My daughter has an '04 Pontiac Grand Am and is not happy with the headlights (too dim). What should I look for? Seem to me that I did some research several years ago when she complained, but forgot what I found. I thought some of the brighter bulbs did not last as long. What is your guys experience. I'm all ears.

The brighter bulbs (Sylvania Silverstars) I put in my Miata literally died every 3 to 4 months- total waste of money, IMO, but it might have been caused by my uber stiff suspension too.

Check and make sure that the plastic isn't fogging up and becoming opaque from age and blocking the light. If so, you can buff them back clear with some 2000 grit and a high speed buffer. If not, you might want to invest in an HID conversion kit, but for the love of God don't buy one of those 8,000,000,000 Kelvin kits that the ricers following me always have. It's like being chased by the fracking sun.

TS is right, the Silverstars die soon. Also, giving the headlight lens a treatment does wonders. I've got the GE Nighthawks, after researching, I found that they are almost as bright as the Silverstars, offer a normal headlight color (more yellowish than bluish white), and last longer. I got them buy one get one free at Amazon w/free shipping. I haven't had them long enough to testify about how long they last, but they are definitely a nice improvement for not a lot of dough.

I get more light and the same 3-4 months from low-end Chinese bulbs from ebay. I suggest cleaning the lenses or finding a Xenon conversion kit.

Strange, my Silverstars have been in over a year in my FWB, and it has a brutal aftermarket suspension as well. Another option is simply increasing the guage of wiring from the battery to the headlights.

I just got a HID kit from SharpHID.com for my Brougham and I like it. Mine is 6000k, which is a little bit past pure white (around 5000K) and has a very, very slight tinge of blue. Most factory kits are 4300k. I will get some pictures up later. These suckers are BRIGHT. I had to re-aim the headlights afterward but now they light up the road at least 3 times better than the cheepo halogen bulbs that were in there before.

I have had Silverstars in my Fleetwood for over 6 months now with no problems at all. As long as you take precautions and use gloves so you don't touch the bulb they should last just as long as regular halogen bulbs.

4300k HID's are some of the brightest lights you can get. I'm getting some 5000k for my Deville, 35w for low beam, 55w for high.

The rule of thumb is: lower bulb temperature= more lumens, and vice versa.

Lenses are clear as glass. Maybe I'll look for some Nighthawks and see if they make her happy.

Lenses are clear as glass. Maybe I'll look for some Nighthawks and see if they make her happy.

Try the Nighthawks, if they don't make her happy then I'm afraid you'll have to go the HID route.

I am a HID fanatic, but I really don't condone putting them into vehicles that were not designed for them to begin with because of the risk of dazzling other oncoming traffic. With that being said, some of these cars have such SHITTY factory headlamps you don't really have a choice. It's either smash into someone because YOU didn't see them, or possibly risking a collision for the guy on the OTHER side of the road because he saw your too bright headlights so far away he couldn't see anything else. I'd rather take the chance on the other guy rather than myself hitting something, so I'd go ahead and drop them in.

The trick to properly installing an HID conversion is to try to fabricate/find clear lenses. The standard halogen lenses are usually faceted use the most of what light is available, but with HID's that causes the light to scatter, because they don't need faceting.

The trick to properly installing an HID conversion is to try to fabricate/find clear lenses. The standard halogen lenses are usually faceted use the most of what light is available, but with HID's that causes the light to scatter, because they don't need faceting.

Actually that is a misconception. Look at 90 percent of the cars on the road today, they already HAVE clear lenses so that's no big deal. You are correct that clear lenses assist in not FURTHER scattering the light, but the science of HID actually comes down to the REFLECTOR that is BEHIND the HID burner. In halogen lights, the reflectors have much wider "sections" to them, while HID headlamps have very tightly spaced reflective "filets" or sections that keep the reflected light TIGHTLY focused and with a sharp cut-off.

In addition to THAT there are also distinct differences between HID projectors and Halogen projectors. You can get a similarly disastrous effect throwing HIDs into a vehicle with projectors designed for halogen.

