Osram Silverstar Not As Good As Sylvania SilverStar

[Daniel J. Stern]

Just take a look at the rated life of the H1 Sylvania Silverstar. 100
freakin' hours for the 64150ST, consuming 65 watts compared to the
standard 55 watt bulbs.

The Sylvania (blue) Silverstar bulbs do have very short rated life,
because the only way to get legal-minimum flux (amount of light) through
the light-stealing blue glass is to overdrive the filament. It works, but
there's no free lunch; filament life is extremely short.

That said, the wattage thing isn't quite as clear-cut as it might seem.
The wattage we refer to when we say something like "A 12v H1 is a 55w
bulb" is just the nominal wattage, not the actual wattage of any
particular brand and type of H1. In fact, each bulb type has a nominal and
maximum-allowable power rating. For H1, the US ratings are 12.8v, 65w max,
1410 lumens +/- 210. The rest-of-world ratings are 13.2v, 68w max, 1550
lumens +/- 15%. Note that this doesn't mean rest-of-world H1s are
different from US H1s; it's just the rating system that's different.

Likewise, the little "Really, we promise, these blue bulbs are street
legal, honest..." slips of paper that come packaged with Silverstar bulbs
(to show to the officer when you're pulled over for having blue lights)
don't list the bulbs' actual luminous output, but rather just list the
nominal output.

Here's manufacturer data for output and lifespan at 13.2v for all the
Osram/Sylvania H1 bulbs. Lifespan is given as Tc, the hour figure at which
63.2 percent of the bulbs have failed. (the Sylvania catalogue YPW pointed
to uses rated average life, technically known as B50, which is the hour
figure at which 50 percent of the bulbs have failed B50 numbers are
lower than Tc numbers).

Osram or Sylvania H1 (regular normal):
1550 lumens, 650 hours

Osram or Sylvania H1 long life:
1460 lumens, 1200 hours

Osram H1 Super (if Sylvania Xtravision line included H1, this'd be it):
1700 lumens, 350 hours

Osram H1 Silver Star (NOT Sylvania Silver Star):
1770 lumens, 350 hours

Osram H1 CoolBlue or Sylvania H1 Silver Star:
1380 lumens, 225 hours

Now, looking over these results, which one would you rather:

(a) Buy?
(b) Sell?

The answer to (a) depends on how well you want to see versus how often to
change the bulb. The answer to (b) is determined by how rich your
company's shareholders want you to be, and is obvious: You want to sell
the bulb with the shortest lifespan and highest price.

DS

 

[jabario]

Likewise, the little "Really, we promise, these blue bulbs are street
legal, honest..." slips of paper that come packaged with Silverstar
bulbs
(to show to the officer when you're pulled over for having blue lights)

don't list the bulbs' actual luminous output, but rather just list the
nominal output.<<

The silverstar bulbs burn white in color, not blue. They appear
brighter than the standard h1 bulbs but not enough to look blue

 

[Daniel J. Stern]

The silverstar bulbs burn white in color, not blue.

Nobody's arguing to the contrary.

 

[y_p_w]

legal, honest..." slips of paper that come packaged with Silverstar
bulbs
(to show to the officer when you're pulled over for having blue lights)

don't list the bulbs' actual luminous output, but rather just list the
nominal output.<<

The silverstar bulbs burn white in color, not blue. They appear
brighter than the standard h1 bulbs but not enough to look blue

C'mon. DS has manufacturer's info stating that the total light output
of the H1 Sylvania Silverstar is less than Sylvania's standard or long
life versions. If I recall, the purplish tint is meant to filter out
some of the yellow light output. It may not be as blue as some bulbs,
but they're more blue than standard bulbs.

I remember some UK auto mag (Auto Express?) did tests where they
used light meters to test for light intensity at various places
(near/sides/far/etc), and the Osram Silverstar got top honors. I
can't seem to find that particular review, but I found the following,
which includes a review of the Osram CoolBlue (same as the Sylvania
Silverstar).

<http://www.zx-12r.org/Motorcycle_info/Information Pages/Auto Express H1 Bulbs Test.htm>

"That 'ultra cool' coating took its toll, causing it to lag behind
more effective, if less trendy, rivals. Despite the coating we had
expected to see this OE supplier higher the rankings. More work
needed."

They seemed to have good reveiws of some of the repackaged Narva
bulbs.

 

[Daniel J. Stern]

C'mon. DS has manufacturer's info stating that the total light output
of the H1 Sylvania Silverstar is less than Sylvania's standard or long
life versions.

It's all a part of my vast one-man conspiracy, don'tchyaknow ;-)

If I recall, the purplish tint is meant to filter out
some of the yellow light output.

Yep. And since the human visual system is most sensitive to
yellow-to-yellow-green light under mesopic (e.g. night driving)
conditions, that's a gutpunch to the amount of usable light from the bulb.

I remember some UK auto mag (Auto Express?) did tests where they
used light meters to test for light intensity at various places
(near/sides/far/etc), and the Osram Silverstar got top honors.

AutoExpress' H4 (=9003, =HB2) bulb tests-

Standard and blue bulbs ("Osram CoolBlue" is what is sold in North America
as "Sylvania Silverstar"):

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product_test/product_test_story.php?id=39920

"Plus 30" high efficiency bulbs ("Osram Super" is what is sold in North
America as "Sylvania Xtravision", while "Philips Premium" is available in
North America as "Wagner BriteLite" and "Candlepower Bright Light"):

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product_test/product_test_story.php?id=39919

"Plus 50" ultra high efficiency bulbs (Osram Silverstar is available in
North America as Candlepower Super Bright Light, or -- like the Philips
VisionPlus -- can be ordered from one of the overseas websites that ships
worldwide. This test doesn't cover some of the newest Plus-50s like the
Narva Rangepower+50):

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/product_test/product_test_story.php?id=39917

The AutoExpress website will let you view up to two articles before it
wants you to "register" -- throwing phony info at it will make it shut up
and let you see more stories.

http://www.zx-12r.org/Motorcycle_info/Information Pages/Auto Express H1 Bulbs Test.htm

This site you linked to is a "grab and repost" of the AutoExpress H1 bulb
tests of a few years ago (AutoExpress no longer has this article
available; they cull them after a year or two regardless of relevance).
Here's the H7 version:

http://www.zx-12r.org/Motorcycle_info/Information Pages/Auto Express H7 Bulbs Test.htm


DS

 

[tom klein]

For those considering upgrading your bulbs here's a rundown on the two
listed in title:

Sylvania Silverstar:

Pros-- White light, good coverage pattern, decent rain performance

Cons-- Longevity - one burned out in about 3 months

Osram Silverstar--

Pros-- light projects far

Cons- same color as regular bulbs, no improvement in rain, overall just
not as great an improvement as the Sylvania bulbs were.

Overall I'd say to choose the sylvania version. I will buy them again
if the osram ones go prematurely.

so, to summarize, these lights: cost more, burn out faster, put out
measurably fewer lumens, and give a colour of light that the human eye
is less sensitive to and less able to focus. their major benefit is
that they allow wannabes to *look* like they've got hid lighting
systems without laying out the cash for a real one.

now, can someone please explain to me why i'm not rushing out to buy them?


........ tom klein

 

[jabario]

You're foolish not to. I have noticed the osram SS do reach far but
it's still a dim light the color of standard bulbs. The Sylvania SS
throws light farther than standard but the white color lights tghe road
and sides better. They appear brighter