Jump to content

Silverstar Ultra??

WilliamBos

Recommended Posts

WilliamBos Senior Enthusiast

WilliamBos

Posted
Posted

Was wondering how much brighter the Silverstar Ultra low beams are compared to my stock 55W H11?

Have run Silverstars before, but not SSU.

intheburbs Enthusiast

intheburbs

Posted
Posted

Seemed about 20% to me. But the candle that burns twice as bright, only lasts half as long. Short life wasn't worth it to me. Have since upgraded to LEDs.

WilliamBos Senior Enthusiast

WilliamBos

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thank you. What are you running for LED?

Seemed about 20% to me. But the candle that burns twice as bright, only lasts half as long. Short life wasn't worth it to me. Have since upgraded to LEDs

 

Jvs Enthusiast

Jvs

Posted
Posted

+1 on what burbs said.

 

I run these on my bike and while brighter and wider they burn out relatively quickly.

 

 

For what they cost id just invest in a cheaper led light bar and call it a day.

intheburbs Enthusiast

intheburbs

Posted
Posted

Thanks. How long hsve you been running those LED headlights?

 

 

 

Couple of months. I like them. Have driven in both rain and fog - they work great.

 

Here's a writeup I did on another board...

 

 

Well, instead of tacking onto an alread-long thread, I figured I'd start a new thread for my install. I bought the superbright LED H11 and H16 kits for my Denali. Finally got around to installing them.

 

Installing the headlights was pretty straightforward. Since this was my first time wrenching on the truck, I decided to rip the whole front end apart. Wanted to get a feel for the lay of the land. No clearance issues. The lights plugged in easy and went on the first try. I used some 3M doublesided foam tape to attach the little "driver" boxes to the vertical fender supports.

 

I expected the foglight install to be a piece of cake - just crawl under the truck and swap out the bulbs. I popped out the OEM bulbs easy enough, but I couldn't get the LED bulbs to latch in. The bulb would engage one latch, but then it would seat to lock the second latch. I figured out that there wasn't enough room for the o-ring on the bulb housing - it wasn't compressing enough to seat into the foglight housing opening. The o-ring groove wasn't deep enough, so I took my Dremel with a thin cutting wheel and whittled the groove to give more room for the o-ring. Once I'd ground down the o-ring grooves a little, the bulbs seated right in and engaged both latches.

 

So how do they perform? Well, as you can see in the pictures, the lows don't have that sharp cutoff like the OEM halogen bulbs. So I guess I'm now one of those pricks that's blinding oncoming drivers. That being said, I've yet to be flashed by any oncoming traffic.

 

Light output is probably 25-30% greater than the halogens, and the color is much better. The foglights are easily 2x-3x brighter than the OEM bulbs, but I think the crappy OEM reflector housing keeps them from being truly brilliant. They do throw out some pretty good peripheral light.

 

Overall, I'm happy with them. I would recommend them, assuming they last as I expect them to. I got these LEDs because the Sierra uses the lowbeams as DRLs. I didn't want to install HIDs, because I know they don't like the constant on/off they'd see in the Sierra. I have HIDs in my Suburbans, and I love them. I'm probably going to pick up another pair of the H16 bulbs to install in the fog lights for my '08 Suburban.

 

Here are some pics:

 

The kits:

20150809_185659_zpsepckgyh7.jpg

 

OEM headlight pattern - notice the sharp cutoff:

20150816_162508_zpsfsubfl3o.jpg

 

Driver's side LED installed:

20150816_163625_zpsnsipblu3.jpg

20150816_163645_zps2rwqm31y.jpg

 

Both installed:

20150816_170530_zpsvsebmaeb.jpg

 

Fog light comparison:

20150818_190803_zps0rophbsf.jpg

 

Finished:

20150818_192343_zpsbvye4t9o.jpg

 

Fogs only:

20150827_231203_zpsexjqp0ao.jpg

 

Lowbeams only:

20150827_231213_zpsck1mybg1.jpg

 

Lows and fogs:

20150827_231218_zpsilj0dzcs.jpg

Gurrzt Enthusiast

Gurrzt

Posted
Posted

I replaced my headlamp bulbs with the SilverStar "ZXE". They produce a white light @ 4200 K, and I have had them installed for over 3 years.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • PunchT37
      OCI, not when but why?

