NeverBepeace

I just came from there asking about headlights and fogs. I was about to purchase bright, white exon lights (mispelled) they told me that those would blow very quickly and that I would need hids. They are charging $300 for hids. They also said that silverstars are not good, don't waste my money on them. What are some nice super white bulbs can I get with out having to drop $300? Also, they are charging $30 for some bluish foglights. Is that a good price? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

alpinestars™

iTrader: (6)

Go to the GB forums and buy a Helios kit, install it and call it a day. IIRC they run about 265-300 with a lifetime warranty.

n3985

iTrader: (36)

A bright white "xenon" halogen bulb is an oxymoron in itself, as they lose light output to produce the white light. And they blow out all the time, listen to alpinestars, get an HID kit and be done with it.

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

HID all the way man....i had some Bluish headlight bulbs b4, they did look sweet i'll tell u that, but i couldnt see ****....but now with HIDs wow, it looks really good (bright) and u can also see alot better man......
good luck man
huso

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

Don't listen to those sheisters.....Before I switched to the 2k2-3 HIDs, I used Silverstars for well over a year, in the fogs and in the headlights. I never had one blow out, the light output was very good, and they looked nice.

Who are you going to believe:
- Sylvania, who sells BILLIONS of lightbulbs each year and has been in business for nearly a century?

or

- Some RICER shop who want to sell you an ILLEGAL HID kit?

I think the choice is obvious. HIDs in stock 00-01 housings SUCK and you will not pass inspection with them either (if your state has inspection).

LA02MAX

iTrader: (3)

Irish is right....all you'll get with an HID kit in your 5th gen headlight housings are a bunch of angry drivers coming toward you flashing their high beams....the housings are not made for HIDs and you will get all kinds of glare and the lights won't be brighter than traditional halogen bulbs (which your housings are made for..) Get the silverstars....

embraer

I agree the SilverStars put out a good colored light, but they just don't last. I put a set of SilverStars in my car (before I got my I30) and in my wife's car as well. Both sets of bulbs in both cars blew out within eight months. They were different bulb types of SilverStars and I got them from different stores, so it's not like I got a "defective batch" or anything like that. Even on Sylvania's own website (link below), they admit that they don't last as long - see the "Rated Life" row on the chart.

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...on/default.htm

IMHO, you're going to either pay now to get HIDs, or you're going to pay later to keep replacing SilverStars in your fogs and headlights.

BLK2BLU

iTrader: (4)

I never had a problem in my last car with them. Had them for over a year too.

NeverBepeace

Hmmmmm I'm getting mixed replies now. Should I go ahead and get the silverstars? Or wait awhile and get the hids? Not looking to drop $300 now or in the next few months. I guess my only real question is.......should I risk buying silverstars? I'm getting people who say "I had them in my max over a year" and others "get the hids" I'm so confused.

Stalldaworld

iTrader: (8)

get up with xbrite on the nyc org he will get u hooked up for 100$

NeverBepeace

What does he do for $100?

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

Think about it this way:
Let's say, absolute worst case, you blow out 2 silverstar bulbs every 6 months. Meaning, 4 per year.

Silverstars cost about $15-20 each (I've seen them for $9.95 at Wal-mart during sales)....so....even if you blow out 4 per year (which you won't) you're talking about 60-80$ per year. So, it would take you roughly 3 1/2 years to equal the price of the POS (and illegal) HIDs in your stock housings. And there's nothing to say that cheapo HIDs will be defect-free over that time period....

Plus, with HIDs in your stock housings, factor in the fact that you will fail inspection and could get a ticket here or there if the cops notice the HUGE amount of glare you're putting out toward oncoming drivers. On "illegal equipment" ticket is usually good for $100 and a repair order, depending on where you live...

There is no "risk" in Silverstars. Is there a "risk" in buying light bulbs for the lamp in your house? Bulbs burn out eventually, that's the way it is. Based on what other people have experienced, Silverstars can last anywhere from 6 months to a couple of years. Hell, you might sell your maxima before you have to replace them at all...who knows. If reliability is your greatest priority, just use stock headlight bulbs...You can buy them at any auto store for a couple bucks a piece.

All I do know - I F-cking hate ricers who blind me with their HIDs in factory housings throwing glare everywhere, just so they can look kewl.

If you're going to do HIDs, do it the right way:
1. Get the 02-03 HID headlights
2. Get a PROFESSIONALLY DONE housing (i.e. the kind of stuff Dr.Roy does) with projectors and low-glare setups. DON'T get some ricey HIDs from a "Local Car Sound Store" or ebay crap.

Do it right, or don't do it at all.....

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

he can find you a hooker in NYC, maybe?

embraer

NeverBepeace, you are the one that knows best about what to do and what you want. Maybe reliability is important to you. Maybe you think that replacing the fogs is a giant PITA and you don't want to have to do it too often. Maybe the color of the light is more important to you than either of these things.

It sounds like you want SilverStars, so get get them. I've had problems in the past and I've heard that others do too, but you may not have the same problems. As long as you are OK with the fact that they MAY blow out sooner than normal lights would, then great - put them in! Maybe they'll last a year or more like these other guys have been saying.

