General Technical & Electrical General technical and electrical discussion for the Ford Ranger that does not fit in any other sub-forum.

SilverStar ZXE head lights

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
  #1  
Old 02-03-2012
Novak48's Avatar
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: New Brunswick
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
SilverStar ZXE head lights

I just had one of my my piaa headdlight bulbs just burnt out, I've seen the SilverStar zXe in the flyer and was wonder if they are any good or if i should stick with the piaa light bulbs?
 
  #2  
Old 02-03-2012
FULLSCALE's Avatar
Level III Supporter
iTrader: (12)
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Clinton, Ontario
Posts: 8,184
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes on 3 Posts
Never tried or seen the ZXE ones before, but I've had other Silverstars with no complaints!
 
  #3  
Old 02-03-2012
frosty's Avatar
Member
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Ontario
Posts: 244
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Saw them at Canadian tire. If you get them post pics of what they look like. Seem expensive for just being halogen though.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en
 
  #4  
Old 02-04-2012
Backwoods "X"'s Avatar
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: mt. sterling, ky
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Their NOT Halogen. They are Xenon. I have a set in the 94 "X", and love them (more since I have fixed the "fish tank" and foggy issues.). They put out a very much more usable light than the old 9004 bulbs ever did. The light is more akin to normal daytime than the older Halos' are.(Whiter, not near so damnably yellow tinted) I DO agree that they are a bit on the pricey side, but, I still think that they are a fair value, and am putting them in the other rides, one set per month. They are also "rated" at 250 hours life, according to the packaging, which is pretty close to the old Halogens that I had before.
 
  #5  
Old 02-04-2012
01RangerEdge's Avatar
Scrambles the DeathDealer
iTrader: (11)
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Jackson, MO
Posts: 7,579
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes on 4 Posts
I had Xenon bulbs back in high school. I hated them, maybe I just had a cheap brand. My Silverstars were much better
 
  #6  
Old 02-04-2012
02slammedranger's Avatar
Member
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Dearborn, MI
Posts: 593
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
I had the zXe bulbs and holy **** they are bright as hell
 
  #7  
Old 02-04-2012
Novak48's Avatar
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: New Brunswick
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
would you guys say the are brighter then PIAA extream white plus cause thats what i had in the truck, and what do you guys run in the fog lights for bulbs
 
  #8  
Old 02-04-2012
logan03CO's Avatar
Member

iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Colorado
Posts: 1,235
Likes: 0
Received 16 Likes on 16 Posts
Originally Posted by Backwoods "X"
Their NOT Halogen. They are Xenon.
Sorry, but they ARE still just halogen lamps - that use some xenon gas to prevent the tungsten filament from beaking down as quick. Sure, it's a performance halogen lamp which will be brighter and perform better than the standard "old school" ones...but it's nothing more than a blue coated "performance" halogen lamp.

This general halogen lamp education is from the retrofit source (http://www.theretrofitsource.com/trs...it_vs_hid_kits):

Because tungsten evaporates away rather quickly, researchers learned to fill the bulbs with inert gases like argon, krypton, and yes even the infamous xenon. The sole purpose of these heavy gases is to create a level of pressure within the bulb that deters tungsten evaporation. Once a tungsten atom leaves the surface of the filament, it is immediately blocked by giant xenon particles that are crowding it and pushing it back towards the surface of the filament. Xenon is most commonly used because it is the heaviest of the inert gases and is also tied to HID lighting; therefore an opportunity for marketing deception arises.
Few quotes from HID Planet about the ZXE's specifically:

tint on a bulb is instantly garbage. Plus them saying "XENON FUELED" is complete marketing BS as it's simply one of the noble gasses used in the bulbs and has no effect (the halogen additives are what do the work, the noble gasses are the suspension).
The zXe's claim to fame is only that it contains xenon (which all good halogen bulbs do anyway) and that it's the whitest halogen in the Sylvania lineup. No claims made about it being brighter than anything else. I wonder why? Given the way Sylvania likes to tout the brightness of their bulbs, albeit in a deceitful way, one has to wonder why they make no brightness claims about the zXe..
Looks to me that these blue tinted ZXE's are just the "whiter" version of their Silverstar Ultras; which were already far from being the old shool yellow color.

Both products (or any other filament based lamps) are still MILES behind a true xenon, or bi-xenon HID setup (which are truly NOT halogen).
 

Last edited by logan03CO; 02-04-2012 at 08:59 PM.
  #9  
Old 02-04-2012
Backwoods "X"'s Avatar
Member
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: mt. sterling, ky
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Well. Nice to see that someone shares their references for a discussion on here! I would like to see some feedback regarding the PIAA bulbs.
 
  #10  
Old 02-04-2012
KLC's Avatar
KLC
KLC is offline
RF Veteran
iTrader: (29)
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: New Mexico
Posts: 13,115
Likes: 0
Received 5 Likes on 3 Posts
About as close to the qualities of an HID you can get with a halogen bulb.
 
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
btm757
Exterior Semi-Tech
8
12-06-2010 08:52 AM
MonsterGuy
General Technical & Electrical
27
10-17-2006 04:37 AM
this_is_nascar
General Technical & Electrical
27
10-16-2006 09:47 PM
SanityAside
General Technical & Electrical
19
01-15-2006 12:25 AM
Sad_Savant
Exterior Semi-Tech
7
12-10-2005 10:15 AM



Quick Reply: SilverStar ZXE head lights



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:10 AM.