I'm looking to upgrade my headlight bulbs to some PIAA hi-wattage H4 bulbs.
Do you guys have any experience with them? Please share them.
I dont want to shell out $450+ for a real philips HID kit.

 

I like them. I've had them in the last few vehicles I have owned. They are far from HID color but definatly a lot more white than normal headlights. Make sure to get them from an authorized dealer and keep your receipt as they do have a 1 year warranty if they burn out. Its not a big deal here because I am near PIAA corp. office.

If you want real white get their "Extreme White" bulbs. They are rated at 4500k and are very white, I have them in my fogs and they are whiter than my headlights.

 

How much did you pay for them?

 

I get the H4's for about $50 a set and a little less for the H3's.

 

I got mine off ebay for xmas last year for like 50 bucks, work perfect and light extremely well and havent gone out yet (knock on wood)

 

anyone ever heard of a company called Osrams? they make bulbs with the same name as the sylvanias here (silverstars). i was looking around for better bulbs myself lately and ran across this site http://www.powerbulbs.com/bulbtest/index.htm. i am interested in both the Osrams and the Phillips buls as they tested to put out 50% more light over stock. and for the price of the silver stars here these seem way better (only 25bucks and free shipping).

any info on these wpuld be great.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NotecEG8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">anyone ever heard of a company called Osrams? they make bulbs with the same name as the sylvanias here (silverstars). i was looking around for better bulbs myself lately and ran across this site http://www.powerbulbs.com/bulbtest/index.htm. i am interested in both the Osrams and the Phillips buls as they tested to put out 50% more light over stock. and for the price of the silver stars here these seem way better (only 25bucks and free shipping).

any info on these wpuld be great. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, i have ordered from that place. They are located in the UK, though. It looks like the silverstars have changed from when i ordered, though. The silverstars that are sold here have kinda like a metallic color coating on the glass, but the silverstars they used to advertise had NO color coating. Those are the ones that i ordered, and are currently on my car.

So, when compared with the silverstars sold here (which my friend has) and mine (UK no coating silverstars) i'd say that the clarity on mine was better. One might also note that this could help argue that not having a coating on the bulb will results in better light output and visibility.

All in all, when it comes to buying bulbs, just remember that colored glass coatings will ALWAYS take away from visibility no matter what the box says. What most companies due to counter act this is to up the wattage used by the bulbs. (65W=110W!!!) Well, that's not really good. For one, it uses more of your electrical resources from your car, and it also makes these suckas really hot.

I have personally not seen an electrical burnout caused by this, but i have read about them a lot, and would rather not risk melting my housings, wires, and harnesses in there. (Not to mention the risk of accidentally burning the whole car, which is also quite possible)

 

maybe I should get real HID's then

 

I've owned a pair of PIAA's that lasted 2 and a half years. They look really good on the car, but the problem I had was that there was not enough light on the ground. Finally one of my bulbs gave out and I did some searching and have found that a few members here are using the Sylvania SilverStars.

I went out to AutoZone and got me a pair. I've had these bulbs close to a year now, and I'm really happy with them. They don't look as good as the PIAAs but the light on the ground is MUCH better IMO. I highly recommend them.

 

I was pleased with there performance/output but went through like 4 pairs since 96/97. I am using some Razo bulbs now but dont shine as good as the piaa's. They were frees o I cant complain. The warranty came in handy as I was able to use it to the fullest.

 

Sylvania SilverStars

 

I have been using PIAA's for some time now, probably since 98, if I remember correctly. I haven't gone with a different bulb since. I first used the PIAA Super Plazma bulbs. They were definitly brighter than stock, they also had a purpilish tint to them, in my opinion, resembling the color of HID's on IS300's and Bimmers. I never had a problem with them but got into wreck and that was the end of my bulb's. I am currently running PIAA Xtreme White's for main, and PIAA Crystal Ion bulbs in my fogs. I'm such a PIAA ***** I got PIAA Xtreme White turn signal bulbs. It's true as posted above, they are some of the whitest bulb's and their brightness has improved visibility. I'll pay the premium price. I won't use any other brand for aftermarket headlight bulbs.