which headlight bulbs to buy

[n00b on demand]

Ok so ive been driving with one head light for a few days now...and tonight the other one just blew out. So tomorrow morning im gonna have to buy new bulbs. I had "HILite" cool blue bulbs in there and loved the blueish tint. I got them off of ebay. Which headlight bulbs would any of you suggest? Im going to have to go into my local speed shop to get them. How much for the sylvanias? Are they good? I heard PIA's are excellent but are way tooo expensive and dont last that long.

[Tim]

Do a search on the 9005 conversion. That's all you need:) I am running cool blue 9005's and couldn't be happier.

[thundering02]

Personally I really like my Silvania Silverstars (Pure White) the pairs will run you aprrox 50 dollars. And I intend shortly after my spending cash goes back up after the holidys to buy the fogs and the highs but as is the lows are absolutely awsome.

edit: BTW don't touch the bulbs as this will shorten the lives of the bulbs very fast.

[AFBeefcake]

I run street glow bulbs I think there 4100K color. I love them and for about $25.00 a set with shipping from sounddomain.com there cheep to.

[n00b on demand]

Whats the deal with the 9005's?

[n00b on demand]

What do you mean by conversion....what will i have to modify? I would love to do this but i really dont have time being that both my headlights are blown right now and i have to be at work in a few hours. i was just hoping to go to the local speed shop ...buy the bulbs and put em in today.

[Tim]

http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14605&highlight=9005

[drivemusicnow]

the process to "modify" takes like 15 minutes total. i have 9005 sylvania silverstar lowbeams.. they're white, and brighter than any of the fake blue lights... at autozone they were 20$ a piece. well worth it in my opinion.

i really really hate the drivers that stick the really blue tinted lights in. they're just annoying. and very obviously not HID. the "cool blue" isn't all that blue, so it actually looks fine. but the whiter the light the better IMO

[justiceSVX]

Originally posted by TE1221
Do a search on the 9005 conversion. That's all you need:) I am running cool blue 9005's and couldn't be happier.

Ding. Winner.

[mohrds]

Originally posted by soobiesvx93
Whats the deal with the 9005's?

Its a neat way to annoy all the oncomming traffic with scattered and mis-aligned beam patterns :rolleyes:

Doug

[mbtoloczko]

Originally posted by mohrds


Its a neat way to annoy all the oncomming traffic with scattered and mis-aligned beam patterns :rolleyes:

Doug

Doug, do you know of any lights out there that improve visibility but do not mess up the SVX light pattern?

[justiceSVX]

Originally posted by mohrds


Its a neat way to annoy all the oncomming traffic with scattered and mis-aligned beam patterns :rolleyes:

Doug

It's in a projector. I installed one modded 9005 next to a 9006 and there was no difference whatsoever in beam cutoff, or anything like that. From the front, the glare was identical to the stock bulb, and it just appeared a tad whiter.

The light output, however, was incredible.

You must not have seen this modification in person, it's incredible. Light output is much more than stock, yet it doesn't bother anybody. I've never had anybody flash their brights at me, unless I have my fogs on also (which ahppened prior to the modded bulbs also).

[ensteele]

I agree! I run the Sylvania Cool Blue 9005s in my cars (low beams only) and they are great. I have never been flashed unless my fog lights are on. They are not blue at all, but a whiter light than the stock ones. I can see now, and the stock bulbs were horrible. These are the first lights that I have been happy with. :)

[lee]

I haven't done the mod (to 9005s) yet, but I did contact Daniel Stern (a good guy for vehicle lighting - cruise his site at - http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html).

It was his opinion that as long as projector/focusing lens were on the low beams there were no issues other than lower MTBF. He did caution not to do the mod on non-projector 9006 low beams as the pattern then does get screwed up (not his words, my translation).

BTW, he has a good tutorial on how to aim your lights.

