# Brighter H4 Headlight Bulbs



## dSly (Jan 4, 2009)

I'd like to get brighter headlight bulbs as I find the OEM bulbs too dim to my taste. I am not willing to get into an HID upgrade as some (courageous) owners have done and will stick to brighter bulbs (assuming it is worthwhile).

I have seen suggestions in a few areas of this forum but often buried into other thread headings. I thought a thread dedicated to brighter headlight bulbs might be appropriate.

I have gathered that these two seem to be appreciated:

The IPF Fatboys and the Philips Automotive Lighting: CrystalVision Ultra range.

Are those the top two I should consider?

**In my case, I am also interested in availability in Canada. Thanks.


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## Snork (Apr 23, 2007)

You can try the PIA bulbs they are around $89.00 a pair. I had a set then I went to the HID's which I like better.


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## dSly (Jan 4, 2009)

Snork said:


> You can try the PIA bulbs they are around $89.00 a pair. I had a set then I went to the HID's which I like better.


Thanks Snork but your recommendation does not seem to be very strong. Were there a worthwhile difference between OEM and PIAA bulbs? Or was it so small that you decided to go with HIDs?


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## Snork (Apr 23, 2007)

The PIAA bulbs were about 2 times brighter than the OEM. I live where there is a lot deer running the roads and with the HID I can see them a greater distance away. I went with the 6000k bulbs as they seem to cut through the snow as well and they are whiter than the 8000k which to me are more blue.


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## mitsuspyder (Feb 27, 2009)

the option for the brighter H4 bulbs are gud if u dont have the money to get a HID kit, but if push come to shove i would get the PIAAs. But best advice if u can manage the HIDs i would get those.


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## P11SR20DET (Sep 19, 2006)

*dSly* I upgraded the H4 bulbs on my Primera from OEM to the PIAA's Plasma GTX. They were like US$70 for the pair I think. They show whiter, and are brighter than the OEM's. I don't know much about the other brands (Sylvania, Phillips, etc) though. 

Still have the OEM's on my X for now...just haven't sprung for the PIAA's yet...I need to figure out what kind of bulbs the fog lights use, so that I can upgrade those to white as well...I wouldn't want the headlights glowing white and the others yellow...


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## Snork (Apr 23, 2007)

I got some H11 street glow bulbs for my foglights on my X which are a whiter bulb as well. My Hid's headlights were 114.00 from ebay which were about $50.00 cheaper that way.


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## dSly (Jan 4, 2009)

*PIAA and HID*



P11SR20DET said:


> *dSly* I upgraded the H4 bulbs on my Primera from OEM to the PIAA's Plasma GTX. They were like US$70 for the pair I think. They show whiter, and are brighter than the OEM's. I don't know much about the other brands (Sylvania, Phillips, etc) though.
> 
> Still have the OEM's on my X for now...just haven't sprung for the PIAA's yet...I need to figure out what kind of bulbs the fog lights use, so that I can upgrade those to white as well...I wouldn't want the headlights glowing white and the others yellow...


Thanks P11SR20DET, let us know if you like them...



Snork said:


> I got some H11 street glow bulbs for my foglights on my X which are a whiter bulb as well. My Hid's headlights were 114.00 from ebay which were about $50.00 cheaper that way.


Thanks Snork, I thought the HID upgrade was much more expensive than that. Maybe I should actually think about it more seriously...



mitsuspyder said:


> the option for the brighter H4 bulbs are gud if u dont have the money to get a HID kit, but if push come to shove i would get the PIAAs. But best advice if u can manage the HIDs i would get those.


Thanks mitsuspyder. I just "discovered" that HIDs were not as expensive as I had thought. Maybe I will investigate more seriously. Thanks for the advice.


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## dSly (Jan 4, 2009)

*Sylvania*

How about the Sylvania SilverStar ULTRA now available at Canadian Tire?


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## xtrailofthedead (Feb 26, 2009)

I picked up a pair of the Silverstar Ultras and found a substancial improvment over the bulbs that came with my X when I bought it. That was one of my few complaints after I had done some traveling at night initially. For 50 bucks I would say its a good value upgrade.


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## dSly (Jan 4, 2009)

xtrailofthedead said:


> I picked up a pair of the Silverstar Ultras and found a substancial improvment over the bulbs that came with my X when I bought it. That was one of my few complaints after I had done some traveling at night initially. For 50 bucks I would say its a good value upgrade.


Neat, thanks for the feedback.


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## FenderJoe (Mar 18, 2009)

Hi DSly !!!

How are you today ??? Me I'm fine !!! So It seem you recently changed your OEM headlight bulb for a Sylvania SilverStar Ultra ... So I'm interesting by these bulb too !!! Can you say me if you are happy with your upgrade ??? Do you think that be worth the 50.00 $ that Canadian Tire are priced ??? 

