mike82y

I was wondering if anyone has them on their W203?

I figured that the headlights on our w211s are brighter than the one on W203. (i was told its bacuase of the lenses) However when i drive on the Autobahn, i always feel that the Xenon on the BMWs and AUDIs are much brighter than MBs.. i am thinking of buying those Piaa Bulbs, but not sure if its worth the money (300 USD+)

Mike

mike82y

here is a link
http://www.piaa.co.jp/piaa/02_product/index.html

vadim

They are not brighter - they are bluer (=higher color temperature). As a matter of fact, they are less bright as a result.

Jim Banville

I'm happy with the Sylvania Silverstar headlights I put in my car. They don't seem brighter, but are whiter.

vadim

Jim-- he is talking about HID bulbs, not Halogens. As for yourself - enjoy less light on the road (than stock bulbs would produce) with those Silverstars.

rubensans

This is the higher temperature xenon bulb that you could get without blue coating.

http://www.piaa.co.jp/piaa/02_produc...ulb/index.html

They are extremely expensive; a lot more than philips ultinion. Something near $400.

http://www.eautoworks.com/html/ord-L...it-1-23908.htm

If someone tries them or have them installed please let me know.

Best Regards.

Jim Banville

Why do you have to be such a *****? "Enjoy less light"?! I did a side-by-side comparison and other than color, the brightness and coverage looked the same to my eye. Do you have some scientific proof that the silverstar bulbs I'm using in my car produce less light that is visible to the human eye?

vadim

That's my nature, Jim! ANY coated Halogen bulb produces less light than stock H7 (which are THE bulb of choice for all automakers - MB, BMW, Volvo, etc. - in non-HID applications). Coating removes the red/yellow part of the spectrum, making the light appear "whiter", so it can not possibly be brighter than a clear one. On top of that, it robs you of the valuable part of the spectrum that contributes the most in illuminating the road. What is left (blue/green) is great for causing glare, especially in rain and fog. This has been discussed so many times here, it is like beating a dead horse.

Jim Banville

I NEVER said the Silverstars's were brighter, did I?
So the answer to my question is "no", you can not show me proof that the Silverstar's in my car are not at least as bright as the OEM bulbs to the human eye. Thanks for playing

vadim

Jim-- I should have said "they are less bright", of course. If physics is not scientific enough for you, I rest my case. I might also add that many people confuse brightness with color temperature, believing that "bluer" is "brighter". This is purely psychological, though.

Jim Banville

I simply asked you to prove that the light from the Silverstar bulbs on my car are less bright than OEM bulbs to the human eye, which you apparenty can't do. You just want to speak in generalities. Everyone knows if you filter a bulb, light output will fall. Do you have lumen measurements of the Silverstar bulbs vs. the OEM bulb from my car? How can you be so sure that the Silverstar's are otherwised designed to be brighter than OEM bulb before they add the filter? I saw no difference in side-by-side comparison. If you can't SEE a difference, what is the difference?! If I place a piece of fabric over a tweeter, cutting it's high frequency response from 20Khz to 19Khz, but no human could hear the difference with their ears anyway, would it be worth complaining that the fabric is filtering the high frequencies?!

vadim

Jim,

A 55-watt Halogen bulb can not possibly be designed to produce more light than a clear 55W H7 already does (see my comment about top automakers using this bulb as OEM - a good enough proof, no?). The H7 already squeezes all it possibly can out of this type of bulb design. Any coating reduces the amount of light the bulb emits. There is no other proof needed, really. Coating is done to fool people who do believe that blue=bright with the only purpose: to sell. Human eye is a bad instrument for this type of measurements, anyway. If you believe that your blue-coated bulbs are just as bright as clear ones (of the same type and wattage) and you keep resisting accepting common-sense arguments - it is fine with me. This thread is already hijacked enough to continue this pointless discussion.

Jim Banville

You're are under the assumption that all 55 watt "RATED" bulbs are equal in lumen output. Do you have lumen figures for the stock bulb and the Silverstar bulb? Either way, what do you see with? Your eyes? Can you see a visible difference between the brightness of the OEM bulb and the Silverstar? If you can't see a difference, what exactly makes any invisible difference significant?

Saprissa

taking a break back from:
Banville vs Vadim

so does anyone have them on their W203?

BabyBenz6spd

Current setup

Osram Silverstars for headlight
Sylvania Silverstars for Fogs
OEM Bulb for High Beam
Philips Cool blue for wedge bulb (little bulbs under the high beam)

Brighter and little more white in color. No regrests on the investment.

rubensans

I don't have the PIAA. I have the Philips Ultinion.

See pic for diferences.

mike82y

is that the stock Xenon next to your car?? If so Philips Ultinion is damn bright!!

Mike

rubensans

Yes Stock bi-xenons near.

mike82y

I have this link here for those who might be interested in..

http://www.autolamps-online.com/hido...n/ultinon1.htm

rubensans: where can i buy those bulbs? and how much do they cost?

thanks for the pics!!

Mike

rubensans

This e-bay user sometimes have them at very good prizes.

http://feedback.ebay.es/ws/eBayISAPI...331009&frm=284

Best Regards.