I replaced my Silverstar Ultra bulbs with the NEW Philips 9011 (HIR1) - (12.8V 65W - PX20D) bulbs,I am pretty sure that they are not as good as the Silverstars,I was expecting something different,I see no different or maybe even less quality, the Silverstars are clear and bright,the Philps are yellowish. Has anyone else tried these and found the same as I or did you find the Philips much better ? Maybe I am missing something,but I understood the Philips HIR bulbs would set the world on fire, were a step below HIDs.

Thanks Al

 

Do they look like this?



True HIR halogens have the highest lumen rating of any halogen bulbs on the market. I have used them in the past before I went HID and they were way brighter than Silverstars in my use.

http://www.finemotoring.com/

 

no, they don t have the blub, just slender all the way up.

 

The bulbs pictured are manufactured by Toshiba. They stopped making them and Phillips came out with their version which falls short of the original bulb.

 

Yes, I knew Tobisha quite making them, I guess I got ripped then, oh well, live and learn, even tho they say they are equivelent,and I don t want to pay $700 + for HIDs, so I will be content with what I have.

Thanks for the input

 

You didn't get ripped. You got exactly what you paid for. I suggest you head over to candlepower forums and read up on 9011 and 9012 bulbs, which is what you bought.

The "HIR" technology was nothing more than a type of bulb made by Toshiba to meet the 9011/9012 specs. Other bulbs also meet this spec, the Gen2/Gen3 for example also meet this spec but they do not use the IR coating on the bulb.

Advances in filament and halogen fills allow Phillips to forgo the IR coating as it isn't needed anymore to meet the 9011/9012 spec. The 9011/9012 bulbs are best/brightest (by spec) bulbs you can buy that will fit in your 9005/9006 socket.

The only catch is your lens has to have the little filament cover inside the lens otherwise you'll dazzle oncoming traffic with an unobstructed view of the bulb's filament as the 9011/9012 bulbs are not coated on the tip like 9005/9006.

Edit: Also as a note, color temp really has nothing to do with "clearer / brighter". The only measure of usable light one should be using to measure "brightness" is lumens. Bulbs like the SilverStar use a colour coating on the bulb to filter out certain spectrums of light thus reducing usable light. They "fix" this problem by over driving the filament thus the reason they have a terrible life span. They really are a terrible bulb.

 

You don't have to spend $700.00. HID conversion kits run about $69.95 from forum vendors. I've been running a set from CorvetteMods for several months now and am very happy with them. I've run them all winter and no one has complained about the light pattern. They blink at the factory HIDS in my wife's Acura more often.

 

Ok, will have to research it again, was sure I saw a couple of kits on here for $700. but may have been projector kits, would make no sense then to buy HIRs for 50 when one can get the HIDs for another 15 or 20.I will have to do more homework.

 

Just a couple FYI's... not all HID kits are equal. Iv'e had bulbs and/or ballast last 3 months and some 3 years. Sometimes they are not exactly the color (kelvin temp) you asked for, some kits work flawlessly and others have issues, and they are not legal to use unless you have them in an approved projector/reflector. The bulb does not sit in the same position throwing the focus of the light pattern off in many OEM halogen designated housings causing glare. I have installed a few of these kits in various vehicles. Sometimes the OEM housings work great and in others the pattern was so bad I ended up taking them out and replacing them with the proper projector housings. There is also wattage to consider. They come in 35 watt & 55 watts, standard & slim ballast. Find a vendor with good customer service so when/if you need replacement parts you can get them without a hassle.

 

I recently replaced my regular bulbs with HIRs. I also added Radioflyer's Hi-4 harness for $25 shipped. I also noticed my lights were too low and adjusted them to shine a little further down the road. They are amazingly better than my stock C5 bulbs. I've never tried the Silverstars, but my HIRs are really, really nice.

 

I have my HIRs in a box. I plan on retro fitting them for use in another project I'm doing. It's a shame that Toshiba doesn't make them any more. I documented my results with switching to HIRs. (http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...mpression.html)

If you can do a side by side test of them you'll know if they're any better than what you had. I went from stock to silver stars to Toshiba HIRs to HIDs. In all honesty I liked the HIRs a little bit more. Next I'm going with 60w LEDs.