To make matters even -more- confusing, you have cars like Chad's Mercedes and the 1999 Acura TL that *do* have faceted headlamps AND ARE HID. So having facets also does not necessarily equal poor HID performance.

4300k HID's are some of the brightest lights you can get. I'm getting some 5000k for my Deville, 35w for low beam, 55w for high.

The rule of thumb is: lower bulb temperature= more lumens, and vice versa.

Dude, go with the 6000K, it is worth it. Everywhere I drive at night stuff lights up PURE white. What I see is pure white but to someone coming at me the lights have a slightly blue tinge. You won't even need the 55W ones, 35 is so much brighter than the stock halogens it is unbelievable. Once I get my LED situation I will make a thread in the appearance section about both.

GE Nighthawks period
I have Silverstar Ultras in the ETC but thats cuz of my discount at Advance I can deal with them burning out
Nighthawks are much better imho

Try the Nighthawks, if they don't make her happy then I'm afraid you'll have to go the HID route.
HID's ain't gonna happen..................Period. I got enough votes for night hawks. I'll go out and see what I can find locally tomorrow.

EDIT:
Started looking online and am getting confused. Did you guys replace low, high or both? What should I expect to pay? I'm seeing prices all over the place.

I only replaced my low beams. I use those 99% of the time so no need to waste money on high beams that work well enough. Silverstars are $40 a pair, so I assume the Nighthawks are comparable.

Yeah, I only replaced my low beams. The best price I could find was $19.99/per bulb, but with a promotion on amazon for buy one get one, and for some reason, even though it net to $19.99 for TWO bulbs, I still got free shipping. Nighthawks also have a "sport" bulb which has the end dipped in blue paint to give it that more whitish color if that's what you're going for, I didn't opt for that.

I think she just want's low beams (after I asked her) and is looking for a little brighter light, not sport I guess. I'm having a hell of a time trying to figure out which ones she needs. I'll go have another look at Amazon. Thanks for all the advice.

I think she just want's low beams (after I asked her) and is looking for a little brighter light, not sport I guess. I'm having a hell of a time trying to figure out which ones she needs. I'll go have another look at Amazon. Thanks for all the advice.

What's with the HID hate? You just don't want to do the work the install requires or you have something against Xenons in general?

Xenons are rather expensive and time consuming compared with simply changing the light bulbs. Plus you have to go through the hassle of re-aiming the headlights. However, nothing else compares to them. These are the ones I just put in my car. I will get some night pics later.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn17/Saber2580/My%20Cars/1990%20Brougham/IMG_0264.jpg

Light-output-wise, xenons are no more or less brighter than high end halogens in a clean lens. The acronym "HID" is becoming sort of like "billet", "CNC machined", "CAI", and "track tested" in the aftermarket world. Yes, a tad of blue in the spectrum is distinctive, but does it put more light on the road? No. It is Euro, bling, whatever. Which is less expensive to install, maintain and has longer life ??

Want more light on the road in suburban/rural night driving ??? Replace those tacky fogs with a pair of Hella 1,000,000 candlepower pencil beam driving lights. Just don't ever get caught with them turned on. Those puppies make your HID's look like a BIC cigarette lighter.

HIDs trust me they work great

Light-output-wise, xenons are no more or less brighter than high end halogens in a clean lens. The acronym "HID" is becoming sort of like "billet", "CNC machined", "CAI", and "track tested" in the aftermarket world. Yes, a tad of blue in the spectrum is distinctive, but does it put more light on the road? No. It is Euro, bling, whatever. Which is less expensive to install, maintain and has longer life ??

Want more light on the road in suburban/rural night driving ??? Replace those tacky fogs with a pair of Hella 1,000,000 candlepower pencil beam driving lights. Just don't ever get caught with them turned on. Those puppies make your HID's look like a BIC cigarette lighter.

