Silverstar ULTRA finally availble for the H3

[Hans3T]

Weird...

Yeah, there's no "this is XX% better" sort of designation for those zXe ones.

BTW, did anyone have a link to the Ultras on Advance auto? I can only get regular Silverstars to come up...

 

[Hans3T]

Looks like Ultras and zXe bulbs are the same thing...read this review with photos.

 

[H3DONIST]

I have the regular silverstars for my headlights and fog lights. They definitely made an improvement over the oem lights. I also got the silverstar replacement backup light bulbs and didn't really notice a difference with those. Looking to put some auxillary lights back there attached to a special project.

I was thinking of getting something like these for more light while backing up.

http://www.whitenight.com/

 

[Hunner]

Those do look good. I selected JC Whitney and the first two said it would not fit the H3. If you figure out which one does let us know. Pickups around here have mounted lights like that and I have seen all kinds of homemade designs.
My luck I will stick the trailer tongue into one of them!

 

[H3DONIST]

JC Whitney may be talking about a stock H3 that has the towing package bumper. I have an aftermarket tow hitch installed, so it should work fine in my case.

 

[Hunner]

Yes it says OE hitch. So it must be that it is tucked up in under the bumper that is the problem.
Guess I will just keep using my rack mounted flood lights. They light behind and out to the sides.

 

[Ron46]

I just ordered CREE Led reverse lights, I will post up pictures to show the difference!

I was thinking of getting something like these for more light while backing up.

http://www.whitenight.com/

 

[H3DONIST]

I just ordered CREE Led reverse lights, I will post up pictures to show the difference!

Do they just replace the OE bulbs?

 

[Ron46]

Yes, they should have came today, but usps missshipped them

 

[Portager]

Being the overly analytical type of engineer that I am, I looked up the specifications of the family of Sylvania bulbs :link: and I was surprised that the visible light output (luminous flux) in Lumens is exactly the same for the SilverStar Ultra, SilverStar, XtraVision and Standard halogen bulbs. Raw light output is called radiant flux and is a measure of the total electromagnetic radiation that a light emits. However, since the human eye has a limited spectral sensitivity range, i.e. ultraviolet and near infrared light is imperceptible, luminous flux is the radiant flux with each element of the spectral band weighted by the sensitivity of the eye to that band. Therefore luminous flux is the measure of a lights output that is visible to the human eye. Since luminous flux is by definition a measure of the perceived brightness of light source by the human eye, how can one light be any brighter that another when they are all rated at the same luminous flux?

I was starting to think that it was all just marketing BS, however based on antidotal evidence (i.e. complaints to the NHTSB about blue lights causing more glare) I thought there must be a reason that everyone seems to believe the higher effective operating temperature (i.e. whiter lights) appear brighter. So I talked to one of our optical science experts who pointed out that in low light conditions the cone cells are nonfunctional and our vision relies exclusively on the rod cells. Rod cells are most sensitive to wavelengths around 498 nm (blue-green light) and are insensitive to wavelengths longer than about 640 nm (red). This is called Scotopic :link: vision as opposed to Photopic vision and it occurs at light levels between 10[SUP]-2[/SUP] to 10[SUP]-6[/SUP] cd/m[SUP]2[/SUP]. Technically, I believe when our headlights are on, our eyes are operating in Mesopic vision (10[SUP]-2[/SUP] to 1 cd/m[SUP]2[/SUP]), which is a combination of Scotopic and Photopic vision, because in true Scotopic vision we have no ability to discern colors, but the sensitivity shift towards the blue end of the spectrum still occurs, just to a lesser magnitude. This explains why whiter or bluer lights appear brighter. Lumens are based on the Photopic luminosity function, however in Mesopic vision our eyes see based on the Scotopic luminosity function which favors the blue end of the spectrum.

In addition, since the Department of Transportation (DOT) limits the Lumen output of lights, whiter lights or lights with more output in the blue end of the spectrum can have higher radiant flux and still comply with the DOT limits in Lumens due to the Photopic weighting function. In other words there really is a Scientific reason that the pure white, higher effective operating temperature lights, like the Sylvania SilverStar Ultra appear to be brighter than the standard “Yellow” halogen bulbs. The downside of the SilverStar Ultra and SilverStar is the life of the low beam filament is only 327 hours compared to 1500 hours for the Standard halogen bulbs (22% of the standard bulb life) and the high beam filament is 75 hours versus 250 hours for the standard (30% of the standard life). I also noted that the claimed life of the SilverStar and the SilverStar Ultra is the same, so the only advantage of the SilverStar over the SilverStar Ultra appears to be the price. On the other hand the benefit of the Ultra over the SilverStar should be negligible based on the difference in effective operating temperature.

However, once you get into the very blue and violet portion of the spectrum, you have gone past the optimum point and the light output will appear less bright. Therefore, the blue and violet lights are just for looks.

