I have had some less than satisfactory experiences with "premium" replacement headlight bulbs for my '99 Accord EX (4 cylinder). I put in some Sylvania "Ultras" or whatever a bit over a year ago. One of the low beams (#9006) burned out fairly rapidly. I replaced both of them with the newer version of their brightest light. Another low beam burned out about a month ago. Ugh!

I spoke with one of the Sylvania people at their 800 number and they say that these bulbs are expected last about 12 to 15 months. (I am sending the two burned out bulbs in for replacement.)

I decided to try some PIAA bulbs (Xtra something or other) to see if they lasted any better. They would not even fit due to a non-standard length of the bulb itself, which made contact with the reflector assembly before the bayonet lugs were even engaged. I spoke with their customer service people, including a supervisor, and have not recently encountered people who cared less. (At least the Sylvania people were nice.) They were aware that their bulbs would not fit "some cars" and "it wasn't their fault". I disagree! Not only did their fitment charts have no cautions/footnotes about such a problem, but the physical size of the bulb is, I think, a standard determined by the industry to avoid such problems. I am now stuck trying to return them to the merchant I purchased them from and PIAA made a point of saying that they would do nothing.

Anyway, I thought I would pass on my experiences for what they may be worth.

If anyone has suggestions for other "bright" bulbs, I would be interested to hear about them. I simply want the additional sight distance at night.

Cheers!

 

Curious, I've had very good luck with Silverstar's. I just changed out a set after over two years of service when one Low Beam went south. A set of Silverstar Ultra's went in there place.
Piaa's attitude is contemptable. They're marketing their product on it's name only. I tryed some of their super-duper Ultra whites several years ago and they didn't measure up to the OEM's they replaced.
It's really all a shell game as far as the exotics" are concerned. They're quick to quote kelvin figures, but never lumins (which measure brightness)

P

 

I think it maybe the car. Because my friend also has a 99 Accord. He put silverstars in there also, but they burn out so quickly. He got the nickname one eye'd bandit while were driving in front of him cause his one light is always out.

 

Thank you both for responding. I must say that I like the improved visibility of the Sylvanias. The high beams (#9005) are still OK, but they do not get used all that much which is why the low beams are all that important to me.

I had not considered the possibility that there might be something odd about the car itself as I was replacing what I think were the original, from the factory, Honda bulbs simply because they were old and so on.

I have picked up a set of Honda low beam bulbs to carry in the car with a few screw drivers so that I can put one in if I have to...the cops in this area just love pulling over cars with a headlight out...and stick with the Sylvanias.

The Sylvania people said that the life of the bulbs was somewhat dependent upon the temperature of the bulb assembly. Apparently the blue coating that makes the light come out white keeps a good bit of heat in the bulb and the filament suffers. "Surely" there must be some way to improve the service life of these things, but then they would not have all the replacement sales. ;-)

I guess replacing them is simply the price of getting the performance.

Cheers

 

Well, another one burned out while waiting for the replacement Sylvanias. For whatever reason they do not seem destined to "live long and prosper" in my car.

I had my car in for unrelated service and asked about this and got some interesting responses. I suppose you could classify them as Honda would have used them if....

Although these are the same wattage bulbs as the OEMs the service guy said that he has seen problems with the additional heat of the "bright whites" cause problems with the plug on the wiring harness (basically melting it) which required replacement of the sub-harness. I guess this may be possible as Sylvania told me that the blue coating on the bulb (which results in the white light) retains heat in the bulb and that the heat is ultimately the cause of the filament failure in most cases (and why they say the service life is typically 12 to 15 months).

So I am just going to pop in a fresh set of Honda low beams that have been riding in the trunk as spares.

I do not use the high beams that often so I suppose I may leave the Sylvania high beams in and try them a little while longer.

Anyway, I though I would post back on this rather curious turn of events.

 

You know, it might be a bigger electrical problem for why your headlights burn out so quickly. I had fairly badluck with Silverstars and Silverstar Ultras as well.. I just replaced my alternator though because I was having some very bad flickering lights. The voltage regulator might be out of sync and causing the headlights to go south quicker. Thats just my theory? Anyone think this can be so as well?