Yea I have to respectfully disagree here. I have been in vehicles with POOR quality Xenon engineering that do in fact have lower lumen output than a PROPER comparable halogen vehicle, but NO halogen that is *LEGAL* for street use, has EVER eclipsed the length, clarity and visibility afforded by PROPER high intensity discharge headlamps. Those in the BMW 3 Series, my prior Range Rover and my 7 Series for example provided some of the best highway lighting I've ever experienced. Why? Because the science behind Xenon as a motor vehicle aide came about due to its characteristically TRUE sunlight like color temperature and coverage.

The WORST HIDs ever placed on a vehicle were sadly America's first time at the Xenon bat. The Xenons in the 1996 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC were SO blue, that they barely did the job of lighting up the road ahead. Unfortunately, the HALOGENS in the same car are SO terrible, that one of the most popular aftermarket modifications to this generation of Mark VIII is still the factory HIDs, even given their extremely finnicky nature due to being the only A/C powered ballast design before or since their introduction. Every Xenon design since their inception (including the Xenons in the subsequent 97 and 98 Marks) has been a standard, DC powered design.

Of course they work........but do they put any more light on the road ?? No. Every country on earth, except maybe Somalia and New Jersey, has automobile headlight candlepower (candela) output laws. You build a car here or bring an overseas model to the U.S. and the lighting has to meet DOT specs, not German Autobahn specs.

Of course they work........but do they put any more light on the road ?? No. You are very wrong. Candlepower doesnt help us here. Were not interested in how much light is produced at the source. We're interested in how much light will fall on an object. HID's produce much more useable light down the road. There is no argument to be had here.

Actually, HID lights put out about 3x more light for the amount of power used. Therefore, you can get some performance halogen bulbs that will be as bright as a 35W hid setup, but there is no way you can get halogen bulbs as bright as a 55w HID system. The HID lights in your cars are the same ones used in street lamps and road signs, they are just tweaked to put out a different light spectrum. If you want super bright off road lights (and have money to burn), you get some KCHilites 70W HID pods.

The reason I like my HID lights is not because they let me see further down the road (and possibly blind other drivers), but they put a lot more light down onto the ground in front of me. They are also much easier on my eyes because they are closer to the color of daylight instead of that nasty yellow produced by conventional halogen bulbs.


http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn17/Saber2580/My%20Cars/1990%20Brougham/IMG_0272.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn17/Saber2580/My%20Cars/1990%20Brougham/IMG_0274.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn17/Saber2580/My%20Cars/1990%20Brougham/IMG_0283.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn17/Saber2580/My%20Cars/1990%20Brougham/IMG_0276.jpg


However, I will admit this picture is pure Euro Bling.


http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn17/Saber2580/My%20Cars/1990%20Brougham/IMG_0281.jpg

HID's ain't gonna happen Guys. What I have been able to figure out is that there seems to be 2 types that fit. 880NH/BP and 9007NH/BP (both also have a BP2). No one says what the hell the difference is. :banghead:. Guess I'll have to go to Walmart and check them out.

Want more light on the road in suburban/rural night driving ??? Replace those tacky fogs with a pair of Hella 1,000,000 candlepower pencil beam driving lights. Just don't ever get caught with them turned on. Those puppies make your HID's look like a BIC cigarette lighter.

Sub, many, many moons ago I had a '69 Riviera and I put a set of DC8 landing lights in place of the high beams. If you where in front of me I could singe the hair on the back of your neck. If you where coming at me, I could permanently burn your retinas. Best part is, they where plug & play.

HID's ain't gonna happen Guys. What I have been able to figure out is that there seems to be 2 types that fit. 880NH/BP and 9007NH/BP (both also have a BP2).

I have never heard of an 880 type automotive bulb but I do know that 9007 is a very common one. Go with that. In the meantime I am going to see if I can find some old aircraft lights. :shhh:

Ahhh, you're all sissies.

Just get two of these (http://www.laserglow.com/index.php?lrs457), mount them behind a Fresnel lens or one of these (http://www.dragonlasers.com/catalog/Laser-Beam-Expander-p-16332.html), and you're good to go. Side bonus - after about a month, you'll be the only one in your town who can still see well enough to drive at all. Unless you pull up to a storefront with really shiny glass at night - if that happens, just think of how much money you'll save on gas+maintenance taking the bus!

