Headlight bulbs

General Discussion
1

Hey guys and gals.
I’m interested in upgrading my headlights. My 2000 Honda CR-V takes 9003/H4 bulbs. I’ve done my research enough to know I want a high Kelvin temp bulb (4000 -5000) for whiteness of the light. And street legal (I saw some advertised as not).
Of course the reviews are all over the place re: brand etc, so hopefully I was hoping you guys had time to weigh in on the brightest, longest lasting bulb/brand.
Thanks all.

2

Pretty much inverse relationship between brightness and life expectancy. Sylvania and Phillips are good brands - avoid the gimmicky off-brand stuff.

Does your CRV have its original headlight housings? Replacing them will give you much better lighting, and make the car look like new. I did it on my 1999 Honda a few years ago and my 2007 Town and Country van more recently. Huge diff. Worth it.

1 Like
3

Yes, it does have the original housing

4

So you wouldn’t recommend the LED conversion kit stuff?

5

Compare them to those on newer cars. You want the ones like on newer cars!

6

There seems to be a lot of posts on most auto forums where someone has done an LED conversion on an older vehicle and had problems.
Are you headlight lenses nice and clear ? If not use a polishing kit and you may find you don’t really need bulbs other than what is listed in the manual.

7

I strongly recommend against it. You will, too, unless the advertising gets you emotionally invested in it.

8

Yes, just had them professional cleaned about six months ago and they are absolutely crystal clear.

9

No, too old to believe the BS hype of the ads any longer, Thank God. LOL

10

Thanks guys.
So, something like the Sylvania 9003 SilverStar Ultra Halogen sound good? The color temp is listed at 4100K and the lumens at 910-1500. Not sure why the range on the lumes.
Is 900 lumens considered bright for headlights?

11

Good relative comparison here- SYLVANIA Headlight Bulb Comparison: SilverStar vs XtraVision

It is likely a dual filament lamp (low/high beam)

12

Thanks Twin Turbo

13

I’d go with the Silverstars, buy an extra, they don’t last near as long as stock.

1 Like
14

Thanks for the heads up

15

I use the Silverstars on my Pontiac and they help quite a bit. They are rated for about 1000 hours and my first set lasted one year. My second set is over two years now so maybe I’m not driving much at night. At any rate forget converting to HID or LED and just get the brightest bulb. I’ve had both HID and LED and like them but they came with the cars, not add on.

16

I like the Philips VisionPlus.
They’re a bit brighter than original, but still have a long life.
I suggest you avoid the bulbs with blue tinted glass.

17

I would not recommend them either
There is NO legal LED or HID conversion kit.
There are kits that claim to “MEET or exceed” DOT or SAE specifications, but just because they meet them, does not mean they are approved by them.

18

re: LED headlight conversion

Someone posted here recently about a radio interference problem after installing LED highlights as I recall. Replacing stock headlights with LED’s will likely be possible at some point w/out issues, but I don’t think the LED aftermarket headlight manufacturers have all the technical bugs worked out yet. OP can probably find that thread using the forum search feature, upper right on this page.

19

I recommend Osram. They are pretty bright and long lasting.

20

Yeah, I plan on staying in the 4000 to 4500 K range, I’m reading that is the brightest white before you start getting a blue tint.