sylvania silverstars

[paradoxmd]

so after reading some posts and sites about lighting, i decided to try out the h4. what a world of difference. it's like night and day. that and the adjusting the beam vertically helped wonders. it's such a better light. i highly recommend using these as an inexpensive but quality upgrade.

on a side note, did anyone have problems logging in today or was it just me?

[Badkitty]

ya i have them as well. I rode for 6months before even thinking of buying new ones. Your right its like NIGHT AND DAY. Before i was hesitant about driving at night because of the low visibily. After installing these and raising the beam, WOW i can see 400% better.

[Kat-A-Tonic]

I've bought a set of enhanced PIAA lights and it was easily one of the best upgrades I've done to the Kat.

[WildKat]

on a side note, did anyone have problems logging in today or was it just me?

So far havent had any problems here.. if you're referring to the occasion SQL error on the forums, that's a host issue we are aware of. If you have other problems just let us know..

[Black_peter]

if you're referring to the occasion SQL error on the forums, that's a host issue we are aware of.

That and time outs are just gonna happen.
Fact of the internet.. IMO

[mystahagy]

I love my silverstars. I have them in the kat and the put them in the tiller as soon as I bought it. But there is one thing I noticed when I went to pepboys to get the ones for the TLR. I'm standing there looking at the H4 "Motorcycle Bulb", and I looked closely and etched onto the metal ring is 9003ST. I walked 5 feet over and grabbed two 9003ST's which were 5 bucks less, EACH! Marketing sucks.

IIRC my pre98 kat also uses the same bulb, and it really is an awesome upgrade.

[DooD]

Has anyone here tried the PIAA 5000K Super Plasma bulbs? I just bought a set for the Kat and was wondering if they're gonna start melting things?

[The CyberPoet]

I'm standing there looking at the H4 "Motorcycle Bulb", and I looked closely and etched onto the metal ring is 9003ST.

9003 is substitutable for H4, but in theory, H4 should never be substituted for 9003. Why? Because the differences between the two are a matter of beam placement precision (9003 is built to a higher precision standard than H4 in terms of filament placement). Why two different standards? Edited Silly Germans -- they spec'd HB2 (which became the DOT 9003 standard later) bulbs while most of the rest of the world is content with H4. end of Edit

Has anyone here tried the PIAA 5000K Super Plasma bulbs? I just bought a set for the Kat and was wondering if they're gonna start melting things?

What's the wattage rating imprinted in the metal ring around the base of the bulb? That's all that counts...

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[ndn]

i live way out in the country, and its difficult to see well when going home at night, even with the brights on....

just upgraded to 2 x PIAA Super White bulbs... im eager to see how much better i can see! dang those things are expensive, especially when you have to buy two!

[paradoxmd]

I'm standing there looking at the H4 "Motorcycle Bulb", and I looked closely and etched onto the metal ring is 9003ST. I walked 5 feet over and grabbed two 9003ST's which were 5 bucks less, EACH! Marketing sucks.

i noticed that as well, but only after i took it out of the box. lesson learned.

[mystahagy]

I'm standing there looking at the H4 "Motorcycle Bulb", and I looked closely and etched onto the metal ring is 9003ST.

9003 is substitutable for H4, but in theory, H4 should never be substituted for 9003. Why? Because the differences between the two are a matter of beam placement precision (9003 is built to a higher precision standard than H4 in terms of filament placement). Why two different standards? Silly Germans -- they often spec 9003 bulbs while most of the rest of the world is content with H4.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

Hey Cyber,

Yep that makes sense. If that's the case though, why would the two bulbs be completely identical outside of the package? Every possible mark of identification is identical.
Hmmm but you got me thinking. With these being interchangeable, are you saying that a 9003 is the higher quality choice?--- and the H4, while being more expensive is traditionally manufactured to lower standards? Somewhat makes it a no brainer to go with the 9003ST. Am I way off on this? kinda confused. I would imagine other manufacturers keep them separate, but sylvania puts the 9003ST in H4 packaging and charges 5 bucks more. Hmmm

[The CyberPoet]

Hey Cyber,

Yep that makes sense. If that's the case though, why would the two bulbs be completely identical outside of the package? Every possible mark of identification is identical.
Hmmm but you got me thinking. With these being interchangeable, are you saying that a 9003 is the higher quality choice?--- and the H4, while being more expensive is traditionally manufactured to lower standards? Somewhat makes it a no brainer to go with the 9003ST. Am I way off on this? kinda confused. I would imagine other manufacturers keep them separate, but sylvania puts the 9003ST in H4 packaging and charges 5 bucks more. Hmmm

There's no problem selling 9003's (also known as HB2) as H4's in the USA. For major bulb manufacturers, it doesn't make sense building different bulbs for the differences in standards if you market in both Germany (HB2), the global 9003 market and the global H4 market -- just build 9003/HB2 to spec, and label them as H4's for those who don't know different (or don't need the higher precision).

You can find more detailed info that clears it all up in this
1-page white paper on the differences between HB2/9003 and H4 (PDF). It has a variation on the story (ignores the fact that the 9003 spec is also the HB2 spec that predated it and arrived first in Germany), but it generally clear and good.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[cancun black dog]

were did you get them???

[mystahagy]

were did you get them???

I bought mine at PepBoys here in Corpus Christi. I've seen them at O'Reilly's and Autozones too.

[paradoxmd]

i had to go to pepboys. o'reilly and autozone didn't have the h4. i do think they carried the 9003's, but at the time i didn't know you could swap the two.