[thundering02]

Why do people flash at you for your fog lites?:confused:

[mohrds]

Originally posted by mbtoloczko


Doug, do you know of any lights out there that improve visibility but do not mess up the SVX light pattern?

The best solution is to buy new headlamps and install new readlight circuits. Years of microscopic dirt and stress fracturs kill the optics on the SVX. The wiring was OK when new, but corrodes quickly.

Stock bulbs in a new headlamps are amazing.

As for bulbs, I run Sylvania 9006 XV/2 (Sylvania XtraVision) and am very happy with them.

Doug

[SEA Sleeper]

Originally posted by thundering02
Why do people flash at you for your fog lites?:confused:

I was wondering about this too because I spent time ensuring the proper aiming of my headlights while at school.

This does seem to happen only when the fog lights are on. A few days ago I got flashed twice within 5 minutes! Do the fogs really project outward that far? I have PIAA Ion crystal fogs so if they do project into the sight line of oncoming traffic then I could understand because those are nice and bright. This also seems to happen only on residential roads 30mph or less.

The SVX's headlamp display looks awesome, but thier not meant to be stared into! Sometimes I flash back to show them that the highs arent even on :p

Anyways, I'll be installing 9005's tonight, one of my 9006's burned out lastnight and I allways change things in pairs.

I don't want to mess w/ the harness themselves but rather the mating surfaces on the bulb so the 9006 harness can slide over it. Am I correct in my assumptions. I love how everyone so far has called this a mod and given no instruction on how to perform it. Is that because the 9005 fit on the 9006 harness? I guess I'll see in a few hours when I get home.

[Tim]

Originally posted by SEA Sleeper


I was wondering about this too because I spent time ensuring the proper aiming of my headlights while at school.

This does seem to happen only when the fog lights are on. A few days ago I got flashed twice within 5 minutes! Do the fogs really project outward that far? I have PIAA Ion crystal fogs so if they do project into the sight line of oncoming traffic then I could understand because those are nice and bright. This also seems to happen only on residential roads 30mph or less.

The SVX's headlamp display looks awesome, but thier not meant to be stared into! Sometimes I flash back to show them that the highs arent even on :p

Anyways, I'll be installing 9005's tonight, one of my 9006's burned out lastnight and I allways change things in pairs.

I don't want to mess w/ the harness themselves but rather the mating surfaces on the bulb so the 9006 harness can slide over it. Am I correct in my assumptions. I love how everyone so far has called this a mod and given no instruction on how to perform it. Is that because the 9005 fit on the 9006 harness? I guess I'll see in a few hours when I get home.


Refer to the link on the first page of this thread

[Landshark]

Originally posted by thundering02
Why do people flash at you for your fog lites?:confused:

because people think they are high beams. most fog lights aren't mounted high in the housing along with the low beams like the SVX's are.

[lee]

Originally posted by SEA Sleeper


I was wondering about this too because I spent time ensuring the proper aiming of my headlights while at school.

...snip....

I love how everyone so far has called this a mod and given no instruction on how to perform it. Is that because the 9005 fit on the 9006 harness? I guess I'll see in a few hours when I get home.

1. Because they see two sets of lights on the same level and are just reacting to what they think is "brights" - if the fog lights were in the lower grill section I doubt you'd get the "flashers".

2. the search button is your friend, i.e., this thread: http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14605, relates how Tim found this site (& the 9005 mod): http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Upgrade/More_light.htm

[SEA Sleeper]

Thanks guys, that link answered all of my questions. It was there, I just diddn't look hard enough.

[drivemusicnow]

Originally posted by mohrds


The best solution is to buy new headlamps and install new readlight circuits. Years of microscopic dirt and stress fracturs kill the optics on the SVX. The wiring was OK when new, but corrodes quickly.

Stock bulbs in a new headlamps are amazing.

As for bulbs, I run Sylvania 9006 XV/2 (Sylvania XtraVision) and am very happy with them.

