Hello all!!! Merry belated ChristmaHanuKwanzikaa everyone!! Hope everyone got what they wanted and is enjoying their holidays.

I haven't posted on here in a while so I hope I haven't missed anything too interesting, but if I have, everyone please feel free to enlighten me.

That said, I've got a few questions I'd like input on that I wasn't able to search for (not yet a donating member), so any sincere help is appreciated.

I wanna upgrade my stock headlights & fogs from oem but am unsure about a couple things.

1st) I wanna use 9007 bulbs instead of the stock 9004s, but I don't wanna do much (if any) wire splicing, housing modificaition etc. So I was thinking I could buy an upgraded plug n play wiring harness like this one: http://www.sportcompactonly.com/imag...s/101161-s.jpg or this 1 that says 9004/9007: http://www.sportcompactonly.com/prod...2227&c=134&l=2
& hopefully bypass any extensive wire splicing I'd have to do.

Would this work, and does anyone recommend another particular brand/model plug & play wiring harness?
If this doesn't work, I've decided to go w/ either 9004s Sylvania Silverstars or 9004s PIAA Xtreme Whites. Anyone kno why I should buy 1 over the other?

I've already read this thread: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=306162, and have concluded that both are good but the Sylvanias are better for the price. Only reason I may not buy them is that their site gives them a shorter lifespan than oem & from the reviews I've read, that's seems entirely too possible.

Lastly) Other than ebay, does any1 know where to get the PIAA Xtreme Whites for under ~$75 a pair? If not, I'll just take the hit 4 em, but I thought I'd ask b4 I possibly paid too much. What about the best price for the Narva Rally Gold fogs? Best I've seen so far is ~$18 each. Anyone?

Well, thanx for any & all useful info & advice guys! Hope every1 enjoys their downtime & parties responsibly over the break. HOLLA!

 

^^ bump...

 

Comments...anyone?

 

If you wanna upgrade your headlights and fogs ( like i'm planning to) from stock, might as well save up (like i currently am) and get some HID projectors retrofitted into your headlight housing and go with the lexus yellow capsule whatever mod for the fogs (theres a diy for it). In my opinion, thats the most killer combination period.
Oh ya... its definately not gonna be cheap either heh

 

To anyone who's bought the Narva rally gold H3 foglight bulbs, do you care to share where you got them from & for how much? Thanx much!!

 

First, your link doesn't work, but I was able to get into both sites and the plug and plays will only extend your present headlight plugs (sockets) with heavier wire, and heavy duty sockets. Pointless if you are using the regular wattage bulbs. At least that is what I think.

Silverstars are trendy looking but do not give any better vision in my opinion. I had them in my Max for a few months and did not like them.

I did the full harness and 9007 replacement. For bulbs I used Sylvania ExtraVisions 9007 regular (no other kind available) wattage.

This is a big improvement and it was really easy. Cut and splice f wires, and scrape off a few plastic nubs on the inside of the headlight socket. I think I could do the whole job in about 15 minutes.

There is a pile of info on this conversion and lots of different opinions concerning sivlerstars and Piaas and bulb coloring. Having tried the blue colored bulbs and also having driving a car with factory HID, there is no comparision. Blue coloring does not improve halogen bulbs. HID's that have the blue tint is another story.

 

Does any1 kno the difference b/w the clear Sylvania Silverstars & the blue tinted ones?

 

do yellow fogs really increase vision or is it mostly show

 

If this doesn't work, I've decided to go w/ either 9004s Sylvania Silverstars or 9004s PIAA Xtreme Whites. Anyone kno why I should buy 1 over the other?

I've already read this thread: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=306162, and have concluded that both are good but the Sylvanias are better for the price. Only reason I may not buy them is that their site gives them a shorter lifespan than oem & from the reviews I've read, that's seems entirely too possible.


I would recommend the PIAA's over the Sylvanias having used both. My current set up includes the PIAA Extreme Whites for both heads and fogs. Light output and color is about the same on both PIAA and Sylvania on dry roads, but on wet roads is where PIAA's are superior because the SS's light output disappears almost entirely.

 

First off I wanna thank you for taking the time 2 show my post some luv, cuz I understand that sometimes the senior members don't have the energy to reply to specific questions about general topics that've already been talked about.

That said, the main reason I was QQ'n into a wiring harness like that 1 is because it says it's made for 9004/9007 bulb types. What that implies (to me at least) is that 1) they're compatible w/ both bulb types & thus don't require any cutting & rearranging of the stock harness wires to fit 07 bulbs, or 2) opening of the stock socket 2 switch around the wires to allow the 07 bulbs 2 fit.
Maybe I misunderstood the 04-07 writeup, but I'm pretty sure sure it says Ill have 2 do 1 or the other doesnt it? I was simply gonna use that harness with an 07 bulb in it instead of an 04 bulb & call it a day. That make sense?

So the actual "nubs" that I'm scraping off are part of the inside of the "open" end of the headlight assembly right?

