pianoman41

After recommendations from several on the board to replace the stock fog 9006 bulbs with Sylvania's Silverstar 4000K bulbs, I changed mine and was very happy with the results. They are whiter, brighter (60W vs stock 51W) and much more effective as fog lights.

Seeing as how happy I was with the fogs, I took the plunge and upgraded the 9005 hi-beams to the Silverstars as well. Again, I'm pleased with the results. First, they are definitely whiter than the stock bulbs. Because they are placed right next to the HIDs, the color difference in *appearance* as you look at the car is still noticeable, but it is much better. The lack of color difference in *projected* light is phenomenal. Against my white garage door, the stock hi-beams are noticeably yellow compared with the HIDs. With the Silverstars, it's hard to tell which light is producing which pattern. *Very* close--probably as good as you can get with a halogen. These bulbs are brighter too--70W vs the stock 60W. I'm not too concerned about the added 10W on the stock wiring. That's only about 17% above stock wattage. These bulbs also definitely light up the road and surroundings better too.

When I get a chance, I will post some pics, both looking at the car and showing the color difference (or lack thereof) on my garage door. I will remove one Silverstar and put a stock back in to have one of each so you can see a side-by-side comparsion of the difference.

Two thumbs up from me.

Davidas

Hoe did you change the driver's side 9005 headlight?

Did you remove the radiator?

pianoman41

You don't have to remove the radiator at all. What's in the way is the radiator reservoir overflow bottle. However, the bottle is just on a big clip that is right in front of the battery. You do not need any tools at at all to remove it or change either bulb. Here's what you do:

1. Unclip the battery ground wire from its spot on top of the reservoir bottle. You're not disconnecting the wire--it's just clamped to the top of the bottle to keep it out of harm's way.

2. Unscrew the cap to the reservoir bottle and remove the cap. There is a hose that attaches to the top of the cap (that goes to the radiator) and another snorkel tube attached to the bottom (that sucks fluid up from the bottle). Leave these attached. I wrapped the snorkel part in paper towel so as not to drip any coolant on anything. You can rest this whole thing on the battery cover while it is attached.

3. Grip the bottle and firmly pull up and forward at the same time (more up than forward). This will remove the bottle from the clip. You may have to hold the battery ground wire out of the way when removing it.

That's it. You now have access to the back of the light and you can remove the bulb. Just reverse the above procedure to reinstall the reservoir bottle. Note that there is nothing underneath the reservoir bottle so when you put it back make sure it snaps into the clip. If it doesn't, it's going to fall below and land on the inside of the splashguard underneath.

It's not hard but just a little time-consuming. Luckily you don't have to change bulbs that often. Both bulbs took me 15 minutes tops (about 2 minutes for the passenger side and 13 for the driver side).

Davidas

Thanks a lot, this is useful.

The Skeptic

...great detailed post. I don't know if this information is common knowledge, but it was news to me and very helpful. Moderators, could this post be a candidate for FAQs?

AcidHorse

Did you have to re-aim the foglights after replacing the bulbs?? Or is it just 'plug and play'?

pianoman41

Nope. Just plug n' play. The whole housing comes out and goes back in and doesn't mess up the alignment any. I was concerned about that too but mine didn't move at all.

samkws

how much are the 4000k fog lights?

briancl_RENAMED

hey pianoman...i wish i read your instructions earlier....i just had installed my highbeams for my cl a little while ago. I had to remove the reservoir bottle too. The problem is you konw how the tube attaches to the hole on the top of the bottle. I think mine was extremely tight, but I accidentally was too rough and ended up disconnecting them. Now when it's on, it's very loose. Is there a way to re-attach so it won't move around. Thanks

-briancl

my2sense

I hope Sylvania comes out with type 1157 Silverstar bulbs. I hate only being able to put a blue or amber bulb in that socket.

Guest

where did you get the Sylvania Silverstars bulbs?

TLatVULS

Any AutoZone or Advance Auto Parts carry them.

pianoman41

Okay, here are the pictures. I tried to make them small file sizes for you poor ba$tards still on 90s dial-up. For all these photos, the HIDs had been on and running for about 20 minutes, so they were fully warmed up. Ditto with the fogs and hi-beams.

First, we have the Sylvania Silverstar fogs, all by their lonesome. As you can see, they look pretty white:


Now here's the Silverstar fogs with the low-beams:



Next we have what the fogs and HIDs look like together projected on my garage door:


Here's the HIDs with the Silverstar hi-beams:


Here's what the HIDs and Silverstar hi-beams look like projected on the door. Don't look at the Acura "ghost" that reflects up top--that deceiving. Look at the hot spot where the hi-beam light is focused. Then look at the area immediately around it and compare it with HIDs. Notice how everything just appears white:


More coming up....

pianoman41

These last two really show the difference in color from the stock hi-beams to the Silverstars. I put the stock hi-beam back into the passenger side lamp for these pictures. When you look at the garage door, don't look so much at the Acura "ghost" the hi-beams make but look at the hot spot where the hi-beam light is focused. Then look at the area directly above it. You can really see how yellow the stocks are. Even looking at the lamp itself, you can see the yellow. Check it out compared to the closeup of the driver's side lamp with the Silverstar in place.

Passeger side with stock hi-beam:


Driver's side with Silverstar:


Both stock and Silverstar with HIDs on the door.


Hope these help!!

rock

Looks good to me! Can't wait to get them

frank828_RENAMED

just wanted to add that my 55watt Hiper bulbs look pretty much identical with those silverstars except that i paid 20 bucks.

btw i have an Accord

Road Rage

I agree - I did mine in about 15 mins, and am pleased with the results.

In my car, I did not have to disconnect anything or unscrew the reservoir - just moved it past the ground cable.

ssk0771

ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN GET THIS IN CERRITOS AREA IN
SO. CAL.?????

SinnedTL

autozone my friend, there are a dime a dozen in S Cali.

fla-tls

Briancl, be very careful not to knock the inside tube of the resevoir bottle off as you remove the bottle. If you do that, the reinstallation will appear to be "loose." (You can wiggle the line coming out of the cap easily.)

If you knock that tube off (like I did - luckily I found that I had done it) your engine will be able to put out overflow coolant, but not be able to take it back in as it cools down.

I would suggest you check it.

briancl_RENAMED

that's exactly what happened! what did you do as a result? i have been driving around like that with the tube loose. please help im freakin out!!! thanks

-briancl

fla-tls

I had actually knock the line off - it was laying down in the bottle. I used a knife and a needlenose pliers to get it out. Then, I reattached it and everything was tight. It's a good thing you caught it. It could definitely cause cooling problems later.

I noticed that your post was on the 12th. If this is what you did, definitely check the level in the radiator too, as the level in the overflow bottle will now be meaningless. It's probably quite low.

Good catch!

chuchu

Hey pianoman41...nice pics. I wanted to find out how you were able to turn the fogs on without having the headlights on. How hard(or easy) is that to do?

ScotTLTypeS

Pretty easy. I just did it yesterday in about 20 minutes...

See this FAQ