Just brought and installed a pair of Silverstar H3 fogs for my 02 Max. Did a quick comparison with one stock bulb in and one Silverstar. Definitely a whiter light from the ST but not much brighter. But they are not as close in color as I would like to my HID's. Granted, they never will be as exact.

But after doing some reading up on PIAA's Super Plasma fogs, they are said to have more of a bluish/purple tint. Which seems to be closer to my HIDs.

Heres the big question: Is it worth the trouble to uninstall the Silverstars, return them and replace with the PIAA's? Am I going to notice that much difference in light output and color?

I did notice that the Super Plasmas burn at 5000K and the Silverstars at 4000K.

Anyone who could "shed some light" (ouch) on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

I am not sure if the 02 max's foglights are the same as 00 max's, 00 max's being h3 bulbs.
That being said, I have just installed a set of piaa PLASMA SPARK BLUE H3's on my car that burn at 7500k. The look is incredible, sort of a bluish look. I've tried a few different bulbs in my fogs and these are by far the best I've ever tried. So if you don't mind spending the money (you could probably get them for around $75 a set, give or take) I would definately switch to these.

 

If ya haven't already, check out the other threads that have discussed this recently:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....fog+bulb+match

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....fog+bulb+match

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....fog+bulb+match

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....fog+bulb+match

There were more... but I think this is enough... just do a search for "fog+bulb+match" if ya need more...

 

In conclusion, I think most agree that the PIAA Super Plasma GTX matches the best, so yeah, maybe you should return your Silverstars if that's what you're looking for....

 

It may sway your decision further to know that I've had really horrible bulb life with the Silverstars. My headlights each lasted about 6 months, they burnt out within a day of each other. I'm waiting for the fogs, which I installed at the same time, to burn out soon.

Has anyone else noticed this?

 

i went to a local dealer of aftermarket parts and he told me that i should stick with something thats lower than 55w so i don't put that much load onto the housing. should i take this into consideration when i install the fogs?

 

get the PIAA super plasma GTX.....the look is pretty damn good. Of course not HID, but close. I got mine for $58 shipped. Just do some searching online. And you have to make sure that you are extremely careful when installing the bulbs, as with any other bulb, you CANNOT touch the bulb at all. Good luck.

 

One of my Silverstar H3 fog bulbs burned out in about 5 months. (the other one is still good) I have a set of PIAA Super Plasmas that I will install soon.

There was talk about the PIAA bulbs burning out rather quickly, too. I hope mine last a while.

 

Hmm... I have Silverstar H7s in my Passat headlights... I'll let ya know if they're still around in 6 months...

 

My first Silverstar burned out after 1 year and 4 months. The other is still going strong.

 

What wattage are the stock foglights?
I am curious about the housing melting/burning out.

 

55W.... that's what it says on my bulbs....

 

Btw, I say stick to the wattage... if ya wanna go higher, then ya might wanna look into upgrading the harness and wiring....

 

I'm gonna go ahead and order the PIAA Plasmas online. The local NOPI stores here in Atlanta only had 1 single bulb among them. Probably get them cheaper online anyways. Any links to best prices would be appreciated. My fear is that they will have about the same life as the Silverstars. But at least they'll look better until they burn out.

Anyone know Pep Boys policy on returns? That's where I brought the Silverstar H3s. Hopefully they will take them back after I uninstall them.

 

they might take it back as long as you have the original packaging and receipt. i've had the silverstars for almost a year with no probs but since i'm lazy and hardly use the fogs anyway i'll probably wait until they fail before i get the plasmas.

 

The funny part is, am I changing out the fogs for my benefit or the viewing pleasure of oncoming drivers.

Will I notice a real difference btw the Silverstars and the PIAA's as far as lighting is the real ???

 

Threads about superwhite bulbs are cool...

 

No, as the driver, I doubt you'll notice the difference in the fogs, all else being equal....

 

Agreed.

In fact, I think the Silverstar bulbs are actually worse in fog than the stockers were. They seem to produce a lot of glare...almost like they light up the water in front of the car more than they do the road. It's a hard phenomenon to explain.

If you're looking for ultimate fog light performance rather than ultimate looks, I'd suggest searching the forums for "yellowing" the fogs. Lots of guys are doing that. I might consider trying it once the warm weather settles back in...lying on a cold garage floor sucks.

 

the silverstars in my buddy's WRX have all burned out: both headlights, both fogs. He replaced the heads with Silverstars again...after several months they seem as yellow as any ordinary bulb.

PIAA all the way.

 

SuperPlasmas look great, and match fairly well with stock HIDs, BUT they will cause your fog light housing to crack in cold weather. I guess the bulbs get too hot. I know this has happened to MaximaPolak as well.

 

Noticing the bulbs becoming yellow is his imagination. Silverstars do not become yellow, they burn out eventually, but there is no color change.

 

You're right, but it seems to depend more on the beam height, beam pattern, and driving conditions more so than the color of the lights....

Fogs ideally should have either a low, wide beam (regular fog lamps) or a narrow, focused beam pattern (like projectors) and also higher intensity for them to really be effective... some argue that when driving in snow and thick white fog, yellow lights help because of the contrast, but I'm pretty sure yellow does not penetrate better nor has less glare.... driving conditions also matter because some roads cause more glare than others when wet or icey....

Check out these articles if you're interested in this stuff...

http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...ight_types.jsp

http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/...ech/aiming.jsp

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

http://www.dimebank.com/Light-up.html

 

ok, so I'm just looking for a quick answer here guys. weeding through all this has taken some time already.

which matches better? Super Plasma Reg or Super Plasma GTX?

 

Those are really good articles. Maybe the Silverstars have a more diffuse light or something...but you wouldn't think so because the housing/reflector didn't change. Or maybe they just appear more diffuse because of the better illumination characteristics.

I haven't even tried to aim the fogs in our cars. I'm guessing it could be done...might be something to try.

I guess this means all the folks putting yellow capsules in their fogs are doing it strictly for the "Lexus look", not for better illumination

 

I looks like Housecor went with the Super Plasma regulars. I have to agree with his assessment that they seem to match really well.

 

thanks mang, that's all i needed to know.

 

I don't really know about the Silverstar fogs, so I can't say...

You can aim the fogs in our cars... its kind of a pain... there's that white dial on the housing and you have to turn it forever to get it to change a little bit... plus all that and ya gotta be the right distance from a wall, ya gotta measure all the focal points, etc etc... mine seem fine so I ain't touchin em...

And yeah, I'm not sure how much good the Lexus yellow will do... they're good in the snow (I have yellow fogs too, PIAA Ion Crystal Yellows), but that's about it... it definitely looks good though....

 

definetly pass on the "plasma" or false HID's that burn at above 4000k. Numerous reports of car fires have been attributed to ebay bought wannabe-HID's

 

i just got a pair of razo bulbs and they match really well. nothing is gonna come closer to your headlights than these or the piaa's. they were less than fifty bucks and they burn at 55w like your factory h3's. the package says NOPI by RAZO on it. and they have a color temperature of 4500K.