Hey guyz, Just purchased a pair of APC (american products company) headlight bulbs; super whites. I was wondering how you guyz would rate the quality/reliability of these bulbs? Also, does anybody have any pix w/ the bulbs installed? Lastly, are these any good??!?!!?

Thanks in advance...

 

Just a Note, are these higher wattage bulbs? If they are,don't count on factory wiring to last to long!

 

these are apc. i believe they are the super whites. they are high wattage, 80/100 . i got the upgraded headlight harness from southwest autoworks.
i like the bulbs, i think they put out very good light, and i noticed a complete change from stock. i really dont know why everyone bags on apc.

 

also, i have had them for almost a year now with no problems (knocks on wood)

 

I found no gains in APC bulbs, so I put them in my mom's minivan. they're stock voltage. APC products are legal... overwatting bulbs are illegal.

I went with MTEC overwatted bulbs. I think I have a mutant car... never melted anything.

Jae

 

silverstars > apc superwhites

 

it all depends on what you like or are going for. Me 9007 own!

 

not the ones i've got. i bought them before they went street legal. they are 80 low/100 high beam

 

i had those 80/100 a long time ago, and i hated them after awhile. They did give out Okay light but after 6 months my harness started to burn. That and one bulbs got alitle loose and it would shake all the time. it happened onmy friends accord ot. i would just go with some silver starts or somehting.

 

HIDS > Bulbs

 

Agreed. APC sucks. It's rice, they make products and suck you into the scene, and they run out your bank accounts.

Edit: Just go to autozone and pick up a pair of the silvestars.

 

Talk about running out your bank account, what about forking out $50 a year to replace the silverstars...

drew

 

I paid $35 for mine.

 

apc is not all rice....i mean wether you buy their corner light for our cars or custommaxima's they are the same thing, and probeluy the ame quality. I hate the people who would not buy somehting just because of their name, and the type of people who buy their stuff.

i mean yea they do make alot of ricey stuff, but that does not mean their hyperwhites suck.

 

 

recent i got the nokya arctic white stage II. they are 80/100 too I believe. I got the harness with it to be safe from melting. The color is quite nice, but I don't know if my battery's dying or what, but the output isn't too great. I am going to try a grounding kit and see if I can get some more out of them. If you're going for looks and don't care too much about seeing at night in the rain, get them. I got both bulbs and both harnesses on ebay for $35 shipped.

 

But both still suck.
I mean, they are way too expensive, and they don't typically last very long.
You ought to be able to get more than a year out of bulbs.
Yes, I know not to touch the bulb.....I didn't when my Silverstars burnt out in about 9 months.
They just don't focus as much light on the road as the OEM-Style lights.
(You will realize that after going from the "ricer" "whiter" bulbs back to the OEM-style bulbs.....you can see the road much better, which is the function of the headlights. First and foremost, you are supposed to have great visibility when driving a car, not just looks with sucky visibility.)

 

haha......i got them for free, and they do the job for me. oh well

 

What do you guys think of the piaa xtreme white bulbs?

 

overpriced......but they're good

 

All colored bulbs are for show, we know that, and that also means they wont perform in all aspects as well as OE bulbs. Typically the people who buy colored bulbs are going for show and would rather have the look of something special or different. They dont really care about output and such. So when going for a show bulb keep things in mind. Color and Price. I recomend the Target brand blue bulbs to anyone who wants a show bulb, WHY? Because they are really blue and are really cheap. Companies like PIAA think they have the best stuff, thats why they are so expensive, when really all colored bulbs do the same thing. Go nutts and buy the crappy brand cuz one day no matter what the bulb will blow.

BTW I have used APC simulated HID bulbs, with the date FEB 00 and still work fine. Been in 4 Maximas....maybe I got lucky with APC?

 

maybe?!? hahah

The only REAL color/brightness change will be if you get a real HID kit...color while the lights are ON...not off. And of course they are brighter than stock or any other bulbs sold.

 

They said APC was crap....my bulbs still work after 4 years of use. NO they do not look like HIDS, but they still work.

SO what was your point? It makes no sence to say that colored bulbs dont have a change (from stock) in color or brightness. ANY coated bulb will be a different color and not as bright.