      By PunchT37 · Posted

      My brother has a 2007 Avalanche with afm 5.3. It`s got 176,000 miles. Runs like a clock. Never been apart. Co worker has a 2010 Tahoe with afm 5.3. 230,000 miles. Never been apart. Runs like a clock. So, even though cyl deac is a weak spot, they can go the distance.   BUT, these engines had the oil changed regularly, AND had 5w30 as spec. I wonder if they would have lasted this far on 0w20? I`ll bet not.
    • Chuck FB
      OCI, not when but why?

      By Chuck FB · Posted

      I certainly could be wrong but I hear of pickups far newer than that 2007 cutoff which may not be going to the wrecker but are having engine work done and be that a reman engine or new engine or trying to repair the existing engine. Some of it would be design issues as per the cylinder deactivation system that GM has and one of those lifters wiping out the cam and the question of oil changes moving the needle or not on that whole mess, or in the case of Ford pickup engines that have the long timing chains and wearing them out and the roller followers and phasers and some of that certainly goes back to oil change intervals. But in those various cases the truck has all sorts of life left in it and so the unfortunate owner and may be original owner or used market owner that is pouring money into repairs so the truck is not seeing the salvage yard yet but damage is happening by infrequent oil changes. A friends son had bought a 2018 I think it is half ton GM and it had some sort of extended or used dealer warranty on it and of course the lifter issue bites and its rattling and so the dealer had to swallow the bill and was at least 7000.00 and I think they only replaced what they felt they had to replace so yeah, I can see that being a ticking time bomb in the not too distant future. Would frequent oil changes cure all these engineering "marvels", probably not but some engine designs have shown that they do much better if the oil is changed a lot more often then if the manufacturer service claims are followed. New trucks cost so much that there is an incentive to keep the existing truck on the road by repairing. 
    • davester
      Tranmission stays in Low

      By davester · Posted

      get a good code reader, and find out what problems the truck has noticed by reading codes. cheap ones can only get basic engine codes, you may want to get one that can get codes from all the computers in your truck.
    • asilverblazer
      OCI, not when but why?

      By asilverblazer · Posted

      This is sort of my point, salvage yards aren't overflowing with all these 'poorly' maintained trucks - excellent/good/servicable condition otherwise, salvaged only as a result of a bad engine from poor oil change regiment.    In my area, there are no 2007 to newer gm trucks/suvs in any salvage yards. A few are in the 'recyclers' with very obvious reasons for being there - wrecked.
    • asilverblazer
      Stabilitrak conversion to Z71

      By asilverblazer · Posted

      Stabilitrack was a stability control, traction control system, that functioned independently from the transfer case.   Z-71 has nothing to do with the transfer case or differential.   If it does have an AWD system, my memory recalls this being specific to the Denali trim, converting won't be as simple as swapping out mechanical parts like differentials and transfer cases. It will require reprogramming at a minimum. Long story short, not likely worth it.   Pulling a fuse, may disable the AWD system, it might also prevent any other transfer case functions.   However, the AWD case was generally based on the same transfer case you refer to in the 2006 Suburban. If it still has a 4-High and 4-Low where the transfer case locks and splits power 50-50 front to rear, what are you gaining by changing anything? A true-rear wheel drive only, what good will that serve? Not enough to go through the trouble of changing out all the parts.    Generally, all the factory systems will handle a 33" tire and re-gearing. Probably a 35" tire too, if you aren't driving like a caveman. If 35" tires are in the plan...   If you do plan on driving like a caveman or are fully committed to 35" tires, an entire re-think of the build is probably in order. Starting with square one, an IFS front end isn't going to be the best starting point for 35's and caveman driving. 

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...