Sylvania Xtravision Bulbs

gmercury · December 9, 2009

I want to upgrade my headlights and make them a little brighter. I dont really wand HID so I was looking at some other lamps. And no I am not using those junky chinese higher wattage lamps. I was looking at either Sylvania Silver stars or trying the xtravision bulbs. I have read some of the reviews in here about the SS bulbs. Has anyone tried the xtravision bulbs and if so how well do they work?

GMC_BOI · December 9, 2009

I was in the same position as you just this past weekend. Ultimately, I was against going the HID route, but I must say that it was the best decision I could have made.

I have tried literally at least 25 or 30 different brands of bulbs, and I have always been disappointed. I have wasted so much money trying to find that magical bulb. I installed HIDs in my headlights and foglights this weekend and they are superior to any bulb I have ever wasted money on. Plus, I installed the kits in less than 45 minutes total. Actually, I did not use a single tool. Everything was done and installed using my bare hands.

I am so super happy with my results that I thought I would chime in and share my experience with you. I love the HIDs so much, that I am now installing a set on my wifes car too.

In regards to simple replacement bulbs, from my experience PIAA headlights have always been the brightest bulbs I could find. They were always so espensive however. If I had to go with a standard bulb, I would use PIAA.

Just my .02

salden77 · December 9, 2009

+1 on the hids, have them in my truck, now all my friends and guys at work want them

georgecdisc · December 9, 2009

I tried the H11 xtravision bulbs when Silverstar were not available yet. I did not see any noticeable, huge improvement with them. They were free to me so I tried them out, but would probably not recommend them if you just want to swap out a working set. If a bulb burnt out I would surely go with one over a standard halogen. Silverstar is definitely the way to go if you want something noticeable. I did notice a difference between the H11 xtravision and Silverstar. Little brighter and absolutely whiter. Silverstar Ultra 9005s went in my truck immediately.

Conclusion: replacing burnt out bulb, go with xtravision. If you just want a better, brighter bulb you need to go Silverstar or HID.

gmercury · December 9, 2009

Cool, Thanks for the replies. I am now considering HID as I have read some of the posts in here and most people love them. I have used the before and they were great. I do like a nice white light.

kbswear · December 10, 2009

I found these and was thinking about adding to my truck...

http://www.ddmtuning.com/index.php?p=produ...1&parent=60

Bruins04 · December 10, 2009

Do you need a kit for both Low & High beam?

Spurshot · December 10, 2009

Geoffrey,

I went with the H-9 bulb conversion. $14 a bulb at Autozone or Oreilley's/Kragen. You have to use a dremel to make a tab a bit smaller and remove a tab in the connector end of the bulb (not your harness). A few minutes work on each bulb. Cheap, easy, 50% more output rating. Not an attention getter like HID.

Here's a link to an old thread.

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...amp;hl=H-9+bulb

dlewis1111 · December 10, 2009

I tried the H11 xtravision bulbs when Silverstar were not available yet. I did not see any noticeable, huge improvement with them. They were free to me so I tried them out, but would probably not recommend them if you just want to swap out a working set. If a bulb burnt out I would surely go with one over a standard halogen. Silverstar is definitely the way to go if you want something noticeable. I did notice a difference between the H11 xtravision and Silverstar. Little brighter and absolutely whiter. Silverstar Ultra 9005s went in my truck immediately.

Conclusion: replacing burnt out bulb, go with xtravision. If you just want a better, brighter bulb you need to go Silverstar or HID.

H-11ST2 is the part number for the new silverstar bulbs for our trucks

gmercury · December 10, 2009

Geoffrey,
I went with the H-9 bulb conversion. $14 a bulb at Autozone or Oreilley's/Kragen. You have to use a dremel to make a tab a bit smaller and remove a tab in the connector end of the bulb (not your harness). A few minutes work on each bulb. Cheap, easy, 50% more output rating. Not an attention getter like HID.

Here's a link to an old thread.

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/index.php?...amp;hl=H-9+bulb

Thanks Chuck, that looks like a nice simple mod. I may give that a try and see how it turns out.

Thanks!

smattei14 · December 11, 2009

Sorry...this might sound dumb...

But are the SilverStars HID lights? Because there are two versions of them...I driver side head light just went out last night (its still the OEM)....so I need to replace them. I would like to replace them with HID's...also one that are brighter then OEM ones.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wc...MPAMS_659801717___

and

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wc...PAMS_1094742971___

not sure which one to get of the group or if they are even HID's...

georgecdisc · December 11, 2009

Sorry...this might sound dumb...

But are the SilverStars HID lights? Because there are two versions of them...I driver side head light just went out last night (its still the OEM)....so I need to replace them. I would like to replace them with HID's...also one that are brighter then OEM ones.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wc...MPAMS_659801717___

and

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wc...PAMS_1094742971___

not sure which one to get of the group or if they are even HID's...

Those are just two different levels of Silverstars. The Ultras are slightly whiter and brighter, that's all. Both are halogen, not HID.

smattei14 · December 11, 2009

Sorry...this might sound dumb...

But are the SilverStars HID lights? Because there are two versions of them...I driver side head light just went out last night (its still the OEM)....so I need to replace them. I would like to replace them with HID's...also one that are brighter then OEM ones.

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wc...MPAMS_659801717___

and

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wc...PAMS_1094742971___

not sure which one to get of the group or if they are even HID's...

Those are just two different levels of Silverstars. The Ultras are slightly whiter and brighter, that's all. Both are halogen, not HID.

Thanks!

Do you know of any good HID lights?

fm2176 · December 13, 2009

I replaced both low beams in my Sierra with Silverstar Ultras earlier this year. The difference is very noticeable, and you can see the difference in quality between those and my fog lights whiles driving. I'm just waiting for a fog light and/or high beam bulb to blow so I can replace those with Silverstar bulbs.