REVIEW: eBay Headlamps & Sylvania Silverstar Ultras (AWESOME UPGRADE!)
 

I picked up a set of these on eBay:
http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sel...397-C-YD-K.jpg

The ad describes the product as follows:
My First Impressions

First off, these headlights are not DOT/SAE certified. DOT/SAE certified lights have markings which indicate that they are, they are not. In addition, these headlights are not made of glass, but the ad does not say so anyways. I mention this because this question comes up a lot on these boards.

So, with that said, I am all out of cons.

The overall construction of the eBay lamps are not too shabby. They're made in Taiwan. The outer lens is made of plastic, along with the overall housing. It is basically an OE spec housing, as it has the same vent tubes on the back, along with the mounting setup.

Where it differs is in the way it projects the light; the inner "diamond cut" interior is much different from the stock setup.

Removal/Installation
It doesn't get much easier than this. Page "E-25" of the Mazda Electrical Manual tells you how to change out the headlamps. Basically, you pop up the lamps, uncrew the 4 Phillips screws holding the bezel.

Then undo the 4 screws which hold the headlight cover, 2 of them are only accessible when the headlight is retracted.

Remove the light bulb plug.

The headlamp is attatched by 3 long bolts with Phillips heads. Note that one of them has a washer, two of them do not. Be sure to place the bolt w/ the washer on the outer edge of the light when transferring the bolts over. The bolts basically come out of the old housing with some pliers and elbow grease.

Installation is the reversed process of removal.

Afterwards, you'll need to aim the headlamps. Find a level ground which is adjacent to the wall. Page E-25 of the manual tells you how to aim the lights.

Opinions
The stock USDM, all plastic, headlamps are just plain awful at lighting up the road. They are rather dim and have no range at all. I have tried different bulbs, multiple adjustments, cleanings, etc. No dice, it still sucks really bad. I mean, I've seen candles illuminate better than our stock headlights!

The eBay units are fantastic. They are a day and night difference over the stock setup, especially when paired up with a set of Sylvania Silverstar Ultras. The range, width, and intensity of the lighting is much improved over the stock setup. When compared to some of the halogen, fixed light upgrades, I would say that this outperforms some of the cheaper ones and is on par with the more expensive ones. I would really recommends this if you wish to have surperior lighting over stock, without having to go with ugly fixed lights or pay for an overpriced KS unit.

Cliffs
Pros:
-Superior lighting over stock
-Relatively cheap over other comparable lighting solutions
-Retains the stock-pop up look
-Plug and play installation

Cons:
-Not DOT/SAE certified
-Price of shipping (The lights alone were $49.95, but shipping/handling was another $44!)

I basically tried to pull the cons out of my ass, since the all really have to deal with the eBay seller. The actual headlight units, IMHO, have no real major flaws. This is a fantastic upgrade! The Sylvania Silverstar Ultras were $49.99, with a $10 coupon and $10 mail-in-rebate, thus the price of the bulbs come down to $29.99. With the cost of the lamps ($49.95 + $44.00), you basically have a excellent headlight upgrade for less than $125.

Pretty cool dude! I may have to look into this soon.

There seems to be different versions of these floating around on ebay...which seller had these?

This looks interesting, thanks for the great write-up.
I would be curious as to how these hold up to the bulb heat, especially the SilverStars. Keep us posted.

I will be sure to keep you guys updated.

Kayee2501 was the seller. This seller says that the others seem to get moisture in them. Either the other ones are not OE spec (no drainage in the back) or this seller is just making shit up to have a false competitive edge over the other sellers. An example of this is his claim that they are DOT certified, when they are not.

The others look to be the exact same as these, so I doubt that they are any different than the one that this seller offers.

I have a set of these in my car but they are made by Wise Square... I also have the HID set up and I have to tell you.. it looks awesome

D7

Post some pictures please.

Pictures would be nice. ;)

Yeah definately keep us posted on how these hold up under the heat. That is really my only concern.

Great review. Where did you get the bulbs and what are their specs?

Pics of lighting to come?

I just ordered a set :). Should work nicely with my Catz HIDs :icon_tup:

I never even knew ebay had FD glass headlights and not a bad price too. Something Ive needed for my bi-xenons for awhile. Big thanks for the review. :icon_tup:

My friend just told me about Osram Silverstar H4 bulbs. They are similar to the Sylvania Silverstars, but they are the Euro spec version and are the brightest H4 bulbs available, best part of all, they are only about $30 a pair. Also, he mentioned that these housings are going to point to the wrong side of the road. Did you find this is the case? I don't want to blind oncoming traffic, that's a cop magnet when you do.

NOTE: He said they are NOT glass.

I'd be interested in pics of the lighting. Snap a few?

Once I am able to get hold of a camera, I'll be sure to snap a few pics.

It says in the review. After rebates and discounts, it was $29.99.

And about your question on shining onto oncoming traffic, I do not have that problem. Could it be that your friend adjusted them poorly?

