led vs "regular" in taillight assembly

[jddem]

I guess I get to post here, lol.
2001 SSEi
Changing the taillights over to GXP.
Since I am doing this I was going to swap out any bulbs.

QUESTIONS:
1. LEDs, yes or no, noticeable? anyone do it have pics? etc.
2. Any alternative to using an amber bulb for the turn signal, i've seen chrome bulbs that blink amber, but the fact no major manufacturer seems to make them , makes me leery.
3. Silverstar for the backups (3057)? rest stock?


My goal is nice clean bright lights and see well at night. I will be putting all silver star on the front end (actually from my old LeSabre, loved the look)
For this car, I rolled the dice and currently have Phillips X-treme vision headlights and Crystal vision fog lights, don't like the "blue" and the Xtreme are too yellow.

thanks everyone

[FINN444]

I have leds in my taillights, they are the stock 2003 ssei taillight assemblies though so not sure if it would look the same or not... the leds do seem brighter though.

[jddem]

did u change out the trunk light too? (little one by spoiler)?

pics?

[CMNTMXR57]

Be sure that any LED bulb you get, will have 360* of illumination. Otherwise, it won't fill the housing with light, similar to how a regular bulb does.

I wouldn't waste money on anything Silverstar. They're junk. Your housing lens is red, so why are you trying to increase the kelvin rating of the bulb. That isn't increasing lighting output any.

There are two measures of a light bulb that most are concerned about;
1) Lumen output: This is the actual amount of light being put out.
2) Kelvin rating: This is the color temp of the light being put out. A stock Halogen bulb is 3,000k to 3,200k. A Sylvania Silverstar is about 4,000k. A factory HID is about 4,300k - 4,500k.

A third measure, which becomes important, particularly with Silverstars
3) Bulb life

Let me explain (and this applies to ALL bulbs labelled "Silverstar"). The human mind, thanks to marketing, thinks that more "white" light is better. This is what they drive at in their silly commercials. Yes, they are changing the color temp from 3,200k to 4,000k. So in your mind, you automatically think that more "white" the light is, the more you are seeing. In fact, you are not. To achieve this higher kelvin rating out of a halogen bulb, Sylvania, colors the glass housing blue. The resultant kelvin output is a more "white" light.

However, if you color a bulb housing, that means that techically, it actually has LESS lumen output as not as much light is getting through the colored glass. To counter this, Sylvania "overdrives" the filament in the bulb to increase lumen output BACK to the STOCK levels! This increase power to the filament also shortens it's life.

So to wrap it up, You're getting a higher kelvin rating, but you aren't getting more lumen output (the actual amount of light getting out), and you're shortening the bulb life in the process.

Putting it into a red lensed housing (being a taillight), will accomplish little, to nothing in terms of performance or appearance.

So save your money, just get a regular Sylvania bulb or get an LED with the same 3,200k "warm" (or sometimes referred to as "Nuetral") color temp, and you will be fine.

I really wish people would wake up and see the scam that Silverstars are.

Case in point, here is a comparison between regular halogen 9006/9005 headlight bulbs and Silverstar 9006/9005 bulbs;

Here are the Silverstar specs;
9006 Lumen Output: 1,000 lumens (the same as the stock 9006)
9006 Kelvin Rating: 4,000k
Life: 200 hours

9005 Lumen Output: 1,700 lumens (the same as the stock 9005)
9005 Kelvin Rating: 4,000k
Life: 100 hours

And Silverstar Ultra's
9006 Lumen Output: 1,000 Lumens (same as stock)
9006 Kelvin Rating: 4,100k
Life: 200 hours

9005 Lumen Output: 1,700 lumens (same as stock)
9005 Kelvin Rating: 4,100k
Life: 100 hours


Here are the stock Halogen bulbs;
9006 Lumen Output: 1,000 lumens
9006 Kelvin Rating: 3,100k
Life: 1,000 hours

9005 Lumen Output: 1,700 lumens
9005 Kelvin Rating: 3,100k
Life: 320 hours

[xxdabroxx]

Be sure that any LED bulb you get, will have 360* of illumination. Otherwise, it won't fill the housing with light, similar to how a regular bulb does.