HIDs actually do produce more light then halogens, because xenon, when ionized, glows pretty intensly. a 50w Halogen bulb can produce about 1200 lumens, while a 55w Xenon can produce over 5000 lumens depending on bulb temperature. Also, the average life of an HID bulb is over 2000 hours, while most halogens can barley last over 1000, because HID's have no filament, so they can't "burn out" in the traditional sense of the term.

Also, the blue tint on HID's is only a styling cue that certain people like. 4300k Xenon bulbs produce a slightly yellow light, and 5000k HID's produce almost pure white.

The way my eyes interpret darkness, halogens work better for me. With HIDs, my pupils close up and make it harder to see things just outside of where the bright light is cast. With halogens, my pupils open up and I can usually see deer. Projector halogens seem to work best for me.

You need a 9007 bulb Ranger.

The way my eyes interpret darkness, halogens work better for me. With HIDs, my pupils close up and make it harder to see things just outside of where the bright light is cast. With halogens, my pupils open up and I can usually see deer. Projector halogens seem to work best for me.

There is only one explanation: You are blind.

Well, now I am gonna make myself into an ass. I just removed my entire HID system because one of the bulbs broke last night when I hit a bump and this morning I noticed moisture condensation on the inside of the other lens (it has been very rainy here). I got me some Silverstars from work and am putting them in right now. Factory HID = Great, Aftermarket = Teh Suck.

There is only one explanation: You are blind.

That's why we're friends.

http://www.hecklerspray.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/goonies_sloth.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn17/Saber2580/My%20Cars/1990%20Brougham/IMG_0276.jpg



No offense, but I would smash your headlights with a tire iron at a stoplight if you rode behind me for more than 2 minutes.

Honestly- if you're so blind that you need candlepower equivalent to the sun blasting out the front of your car in order to see at night, turn in your driver license or hire a chauffeur.

No offense, but I would smash your headlights with a tire iron at a stoplight if you rode behind me for more than 2 minutes.

Honestly- if you're so blind that you need candlepower equivalent to the sun blasting out the front of your car in order to see at night, turn in your driver license or hire a chauffeur.

Don't worry, I have eliminated them already. That picture was taken before I had a chance to aim them. I spent a few hours trying to get them aimed right but I couldn't get it to work, so I took them out. I absolutely hate when people have incorrectly aimed lights and when people drive with their high beams on, with the latter of the two being my biggest pet peeve. I came to a full on stop (55mph to 0) in the middle of US Rt.30 once because the asshat behind me was driving with his high beams on. I now have Silverstars in there.

You need a 9007 bulb Ranger.
Yeah, I figured that out today when we went to 3 different places looking for them. That is apparently a high/low beam bulb. I was under the impression that she had a different bulb for each. All I could find was Sylvania & Philips. No G.E.'s. Guess she'll have to get them at Amazon.

Don't worry, I have eliminated them already. That picture was taken before I had a chance to aim them. I spent a few hours trying to get them aimed right but I couldn't get it to work, so I took them out. I absolutely hate when people have incorrectly aimed lights and when people drive with their high beams on, with the latter of the two being my biggest pet peeve. I came to a full on stop (55mph to 0) in the middle of US Rt.30 once because the asshat behind me was driving with his high beams on. I now have Silverstars in there.Have you considering retrofitting projectors into the housing? That way, youd have a DOT legal cutoff. The headlights still wouldnt be legal, afaik, but at least then you could run HID's to the same tolerances new cars have.

I'm not retrofitting anything. It's gonna be a plug & play bulb or she's gonna have to live with what the factory gave her. :)

Have you considering retrofitting projectors into the housing? That way, youd have a DOT legal cutoff. The headlights still wouldnt be legal, afaik, but at least then you could run HID's to the same tolerances new cars have.

That would be a lot of work on my car. The headlamp housings are some heavy gauge metal and the lenses are glass, not plastic. Although it would be amazing, its just not practical and unless I could keep the factory lenses, which would scatter the light so I couldn't, it would look wrong during the day.