Sylvania SilverStar zXe’s, The Best Headlight Bulbs

Slyvania SilverStar zXe
Slyvania SilverStar zXe

As the days are getting shorter with winter upon us, I am sure you are using your headlights more. Inevitably one of your headlight bulbs is going to burn out or be on it's last legs, putting you in the market for new headlights. When you take a trip down to the auto parts store you should consider upgrading to some better bulbs, like the Sylvania Silverstar zXe's.

Sylvania was nice enough to send me a set of zXe's for my 96′ Honda Accord. Some fans of Adam's Auto Advice might remember I also wrote a review of the Slyvania SilverStar Ultras.  (Also see my review of the Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit.)  After using the zXe's I wouldn't bother with the Ultras because the zXe's are hands-down better.

This was made obvious one night while driving to a friend's house in Northern Baltimore county. The roads to his house are small, twisty, and lack streetlights where walls of trees line the side of the roads. This forced me to rely on the zXe's. With the brights on, they effortlessly lit the way for my Honda Accord. I had driven this same route with the SilverStar Ultras which were great, but definitely not nearly as good as the zXe's. The dark roads were simply no match for the light that the zXe's produced.

Another night, driving home on a dark Baltimore city street, I noticed two people walking in the middle of the street. I mean they were literally walking in the middle of the street! I braked and swerved around them honking. Luckily I saw them far before an accident would have occurred, but I am pretty sure I wouldn't have seen them as early without the zXe's.

Also, when driving in rain or bad weather, the zXe's shine. They are particularly useful at night when it is raining.

What makes the zXe's superior is fullness of the white light and the intensity. Some headlight bulbs provide a wide lighting area but the light diminishes around the edges, reducing their effectiveness. This doesn't happen with the zXe's crisp illumination.

“SilverStar zXe headlights use a proprietary cobalt blue coating combined with xenon halogen gas technology to generate a color temperature that rivals HID.” according to the description on Sylvania's website. Part of the appeal of the zXe's for auto enthusiasts and tuners is they mimic High-Intensity Discharge (HID) headlight housings without the expense and hassle of installation. A big advantage to the zXe's is they are 100% legal and Department of Transportation (DOT) approved so you don't need to worry about running into any legal trouble. Sylvania hopes you will consider these before buying a set of HID's. While the zXe's did slightly improve the look of my Honda Accord with slicker lights, I am not sure the zXe's are a true replacement for the overall look of HID headlights. This is strictly my opinion though, maybe they look better on other cars.

One complaint I have read about the zXe's is that they do not last as long as regular bulbs. Slyvania doesn't really advertise it in big bold letters but on the box it does say, “Slyvania SilverStar zXe lamps are engineered to achieve the highest performance possible, which results in product life that is less than standard lamps.” So they are not trying to hide this or mislead Sylvania customers. It states this limitation clearly and it might be something to be aware of before purchasing them.  I have been using my zXe's for a number of months and haven't noticed that the light has diminished or had a bulb burn out though.  If they do I will let people know.

Once you use Slyvania's zXe's you will most likely not care about what the box says. It would be hard to go back to using any other type of bulb for your headlights. They are better and brighter then anything I have ever used and if you buy a set, I am pretty sure you will be happy with that choice.

Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit Review

Today I used the Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit on my friend Brandon's Chevy Venture van.  (It was actually his Mom's van.)  The van has about 230,000 miles on it, making it a good vehicle to test the kit on.   Of course the headlights already had a lens restoration done on them 1 year ago.  Still that restoration has worn off and left the headlights in bad shape again.  You can see in the pictures below they are still cloudy and hazy.  Cloudy headlights reduce your ability to see clearly when you have your lights on a night and makes it more difficult for other drivers to see you as well.  Having cloudy headlights is really a safety issue and not just an appearance annoyance.  I would keep this in mind if you have a vehicle that has hazy, cloudy, or yellowed headlights.

Overall the Sylvania kit took me around 1 hour and 30 minutes to use.  I give it a “Good” rating as there are improvements that could be made.  The kit should have included an extra sheet of 600 grit sandpaper.  If you have large headlights that are are seriously cloudy you might need to do more sanding than suggested, for instance the right-hand headlight needed more work.  (I timed doing each side evenly from the instructions.)  For the Venture the amount of sandpaper was adequate, but as the instructions stated you do need to cut the paper in half to make sure you have enough for doing each headlight.  The instructions could have been printed on slightly sturdier paper and been a bit larger.  I found it difficult to read the tiny print while doing the restoration.  What did I like about the kit?  Compared to the 3M kit I tested on my own Mom's Van about 1 year ago, the Sylvania kit has a UV Clearcoat.  As far as I know Sylvania is the only company that sells these kits with a UV Clearcoat.  This is important as this is what will protect your headlights from getting cloudy and hazy again.  The Slyvania kit might last longer because of the UV Clearcoat.  Only time will tell!  The 3M kit did come out better when I used it because that uses a drill.  The Slyvania kit you do by hand, but it worked well and did not take nearly as long as I thought.

Brandon and I were pleased with how the Sylvania Headlight Restoration Kit worked and felt it was definitely worth the time to do it.  Would I recommend it… yes I would.  Why?  Simply because of the UV Clearcoat.  If your headlights were seriously cloudy, yellowed, or hazy… I might recommend another kit though as I do not see doing it by hand would work.  Overall we both were pleased.  It definitely will help Brandon and his family drive safely in the van.

If you are interested in buying a kit, they retail for $20 and are sold in most auto parts stores.

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