DNPhotography

anyone know the what kind of bulb the DRL are? i would like to replace them with SYLVANIA SilverStars if possible. not really digging the yellowish lights.

DNPhotography

aha sorry. was too lazy to go and look but i found it. 9005.

sasair

Yeah I'd like to replace the fogs to match the headlights more. Not really concerned with the DRL/Highbeams as much, but I'd probably replace those too. get the Silverstar Ultras if you can. Little whiter, little brghter than the standard silverstars, they claim they last longer too.

DNPhotography

i want to replace the fogs with PIAA ion crystals (yellow). i was taking a look at it today and it looks very hard to get to. oh btw i replaced the DRL already with the regualr silver stars. i couldnt get the ultras.

sasair

How do they look compared to stock?

I was thinking about getting the ion crystals, but not sure I wanted to go with the yellow. I use my fog lights more just for extra light than for fog. they especially help if you have the front sides tinted.

DNPhotography

honestly there is little difference. but i have yet to really look at it. ill take pics and post them up later if the weather permits here. its raining now.

gomboy60

Does anyone know the part number on those light bulb and how hard or easy it iis to replace them??


Thanks in advance..

DNPhotography

the day time lights are #9005 and they are simple to replace.

the fog lights are H11 and they look like they are hard to get to.

sasair

autobarn.com sells the 9005 silverstars and the silverstar ultras, they also sell the H11 PIAA ion crystals as well as the xtreme whites.

I think alot of retail stores like autozone type stores sell the silverstars too. Not sure about the ultras.

9005 silverstars are about $20 each
9005 silverstar ultras are about $50/pair

the PIAAs are more expensive.

I can scan the instructions for replacing the foglights if anyone needs them.

DNPhotography

please do! TIA

sasair

You're not gonna like it.....

I just looked in the service manual. To replace the fog lights, you have to remove the front bumper. It involves 6 screws, 13 clips, and two people to remove the bumper. After that the foglights are a piece of cake!

I'll post the instructions tomorrow...

gomboy60

Thanks for your work and looking forward to the post.

cy

flags

Sounds like a great mod. I think the DRL's would look better in the same bright white as the xenons.

sasair

Here's the instructions for replacing the fog bulbs. Its in two parts because in the fog light replacement instructions they just say "remove front bumper" which is another set of instructions..... I didn't have my scanner hooked up so I just snapped some photos of the manual. I left the images pretty large to make sure you could read them.





Oh and might I suggest laying a big blanket under the front of your car so that you can place the bumper down when you remove it without scratching it up....

Also you obviously don't need to remove the front bumper absorber in order to change the fog light bulbs....

flags

Sasair:
Thanks for the detailed instructions. You really are an asset to this board. Was replacing the DRL bulbs a simple swap out? Easy access & removal of old bulbs?

sasair

I haven't done the DRL bulbs, but those are just your high beam bulbs so just like changing a standard halogen headlight bulb.

Disconnect the connector.
turn the bulb
pull it out
stick the new one in
turn it
reconnect it
done!
(be careful not to touch the glass of the bulb... if you do wipe it off good. oil on the bulb will make it burn out quick)

sasair

Oh by the way, there's a rebate on silverstars if you buy before january 31 of 07. $5 on a pair of silverstars and $10 on a pair of silverstar ultras.

gomboy60

Is this rebate from the same place, autobarn.com???

Thanks

sasair

I think the rebate is through sylvania, but I'll have to double check that. I have the rebate form on my computer at home. I'll post it up later tonight.

schuchmn

OK, I give up. What makes a SliverStar different than any other bulb?

sasair

Basically the color of the light. The silverstars are going to be closer to what is coming out of the HID headlights. Take a look at the lights on the RDX. the headlights are HID, the fog lights are a standard halogen bulb. Huge difference in color. The silverstars are a standard halogen bulbs, but the color of the light is whiter. Silverstars are up to 4000K on the color temperature scale, while standard halogen bulbs burn at about 3000K.

Sylvania claims that they are the whitest halogen bulb that is 100% legal in the US.