I wouldn't waste money on anything Silverstar. They're junk. Your housing lens is red, so why are you trying to increase the kelvin rating of the bulb. That isn't increasing lighting output any.

There are two measures of a light bulb that most are concerned about;
1) Lumen output: This is the actual amount of light being put out.
2) Kelvin rating: This is the color temp of the light being put out. A stock Halogen bulb is 3,000k to 3,200k. A Sylvania Silverstar is about 4,000k. A factory HID is about 4,300k - 4,500k.

A third measure, which becomes important, particularly with Silverstars
3) Bulb life

Let me explain (and this applies to ALL bulbs labelled "Silverstar"). The human mind, thanks to marketing, thinks that more "white" light is better. This is what they drive at in their silly commercials. Yes, they are changing the color temp from 3,200k to 4,000k. So in your mind, you automatically think that more "white" the light is, the more you are seeing. In fact, you are not. To achieve this higher kelvin rating out of a halogen bulb, Sylvania, colors the glass housing blue. The resultant kelvin output is a more "white" light.

However, if you color a bulb housing, that means that techically, it actually has LESS lumen output as not as much light is getting through the colored glass. To counter this, Sylvania "overdrives" the filament in the bulb to increase lumen output BACK to the STOCK levels! This increase power to the filament also shortens it's life.

So to wrap it up, You're getting a higher kelvin rating, but you aren't getting more lumen output (the actual amount of light getting out), and you're shortening the bulb life in the process.

Putting it into a red lensed housing (being a taillight), will accomplish little, to nothing in terms of performance or appearance.

So save your money, just get a regular Sylvania bulb or get an LED with the same 3,200k "warm" (or sometimes referred to as "Nuetral") color temp, and you will be fine.

I really wish people would wake up and see the scam that Silverstars are.

Case in point, here is a comparison between regular halogen 9006/9005 headlight bulbs and Silverstar 9006/9005 bulbs;

Here are the Silverstar specs;
9006 Lumen Output: 1,000 lumens (the same as the stock 9006)
9006 Kelvin Rating: 4,000k
Life: 200 hours

9005 Lumen Output: 1,700 lumens (the same as the stock 9005)
9005 Kelvin Rating: 4,000k
Life: 100 hours

And Silverstar Ultra's
9006 Lumen Output: 1,000 Lumens (same as stock)
9006 Kelvin Rating: 4,100k
Life: 200 hours

9005 Lumen Output: 1,700 lumens (same as stock)
9005 Kelvin Rating: 4,100k
Life: 100 hours


Here are the stock Halogen bulbs;
9006 Lumen Output: 1,000 lumens
9006 Kelvin Rating: 3,100k
Life: 1,000 hours

9005 Lumen Output: 1,700 lumens
9005 Kelvin Rating: 3,100k
Life: 320 hours

But it's bluer and prettier...

[CMNTMXR57]

^Ban.

[xxdabroxx]

What if I bought silverstars and yellow film for my headlights would that be better?

[FINN444]

I only did the taillight/brake lights, not the high mounted brake light because if I remember right that is a whole assembly that you buy, so I'm not sure if you can replace those bulbs...
Here are the bulbs I bought for the taillights, make sure to buy bulbs that emit the same color as the plastic housing it goes in. (red housing for brake lights = red leds, yellow turn signal housing = yellow leds) https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinf ... t-car/633/

[jddem]

Thanks for the input everyone.
I decided to go Silverstar on the front and regular on the rear with silverstar 3057 for reverse. (already had the 9005 and 9006 from my Buick) So i bought the Silver star fogs to match. I figure when these go, I can revert back to the philips I am currently using (they only have about 7 months/ 2000 miles use)

I am fully aware of the shorter life expectancy but I like the way they look and i don't put many mile on car as it is, and I hope to have a daily driver soon.

i just excited about all new lenses going in today!