pattern and horizontal cutoff (helps from blinding the oncoming folks)

 

[XJEEPER]

As some have already mentioned, halogen bulbs like full voltage (12-14V DC) and if they are only getting 10-11VDC, then their performance is greatly effected. I ran Hella H-4 lights with 65/55 bulbs for 7 years and in Oct, I finally installed an upgrade harness that boosts the voltage to the bulbs....... HUGE improvement in brightness.......shall we say, night and day!?
These harnesses are simple to install, come with relays and are well worth the hassle of not building the harness yourself....(unless you can talk Mike Rollins into building you one for free :kissyou: ) you can find these all over the web and are pretty much universal. Here's an example, I also saw some recently on E-bay for about $25 that looked the same.
http://www.stylinconcepts.com/parts.cfm/partfamilyid/579/CategoryID/29/SubCategoryID/279

I'm anxious to upgrade to some brighter bulbs so I can really take advantage of the mod.

 

[woody]

X man, try those IPF 170/100s... or if that much juice panic's ya, try the 145/90 (#HHC1214590) MJR's harness I'd trust with either size, same with IPF's, I dunno about some discount-Ebay harness to carry a ton of current (more than once LOL)

The 170s draw 28.3 amps @ 12v, and the harness is fused at 30a...so it's a little close...BUT I never plan to run (either beam) with the jeep not running, and when running it's getting 14+ at the bulb socket. Thats more like 24.3 amp draw.

I do plan to have my spare 140A alt benched and if still good, swap it in (have to do a balancer pully so it's right there for the swappin) along with a length of 1/0 charge wire and a BlueSea Megafuse.

I don't woof up many things, but these I feel comfy woofing up the 170/100 :wow: Sorta like comparing a 4 cell maglite to a 12 hour chemlite.

If you want a more 'old school Milspec' look, the 170/100s also come in amber 'all weather' tint

 

[XJguy]

I'm currently piecing together a H4 set (waiting on bulbs, contemplating a harness)
I have the Pilot clear plastic lenses and to me they look a little shoddy. I'm considering going and buying a true diamone cut or E-spec lens....

who/where do you get those lenses from?

Yeah most of those "snazzy" looking light housings are plastic, the ones I have are glass though. I get mine direct from the manufacturer since I also sell them. The Silverstars when in low beam are not all that impressive, but when on hi-beam they look HID-ish. When I find the time I will make a heavy duty harness, according to the other 3 Silverstar discussions that are also on JU (Youre right Woody its a popular topic lately) the true HID-like performance was only achieved with the upgraded harness.

A buddy of mine has a connection in a salvage yard whereby the guy is selling takeoff true HID sets for only $150. I would do it, but I just got these bulbs and dont feel like wasting even more money. I had the Cool Blue bulbs prior to the Silverstars and only used them for one night before I swapped them out, not that they were bad, but I wanted the projector lenses.

XJguy

 

[Xjman1]

.
http://www.stylinconcepts.com/parts.cfm/partfamilyid/579/CategoryID/29/SubCategoryID/279

Is 14g big enough wire or should I look to 12g? Plan on running the Silverstars as I want to stay legal and not blind anyone. I know I have felt like putting my foot up someones ars before due to their incredibly bright lights not being aimed correctly. Just me though

 

[PaulJ]

The 170s draw 28.3 amps @ 12v, and the harness is fused at 30a...so it's a little close...BUT I never plan to run (either beam) with the jeep not running, and when running it's getting 14+ at the bulb socket. Thats more like 24.3 amp draw.

Higher voltage to the light has to increase the current; i.e., at 14 volts the current will be more than it is at 12 volts. Can't violate Ohm's law.

 

[BLUTO]

I just installed my new lighting harness last night. I tried a few lamps out for comparison: 1st stock Wagners vs Silverstars....next Silverstars old harness vs Silverstars new harness (side by side), noticeable inprovement :sunshine:
Next I istalled a new Osram 80W-100W H-4 bulb into my Hella E-codes and went side-by-side with the SilverStars (new harness). There were noticeable differences between the two; the SS were a bit bluer. Not a Xenon blue. Alone you would saw "white-ish".
The "beam-on-the-garage-door" test showed the vast difference between projection patterns. The E-codes having a sharp horizontal cut-off and kicking-up slightly to the right. The SS beam was more rounded, yet more diffuse....where the beam was not as concentrated.
Brilliance??? :wow: The Hella's on HI beam are almost like my 6" round/130W pencil beams for lighting 'em up! On LOW beam, there is more "density" to the pattern laid down the road and (after I get them adjusted at work) hopefully much less glare.
I saw maybe 1 volt loss with no load on conductor at headlamp w/engine OFF ....And 1/2 to 3/4 volt loss with egine ON. You should probably see 1.5V or greater loss under load (with stock harness).
I only saw 1/2V max loss with harness. I have a 500Ah battery and a 140amp alternator.
Once I re-install my "I have to finish the Engineering" Hella Optilux fog/driving lamps. I'll have 560W of frontal lighting and 110W of rear lighting :flame: ...time to start planning my next MOD - dual battery set-up w/battery selector switch :repair:
I might order a set of Rich's H-4 Plasma bulbs in the 90W/130W flavor. But before I do, how long will they will they stay lit? 100 hrs? 200hrs?
The Osrams were free

BLUTO

BTW anybody want to buy a pair of SilverStar 6054 lamps? $25 shipped. A nice cheap upgrade E-mail me at: [email protected]

 

[ZPD]

Ok maybe this should be another thread but:
I just put H4's in my mustang but if I put the seal on then the light doesn't fit in the bucket. Do I:

A. use some silicon and seal the bulb up to the Al. housing
B. Go without the rubber seal
or
C. take out the bucket and introduce it to Mr. Plasma?

 

[xjblue]

I have IPF's in my XJ right now. I was looking briefly at those Sylvania Silver star headlights and their Cool Blue headlights while in Autozone for my other ride. Are they any good? I know that they won't be as good as my IPF's but are they close?

I've used the Cool Blues for a couple of years now, brighter and whiter than regular when compared side by side but not very remarkable to look at em when on their own. so if you want some improvement but don't want to draw any attention to yourself.....

 

[witt]

does anyone have any experience with those JDM MTEC buls that they sell on ebay? the claim 90/100 watts producing 170/(150/160).... is this too good to be true? or what? or are they just trying to sell bulbs? they too also have the yellow tinted bulbs for weather driving??
white bulb yellow bulb

 

[prb24]

I have to give a thumbs up to the Silverstars. I've had them in my Jeep for a year and love them. Definitely worth the extra cash...

 

[witt]

question!!

how many watts can the IPF wiring harness handle?? can you put those 100/170 watt bulbs on there? or do u need something else? how about those wiring harnesses on ebay? how many watts can those handle?