You know, thought of one last question. My apologies if it’s a stupid one, but I was raised in the “there are no stupid question” school.
Going with brighter lights like the Sylvania 9003 SilverStar Ultra Halogens doesn’t create any issue with the fuse amperage, does it?
Thanks to all for the input.
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OSRAM bought Sylvania back in the 1990s. They are the same company now.
Not a stupid question at all. There is negligible difference in amperage draw with the brighter halogen lights. They are probably slightly hotter, so if your headlight reflector is made of plastic, it is conceivable that they may be too warm, but I have never heard of that causing any damage.
How well the LED or HID conversion works depends entirely on the reflectors in your particular car. HIDs are most likely to have a piercingly bright spot in the center so I would not use them in a headlight housing where you can see the bulb from the outside. LEDs project light out the sides of the bulb toward the reflector, so they are less likely to be a problem.
The fact that the manufacturer has not earned the right to put “DOT Approved” on the box does not mean that the lights are dangerous or offensive to other drivers, but they MAY be dangerous or offensive, so buy with care. You don’t want to cause an accident.
I put a $35 pair of LEDs from Amazon in my '97 BMW. They are about as bright as the Silverstar Ultras that they replaced and cost less, and have a whiter color that updates the look of the car. I tested them by putting two BMWs side-by-side in the driveway shining headlights on the garage door to check patterns, and I like them. A year later now and no problems to report other than the headlight warning is on because they draw less current than halogens. You can add a resistor in parallel to make them draw more current so the warning light will go out.
I haven’t noticed any issue with amperage with the Silverstars. I suppose you could try LED bulbs and see how that works. I did put them on my lawn mower head lights to replace the standard bulbs and they are quite a bit brighter. Depends on the cost I suppose. The lawn mower ones were only about $10.
Thanks for the excellent info guys. I decided to try the Silverstars. Using the “all things are relative” theory, they have to be brighter than the standard bulbs that have been in the car for seven years. Seems hard to believe they’ve lasted that long.
Even new standard bulbs would be 50% brighter than the ones in there now. The degradation curve is rather steep in the first part of life. Like anything, it happens over enough time that you don’t realize how bad they’ve gotten until you get new ones…The Silverstars will be quite noticeable I’m betting…
TwinTurbo, That is, and always has been so true.
I’m reminded how true as I renovate this 2000 Honda CR-V. The new horns I installed now sound like a 747 on takeoff compare to the old ones. The new speakers made music worth listening to again. Even funnier, and I’m not sure why this is so, but the original, 19-year-old radio/cd/cassette player — that still worked— was replaced and I get such better reception, I’m listening to FM stations I didn’t know existed.
No problem with current draw. I’ve used them for years in all of my current and recent past cars.
'04 Buick, '04 Olds Alero. '02 Buick. No real issues other than life expectancy.
Installed the Silverstars, made an adjustment on the horizontal and they look fantastic.
Took them out on a country road with zero lighting and they really help my vision.
Thanks for all you help.
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I consider some LED lights downright hazardous. They are blinding and absolutely hazardous to oncoming drivers . They are in cars and even semi’s and I hate them with a passion . The NHTSA. are dropping the ball on this subject !