 

so if i were to buy any of those brands will i neeed to have rewired the car for the voltage or will the stock wire be fine....if i get silver stars, or apc???

 

silverstars are ok, apc's are too. as long as the wattage is the same as stock. i believe stock is 45/65. i think. 80/100 watt bulbs could melt your wiring. of course, you could get an upgraded harness, and you dont have to do any rewiring really. just put the harness in.

 

is that ez??

 

I bought APC bulbs w/the DOT legal writing on them. Got them on ebay 2 years ago... After I discovered they were "simulated 80/100", I put them in my mom's Previa. They're 4300k color, which's what I wanted, and they haven't discolored. I don't rag on APC.. I don't have enuf personal experience w/them yet.

My mtec are 4350k, the bulb glass has a slight blue tinge. However, mtec's quality control for glass color has a wide range... I've seen bulbs @ the store waaay darker than mine, so I got lucky. Plus they have lifetime warranty, and are only $20 on ebay.

Jae

 

Will PIAA be brighter? The ones from custommaxima.com.... I hope it's brighter... for like 80$!

 

9007 silvers > $80 9004 piaa's

heck! 9007 xtras > $80 piaa's... Really, with the 9007 conversion capable, there is (to me) no point in paying $80 for some piaa's...

it is not THAT much of a drastic difference, but i'll bet that the 9007 is just as good if not better than the piaa's...

 

why does it seem custommaxima makes the PIAA way brighter than stock?

I know it's for an advertisement and all... but if it's not really as bright as they say then what would customers think?

 

9007 = overwatted 9004.

So forget the expensive 9004 bulbs, just buy ebay overwatts. just kidding. Do what your wallet tells you.

The piaa looks brighter cuz the light is "whiter" than stock yellow-y light. And you can't really trust a picture... they coulda edited it.

Another trick to make a bulb seem brighter is the beam pattern. 9007 looks brighter, watt-for-watt, cuz there's more stray light, giving an illusion of brightness. Same with HID kits. My bro swapped his 2k headlights for 2k2 HID... and in my opinion, after adjusting them plenty of times, I'd rather have his halogens. The HID beam pattern plain sucks.

Jae

 

Have you used over watt 9004's? Have you used 9007's? I have, and the 9004's 80/100 watt do not hold a candle to the 9007's 55/65 watt. Also to say the HIDs suck is just plain dumb, but thats my opinion. But i do agree with "forget the expensive 9004 bulbs."

 

Thank you.
Also, unless you get some projectors to do the HID's right, they don't ever give you the great beam pattern that you want. Might as well not do it, if you don't do it right...

 

Eurolites.com has these xenon charged bulbs that are supposed to be super bright. I just was interested to see if anyone has them and what do they think about them.
I tried to get n touch with eurolights.com but they don't respond.

 

Maxima10to1: i'm not sure if you're agreeing or disagreeing that 9007 appear brighter because of the poor beam pattern (more stray light in the peripheral, faking the brain to believe 9007 are brighter). Also, our peripheral vision is more sensitive to light... which's why when you're in the dark and you're trying to see something, you turn your head a few degrees from center of axis. The problem is our peripheral vision is more black and white rather than color. I had 9007 for a period of time before I went overwatted 9004.

Also, I guess I wasn't clear about my comment on HID. But apparently Brudaddy caught it. Retrofits are annoying when someone behind you has them, cuz they're blaring light into my mirrors (my car isn't a low rider either... I'm sure their beam patterns are off).

Jae

 

Thurznite: You said nothing about retro fits, which are all for show, but I agree with you, they are dumb. But you specifically said the beam patter on 2k2 HIDs were worse than 2k halogens. This must be the stupidist thing ive ever herd. The amount of usable light on halogens is terrible compared to HIDs. And again I have used both over watt 9004 and regular 9007 and the 9007 have a much better beam pattern, EVAN in our 9004 housings. My current 9007 set up blows any 9004 set up ive had out of the water.

Take a look at that pic and tell me which bulb you like better, the one on the left or one on the right. Then tell me which has more light: usable, stray, what ever...then tell me which one is brighter and which has a poorer beam pattern..