I’ve ordered and received the SilverStar Ultra’s so I’ll be installing them any day.

 

[Hans3T]

Is there an abridged version of that?? :whaa::wink:

 

[alrock]

I have one Ultra and one Silverstar installed in my headlights (burned out at different times) and I don't see any noticeable difference between the two, unlike the original upgrade to Silverstars. Whether it is all in my eye, or mind's eye, I'm good with the difference (or lack thereof). Borrowing from the Matrix: "You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss."

 

[davidh3]

headlight size is H13, 9008 right??

I just ordered a pair on ebay.

 

[05Mudiak]

I have the ZXE's in my silverado (they were on sale same price as ultras) they are deff brighter than the OEM's that were in there ...lol. The one thing I didn't notice it puts out more light ummm it lights up more area not sure if it's just because it is brighter or maybe its just an my eyes playing tricks on me to justify the cost. I did have some plug and play HID's in the truck at one point and these ZXE's are comparable from the drivers seat. IMO... I hope my rambling makes sense I am working on very little sleep, as a matter of fact I am going to go crash out right now.

 

[JGBB04]

Is there an abridged version of that?? :whaa::wink:

Screw abridged I need the head lights for dummies version :whaa:
some of that did seep past the Captn but not much guess I gota read that again before happy hour

 

[Tractordoll]

I just bought a pair of the ultras for my H2 last weekend, but I haven't taken it anywhere at night since then lol. As a quick test, the high beams seem to be a lot brighter. A set for the H2 ran around $50 or thereabouts.

 

[JonBishop]

I'm running the xenon HID kit on both driving lights and fog lights, $32.95 on ebay for each set... not to bad and you get to get whatever color too, I'm running the 8000ks...

 

[06yellowh3]

I got the ultras for my headlights, and just bought the ultras for my fog lights today. The ultras seem to be brighter that the HID's that I had in it before. I can definately see farther with them. They are worth the price, the stock oem headlights sucked terribly. I did mostly night driving, I would go to work at 545am on fridays and then after working 10 hours and getting off at 415 then I would drive from Brookings, SD to Fulton, IL which is about 8 hours so i would arrive there around 2am with stops. So I needed the brightest lights that I could get. I found the ultras on amazon, ordered them, and I love them they are brighter and wider than the originals. I would recommend them to anyone. When I get off work today I'm going to instal the ultras in the fog lights and then test them out tonight hopefully.

 

[backcountryislife]

I got the ultras for my headlights, and just bought the ultras for my fog lights today. The ultras seem to be brighter that the HID's that I had in it before.

Which HID kit did you have?

I've been considering getting a basic HID setup (a guy I know runs HID source, so I can get them pretty cheap) but not sure if there are some that aren't worth getting or not. Don't know squat about them.

If the ultras are as good as a basic HID... shoot, makes more sense to just got that route. I ended up coming home in the dark a few days ago & definitely have a new appreciation for some more solid lighting!!

 

[05Mudiak]

I use DDM tuning for my HIDs. They are good and cheap too. I have a lot of friends that us DDM.

I have them in both my 4 wheelers and I had them in my truck.

Only thing with the HID's a lot of people on the road will hate you Normal reflective housings are not designed for HID's and are not effcient on how is directs the light and you can burn your housings. On my silverado the housing is way bigger than the 3 and you can see a spot on the top of the reflective part that was getting was too hot. I had the HID's in the truck for about 2 yrs and just for the fact of it overheating that one spot I went back to regualr bulbs.

 

[backcountryislife]

I think with how cold it is here, that's likely not an issue (we see 90 about 5 days a year here, 85 is agonizingly hot for the mountains) so I might give that a try. My stock bulbs are horrible!! I know age is an issue (decreased output over time), but I've never been able to get my silverstars to last for even a year, so I'm leery of going that route.

 

[Chook]

Remember the theory is good if you are just replacing the OEM globes. All that goes out the window if you have driving lights fitted, now the equation is different. You need to boost your Low Beam so that when you flick back from your Driving Lights on High Beam that you are not blinded (by the relative amount of light not just the aim). If you have Driving Lights fitted the high beam is irrelevant (as your driving lights will put out more light than any OEM replacement) so the focus should be the low beam output for your OEM Replacement. ARB has mastered this with "Fat Boys" OEM replacement. Let me see if I can find the data & links and post them here.

 

[Chook]

Here is a post on ARB explaining the same thing if you upgrade the high beam you should match it with the low beam. http://www.arb.com.au/getting-started/ask-arb/general/060%20HID%20lighting%20vs%20halogen%20lighting.php

 

[Chook]

Here is the item in the ARBUSA website http://store.arbusa.com/H4-8060-WATT-CLEAR-FATBOY-PAIR-4X41-P22284.aspx

 

[Chook]

Too much light is also a problem (street sign reflection blinds you) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=bWS30yHBuLQ&NR=1