Sylvania Silverstars / HID

[bmarks]

Hi guys:

We just became an official Sylvania distributor so I was curious what you were paying for Silverstars? We should be carrying them really soon and I wanted to be very competitive on price. I think a set of two bulbs for either $39 or $44 is probably the right range.

Thanks!

Oh - BTW, we are still looking at offering Catz HID (high AND low beam) upgrades. The two issues are a) clearance (shouldn't be an issue but we want to personally test before selling these to you all) and b) DRLs - you will probably have to run with your headlights turned ON since the HID doesn't like the DRL function.

[athomas]

Brian,

With my Silverstars I paid 22.95 a piece for them, so I think you're right in the right price range.

Good job on securing that deal. Those are a sweet set of lights!

[Tonyyank]

Yeah i think i paid $45 dollars for the set of Silverstars like 8 months ago..

But i did recently see them on sale for $14.99 a piece at Advanced Auto Parts...

[iceman]

There is a rebate on the silverstars right now too.

Brian as far as the catz installation goes, if you want any info, ask me, I've got some experience with these HIDs :/

[bmarks]

Originally posted by iceman
There is a rebate on the silverstars right now too.

Brian as far as the catz installation goes, if you want any info, ask me, I've got some experience with these HIDs :/

Oh really? Ok, so my questions are: did they fit properly? Did you purchase the 9007 kit from them? What did you do about DRLs?

Feel free to email me at brian@pfyc.com if you want.

[iceman]

There is some info here:

http://www.grandamgt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6681

I didn't use a catz kit, I used a generic hella/phillips kit, purchased at www.misterjung.com.

Wherever I have read, they highly suggest against putting under-voltage to the ballasts, so people will have to get used to pulling their parking brake and going full headlights before driving. If not, they potentially can damage the ballasts and they'll get an SVS.

Since you are a distributor maybe you can get some more "official" info from Catz? Our cars have DRLs and also the headlamps are negative trigger.

[Rba007]

Brian, thats a great price on the silverstars, about the same as autozone. About HID's (I had the mcchulloch Kit, and im assuming the parts are about the same size):
Clearance is no problem. The bulbs fit fine, and there is plenty of space near the battery or behind the headlamp assembly to mount the ballasts/starters (if the catz system has them). I have the DRL/SVS over-ride kit offered by kent and mike on the boards, which takes care of my DRL problem. Also, this kit, and others, cause our HIGH beam indicator to be on all the time (hoping that wouldnt be an issue with a dual beam HID system). Also, we have a negative trigger headlight system, which is (i believe) different from the grand prix setup. This causes both lights, even when not activated, to turn on when on of the ballasts is grounded. Seth can check out what i just went through, and tell you all the other goodies that he found as well. Seth and I both had problems with the driver's side light not lighting if the headlights were turned on with the car in gear, but i believe seth took care of this problem by flicking his high beams, which then activated the driver's side light. Wierd stuff, but worth the hassle! (Had to sell my kit for friggin books for winter semester :mad: ) Goodluck with the kit! I will DEFINITELY be interested once i get money again!

[bmarks]

Originally posted by iceman
There is some info here:

http://www.grandamgt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6681

I didn't use a catz kit, I used a generic hella/phillips kit, purchased at www.misterjung.com.

Wherever I have read, they highly suggest against putting under-voltage to the ballasts, so people will have to get used to pulling their parking brake and going full headlights before driving. If not, they potentially can damage the ballasts and they'll get an SVS.

Since you are a distributor maybe you can get some more "official" info from Catz? Our cars have DRLs and also the headlamps are negative trigger.

Ah. The Catz kit might be different as far as clearance so I guess we have to test it ourselves first. As for DRL, the ballasts require at minimum of 10.5V, so if that is not available, headlights "on" is the only way to drive with this kit.

[Rba007]

Does the catz kit come with some sort of insulation between the ballasts and the mounting area on the vehicle?

[bmarks]

Originally posted by Rba007
Does the catz kit come with some sort of insulation between the ballasts and the mounting area on the vehicle?

Not sure what you mean. The Catz bulbs mount like the factory bulbs - they just pop in and clip on. The rest of the stuff you can put wherever you want to, and its all weather sealed. On the Corvette I just velcro'd the ballasts and igniters on to the car.

[Rba007]

Just wondering how the ballasts were mounted. Some kits come with insulation between the ballasts and the vehicle mount. On our cars, if you touch an un-insulated (like electrical tape, or seth has ballast brackets that insulate the ballasts from the vehicle) ballast to the car, one of the lights will light up. I thought it was just me, but seth had the same problem.

I wish it was july! I get down by NC in the summertime, I could show ya what Im talking about.

