SilverStars, EuroLights, X-treme Power & other Halogen Bulbs

I had the eurolight bulbs go out on me in under 6 months... went to HID's, hugeeee improvement

Well, I have to say the XP's are a huge upgrade over what was in there. A very nice, clean white light that i swear doubles the vision I had with the old bulbs. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to upgrade their lighting. Thanks to Aaron for making me aware of these.

SilverStar zxe bulbs: What does everyone think of those?

Never tried them, but the bulbs look a lot like the EuroLights, and I think Silvania is aiming these to compete against such bulbs. The EuroLights looked white during the day, slightly blue at night.

I'd try them, except they're not cheap, and last SilverStars I've tried burned out within a year.

just bought some of thoose for the dreww custom, at first I thought I was paying for the packaging ...they are pretty white though and bright not too bad but rather high i spent 120+ for highs and lows....ebay hid's would be a more cost effective solution for someone on a budget ....
had them in for 2days and nights....
overall they really aren't bad I'd say they are whiter than ultras as I have thoose in my gf's 95 sc almost anything is better than oem.....

You are right,thanks!!!

I still recommend the HIR2 bulbs by Philips that I installed on page 14...

They don't have the installation hassles of HID, nor the mis-focus for oncoming drivers, nor lousy life. They're rated, not in percentages, but in actual lumens: the 9012 (lo-beams) are more than 1800 vs 1000 for standard halogen, and they are pure white instead of blue, purple or yellow. The only thing I really regret not getting around to is installing one of the "lo-and-hi-together circuits" that Snowdog & I drew up... The high beams are sometimes necessary for angle, but they don't have the wall-to-wall light of the low beams. If I hold the turn-signal wand back against the spring, I get one BIG, uninterrupted wall of light from the front bumper out to the end of the hi-beam reach.
(BTW, the consensus is that the 9011 HIR2 high-bulbs are not 'full' HIR, and not worth the money.)

It appears that these bulbs are here to stay - and I don't just mean that for my car. While I looked at page 14 to see what the date was, and my bulbs are still going strong at 20 months, they are now available at Sears.com and Amazon... In fact, at Amazon you can get now get a pair of 9012 lo-beams with shipping for $40! (That's about 80% less than I paid at Candlepower.com.)

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-HIR2-Standard-Halogen-Headlight/dp/B00480N18G

There is one confusing thing here: Philips has different bulb 'lines' that don't necessarily have anything to do with the individual bulb technology, and in their infinite stupidity they called one of them "Standard". Thus you have bulbs packaged & advertised as HIR2 'Standard' halogen... I did some looking around the 'net though, as well as looking at the bulb & housing itself, and it appears that this 9012 is indeed still the Halogen Infrared Reflecting (Gen2) bulb that I got, down to the winding of the filament and the little yellow band.

I'd love to see just one other person try these bulbs and confirm my findings...
(Of course, if they were not confirmed, keepa you mouth shut! )
.

Your review has made me curious enough to try the HIR2 bulbs. When my Phillips Xtremes burn out, I'll try the HIR2s if I can find them for a good price.

Quote :

The high beams are sometimes necessary for angle, but they don't have the wall-to-wall light of the low beams. If I hold the turn-signal wand back against the spring, I get one BIG, uninterrupted wall of light from the front bumper out to the end of the hi-beam reach.

I did this a while back and am quite happy with the results. Write-Up:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t8450-write-up-low-beams-brights-on-at-same-time#131942

Aaron, you might want to move your HI/LO write-up to the existing thread from 2009.

I'm glad that the DRL voltage didn't trigger your relays (possibly because there are 2 coils to energize.) However, when Rick reminded us about the DRL voltage in the '97+ models, I rewrote Timo's schematic so that it would apply to all 5 years, and with the DRL & lock/unlock voltage isolated from the switching relay... Also, with 30 or 40-amp relays, a '95 or '96 without DRLs only needs one relay tapped into one headlamp socket.

i have been using those phillips x-tremes for about 2 months now, but decided i want to try out the Eurolamps.

i ordered last night and got nothing but a receipt from paypal. no other order confirmation? sent them an email early this morning asking how quick they usually process orders, and what shipping carrier they use..... no response yet.

and correct me if im wrong, on their website (which looks pretty tacky btw) do they not even have a number posted up where we can call to reach them? also does not state where they are located? anyone have any additional info on them?

Eurolights (European Lighting Systems)

5333 NW 105 Court
Miami, FL 33178

Phone: (305) 994-9913
Fax: (305) 994-3531

Alternate numbers:

Tel: (540) 886-8886
Fax: (540) 886-2566

my eurolights lasted only a couple months at best... went to HID ballasts, nothing but good things to say

After nearly 2 years, my Philips X-treme Power bulbs (see page 12) finally flickered out. The first one late October of last year, the other right around Christmas. That's 650 days and 708 days, respectively By far this is a new record for me using "high-brightness" bulbs. To compare, I picked up a Silver Star bulb last October ($20) hoping to get through the winter. It burned out a couple nights ago. That's less than 3 months of life. QC at Sylvania seems to have gone down hill since a few years ago when I could easily get 6-9 months out of a bulb.

