Modern style headlights

-
Status
Not open for further replies.
The Harley twin-bulb lamps are not projectors, and "spraying the light everywhere" is a good description of what they do.
 
slantsixdan said:
The Harley twin-bulb lamps are not projectors, and "spraying the light everywhere" is a good description of what they do.
Click to expand...

What do you think of sylvanias silver star line? I saw a couple posts back that sylvania was mentioned. So I figure your the one to ask
 
MoparDaddy said:
What do you think of sylvanias silver star line?
Click to expand...

Despite the hype and high price, objectively they are poorer performers than even Sylvania's regular standard cheapest bulbs and sealed beams. I stay away from Sylvania's entire headlamp lineup (same goes for Wagner and almost all of GE's line), but if I had to buy a Sylvania headlamp it would be an Xtravision.
 
Hey Dan! Good to see ya! I don't remember which lights I bought from you 2 summers ago, but the housings were about 75 each, I think they were Cibie's. The bulbs were about 35-ish? dont remember the brand.

Do you still sell, & use those? Has anything else come up that's better? I remember you saying after that setup, ya really gotta pay...around 700 & up?

Please explain
 
I still use and sell Cibies, yes; they're generally the best and most cost-effective current-production halogen replaceable-bulb headlamps in standard sealed-beam sizes. The "ya really gotta pay" options are described in my first post in this thread.
 
After reading three pages of the post, there's a rampage of opinions yet no one is using what's available and what truly works without going through changes. I thought I was going to eye candy...
 
HotLines said:
After reading three pages of the post, there's a rampage of opinions yet no one is using what's available and what truly works without going through changes. I thought I was going to eye candy...
Click to expand...

What Dan says are facts.

What others say, are opinions.

Dan is like the Chuck Norris of automotive lighting.

Dan doesn't post here much anymore but it is sure nice when he does.
 
slantsixdan said:
Despite the hype and high price, objectively they are poorer performers than even Sylvania's regular standard cheapest bulbs and sealed beams. I stay away from Sylvania's entire headlamp lineup (same goes for Wagner and almost all of GE's line), but if I had to buy a Sylvania headlamp it would be an Xtravision.
Click to expand...

Dang. You just eliminated everything in town lol
What is it about the silver stars that aren't very good? Just so we know.
 
MoparDaddy said:
What is it about the silver stars that aren't very good? Just so we know.
Click to expand...

Silver Star replacement headlight bulbs put out less light than standard bulbs, over a much shorter lifespan, at much higher cost, and less of the light they do put out is useable especially in bad weather. Silver Star sealed beams have those same shortcomings and also the same lousy beam focus as the rest of Sylvania's sealed beams.

There is only one 7" round sealed beam, made in Japan, that qualifies as a genuinely excellent headlamp, but it is difficult to get hold of and I bet nobody reading this plans to spend $85 apiece on sealed beam headlamps (that's more than it costs to get good replaceable-bulb units).
 
slantsixdan said:
Silver Star replacement headlight bulbs put out less light than standard bulbs, over a much shorter lifespan, at much higher cost, and less of the light they do put out is useable especially in bad weather. Silver Star sealed beams have those same shortcomings and also the same lousy beam focus as the rest of Sylvania's sealed beams.

There is only one 7" round sealed beam, made in Japan, that qualifies as a genuinely excellent headlamp, but it is difficult to get hold of and I bet nobody reading this plans to spend $85 apiece on sealed beam headlamps (that's more than it costs to get good replaceable-bulb units).
Click to expand...

Why in the world do they legalize them if they're so much worse. makes no sense why they do that
 
this has been an interesting thread.
I needed new lamps, my old ones are poor at best. based on the info here,I bought the
GE h6024nh nighthawks. I'm not spending a small fortune on headlamps, especially when I generally don't have the older cars out at night. These should workout nicely and at $16.00 apiece not hateful on the wallet.
 
MoparDaddy said:
Why in the world do they legalize them if they're so much worse. makes no sense why they do that
Click to expand...

The headlamp standards (both the US standard and the rest-of-the-world standard) allow a range of performance. The bottom of the standard isn't tightened up very often at all. If you look around at discount stores, you can still find plain tungsten (non-halogen) sealed beams. They're legal, they meet the minimum requirements, but they're awful to drive behind because they don't put out much light. With all these "whiter light" bulbs and sealed beams, the makers take advantage of the allowed range of performance; they add the blue-tinted glass so they can make marketeering claims about so-called "whiter" light (that word "whiter" doesn't mean anything real). The blue glass reduces the amount of light reaching the road, and to get the minimum allowable amount of light thru the light-blocking blue glass they have to overdrive the filament which causes short life...

...but (to answer your question directly) there are only two kinds of headlights as far as the law is concerned: compliant (legal) and noncompliant (illegal). Nobody gets a gold star on the Federal fridge for headlights that are better than the law says they minimally have to be. That's left up to market forces, and the marketers of "whiter light" headlights seem to have made a correct decision that people will pay a lot of extra money for perceived/misinformed "improvements" even if the reality is that they're worse off.
 
For anyone interested the Harley Davidson lamp that Dan mentions in this post.....

