Piaa(3800k) vs. Silver stars(4000k)

[CraigJones]

I have a set of Piaa 9007 Platinum super whites on for about six months now. They arebetter then stock but one just burned out today. I thinking of trying Sylvania silverstars. They have a slightly higher rating of 4000k compared to Piaas that have a rating of 3800k and they are about have the price. Has anyone tried both yet ? Thanks

 

[PKleine]

I installed the Silver Stars a couple of months ago. They are somewhat brighter than the stock lights. Never tried the piaa's.

Hope this helps...



PK

 

[JMarhofke]

I've tried both the piaa's and the silverstars. In my opinion the piaa's are over priced and not worth the money. Very happy

with the silverstars. Also found a set of silverstars on e-bay for

half the price of local stores. Good luck.



Jim

 

[HENCHR]

I have used both the PIAA and the Silverstar bulbs, the Silverstar is just as good as the PIAA and cheaper too. Only trouble is I can't seem to get them to last beyond five or six months in any of my cars.

 

[DWordinger]

The 3800K and 4000K are not "ratings," but color temperatures. When you heat a piece of iron, it first glows a dull red, then yellow, and as it gets hotter it eventually turns a bright blue. A 3800 K lamp looks like the ideal laboratory standard "black body" heated to 3800 degrees Kelvin. For comparison, older sealed beam headlights were about 2500K and halogen lamps are about 2900K.



There are two ways to get the hotter 3800K and 4000K color temperatures. The lamps can be designed to operate hotter, but that shortens its life span. Physical constraints prohibit actually building and operating lamps at 3800 degrees, but PIAA and Silverstar may be hotter than other lamps which would give them a color shift in that direction. The other think is to filter out some of the longer wavelengths (reds and yellows) so the lamp looks hotter and whiter even though it is putting out less light.



A whiter lamp can look brighter physiologically even if it actually puts out less light (fewer lumens). A higher wattage lamp can start with more light, filter out some of it, end up with the same lumen output as a smaller lamp, and appear brighter because of the color shift.