DNPhotography

thanks Sasair very much appreciate it.

sasair

Here's the rebate form:

http://www.autobarn.com/rebate/sylva...starrebate.pdf

gomboy60

Thanks again.


cy

schuchmn

Gotcha. Thanks -- good to know.

MJ-bos

I'm a dope - I should have put one in and compared (dooh!) ... I may do that tomorrow.

I now have Silverstar Ultras as my drl. I'm not seeing a huge difference - they are still pretty yellowish (again ... should have left one in to compare).

It was about 2 minutes total to swap them out - no big deal at all.

I'll post pix for a side by side if I can get to it tomorrow (or next week).

-mj

DNPhotography

yeah hardly any difference. i returned the silver stars and got PIAA Ion Crystals. i like the deep yellow alot better (DRL). now im just waiting on my PIAA fog light bulbs (Ion crystals yellow) to come in. it looks as though you can reach the bulbs from the top of the engine bay.

sasair

Hold up, you put ion crystals in your DRLs? Not sure on the hawaii state laws, but I know in VA you wouldn't pass state inspection with yellow high beams. I bet it looks cool as DRLs though...

crazymjb

The DRLs are the same as the highs? I thought the DRLs are the inner most bulbs? If not, what is the number for the Silverstar brights, and do the brights complement or take over for the HIDs when they are activated? Also, anyone know if the Bi-Xenon projector setup from the TL would fit in the RDX (and of course wired into the brights, and have the normal brights take the place of the DRLs)? I wouldn't do this as the projectors are 300 a piece, but it would be nice to have Bi-Xenons.

Mike

sasair

The DRLs are the same as the high beam bulbs. The inner most bulb of the three bulbs is the turn signal/parking lights. The high beam/DRL bulb is a 9005 or HB3 bulb.

crazymjb

Aright... So I assume it receives only partial power when functioning as a DRL?

Mike

sasair

Exactly correct.

DNPhotography

really??? haha i never knew that the DRL doubled as the highbeams. hmm, at the time of inspection i can just swap it out.

chyllintsx

man, when i was reading this thread, i was excited in the beginning, hoping that the DRL would be whiter... and then two people said theres no diff haha... ionno what to get

anyone know if the PIAA ion crystal for the fogs are xenon matched? or are Hoen's better?

sasair

PIAA ion crystals are dark yellow color meant for fog light use. PIAA xtreme whites are the ones that are closer to HID.

chyllintsx

ive bought PIAA xtreme white bulbs for a couple of friends for their bday for their fogs... ive seen it and i dont think its xenon matching at all.... and i just bought a set on ebay for 64 bux... intending for DRL use.... hope they are better then the silver star ultra's... ill be sure to take comparison pics and all...

so do u know whats a good xenon matching bulb for the fogs randy?

crazymjb

No incandescent bulb will appear the match a 4300K HID when placed side by side.

Mike

chyllintsx

thanks wat im afraid of... i was thinking of doing HID fogs in the future

sasair

agreed, nothing is going to match perfectly. even if you retrofit another HID system in there it likely won't match the factory HIDs perfectly. The question here really is how you can get the closest by just replacing a bulb, or what good HID retrofit kits are out there that we could use?

Or you could always go the way DNphotography went and switch to a different color altogether. Of course if you use your highbeams alot, the yellow bulbs probably aren't very effective.

For the time being, I think the best way to go is getting the closest bulbs you can get. And if you want to stay legal, it would likely be the silverstars. I have had the PIAA xtreme whites in my car before and have had to change them to pass inspection here in VA. You can get bulbs that have higher color temps, but higher color temps don't mean whiter light or brighter light or more light. in fact it starts to fall off on the amount of visible light the high color temp you go. right around that 3500k-4500k is the ideal range for color temp and lumens for headlights.

chyllintsx

yea, i got the PIAA for the DRL .... but i think im gunna get Hoen's for the fogs... i had them on my tsx... but they cracked my fog lenses... so i dunno... thats y i want HIDs but they might me crazy blue!!