Question for Bob D

[Poobah]

I recently upgraded my stock halogen low beam bulbs with SilverStar 9006 (low beam) bulbs. I like the improvement but I've been curious about trying the 9005's modified per the link in your February 15th post.

A couple of days ago, a rock bounced off a truck I was following and took out my left headlight lens. I bought a replacement and will install it this week-end. This has renewed my curiosity about trying the modified SilverStar high beam bulbs in my low beams.

I figure you have about 10 weeks experience with this set-up and I would like to know how they've worked out so far.

Any problems? Any Tickets? (I live in California, too) Do you get flashed? Any drawbacks?

I would be interested to know.

Thanks

[Bob D]

Poob, I took great care to check the aiming of both the low and high beams before and after the upgrade modification. When finished, I even had one of my sons drive at me in the STS, and follow to make sure they didn't bug ME! (I'm real touchy about poorly aimed, overly bright lights in oncoming or following cars..)

Since then I've not had one flash at me, or any warnings whatsoever. I've also added the relay to light all four bulbs in the high mode, and the difference is truly remarkable, especially up in the foothills at night where I live. It can be very dark on the roads around here (no street or ambient light) with all sorts of critters running about..

Everybody's safer..

[KevinW]

t can be very dark on the roads around here (no street or ambient light) with all sorts of critters running about..

How about a Night Vision equipped DeVille?

[Bob D]

[How about a Night Vision equipped DeVille?

At this point in my life, I don't really need a DeVille....

How about a night vision equipped C-6 roadster?

..Yea, I know XLR too...

[cetheri]

After reading some of the posts about the Silverstars, I decided to give them a try. I replaced the low beams and the high beams and was immediately impressed. The Silverstar high beam daytime running lights make the car look much nicer, and at night the difference is staggering.

Can someone point me to the mod for running all four headlights in high-beam mode?

Also, the fog lights don't seem to be available at present. Is there another mfg. that make a fog light that will compliment the Silverstars?

[JimD]

...

Also, the fog lights don't seem to be available at present. Is there another mfg. that make a fog light that will compliment the Silverstars?

If your fog lamp bulbs are #880's (27 watt), you can replace them with Sylvania #885's (50 watt). They are not Silverstars, but you will be putting more light on the road.

My local Advance auto stocks 885's.

[Bob D]

Can someone point me to the mod for running all four headlights in high-beam mode?

Also, the fog lights don't seem to be available at present. Is there another mfg. that make a fog light that will compliment the Silverstars?

From some info I posted a while back:

>The kit is made by 'KC Hilites', 'Quad Beam' part#6314. You can get it at any good aftermarket performance or 4WD store locally, or on the internet for around twenty bucks. The kit includes everything you'll need including instructions and a pictorial and takes about 10 minutes.

Keep in mind this application may not work on 1999 and newer models that use a negatively switched headlight systems.<

* Also just the other day, I installed the #885 50 watt foglight bulbs. Nice increase in lighting power, requires no modifications and is within the current tolerances of the circut. Got them at AutoZone for ~6-7 bucks each.

[Dloch]

...

Also, the fog lights don't seem to be available at present. Is there another mfg. that make a fog light that will compliment the Silverstars?

If your fog lamp bulbs are #880's (27 watt), you can replace them with Sylvania #885's (50 watt). They are not Silverstars, but you will be putting more light on the road.

My local Advance auto stocks 885's.

Will these fit a 97 STS as well?

[Bob D]

My local Advance auto stocks 885's.

Will these fit a 97 STS as well?

I don't see why they wouldn't. I recently installed the 885's on my 93 STS, replacing the 880's. The only difference is the bulb socket on the stock 880 turns at a 90 degree angle, and the 885 upgrade points straight out. There was plenty of clearnace behind the housing to accomidate the additional length. Our two year's share the same nose, so it should fit for you as well. The 885 bulb takes slightly more force to seat it than the original, but the result is a nice tight seal. Again, there is enough of a safety tolerance in the current limits of that circut to handle tha small additional current load. They're running fine for many hours so far, as I frequently use them for DRL's.

[rek]

If I'm not "Fogged up" on this, I think #886 has the 90 degree style and is rated at 50 watts.

[Bob D]

If I'm not "Fogged up" on this, I think #886 has the 90 degree style and is rated at 50 watts.

If so, make sure the socket base is the same diameter as the 880, and is 'keyed' the same.

[cetheri]

I'm already running the 886's. That's what the Sylvania lighting guide called for on my '97 STS. I checked Sylvania's website and they do offer the 880 in the Silverstar. I may give them a try, but I'm afraid that even though they are whiter, they may not be as bright as the 886's.

[Poobah]

Yesterday afternoon and evening I tried the 9005 (high beam) bulb mod for use in the low beam head lights and would like to relate my experience.

One area of concern I had at the outset was the need to add the old low beam bulb's O-ring to the new high beam bulb to compensate for the slightly smaller diameter of the high beam bulb. When I inserted the high beam bulb with both O-rings into the low beam socket and before turning to lock it in place, it seemed loose as if it wasn't making a proper moisture seal. By comparison, the low beam bulb fit snugly in the socket as if the O-ring surfaces were making contact. This may not be a problem, but I have had cars in the past with headlights that fogged up inside during wet weather.

I installed a 9005 SilverStar high beam bulb in the right headlight only so I could make a side-by-side comparison with the left side 9006 SilverStar low beam bulb.

I positioned the car about 25' away from a blank wall (as recommended in the factory service manual) to check the adjustment. The beam was still properly aimed but I immediately noticed that the color of the high beam bulb was more like natural daylight than the than the bluish color of the low beam bulb.

I drove around the neighborhood to evaluate the bulb's performance. The difference in color made it easy to tell what light was coming from which bulb. The right side high beam bulb did produce more light but not significantly more. The upper cut-off point of the beam seemed about the same as the left side low beam bulb but there seemed to be somewhat more scattered light above that point. The overall effect was a modest improvement in visibility.

I parked the car, left the lights on, walked about 300' up the street, then turned and walked back toward my car as if I were in an oncoming driver. The right side high beam bulb was somewhat more annoying than the left. The main difference (aside from the color) was that the light in the center of the headlight itself seemed brighter and more intense. With the coating on the tip of the low beam bulb, the oncoming driver only sees light that is reflected and focused into a beam that is aimed slightly downward and away from him. With the high beam bulb, the oncoming driver sees, in addition to the focused beam, a bright spot of light coming directly from the bulb itself. The effect is not obnoxious, but it is more bothersome than that of the low beam bulb.

Weighing the benefit of the modestly improved vision against the slightly increased annoyance to oncoming drivers, I decided to stick with the set-up designed by Sylvania's lighting engineers. I put my 9006 low beam bulbs in the low beam sockets and the 9005 high beam bulbs in the highs. I have the added comfort of knowing I have a set-up that Sylvania claims is street legal.

I thank Bob D for his suggestion and information. The trade-offs are, in my opinion, marginal and I think using modified high beam bulbs in the low beam sockets makes sense if you do a lot of driving on very dark country roads. As almost all of my driving is in town or on freeways it doesn't seem to make sense for me. This has proved to be an interesting experiment and I wanted to share my observations with all of you.