They are H7s. However, DO NOT confuse those cheapo American SilverStars with the real thing Osram Silverstars only available overseas.

You all need to read the tech articles at danielsternlighting.com

All this mumbo jumbo about Xeon Like, super white, etc. is a bunch of crap. All those lights are DULLER, not Brighter than standard, Halogen bulbs. The color shifts are for all those Xeon wannabes ... bling

if you want to SEE better, you got to go to higher wattage bulbs, but if you do, you will most likely be breaking lighting laws in your state.

You cant change the laws of physics by painting a little bit of blue color on the lens of a bulb ...

 

Thanks for the site, I'll do that.

 

doesn't Osram have supposed 55W + 50% bulbs?.....I've never tried those, but I did put 65W H7's in my high beams and they are a bit brighter than stock, maybe...I was underwhelmed by the improvement and wouldn't mind replacing the lows and highs with definite brighter bulbs......as anyone tried the +50% bulbs?

 

I have to jump in here and say my Hella 500's are just as bright as the PIAA's but nowhere as costly. My Hella's are around $75 from NAPA I made my own brackets out of aluminum and rivited to bumper. I control when I need them I use them by themselves w or w/o highbeams. I prefer this to just high beams. I can turn on low beams, factory fogs and my hella's and it's daytime again. I also replaced my stk h7's with Silver Star h7's. They were $36 at Advance AP.

The more light the merrier

 

Physics aside, I can see much better than I could two weeks ago when I first started this thread. Thanks to everyone who chimed in. I'm still thinking about the PIAA yellow ion bulbs... but I don't know. The silverstars are a huge improvement over what I had.

 

They are NOT brighter. See http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...uperwhite.html

and I quote:
\
"This kind of light has been shown in rigidly-controlled scientific studies to create almost 50% more glare than untinted light from a bulb with clear glass. But there's no 50% increase in seeing to go along with the extra glare; there's no increase in seeing at all, and in most cases there is a moderate reduction in actual seeing light. More glare, less seeing: Everybody loses."

I have been told repeatedly by speed shops that going with those +50 lights get you LESS light on the road. Its all marketing hype but your free to spend your money ...

 

[QUOTE=jessminiS]I have to jump in here and say my Hella 500's are just as bright as the PIAA's but nowhere as costly. /QUOTE]

Hella is a quality company thats been around for years and years.

PIAA is a Japanese company started in the 60s.

It amazing how so many MINI owners dislike, lets say, products from over there but are quick to buy their products when they suit their needs. PIAA lights on a MINI is kind of an oxymoron.

 

I was a big fan of Hella products for years. But Hella quality is nothing like it used to be. It's a shame, actually.

I have the PIAA 540s on my car. I liked the idea of being able to get everything I needed in one kit from one manufacturer. The only thing I did different was to replace the "Xtreme White" bulbs that came with the lights with some Narva H3 bulbs. Made all of the difference in the world.

 

I use Hella 500's on mine. They are wired do I can use them on lo or hi beam. I like to see and like you drive in a rural area sometimes. These are really bright and do a nice job even better than the xenon's sometimes. I put the sylvania silver stars in my hi beam sockets and it helps a little. Wish the xenons were for hi beams also. I use all the lights when I have to to gaim maximum effect. I may add 2 more yellow 500's in the future.

Light the night

See my gallery for pics

Also see thread Help I need more light!

 

Where is everyone putting the switches, can you add a toggle switch on the OEM bar in the knockout? How hard is it to get the wire fo rthe new lights through the firewall? Does a four light bar draw enough power to cause problems for the electricals?

Sorry for all the questions but I would really like to add a four light bar up front for the additional driving lights but I know you can make a mess of it very easily too.