My wife drives a 2007 Yaris and I wanted to upgrade the Head lamp bulbs to some much whiter and brighter bulbs, but this might cause extra heat as well.
Is there anyone who has real experience and not just off the cuff opinions about this?
I don’t want to overheat wires or melt the plastic housing
How realiable are Hella and PIAA h4/9003 bulbs?
I had silver stars in my 92 G20 and they kept burning out
Lots of people have silverstars burn out on them like you said. I really liked my sylvania cool blues, they were almost as white as the silverstar. I’m going to use the new silverstar next year, something like siverstar extreme or some crap…suppose to be much longer beam . piaa’s are nice, longer life than silverstars, but lots more money. just buy silverstars from wal-mart and when they burn out just exchange them.
i’ve used the PIAA’s before with good results, altho i’ve also had silverstars that didn’t burn out on me so i guess its based a lil on luck
silverstars (Sylvania branded) aren’t brighter… they’re just painted. Granted they aren’t as bad as the seriously ricey bulbs, but anything with non-clear glass = the bulb is hotter.
You can try some Osram silverstars (not the same as sylvania branded even though it’s one company) from www.powerbulbs.com (UK company, they are pretty fast about shipping though).
They have more light output without overwattage because they use higher quality materials. I’ve heard really great things about the new Osram nightbreaker but haven’t been in a car with them myself yet.
There’s all the information you could ever want about automotive lighting over at http://www.danielsternlighting.com/ <–bookmark that site, you’ll find yourself going back to it over and over.
If you install bulbs with the same Wattage as the stock ones you wont have to worry about melting any wires… since current draw will be the same. PIAA makes a quality aftermarket bulb. I have used several types with good results and reliability.
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If you install bulbs with the same Wattage as the stock ones you wont have to worry about melting any wires… since current draw will be the same. PIAA makes a quality aftermarket bulb. I have used several types with good results and reliability.
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You can also use high wattage bulbs if you install a relay in the harness.
Personally I would get aftermarket projector housings and put a HID kit in them. More work but a great result.
What is the brightest halogen bulb?
For the 55W marked segment, sorted in order of brightness:
+50%: Philips Vision Plus (achieves its extra performance by increased luminance, not lumens. See this article: http://www.eur.lighting.philips.com/press/automotive/resultsVision.shtml)
+30%: Philips Premium, Osram Silverstar (European marked only - see note below)
+20%: Osram/Sylvania Xtra Vision, Osram/Sylvania Silverstar (North american marked only - see note below)
+0%: Philips Bluevison, Osram/Sylvania Cool Blue, Osram/Sylvania Halogen Plus, and OEM bulbs like GE.
-10%: PIAA Superwite
If you want a real upgrade on a budget, look into HIR bulbs…
Theyre whiter, and brighter. But i dont know if they make ones that fit your application.
Or just do a retro…
the Yaris uses a 9003 --so HIR isn’t an option sadly. They’re a great option if your car uses 9005 or 9006.
Hmmm… Throw some 30K ebay hids in there and blind oncoming drivers?
thanks for the help guys
i know a few people that took the 9005 bulbs and put them as there low beams, you need to buy the harness clips and just cut and splice. the 9005 are a lot brighter then the 9006.
poor mans hid setup
also Hella makes great stuff. There HID setups are used in most oem HID equipped cars
or just buy these, they are at harbor freight i cant see them being expensive. :tup: to blinding others
i upgraded my 9004s to 9007s in my maxima never had an issue
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also Hella makes great stuff. There HID setups are used in most oem HID equipped cars
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I hope you aren’t suggesting putting HIDs in a 900x headlight car… that would definitely cause accidents.
[quote=“MaximaSE98,post:12,topic:39935"”]
i upgraded my 9004s to 9007s in my maxima never had an issue
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I haven’t looked up the filament position and other bulb specs but… are you sure you aren’t just creating a ton of glare with that setup?
just bolt some KC daylighters on the front… 130w quartz halogen and they have a 26 year warranty… even the bulbs. you wont know how you drove without them before. so INSANELY bright. 
Brian
PS yes this is a silly idea… but they do work well.