Doug

Not everyone has that much money... putting 40$ into bulbs that do the same good, and doo not mess up any beam patterns works for me

[Tim]

If I remember correctly the xtravisions are inexpensive.

[n00b on demand]

I just read on the first link how to do the conversion. Looks like all i will need is a pocket knife. Are they o-rings necessary? or can i leave them out. I am willing to spend another 50 on bulbs if this works great.

[n00b on demand]

Well i just finished talking to hocrest....looks like im gonna be converting to 9005 tomorrow!...well at least im gonna go check out prices at kmart for the bulbs:D ...i just bought a new set of cool blues on friday. But if this is so good like u all say then i wouldnt mind spending another 35 on sylvanias

[justiceSVX]

Cool blues are sylvanias. Anyway, don't bother with the extra o-ring it isn't necessary. Instead of a pocket knife, try a dremel. Takes about 3 minutes for both bulbs.

[ensteele]

They think that the high beams are on. They see the two lights and then think it is so. I have amber or the yellow PIAAs and that helps them notice that I have fog lights on too. If I flash back, they usually understand that I don't have the high beams on. :)

[mohrds]

Originally posted by TE1221
If I remember correctly the xtravisions are inexpensive.

$17.88 for a two pack of 9006 bulbs at Checker Auto

http://www.partsamerica.com/PartDetails.asp?SourceArea=&SourcePage=SEARCHRESULTS&MfrCode=SYL&MfrPartNumber=9006XVTWIN&PartType=301&PTSet=A

Doug

[n00b on demand]

Ok i have completed the 9005 conversion. I bought sylvania silverstars because i didnt see the cool blues there. I'm not to happe because they look like standard halogen yellow bulbs. I loved the blue color of my old bulbs which i saved thank God. The true test comes tonight in night time driving. I will let everyone know how i like em. If i dont then im goin back to the 9006 cool blues i have in my box.

[drivemusicnow]

What did you like about the blue color? Headlights are about seeing well at night. The silverstars put out more and brighter light.

Personally I think my vision at night is more important than it looking like i'm pretending that I have HIDs.. when i don't. and its obvious that I don't....

:rolleyes:

[ensteele]

My Cool Blues don't look blue. :confused: They are very bright though and I can see very well. :)

[n00b on demand]

Originally posted by drivemusicnow
What did you like about the blue color? Headlights are about seeing well at night. The silverstars put out more and brighter light.

Personally I think my vision at night is more important than it looking like i'm pretending that I have HIDs.. when i don't. and its obvious that I don't....

:rolleyes:

Actually for your information my vision was completley fine with the cool blues. Visibility was just as good as the stocks. And no i dont like going around thinking i have fake HID's. Everyone likes different things right? I like the cool blues better than standard halogen...simple as that. :rolleyes:

[drivemusicnow]

Originally posted by soobiesvx93


Actually for your information my vision was completley fine with the cool blues. Visibility was just as good as the stocks. And no i dont like going around thinking i have fake HID's. Everyone likes different things right? I like the cool blues better than standard halogen...simple as that. :rolleyes:

My point was towards the 9005s are almost twice as bright (1700 vs 1000 lumens) compared to 9006s if i remember correctly. which is BRIGHTER than stock..

True, different people like different things. however IMO brighter (whilst still aimed correctly) is always better.

Sometimes cleaning the lense (both front and back) really helps... from my experience the light is amazingly white.. no yellow tint in it at all with mine

[n00b on demand]

Originally posted by drivemusicnow


My point was towards the 9005s are almost twice as bright (1700 vs 1000 lumens) compared to 9006s if i remember correctly. which is BRIGHTER than stock..

True, different people like different things. however IMO brighter (whilst still aimed correctly) is always better.

