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Best drop in headlights
Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 1:12 pm
by brendo907
Im wanting to upgrade my headlights in my 05 awd vibe, awd. I had used the night star or what ever they were called, really bright but burnt out in 3 months or so. I have in right now some 90/100 watt bulbs but they dont seem to put the light in the right places, more of just bright light but thats what you get for 6$ from china. they also kinda do a monotone gray which suchs for pitch black alaskan winters. SO what do you guys use? i dont feel like doing hid or anything just drop in bulbs. Thanks
Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 5:36 pm
by vibenvy
I would remove the high wattage bulbs from your Vibe immediately because they will fry your headlight harnesses.
From what I've seen on here, Philips Xtreme Power bulbs are supposed to be pretty good.
I personally have used Sylvania SilverStar, SilverStar Ultra and SilverStar zXe bulbs all with great results. They've all lasted me well over a year in three different vehicles. I buy them on eBay though because they are much cheaper compared to Auto Zone, Walmart, etc.
You may want to try adjusting your headlights too. Alot of times if your headlights are misaligned, no matter what bulbs you use, your vision at night will not be as good as it should be.
Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2014 6:42 pm
by SomeYahoo
+1 for Philips Xtreme Power bulbs. I thought my lenses were too hazy, but when a headlight went out I swapped for these and it was (literally) night and day difference.
Still need to polish the lenses, but that's waiting for a nicer day. Wet sanding in freezing weather is no fun at all!!!
Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2014 3:39 pm
by cptnsolo77
I bought a set of Phillips xtremes, but they didnt last long at all. The light output was was much better than the stock bulbs though. At this point I just maintain the headlight lenses & keep the stock bulbs in. Brighter bulbs have a shorter life span. I tried silverstars as well & they didnt last long at all. I dont wanna replace bulbs once a year

Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:50 am
by Salsa Guy
Any of those bulbs it's important no to touch the glass and you should wear clean rubber gloves. Any oil or dirt you get on them will shorten the life span greatly. If you need to clean them use alcohol and a clean paper towel.
Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 5:03 pm
by cptnsolo77
I know.

I usually wear latex gloves when im changing bulbs & even with the gloves I avoid touching the bulb.
Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 6:19 pm
by NoRemorse249
i want to know how on earth are you getting 28 mpg on highway with ac on? i get down in the teens with ac on no matter where i am. and anyone know the best bright blue headlights? i love that soft blue glow they put out.
Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:33 pm
by cptnsolo77
Thats actually combined city & highway. I get closer to 30 MPG when I drive stricktly highway. Teens seems awefully low.
Check a couple of things :
- tire pressure. I run all tires @ 37psi
-clean your maf sensor & throttle body
-i gained probably about 1 MPG with my K&N filter.
- how do you drive ?? Im very easy on the car & use cruise whenever possible.
Hopefully that might help you

Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:45 pm
by sideshowalan
My vibe would eat up anything except basic sylvania halogens in 6 months.
Tried Xtravisions and phillips extremes a few times before using the basics.
Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 6:11 pm
by NoRemorse249
i do know that i have low tire pressure when im driving i can test it by waving the wheel back and forth rapidly and it seems to kind of float like the tires are just rolling under neath the rim. so i have been meaning to fix that but cant find my tpg. i drive kinda hard on it. but its been driven hard since the day it was bought my grandmother used to scare the hell out of me on the paper route. ill drive nice one day and see what it really gets.
Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2014 2:43 pm
by Doug14
I have Sylvania zXe's in mine, I like the blue reflection they make on the headlight housing, and the light on the road is pretty white, but looking at them they still seem kind of yellow. Especially if my fogs are on which are 6000k LEDs that are tinted so are kinda white-blue/grey. Anyways those are my favourite bulbs I've come across so far, but also am interested in a more white-blue appearance.
Re: Best drop in headlights
Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 7:40 pm
by ColonelPanic
Still have the same headlight bulbs in the Vibe that it left NUMMI with some 4,163 days ago. A map light and a new bulb for the CHMSL is all it's had replaced.
Anyway, I have noticed the headlamps are getting quite dim. There's the typical yellowing of the housings, which I polished the heck out of today. But I'm contemplating throwing a new set of bulbs in there to see if that helps. Haven't decided what to put in there yet but it will probably be more along the lines of a standard bulb. If I can find some sort of "upgrade" that doesn't have any sort of coating on the bulb, I may investigate.
When I had my Vibe back in '03, the first thing I did was throw $ilver$tars in, which was a costly mistake as their longevity was abysmal.