Where to get brighter headlight bulbs

You can buy brighter headlight bulbs but you’ll probably be disappointed with the results

Several bulb manufacturers claim their high-end headlight bulbs are brighter than the cheaper bulbs. But the truth is, they’re not that much brighter, they cost 5-10 times more than traditional bulbs, and they burn out quickly.

Are Sylvania Silverstar headlight bulbs brighter?

Sylvania has said in the past that their Silverstar bulbs are brighter and they charge a pretty penny for their bulbs. But their claims that Silverstar headlight bulbs “are brighter, project a wider beam and allow better sight down the road” got them into a heap of trouble back in 2011— $30 million dollars worth of trouble.

On September 22, 2011 New Jersey resident Imran Chaudhri sued Sylvania for misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation and breach of warranty, as well a deception for omitting material regarding the much shorter lifespan of Sylvania’s Silverstar bulbs (less than half the life of an ordinary headlight bulb).

Chaudhri claimed that Sylvania’s studies were rigged because they didn’t test their bulbs against other in similar testing conditions. Further, he claimed that Sylvania misrepresented the performance characteristics of Sylania’s premium headlights and used those misrepresentations on their packaging and in marketing campaigns to encourage consumers to upgrade their headlights to Sylvania’s higher priced bulbs.

On July 16, 2014, Sylvania settled the lawsuit and agreed to pay $30 million in penalties.

Is brighter better?

No. Recent tests by Consumer Reports found that whiter and brighter headlight bulbs do not allow you to see further down the road. Viewing distance is limited more by the size and shape of the headlight reflector and projector lens than the light’s color or brightness.

Can any bulb produce 85-watts or light using only 55-watts of power?

No. That’s a gimmick. Some bulb companies apply a blue or purple filter coating on the bulb to produce a whiter light by filtering out some of the red spectrum. But make no mistake about it, the filtered coating actually reduces the bulb’s light output. It’s no different than putting a blue filter over your camera lens.

Whiter appears brighter than ordinary headlight bulbs because it tricks your brain into thinking it’s brighter. Whiter like helps you see more contrast, the light from those bulbs is not brighter.

Blue headlight bulbs actually produce more glare

Blue or purple light will never help improve your night vision. Just the opposite, blue or purple light actually reduces your night time vision because the bulbs produce more glare. In fact, laboratory studies prove that blue and purple tinted bulbs produce 50% more glare than clear bulbs.

Retrofit LED bulbs are no different than blue or purple tinted halogen bulbs

It is optically impossible for an LED bulb to produce the proper beam pattern when retrofitted into a halogen headlight (reflector OR projector style). LED retrofits appear brighter only because they produce more glare. But they actually throw less light on the road.

©, 2023 Rick Muscoplat