Sometimes cleaning the lense (both front and back) really helps... from my experience the light is amazingly white.. no yellow tint in it at all with mine

Greg, which bulbs do you have? Do you have the sylvania silverstars? I havent tested them out at night yet...i will get to on my way home from work. Hopefully it will be 50 dollars well spent. :)

[drivemusicnow]

i have the silverstar 9005s in my low beams... i also have regular "stock" (whatever the previous owner put in ) 9005s in my high beams. when i turn the highbeams on.. its kinda yellow ish, when they're off.. just beautiful white light:)

[n00b on demand]

Yeah the silverstars is what i bought as well. And i actually noticed today that my highbeams are also sylvanias. People used to comment on how awesome the highbeams were in terms of visability...but then again their supposed to be bright :D

[SEA Sleeper]

Lastnight I installed two Hi-Lite 9005 bulbs that I had laying around the garage. Funny thing is, these being the fake HID blue bulbs got put on the shelf months ago and replaced w/ Silverstars because allthough the color was cool, they were much too dim and hardly functional. But when one of my silverstars burned out a few days ago I decided to try this mod w/ the spare HID 9005's. Man, this mod does give you extra light! I think that if I were to use Silverstar 9005's they may even be too bright and cause attention from the local law enforcement (which w/ my driving record, I definately don't need). But these crappy hi-lite bulbs in the low beam slot are juuuuust right.

Very cool mod, took 10 minutes.

PS, I'd reccomend the Sylvania Silverstar bulbs to anyone as they do put out quite a clean and bright light. However, $25 per bulb is asking a bit much, and there are lights out there that are just as good for at least $5 less per bulb.

People complain about the PIAA headlighs burning out too quickly, but then how many of those people actually used gloves when installing them to keep skin oils off of the glass? Allways use gloves when installing headlight bulbs; it will make the difference between months and years of bulb life.

[mbtoloczko]

Originally posted by mohrds


The best solution is to buy new headlamps and install new readlight circuits. Years of microscopic dirt and stress fracturs kill the optics on the SVX. The wiring was OK when new, but corrodes quickly.

Stock bulbs in a new headlamps are amazing.

As for bulbs, I run Sylvania 9006 XV/2 (Sylvania XtraVision) and am very happy with them.

Doug

ok. I did a little bit of reading. When you say new headlamp, do you mean the item that costs about $300 per side? If yes, then ouch! Is there any way to restore the original headlamp? Next, apparently the 9006 is for the low beam. What about the high beam?...Do you use the stock bulb? Is the 9005 the correct part for the high beam? Where are the readlight circuits?

[SEA Sleeper]

Mychailo,

9005 is the correct bulb for the high beam on the SVX headlamp.


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by mohrds


The best solution is to buy new headlamps and install new readlight circuits. Years of microscopic dirt and stress fracturs kill the optics on the SVX. The wiring was OK when new, but corrodes quickly.

Stock bulbs in a new headlamps are amazing.

As for bulbs, I run Sylvania 9006 XV/2 (Sylvania XtraVision) and am very happy with them.

Doug
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not so sure that this microscopic dust thing can really have any problems attributed to it. Of course some dirt can be introduced where and when the bulb is inserted, but to claim that this adversly affects (kills) the optics is not true in my opinion. There's a reason there is an O-ring on the base of the bulb; to keep moisture and dust out. The only wear factor I see present possibly affecting our headlamps is the type of plastic used for the lense.

As far as wiring degradation is concerned, whatever resistance is now present because of corrosion has just been compensated for by a bulb w/ 10 more watts. I mean really, how much headlight intensity do you think we've lost?

Too bad the glass headlight assy's aren't available for purchase...:mad: Those would solve all of our lighting issues.

[mohrds]

Originally posted by mbtoloczko


ok. I did a little bit of reading. When you say new headlamp, do you mean the item that costs about $300 per side? If yes, then ouch! Is there any way to restore the original headlamp? Next, apparently the 9006 is for the low beam. What about the high beam?...Do you use the stock bulb? Is the 9005 the correct part for the high beam? Where are the readlight circuits?

