| Author | Message | ||
     Stewadi |
Just a quick question. I know I need the H7 but should they be 55w or 65w? thanks | ||
| Alchemy |
Stewadi, I got the 55w and they are an improvement and they match the existing wattage of the stock bulbs. My thinking was that I would eventually add a relay in the circuit to supply better power for lighting and at that time enhance the power level. I don't know that 65w would be a problem however. Maybe some others will comment with actual experience. | ||
| Sanjuro |
Stew, if you get the chance - I'd like to see photos of before and after the new bulbs. Personally, I'd stick with the same wattage. I've fried the plastic housing on one of my old bikes by not doing that. | ||
| Michael1 |
I went with the 55w'ers and couldn't be happier. A noticable improvement for sure. I don't have any before and after pics, but they work. I know Wally World has them in the clearance automotive aisle's for $30 for a pair. Now that's a good price. Check it out. | ||
| Maximum |
I use the Silver Star 55w bulbs and like them. But I have also herd of gus using some 55w PIAA bulbs that are equal to 110w in brightness. I may take a closer look at those next time. | ||
| Retired_cop |
If you can get the Silver Star Ultra's, they are a bit brighter/whiter than the regular Silver Star bulbs. I have had both and am using the 65W Ultra's now and have had no problems with them at all. The regular Silver Star's were a drastic improvement and the ultra's go a bit more in that direction with a semi HID type light. | ||
| Stewadi |
Thanks everybody. Does anybody know the model number to get. I went to autozone and purchased the 9007 but I'm not quite sure if they will work. | ||
| Lorazepam |
H7 is the one you want. I know folks who have used the high wattage piaa bulb, and they seem to have a short lifespan. | ||
| Stewadi |
Yep!! Went back and got the right ones. Sanjuro- I will get some before and after pictures for you this weekend. | ||
| Paochow |
Silverstars are an improvement, but HID is much better, although 10X the cost. I ended up with HID low beam, Silverstar high, and PIAA 1100X's. Turns night to day. http://www.paochow.com/Buell_files/page0003.htm | ||
| Stewadi |
While replacing the bulbs, the middle connector on the back of the headlight housing came out. I went to put it back in but there was nothing to connect it to in the housing. Its seems to act like a plug of some sort. Any idea what it does? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
The 55w Silverstars look yellow and dim compared to my HID's. I use them on the high beams. | ||
| Paochow |
Stewadi: the middle connector is for the Euro bulb, a low watt bulb that meets some Euro safety regulation. If you switch its wire with the low beam one at the 4 wire connector, your low beam will stay on with the high beam. | ||
| Stewadi |
Aw....whew! Thanks for the info!! | ||
| Daveymac |
If you can get the Silver Star Ultra's, they are a bit brighter/whiter than the regular Silver Star bulbs. I have had both and am using the 65W Ultra's now and have had no problems with them at all. The regular Silver Star's were a drastic improvement and the ultra's go a bit more in that direction with a semi HID type light. And where did you find Ultra's I've looked everwhere   I found regular SilverStars, but no Ultra's in H7. | ||
| Retired_cop |
Daveymac, I had my friendly Autozone store manager get me a pair of them after putting 9007's in my truck and seeing the difference. It took a while to get them since they are not a popular size,style, but the wait was worth it. Take plenty of money though, they were not inexpensive. Hope this helps, Tim | ||
| Iugradmark |
Do you have to use Sylvania brand or will any H7 bulb work? | ||
| Lorazepam |
any h7 will work. | ||
| Oldnotbold |
And where did you find Ultra's I've looked everwhere I didn't take a chance on the Sylvania brand. I went with Osram Silverstar +50. They are difficult to find in the US, but I found a couple of places on the web. Everything I found on the web said that even though Sylvania is owned by Osram, the bulbs are the same only in the name Silverstar. The Osram bulbs are made in Europe and they are definitely bright for a 55W bulb. I don't think they will last as long as a USA made bulb. Dennis | ||
| Xbimmer |
The Silverstar package I'm looking at (H7 ST) is marked "made in Germany" and contains a burnt out German-made Osram bulb. I loved these things last year when I started using them, but after burning out a low beam bulb every two months I quit using them there. The original Silverstar I installed in the high beam spot is still going, go figure, over 10k longer. They were great for a 55w bulb, nice white light from that little low beam the Buell has, but $20 a pop wasn't worth it especially after I installed the Hellas on Lorazepam's bar. I run the Hellas constantly and even though they shake around a bit on the bar the original bulbs, and the stock low beam bulb I replaced the Silverstar with, are still going strong after several months. | ||
| Windrider |
XBimmer, Funny, I burned out a Siverstar just yesterday. Bummer... it was only 6 months old... | ||
| Lastcyclone |
The same size for HID? H7 right? I want one for the bright light. Who knows a good on-line seller? | ||
| Iugradmark |
So the brighter bulbs don't last very long? I have been following similar discussion by the BMW riders and they are starting to use the Philips Extremes which claim to throw off 80% more light. These are kind of spendy and I wouldn't want to go that route if they only are going to last a couple of months. (Message edited by iugradmark on July 02, 2007) | ||
| Xbimmer |
I don't want to bad mouth the Silverstars, because they are great. I can only say that my bike burnt out three in the low beam side in short order while I still have the original Silverstar on the high beam side. That side gets a lot of action too since I ride much at night and also have it tied in to actuate my Auto Switch for the Hellas. I don't know why the low beam side kept failing, but the stock bulb still works fine. More is better IMHO at least in this dept anyway and I always have at least three lamps burning to the front, so if something flares out at night it's not so critical! | ||
| Stewadi |
Just an update. I have been using the lights for a couple days now and they are noticeably brighter than the stock bulbs. Durability and HID issues aside. They are an improvement. Sanjuro: I took some pictures but I don't think they really do the bulbs justice. They are a definite improvement though. So far so good | ||
| Lorazepam |
The uly is going to shake the living crap out of whatever bulb is in there. I am guessing that any bulb will have a reduced lifespan on this bike. I have been buying the euro silverstars off fleabay for a couple years. They are as big of an improvement as you can do without going to hid. JMO, YMMV, etc. | ||
| Jmhinkle |
I've personally never been overly happy with Silverstars because they are too green in output color. I've had them in several cars because the price was good and they were and improvement over stock, but after coughing up the dough for PIAA's I will never go back. The PIAA bulbs are absolutely pure white and super bright. None of that blue fake HID crap like the cheapo bulbs or the odd green color of the Silverstars. I've had them in for close to a year now without a problem and I live on a rough dirt road. | ||
| Oldnotbold |
I've personally never been overly happy with Silverstars because they are too green in output color. That may be true with the Sylvania's, but the Osram Silverstar + is about as white as it gets. Dennis | ||
| Piggos |
Before you spend too much money on Silverstars, you may want to do some reading here {http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulb s.html} My '01 Subaru Outback has a headlamp problem by design. This guy was the one to explain and remedy, as best as possible, the problem. Very helpful on lighting issues in general. | ||
| Iugradmark |
The BMW folks like a company over in the UK for purchasing these type bulbs and talk about free shipping and low prices. the link is below. They seem to carry both the blue and pure white bulbs and offer some new ones that claim to be the brightest yet. My biggest issue is longevity. The new bulbs are pretty pricy and would not want to be replacing these very often. Link is here: http://www.powerbulbs.co.uk/ | ||
| Chinook |
i bought the pure white ones from the UK vendor and they are brighter and pure white. cannot comment on the longevity as i've only been running them since March. shipping only took a week or two. |
