ZeeQuick Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 Bought my 2004 Grand Prix with HIDs already installed in the low-beams. I'm looking to ditch them though because I'm really not a huge fan of HIDs in a halogen style set-up (I feel like I"m blinding on-coming drivers), that and the fact that the bulbs keep flickering, not sure what kit is in there.... So what do you guys suggest as a good replacement bulb? I'd like to keep the white light output, but feel that $40.00 for silverstars is tad pricey. I used Farenheit bulbs in an old Camaro years ago, seemed rather decent. I did a search but most of the posts I saw were from 5+ years ago. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwmin Posted July 26, 2011 Report Share Posted July 26, 2011 Silverstar are junk. Since $20 ea is too much, I'd just go with GE Nighthawk (if you can find them) or Sylvania Xtravision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jprice90 Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 i've had silverstars in my old car, silverstar ultras, they were really bright and were fine, idk why everyone says theyre junk, yeah they run kinda hot but they worked fine..soo idk and yes i've heard if you have HIDs in a factory headlamp you will get all kinds of glare and ish and it could blind the drivers, not very cool, plus the blue lights look stupid imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55trucker Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 (edited) and yes i've heard if you have HIDs in a factory headlamp you will get all kinds of glare and ish and it could blind the drivers, not very cool, plus the blue lights look stupid imo There's nothing wrong with HID's. As long as they are aimed properly (because they can throw a brighter beam down the road one has to lower the aim on them so they don't blind oncoming traffic, but then most individuals who have installed them don't bother to). I agree, the blueish 6,000/8,000k bulbs are not appealing. I have 5,000k in my Dodge Shadow and the beam is natural white, not blue , in this car's case I need the HID's as the factory lamp/bulb combination is really poor. The bulb & ballast you have there....are they 35w bulbs or 55w bulb? The higher the wattage output the more prone to flicker you may see. Also, I'm assuming that the DRL's have been disabled as that feature cannot function on HID's (the lamps will flicker in DRL mode because there is not a full 12v to the ballasts to fire them) unless the headlights are ECM controlled and the optional harness kit has been added. Edited August 1, 2011 by 55trucker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwmin Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 SilverStars are junk because they overdrive the bulb to overcome the reduced light output due to the film they put over the bulb (which gives it the white/blue tint) causing them to get too hot and burn up quickly...JUNK! Get some bulbs that actually put out more light. http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2k2cse Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 There's nothing wrong with HID's. As long as they are aimed properly (because they can throw a brighter beam down the road one has to lower the aim on them so they don't blind oncoming traffic, but then most individuals who have installed them don't bother to). I agree, the blueish 6,000/8,000k bulbs are not appealing. I have 5,000k in my Dodge Shadow and the beam is natural white, not blue , in this car's case I need the HID's as the factory lamp/bulb combination is really poor. The bulb & ballast you have there....are they 35w bulbs or 55w bulb? The higher the wattage output the more prone to flicker you may see. Also, I'm assuming that the DRL's have been disabled as that feature cannot function on HID's (the lamps will flicker in DRL mode because there is not a full 12v to the ballasts to fire them) unless the headlights are ECM controlled and the optional harness kit has been added. x2 on the HIDs. I have them in the lows in my Buick and haven't had a problem. I've also spent a lot of time aligning and re-aligning them so they don't shine in the eyes of oncoming drivers. Anybody who has ever had a Century/Regal knows that aiming them is utter hell cause its nearly impossible to get the lows and highs right, especially with HIDs. I have the 4300k and they're perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted August 1, 2011 Report Share Posted August 1, 2011 Having run PNP HID's (and running them now) I wouldn't. My headlights are aimed so low that I can hardly see, and there is still so much glare that I get flashed daily. If you want to run HID, do a proper projector retrofit. You can get "value" H1 bixenon projectors from The Retrofit Source for $75 right now. Only issues with them are minor cosmetic blemishes that are barely noticeable. This is the route I am going. I've heard good things about Osram bulbs, but have no clue where to get them since they aren't sold in the States. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alec_b Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 I've had HID kits in several cars, aimed them slightly lower, and never gotten flashed? My aurora had 5k HID's in both the lows and the fogs. Could see forever but never got flashed or pulled over (for the lights anyways). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 Bottom line is that if you have HIDs and no projectors then you ARE blinding people. I personally would just a set of the 04-08 GP projectors to keep the HIDs. You will need different bulbs though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euro Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 ^^x2. Basically if you have HID's in anything without projector style headlamps, you'll be throwing the light all over the place no matter how well you've aligned them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white4d96 Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 Bottom line is that if you have HIDs and no projectors then you ARE blinding people. I personally would just a set of the 04-08 GP projectors to keep the HIDs. You will need different bulbs though. I agree and disagree. The 3G GP projectors Sonar makes have horrible aiming issues (they aimed the projectors flat in the headlights, which are in the car at like 15 degree angles,) and the projectors they use are H3 halogen units, which, when using the HID H1 bulbs they recommend, cause insane hotspots about the cutoff. That being said, if you like the appearance of them (I personally don't, but to each their own) many guys have figured out how to retrofit Morimoto H1 Mini's into them without too much hassle. That being said they are millions of times better than HID's in the stock housings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55trucker Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 All valid points. But, in my opinion, don't blame the HID PnP kits, put the blame on the headlamps reflector design. If the reflector allows 360 degree of refracted light, then true the beam will go everywhere. (this is where as stated ..a projector design is needed). I suppose that I will never have to worry about installing HID's in my 91 seeing as the headlamps are miniquads (but they are terrible headlights). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwmin Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 you can also go w/ HIR 9012 bulbs, you just have to modify them a little http://hirheadlights.com/ I've heard good things about Osram bulbs, but have no clue where to get them since they aren't sold in the States.Those are the real SilverStars, the ones that are actually good...not sure why same company same name for different shit. not sure where to get Osram bulbs either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted August 2, 2011 Report Share Posted August 2, 2011 I have a writeup in the FAQ for this... http://www.w-body.com/showthread.php/47097-Non-Factory-Lighting-for-Dummies-HID-HIR-etc. If you want to be cheap, put a 9005 (high beam) bulb into the 9006 socket by shaving off the notch that would otherwise prevent you from doing it, for a 70% increase in output. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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