Yup, the $600 ouch is what I meant. You can clean the lenses and the covers, but you can't undo the corrosion on the projector body or the hundreds of stress cracks in the lens.

I doubt that you'll ever recover more than 80% of original power by cleaning 10 year old optics.


As for the "Readlights" that was a typo, I meant headlights. The wires in the headlight harness get corroded, the mechanical connection at the sockets loosen and the result is a higher voltage drop across the harness which means less voltage at the bulbs. A few aftermarket relays, some 12Ga wire, new high quality sockets, and some time will provide great results.

Doug

[mohrds]

Originally posted by SEA Sleeper

I'm not so sure that this microscopic dust thing can really have any problems attributed to it. Of course some dirt can be introduced where and when the bulb is inserted, but to claim that this adversly affects (kills) the optics is not true in my opinion. There's a reason there is an O-ring on the base of the bulb; to keep moisture and dust out. The only wear factor I see present possibly affecting our headlamps is the type of plastic used for the lense.


All capsule based headlights have a rubber vent tube to allow pressure equalization inside the headlamp. That lets in dirt, oily air, chemicals, etc. The chemicals eat away at the reflective coating and you lose efficiency.

I recently replaced both headlamps on my wife's BMW. What a huge difference it made. The cutoffs are crisp again and the intensity is back. They are also 9006 projector based units.

Doug

[n00b on demand]

Ok so i just got back from night time driving and wow! The visibility is incredible...and it isnt that yellow color i mentioned before....its very white and bright. I love it!

[mbtoloczko]

Thank you all for the info. YA project for my SVX! :-)

[drivemusicnow]

Originally posted by soobiesvx93
Ok so i just got back from night time driving and wow! The visibility is incredible...and it isnt that yellow color i mentioned before....its very white and bright. I love it!

told ya so! just kidding.. but thats what i meant. its WHITE... not that blue or yellow or anything... i like it, and it even looks like i have headlights in the rain. I do agree about completely cleaning (by opening them up) the headlight housing. lots of crap gets in there (look right in front of your low beam projecter.. I'd bet you have lots of little glass chips that are actually OFF of the progector itself.) a full cleanup does wonders. search for a post i believe by Lwin (Seraph = screenname)

[n00b on demand]

our headlights are awesome....ive always loved the 2 beams of light that shoot out.

[Tim]

Does anyone know how to adjust the nut to aim the lights left and right? I know how to adjust them up and down, but I think my drivers side projector beam points to the right too much and it almost crosses over the beam for the passenger side.

[justiceSVX]

That's normal. European spec lighting aims the drivers side lense slightly to passenger side to avoid a ton of glare to oncoming traffic.

[n00b on demand]

Originally posted by TE1221
Does anyone know how to adjust the nut to aim the lights left and right? I know how to adjust them up and down, but I think my drivers side projector beam points to the right too much and it almost crosses over the beam for the passenger side.

Same with me...i dont even know how to aim the headlights but my drivers side one looks like it points to the right more.

[justiceSVX]

Originally posted by soobiesvx93


Same with me...i dont even know how to aim the headlights but my drivers side one looks like it points to the right more.

Good. It should.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

[svxfiles]

Thanks 1221, I did the 9005 conversion with cool blues last night, and the visibility is MUCH better.:D

Now I have to do Di's.:)

And Dave's.:rolleyes:



And Nick's:confused:


Yea, Thanks.

[n00b on demand]

Originally posted by svxfiles
Thanks 1221, I did the 9005 conversion with cool blues last night, and the visibility is MUCH better.:D

Now I have to do Di's.:)

And Dave's.:rolleyes:



And Nick's:confused:


Yea, Thanks.

yeah it really is worth it! I love how far i can see with these lights. Next time ill try with the 9005 cool blues i want.

[justiceSVX]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6783&item=7938727894&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

$15 for a pair. Not too shabby when you're talking 1700 lumens each. :)