Going back to page 12, I wasn't convinced the Philips X-treme Power bulbs were worth it at $50/pair. Now I can say "Yes" they are. Great bulb, very bright, and lasted almost 2 years: average cost: 7.4¢ per day, or 1/10 of a penny per mile. Outlived the Eurolights by a fair margin, and now that the X-tremes can be had from Amazon for $29.97 with free shipping and no tax, they are making SilverStars look like a complete joke. Really can't ask for much more. Great job, Philips!

I bought mine shortly after reading your write-up Aaron, and they are still going strong. When they go out, I'll get another pair. I'm totally satisfied with their performance.

AA wrote:

Your review has made me curious enough to try the HIR2 bulbs. When my Phillips Xtremes burn out, I'll try the HIR2s if I can find them for a good price.

AA wrote:

After nearly 2 years, my Philips X-treme Power bulbs (see page 12) finally flickered out. The first one late October of last year, the other right around Christmas. That's 650 days and 708 days, respectively By far this is a new record for me using "high-brightness" bulbs. To compare, I picked up a Silver Star bulb last October ($20) hoping to get through the winter. It burned out a couple nights ago. That's less than 3 months of life.... Going back to page 12, I wasn't convinced the Philips X-treme Power bulbs were worth it at $50/pair. Now I can say "Yes" they are. Great bulb, very bright, and lasted almost 2 years:.... Great job, Philips!

Okay Aaron, it's time for you to try my "high-brightness" PHILIPS HIR2's!

They might be up to about $60/pair now, but this month will make three years since I installed those 1800+ lumen bad boys back on page 14...
.

That's impressive, Mark. I'll shop around and see if I can find a good deal on them.

PIAA, HIR2, or Eurolights?

charlieRobinson wrote:

PIAA, HIR2, or Eurolights?

Oh, Geez, I'm glad you asked: These are PHILIPS HIR2 bulbs, made in Germany! I had Sylvania on the brain yesterday because their #90 courtesy light bulbs are now made in China, and the damned things are out-of-spec adn won't fit the sockets in my Wildcat... (I've now corrected that in my previous post, Aaron.)

Thanks! More reason to consider them. Based on my experiences, I may not buy sylvania products again.

I've had the Eurolights in my car(s) for the last two years (got a new pair for the Bonneville then transferred them to my new Riv). One just burnt out the other day, so I ordered another pair because they're working great for me. I think I'm going to get a set of the Phillips X-treme Power once I get a little more cash and stick the Eurolights in my T-type.

Either way, I feel the Eurolights lasted a lot longer than they normally do. No complaints here.

Eldo, do you experience any excessive glare from the HIR2 bulbs. Our cars don't have a bulb shield and I've seen warnings. TIA

pbrktrt wrote:

Eldo, do you experience any excessive glare from the HIR2 bulbs. Our cars don't have a bulb shield and I've seen warnings. TIA

Actually, my original lenses did have bulb shields, but the factory replacement I bought for the driver's side did not...  Perhaps those screw-holes added to the moisture problem.

So, if you're looking for it, the new lens does have more "side splash" than the original, but no one has ever commented on it, even standing around the car at night - and even a standard bulb would now have that greater angle.  Looking at it right now, it's noticeable when comparing right to left, but I don't think anyone driving toward you in the main pattern of your lights is going to notice the side splash.  Parking the car about 10' from the wall, the extra light reflected still drops away by the time it gets about 6' to the left, where the cornering light takes over and overpowers it.

The main thing is that these bulbs still fit the geometry of the lens perfectly so that you can still see the sharply defined cutoffs of the pattern, as opposed to the glare of ill-used HID retrofits.


On a different but related note:  Looking back at the comparison chart I put in my page-14 writeup, it appears that the over-driven SilverStars are performing exactly as their specs dictated they should:  with a dismal life.    

EDIT: After FOUR+ years with these hi-output Lo-beam bulbs - with all those Twilight Sentinel cycles we have - I'm happy as a clam, AND GET THIS: The 'regular' hi-beam halogen bulbs that I replaced AT THE SAME TIME as those HIR-2 bulbs have both failed within 2 MONTHS of each other... with very little use. Forget about Sylvania, I'm gonna' look for Wagners this time! I just wish there were HIR-2 bulbs for the hi-beam side!

Remember these?
https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t172p195-silverstars-eurolights-x-treme-power-other-halogen-bulbs

Thanks Eldo, that's reassuring. Apparently the 95 model didn't use the shields but it sounds like it shouldn't be an issue. I may have to try these when my X-treme's go out.

9006 for euro headlights
and ____ for euro brights/running lamps?


A:and 9005 for euro brights/running lamps.

Eldo wrote:

Rickw wrote:

But with all the new research on these other bulbs that put out more lumens, I may be testing some new stuff myself. At least on the bike it is only one bulb.
So if it doesn't work out it's not that expensive. Although the Dual Filament bulbs always cost more.

I forgot to point out that the HIR's only come in 9012 and 9011, analogous to our 9006 and 9005's. They don't make a dual-filament bulb... yet.

Has anyone installed the 9012s and 9011s? These HIRs are superior to the 9006 and 9005?