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showpost.php?p=807382&postcount=9

is out of stock at the link he provided. I have checked a few times in the past month or so and it keeps coming up as out of stock. Perhaps it has been discontinued? At any rate, the price that shows up on the linked site is higher than Dan charges for the Cibie's.....
 
My 67' Dart came with (I'm guessing newer) Wagner Halogens. I really like them a lot.
They are a nice bright white with just a hint of blue and don't have any yellow or gold like color whatsoever.
 
so Dan, as far as Cibies goes, they are not readily available, (off the shelf I mean) so what would you recommend in a sealed beam that one could pick up at the local auto store? I think I remember you saying that the nighthawks were OK ?
 
Elwood67 said:
My 67' Dart came with (I'm guessing newer) Wagner Halogens. I really like them a lot.
Click to expand...

That is an excellent illustration of the reason why vehicle lighting devices' performance has to be measured objectively -- the human visual system is usually wrong at telling us how well or poorly we can see. It's very easy to create situations in which we think/feel we can see way better or not nearly as well as we actually can.

Wagner's sealed beams -- all of them -- are garbage.
 
caferacerx said:
so Dan, as far as Cibies goes, they are not readily available, (off the shelf I mean)
Click to expand...

I donno what you mean; they're stacked high and deep on my shelf!
redbeard.gif


so what would you recommend in a sealed beam that one could pick up at the local auto store?
Click to expand...

The only sealed beams even arguably worth using are GE Night Hawks (regular Night Hawk sealed beams and Night Hawk Platinum replaceable bulbs -- not the Night Hawk Sport ones.)
 
inkjunkie said:
For anyone interested the Harley Davidson lamp that Dan mentions [68345-05] is out of stock at the link he provided. I have checked a few times in the past month or so and it keeps coming up as out of stock. Perhaps it has been discontinued? At any rate, the price that shows up on the linked site is higher than Dan charges for the Cibie's.....
Click to expand...

It can be had for $110/ea here. And yep, price is higher than the Cibies.

I have one pair of the Harley lamps that I'll probably wind up selling...once I unearth them again. The local part of my headlamp collection is boxed up (52 boxes!) 'cause we're in the middle of a crosstown move. :banghead:
 
i used the Daniel Stern relay wiring system and Hella conversion headlights. I love Hella, but there are other brands of conversions that are very good as well. It's all about the pattern. They can do great things with the cutting of the glass.
 
MoparDaddy said:
Mods! We need a stickie!!!
Click to expand...

What we really need is an un-polluted thread by Dan himself. Just a simple one post thread, closed after he makes it, stating the facts otherwise it is going to get so mucked up by the folks that just can not accept the facts it will become a mess......I normally print Dan's replies and keep them in my vehicle notebook in the garage....
 
inkjunkie said:
What we really need is an un-polluted thread by Dan himself. Just a simple one post thread, closed after he makes it, stating the facts otherwise it is going to get so mucked up by the folks that just can not accept the facts it will become a mess......I normally print Dan's replies and keep them in my vehicle notebook in the garage....
Click to expand...

Mods can eliminate those posts if they so choose
 
To address and quote most of what Slant Six Dan said thus far and his response to my quote below.....

My 67' Dart came with (I'm guessing newer) Wagner Halogens. I really like them a lot.

“That is an excellent illustration of the reason why vehicle lighting devices' performance has to be measured objectively -- the human visual system is usually wrong at telling us how well or poorly we can see. It's very easy to create situations in which we think/feel we can see way better or not nearly as well as we actually can.”

“Wagner's sealed beams -- all of them -- are garbage”.

“Put in*relays*and*good*headlamps. No "HID kits", no*blue bulbs”.

“There is exactly*one*good, safe, legal, cost-effective HID*headlamp*currently manufactured in the 7" round size format, built around the*Hella*BiXenonprojector used in various late-model Mercedes, Audis, Porsches, etc. Very very expensive, about $1400/pair”.

“There are a few different 7" round*LED headlamps*on the market. The Truck-Lite or GE ones (same lamp, different box) cost around $600/pair and they're OK. The*new 701C from Peterson*looks to be very promising; I've got a pair on the way for evaluation. The*8700 Evolution*from JW Speaker is quite a good performer and it is well made of good quality materials. Spendy, though, around $400+ each”.

“There is only one 7" round sealed beam, made in Japan, that qualifies as a genuinely excellent*headlamp, but it is difficult to get hold of and I bet nobody reading this plans to spend $85 apiece on sealed beam*headlamps*(that's more than it costs to get good replaceable-bulb units)”.

“The only sealed beams even arguably worth using are GE Night Hawks (regular Night Hawk sealed beams and Night Hawk Platinum replaceable bulbs -- not the Night Hawk Sport ones.”)


All that above being said by YOU, SLANT SIX DAN about how many other options(which I presume you have tested and have weeded out) does the guy have w/o spending a fortune? Save for the GE Nighthawks you mentioned.

I was just stating that I like the performance and the shade of headlights that came with my dart. That's all. I'm not saying they are the greatest sealed beam on the market. I'm not claiming to be an expert, or have tested every sealed beam known to man. They are much better than the sealed beams in my 68' Dart were, I can tell you that.
Dan,I understand that your a seasoned automotive lighting engineer and know what you are talking about. That's great, you have light years more info and testing experience than the rest of us.

Sir, thank you for your expertise. Good day.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
-

Back
Top