Cheers


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## gpieon (Jun 10, 2008)

Performance Improvements had the PIAA's on sale last year and I upgraded my headlights and fog lights. Worthwhile investment. Much brighter.

I looked at HID, but unless you make mod's and use projecters with them properly, you will make enemies of oncoming drivers. Just look at all the factory HID lights. They all have projectors.

If you have been on the business end of an oncoming HID upgrade, you know know what I mean.


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## FenderJoe (Mar 18, 2009)

gpieon said:


> Performance Improvements had the PIAA's on sale last year and I upgraded my headlights and fog lights. Worthwhile investment. Much brighter.
> 
> I looked at HID, but unless you make mod's and use projecters with them properly, you will make enemies of oncoming drivers. Just look at all the factory HID lights. They all have projectors.
> 
> If you have been on the business end of an oncoming HID upgrade, you know know what I mean.


Thank you for your advice !!!

I have purchased a set of Sylvania SilverStar Ultra this morning on Ebay ... They cote me 32.00 $ (US) shipping include !!! I think i did a good bargain because they sell it 54.95 $ + Tax(CAN) at Canadian Tire ...

I will keep you inform if i'm satisfied when i will receive and installed them !!!

Cheers,


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## dSly (Jan 4, 2009)

FenderJoe said:


> Hi DSly !!!
> 
> How are you today ??? Me I'm fine !!! So It seem you recently changed your OEM headlight bulb for a Sylvania SilverStar Ultra ... So I'm interesting by these bulb too !!! Can you say me if you are happy with your upgrade ??? Do you think that be worth the 50.00 $ that Canadian Tire are priced ??? Cheers


Jonathan, I just installed them earlier this week (Monday I think) and have not driven the vehicle at night since then. I see above that you have ordered them and will see for yourself...


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## FenderJoe (Mar 18, 2009)

dSly said:


> Jonathan, I just installed them earlier this week (Monday I think) and have not driven the vehicle at night since then. I see above that you have ordered them and will see for yourself...


Thanks you for your reply 

Cheer,


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## dSly (Jan 4, 2009)

xtrailofthedead said:


> I picked up a pair of the Silverstar Ultras and found a substancial improvment over the bulbs that came with my X when I bought it. That was one of my few complaints after I had done some traveling at night initially. For 50 bucks I would say its a good value upgrade.





FenderJoe said:


> (...)So It seem you recently changed your OEM headlight bulb for a Sylvania SilverStar Ultra ... So I'm interesting by these bulb too !!! Can you say me if you are happy with your upgrade ??? Do you think that be worth the 50.00 $ that Canadian Tire are priced ???  Cheers


I installed one Silverstar Ultra about a week ago and the second one earlier today. I thought running on only one for a while would be a good way to see the difference between the old and the new. I can say that there is a difference: the Ultras are white as opposed to the dimmer OEMs. It is noticeable when the car is close to a white wall of some sort. However, I should say that the difference on the road was not as great as I was expecting. At $60 cdn + taxes ($68 or so) for the Ultras, maybe one should pay the extra bucks to get PIAAs to see a more dramatic improvement.


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## FenderJoe (Mar 18, 2009)

I installed the Sylvania Silver Styar Ultra last night, and i'm very happy with it !!! It's realy more white and is very helpfull on the road who dont have side light on it. They cost me only 28.00$Can (shipping include), and i think I did a great deal if im compare to Dsly who paid 54.99 $ (Can) + tx at Canadian Tire for the same item ...

Cheers,


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## Goobers (Nov 10, 2008)

I've gone through two pairs of Ultras.

Pro: they are brighter than stock OEMs (especially since they are almost a decade old). To really see the difference on the road, you need to be somewhere darker (in a bright city, bright bulbs aren't useful). Compare the coverage of two OEMs vs both ultras (mixing kinda blurs the difference, making it hard).

Con: I've had THREE burn outs (driver side, pass, then driver again). I did a pair replacement on the first burn out. Actually, only the low beam filament burned out, so on the second burn out, i just popped in the still working bulb from the first pair.

So, when the third bulb burned out, I was faced with buying a THIRD pair of ultras. Instead, I bought a completely different brand of bulbs... unfortunately, they run hotter, but because of the blue tint on the bulb, they aren't as bright or have as much coverage.

Right now... I'm seriously thinking of going with a HID conversion kit. Which is going to happen if these little puppies decide to burn out soon.


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## FenderJoe (Mar 18, 2009)

*This Bulb have a warranty !!!*

Hi there,

If you had purchase them at Canadian Tire, they warranted them for one year and you can change them for a new one at the store.

If you purshased them at Ebay like me, you can send them at Sylvania factory, and they will be send you an another set for free.

Cheers,


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