I've already read some of the ones pertaining to my particular swap question & have decided on the Silverstars thanx. As far as HIDS vs. halogens goes, it's obviously a no-brainer which provides better light output, beam pattern, etc. But for those of us wanting a relatively simple, affordable, noticeable diff. in light output & color w/out having to spend a couple hundred bills on an HID retrofit kit, you really can't go wrong w/ a brighter, whiter, halogen bulb a' la Sylvania Silverstars or Philips Xtreme Whites. If you don't believe they made enough of a diff. for you then that's your opinion. But pics like the ones at these links: http://www.suvlights.com/information.php?info_id=12 (3rd row 4m top), & http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...ce/Silverstar/, show enough of a diff. 4 me so that's why I decided to buy them.

Don't take this the wrong way or nething, but I really wish more people would stop trying to impose their biases & preferences on mods, products, etc. on newbies and others simply asking for opinions & input on mod 'A' w/ choices 'X' & 'Y'. If you'd rather not respond 2 their posts than do this then plz don't. But don't get upset & think we're being ungrateful when we say things like this cuz it's pretty frustrating to hear people tell you things like "Jus save up & get HIDS" when you've obviously considered that option & decided it isn't yet practical.
They should have enough faith in the ones asking 4 input 2 believe they've already done the necessary research to arrive @ their most suitable options which then only require input on whether to go this way or that. Make sense?

Thanx anyway though!

Any1 else?

 

They work jus fine for me. Maybe it's your browser settings?

 

I dunno but that seems to be the common census, & they're cheap enough to where if they don't, I wouldn't mind much since they're waaaay better QQn than stock.
Any1 else?

 

Really? Now that's the kinda input I coulda used b4 I ended up buying them 2day after it QQd like I wasn't gonna get much feedback from my post. Well, the Silverstars are about half the price and can be purchased off the shelf at many auto stores around my town, so if they happen to burn out quickly like they do w/ some people, I may make the switch.
How much did u pay 4 the Philips Xtreme Whites, where'd u get em from & how long have u had 'em in? Thanx much!!

 

I jus realized that when I referred to the plug & play 9004/9007 upgraded wiring harness, I was actually thinking it was just a regular 9004/9007 socket. I actually combined the 04/07 socket w/ an upgraded wiring harness to get the above mistaken piece 'o hardware. Ooopps... You live & learn right?

 

The socket for a 9007 and a 9004 are identical. The mating portion (back of the bulb) for a 9007 and a 9004 look identical. The difference between a 9004 and a 9007 bulb is wattage, and filimant orientation, and nubs and their mating slots. The few extra watts and the different orientation of the filiment allow for somewhat more light on the road. However the real differnece when it comes to using 9007's in place of 9004, is that the 9007 is wired differntly internally. So instead of having the contacts be high, ground, and low, the contacts are ground , high and low. (just for illustrative purposes not really the correct order, that can be found in the big ten page post). So if I remember correctly if you just scrape off the nubs, and plug a 9007 into a car wired for 9004 bulbs you will get high beams when you want low and low beams when you want highs. This can work but I don't reccomned it.


Someone else inquired as to what the differnence is between Silverstars and Extravision. The difference is the Silverstars have a blue coating on the bulb. When that is the only difference putting a coating on the bulb takes brightness away. Now I live in snow and the silverstars are poor when driving into a snowstorm. I also live where it does not rain much, but when it did and I drove in rain I did not like the silverstars. But if you have made up your own mind then I'll sell you a set of 9004 silverstars cheap. Maybe 20 hours on them total. 12 bucks to your door. But you really should use the 9007.

Light and color is very subjective. 9004 and 9007 are maybe the worst of the modern lighting systems put on autos. My Tundra has H-4's With a harness I run 130/100 watt bulbs. That really lights up the road. Nothing I own will ever have blue coated bulbs, which is not to say I wouldn't love a auto with real designed for it HID. No matter what the Syvania site and the rest of the sites say to push Silverstars, seeing is believing.

With you mind made up to go for Silverstars I would recommned doing the cut and splice and using the 9007 Silverstar bulbs. I'd even go out to my Max and give you simple instructions.

Good luck and keep this in mind if you don't like the Silverstars (they really are blue) you can always change them. Ebay always has someone selling them for cheap. Also yes the nubs are inside the headlight unit. Also taking pictures of the front of a healdlight shows nothing. I like the guy at SUVLIGHTS, but he is in the buisness to sell lights, and lots of them. Same as with the Sylvania site. They want to sell you bulbs. Who is going to make them put up a fair comparision shot. Please don't take this wrong, but don't be that naive. This (Sylvania) is big buisness, and it really is advertising. Look at the David Stern site. Also look at some of the European suppliers. They use the Euro version of Silverstars which do not have a blue paint coating on them.


Well since you reamed me out a bit, I will do a bit of the same. When you post asking questions, and someone gives you their opinion, be gracious enough to accept the parts of it that you agree with, and thankful enough to not ream them for having an opinion and expressing it in an open site. I am not insulting you intelligence, I just hope you would use my opinions to do a little bit of thinking, a bit more research, and hopefully make a better decision. Also keep this in mind, I too bought into the whole Silverstar light replacement, and through my own observations, not advertising I could see that I had been hoodwinked. Good luck whatever color bulb you choose and if you need any advice on the wirering, just continue to post.

 

Who you calling old.

 

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html

go here and email this dude...he knows A LOT about lighting and will tell you everything u want to know

 

I noticed a big difference with my rewired stock headlights. Low ended up like highs, and highs were just bright.