Is the name on the lense Sonar? I can't seem to get my passenger side angled the way I want since the cut off the lense produce is for the JDM market, the right side of the road or white line area isn't lit up very well. Just need to work more on my alignment I guess.

Tim

I'm interested too in getting some more light from my.. um.. lights. I've found a few different sets of lights on eBay, but are they all the same?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...149741039&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...159409818&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...153322913&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...165929054&rd=1

So, what's the difference?

is the cutoff of the light pattern JDM (toward the left) or USDM (toward the right)?

nice looking...reasonably priced alternative!

What about the cutoff as gracer said?

it's to the left.

Tim

they're basically the same as the wisesports units.

It's definitely to the left (JDM). Though, I haven't had any issues with people flashing me on two way roads to signify that I'm blinding them or anything.

They do point to the left. There's a shield inside that allows light out to the left and not the right. I'm going to mod it to be the opposite. I'm thinking about putting HID's in these, should be a nice setup.

have any idea on how to mod them? I've looked at one and I can't tell if you can flex the shield or not. I was thinking I could cut and re clock it, but I haven't thought about how I would re-attach just yet, maybe bolt it to an aluminum "L" bracket??

Well I looked into it and it seems that the shield may not be all that directs the light to the left, but also the reflector. I am going to try to run it without the reflector and see how it looks. The way I originally thought, was to drill a hole on the other side of the hole and just screw the bracket into it.

The cutoff is very good, and I adjusted it so that it's low enough not to blind oncoming traffic, but enough light see the road. I may still go with HIDs and play around with it more.

They hold up well to heat. I've got the same ebay clear lens housings on mine except I've got OEM BMW D2S HIDs in there (With the D2S to H4 Aluminum adapter)

No heat problems and very bright.

projector lights are amazing lights...i had them on my integra and i loved them

i got the same lenses with 5000k hi/lo hid's... i get flashed all the time but i can flash back! lol

ive posted some pics somewhere, they look great!

i actually think hid's are too bright in some circumstances like when im behind another car and the reflecton of my own lights blind me!

These are teh wisesport lens. I'll be doing a hid projector retrofit with these lens...

These lights look great, but scatter light everywhere. I went back to stock and like it much more with my wisesport hid kit. I'm running 6500K.

A close look a the scalops built into the housing is quite a bit different between the left and the right lights, when you look close. I'm not sure any modification will fix the bias built in for LHD but, I worked on mine and will see how it works at night and post the results.

Terry7

Damn, I still have to install the pair that I bought months ago :lol:

I just bought a set of these the other day. I hope they show up..that seller has some nasty negative feedback that I didn't see before I bought them :scared:

Isn't the cutoff supposed to be on the right so you don't blind the driver with the left hand mirror while changing lanes or passing. I know it's that way on my CBR 1000. Also, I think the major difference is the bulb. These houses look like my F150's. Anyhow I bought some philips moto bulbs for my bike (similar to silverstar Ultra) and they are brighter, wider and longer light by far.

GoRacer, the bulb is only part of the equation. Upgraded housings certainly help, the difference is noticeable. I recently saw them on a friend's FD.

I have them on my car... There is a little bit of light scatter. Although it's worth the gained distance and clarity.

Indeed. Before my motor blew, I was still trying to dial it in right, but I almost had it just right. I'm still loving them!:icon_tup:

whats the difference between silverstar ultra and normal silverstar? I have a set of normal silverstar that's about 4 years old, is it worth it to upgrade to ultras?

^use what you have^

The Ultras claim to be brighter than the regular Silverstars, but if you already have a set, use what you have.

Before you guys go cutting into things in order to avoid blinding oncoming traffic you may want to just put a bit of tape on your headlights...

I had to do that to mine when I moved to the UK. It *should* be a really simple fix if there is any etching on the lens cover, and unless you drive around with your lights up all day long, nobody will notice..

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...10852-copy.jpg


If you look closely at the lines in your headlight you should be able to clearly see the guide for taping. I just used some black electrical tape, it works great and keeps the beam from my USDM lights from blinding people as I drive along on the left side of the road...

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h3...2/P1010854.jpg

I know, my car is dirty... gotta wash it on my next day off (when it's not fucking freezing)

Does anyone have pics of the Kayee headlights installed, day or night?

I can get some pics of it installed and on, but I cant get any road pics.

thats all i need my friend. thanks!

I'll get some pix, I just don't know when. I'm still playing around with them, but I think I'm about done getting the most out of them. I noticed one of my silverstars is looking dimmer than the other and they don't have many miles on them. I will replace it soon then take the pictures.

Terry7

I'd like to see some head on (with them on) pics and any you can get of the projection on the street

I just installed my kaixen HIDs but with stock lenses, they just look cheap!

Alright, I got some in-garage pics. I can't take any road shots, as my LS1 is still waiting on the damn subframe.

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/5...40largepa5.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/946...47largeag8.jpg


http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/6...48largega6.jpg

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/3...51largewj1.jpg

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4...55largebi5.jpg