All I wanted to do was to tell you that based on my experience, there is at least SOME merit to what that salesperson said.

Good luck!

Maxim(a)SerjVQ

NeverBePeace; To some extent the shop has a point about the Sylvanias. The Silverstars are designated to last 50% as long as regular replacement lights. that's still a long time, but it's nice for inexpensive style. MY reccomendations is to grab a Set of PIAA Xtreme Whites (4000K light temp) they go for about $60-$80 at tirerack. they have 9004,9005(highbeam on 2k3), H3, and H4 fitments available too. either that or dig around for a 2k3 HID setup like irish got.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

I've never had ANY PIAA headlight/foglight bulb on ANY car that has lasted more than 6 months....They work well and have good light output while they last, but they don't last nearly as long as silverstars and are much more expensive, IMHO....

Maxim(a)SerjVQ

this is the first i've heard of the PIAAs not lasting. then again i've mostly seen examples from Eurolites and Toucan and haven't researched too far back. is there more information on their longetivity elsewhere? maybe there's a voltage issue?

MxdOut97

iTrader: (1)

ive got mtec's in my fogs, they come with a lifetime warranty.

infiniteecho

+1 to what Irish has said. Most POS HID kits will not last. I had mine for 6 months (4 of which I did not drive the car) and one of the ballasts died.

Also, you will lose your high beams if you go with a standard HID kit in the 5th gen light housing.

I had Silverstars in my old Maxima, and they lasted atleast a year and a 1/2 with my lights on day / night. I would strongly recommend the Silverstars over any HID kit.

n3985

iTrader: (36)

Please name this "POS" kit brand so we'll know to stay away in the future. And H4 come in hi/lo now so high beam is "retained".

infiniteecho

Nearly any HID kit which does not use OEM bulbs and ballasts is garbage. I had an X5 kit. Waste of $349.99.

I guess I am out of date on my HID kits... I do not believe such a thing was available for me at that time.

SilverGLE

iTrader: (21)

+1 on Irish's comments... I don't want to put a HID kit in my 00 becuase of the glare. I plan to go the 02/03 headlight route sometime in the future. And on my last car, I had Silverstars (9006, Camry) and only had 1 blow out in 2 years. If you don't want to spend the $$$, Silverstars. If you've got the cash, 02/03 housings or a projector retrofit.

alpinestars™

iTrader: (6)

A totally un-educated response, figures. I have been using HID kits for years, never an issue once, granted they were made by Philips.

infiniteecho

What was "un-educated" (I think you meant uneducated ) about my response? They are terrible. Whether it be in terms of quality or light output. Even though yours was made by Philips you're probably still glaring the hell out of on coming traffic. Even if you're using re-based D2R bulbs, your light housing was not designed for HID light output.

Aside from glare and poor light output, HID kits are often not installed correctly with a relay and proper fuses. Using an HID kit with stock wiring can damage your wiring. That is a lot more power going through the wires (to ignite the bulbs) than it was designed for.

I hate people that look at my post count and decide what I have to say isn't worth anything or isn't based upon anything. I don't post *****. Look at all the posts that I have ever posted. They have relevant content. Took me a month to be able to create my own threads because I refused to post worthless crap.

n3985

iTrader: (36)

^^^ above is true, however, I also disagree that aftermarket HID kits are garbage. Technology in the aftermarket has been able to produce high quality kits nowadays, much better than before in terms of reliability and size of ballast/igniter. While it is recommended to install a harness which draws power from the battery directly, it is not absolutely necessary. I have yet to hear anyone with a Maxima burn ou their factory harness.

infiniteecho

In my original post I said most HID kits. Which I still stand by. There are probably a select few, like alpinestar's Philips that has a pretty good reliability rate. But in terms of light output they are still a disaster.

However this is not the fault of the kit. Even an OE bulb / ballast setup used in a light housing designed for halogen lighting is going to cause glare and give you a poor beam pattern. (Due to the different orientations of the filament in a halogen bulb and the salt chamber in an HID bulb.)

I too have never heard of a Maxima having issues with it eating a stock harness, but it is not a risk I would take again. I love my car too much (as I'm sure most everyone here does) to put it in any more danger than it already is being on the roads with all the other idiotic drivers out there.

My $0.02

alpinestars™

iTrader: (6)

Uneducated as in most HID kits are garbage. I did not look at your post count and base that on my response, settle down . Nobody accused you of postwhoring. Postwhoring is Gones job

MerlotMax

I have run Sylvania Cool Blue's, Wagner LazerBlue's and am currently using Wagner Tru-View's in my wife's Axxess, my 92 Max and in 2001 SE AE. Inexpensive, have lasted for at least a coulpe of years and a big improvement over a standard halogen. For the cost of admission why not try the least expensive way. If your not happy, then drop the $$$ on a good HID kit.

chr0nos

iTrader: (1)

i beleive sylverstars have a 1 year warranty. if you keep the receipt, you can get a new set within a year. fog lights are pretty useless for us. unless you put the hid kit in there, there will not be any more visiblilty with the super white, or yellow bulbs, compared to oem ones.