[bmarks]

Originally posted by Rba007
Just wondering how the ballasts were mounted. Some kits come with insulation between the ballasts and the vehicle mount. On our cars, if you touch an un-insulated (like electrical tape, or seth has ballast brackets that insulate the ballasts from the vehicle) ballast to the car, one of the lights will light up. I thought it was just me, but seth had the same problem.

I wish it was july! I get down by NC in the summertime, I could show ya what Im talking about.

AFAIK nothing is metal like that - everything is insulated from the outside world with plastic or rubber. The only metal is on the bulb, which gets sealed up behind a dust boot.

Hope this helps.

[Rba007]

Good deal brian. I had a feeling the catz system would be higher quality than the mcchulloch (ballasts were unfinished aluminum). The one positive about the mcchulloch kit, was that the wires were all very long, which allowed me to mount everything but the bulb well inside the engine compartment. ANy ideas of lenghts of the wires on the catz? Does catz use a starter as well as a ballast? Thanks a lot Brian. Like I said, im a lock for a customer here, as soon as this semester is over:D !

[bmarks]

Originally posted by Rba007
Good deal brian. I had a feeling the catz system would be higher quality than the mcchulloch (ballasts were unfinished aluminum). The one positive about the mcchulloch kit, was that the wires were all very long, which allowed me to mount everything but the bulb well inside the engine compartment. ANy ideas of lenghts of the wires on the catz? Does catz use a starter as well as a ballast? Thanks a lot Brian. Like I said, im a lock for a customer here, as soon as this semester is over:D !

You got me thinking. There are actually two pieces that are metal on the outside, don't know if they are conductive or grounded though. Wire length is as long as possible but short enough to maintain signal quality according to Catz. I honestly don't know the lengths offhand because the 9007 kit is probably different from the H4 kit I have in the C5.

If you want to see some pictures of the C5 implementation go here:

http://www.c5forum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=001649

In the second picture you can see the inverters. The black plastic boxes are the igniters. The C5 engine bay is not friendly with room for mounting all this stuff so as you can see, I had to improvise a bit. The difference was great IMO.

Also feel free to let me know when and if you are in NC and I would be happy to show you.

[iceman]

Well the issue with our cars is that the headlamps are negative trigger.. If those ballasts/igniters whatever, will get ground through their cases, then you need to isolate them physically or electrically.

[bmarks]

Originally posted by iceman
Well the issue with our cars is that the headlamps are negative trigger.. If those ballasts/igniters whatever, will get ground through their cases, then you need to isolate them physically or electrically.

I can't answer that but can find out from Catz once we make sure these will fit the GA in general.

[Rba007]

those ballasts look metal from here... but you certainly know more about that kit than i do! The pics look great. Hows that vette doing btw (Looks great too)? I know seth and I had problems with metallic ballasts grounding out, and causing the lights to light up. So, Seth bought seperate brackets that not only protect the ballast, but insulate it from the chassis so that it didnt ground out. He could get you a link.

[bmarks]

Originally posted by Rba007
those ballasts look metal from here... but you certainly know more about that kit than i do! The pics look great. Hows that vette doing btw (Looks great too)? I know seth and I had problems with metallic ballasts grounding out, and causing the lights to light up. So, Seth bought seperate brackets that not only protect the ballast, but insulate it from the chassis so that it didnt ground out. He could get you a link.

Oh, there's no question they're metal. But whether they are connected to the internal components in any way is a different story. That I couldn't tell you. Mine are mounted to plastic.

The C5 is doing great. Not giving me any trouble, and it loves the cold weather. I just need to get back on track before I have a nervous breakdown :p

[Rba007]

Ok Brian, Ill give you 5 bucks if you can have some sort of "Past PFYC Grand Am's of the month Discount". deal? I want these babies!

[bmarks]

Originally posted by Rba007
Ok Brian, Ill give you 5 bucks if you can have some sort of "Past PFYC Grand Am's of the month Discount". deal? I want these babies!

LOL. That would be illegal discrimination and the lawyers would NOT like it. Great try though :)

[GTluver]

Originally posted by iceman
There is a rebate on the silverstars right now too.

Brian as far as the catz installation goes, if you want any info, ask me, I've got some experience with these HIDs :/

wow.....i was just checking ur n-body registry and u got the same color pedals and floor mats.....mine dont have the 'grand am' logo tho.....looks sweet..........my car is silver tho but im going w/ blue as my 'other color'.......are the gauges in your pod lighted or they glow at nite? and if they have bulbs, did they came w/ blue bulbs when u bought them or did u install your own? again, nice ride...:cheers:

[Rba007]

Seth's got the same gauges most of us have ,with led's to light them. PM him for quicker response, and to keep the topic slightly on topic (im guilty of getting it off too, so sue us right?!?)