What headlamps do you have?

[Oly 22]

One of my PIAA headlamps burned out today. Just over a year old....figures. I liked the colour temp (4000k) but not sure they where a whole lot better than the OEM lamps. Has anyone tried the Sylvania Silver Star or GE Nighthawk? Did you notice a difference in the amount of light output? How long do they last? Has anyone installed a higher wattage lamp 80/100w and relay? Any issues with the lens or wiring?

[skinny2]

You can look up a couple of my threads as I've played around a lot with the lighting. I drive a lot of deserted roads with 200# deer and hated the lights on this thing. I tried numerous bulbs and HID's as well. I ultimately switched to Sylvania Xtravision which has a decent low-beam (and so far good life). The downside to any bulb solution (including HID) is that the high-beam sucks because the stock housing has bad optics. The cut-off that's built into the housing drops the high-beam and scatters the light. My solution was to add a set of Hella aux lights mounted in my grill that also come on with my high beams. It's not the greatest setup visually, but I have tons of light and can see FAR down the road and also high onto the sides.

The other solution would be to have a custom set of projectors built with HID's but that's a $1,500+ solution that just doesn't make sense for me. I'd just buy a new vehicle before tossing that kind of coin out the window. This is the first vehicle I've bought since 2001 that didn't have adequate headlights....so there are certainly other choices if it came down to that.

[sharris566]

I recently installed the GE Nighthawks and did not notice any difference from the stock bulbs. I agree with skinny2 in that it is obviously a problem with the stock headlight housing.

[Oly 22]

Thanks guys, I also agree, the photometrics are brutal. Can't afford the HID upgrade and was hoping a better lamp would have some impact. I put a set of 100w IPF 868 driving lights on mine and they make a big difference. I drive all over the province and have the same issues with deer, elk and bears, haven't seen a moose yet. don't think I want to either.

Going to look into the 80/100w lamps and relay, maybe more wattage will be just what these things need.

[skinny2]

Probably just save your money. The HID's are far brighter than the standard higher wattage but the light just gets scattered everywhere. Are you looking at better low-beams or both? Most of the replacement bulbs seem to have a little better low beam, but I don't think there's an answer (at a reasonable price) to getting tons of light without using aux lights. I just bought a typical Hella Blackmagic lights and only into the setup for around $150.

[booradley]

After trying three different aftermarket bulbs, I settled on the Phillips Brand, better lighting and I will see how long they last.

[smj999smj]

Anybody see the article in the latest Consumer Reports? Basically they tested some of the "premium" headlamp bulbs on the market (Sylvania Silverstar & Silverstar Ultra, GE Nighthawks, PIAA, to name a few) against some stock bulbs. Basically they found none of the premium bulbs let you see any farther, as that has more to do with the headlamp design, but the premium do have more output which will help you see better. They also found that there was very little difference in brightness among the "premium" bulbs despite the large difference in price. Would have been nice if they also tested how long the headlamps lasted so we could compare them against each other.