My Dominators came with some cheap Au-Lite bulbs. They were just "adequate". In fact, I have been riding with high-beams on day and night. I have not had any oncoming drivers flash their high-beams indicating that they were bothering them. So that would indicate to me that they are not quite right. I bought some Sylvania Xtravision bulbs tonight. These are between standard bulbs and Silverstars as far as color and price. About $18 at Wal-mart.
Stock Dominator bulb low-beam:
(http://www.familyjones.org/paul/Lights_low_1.jpg)
Sylvania low-beam:
(http://www.familyjones.org/paul/Lights_low_2.jpg)
Stock Dominator bulb high-beam:
(http://www.familyjones.org/paul/Lights_high_1.jpg)
Sylvania high-beam:
(http://www.familyjones.org/paul/Lights_high_2.jpg)
Differences are slight. Exposure settings were the same, but I left the white balance in auto, so there may be some more color difference. I haven't ridden them at night yet, but I will update this post with my subjective evaluation then.
Looks like no difference to me. Take em back and get Silverstars at the least.
I was pleased with the Xtravision bulbs in my minivan, so I expect these to be good. And I didn't want to spend $40 on them. If I don't see a difference on the road, I will just bite the bullet on the Silverstars.
Quote from: Paulcet on February 14, 2010, 11:06:20 PM
If I don't see a difference on the road, I will just bite the bullet on the Silverstars.
:thumb:
I am not pleased with my lighting quality as well with those dominators. Please post up what you find works the best, because I haven't found anything. I have been looking high and low to brighten em up. No success.
As promised, I am posting my thoughts after riding with these at night.
They are better than the original. Worth the money I am sure. The are NOT as white or as bright as I would expect the Silverstars would be. I CAN see a difference in the color and spread, as well as the distance. But it is slight.
I will probably try out the Silverstars at some time in the future, but the short life expectancy is one of my concerns. They cost 2 x more, and are expected to last 1/2 x time. That means 4 x $$$
I'll look for better bulbs and post up my findings.
Quote from: O.C.D. on February 14, 2010, 11:03:05 PM
Looks like no difference to me. Take em back and get Silverstars at the least.
You'll see a difference with the Silverstars.
The size of the reflector has as big an effect on the light output as the brightness of the bulb. If you start with small twin lights, you're starting at a disadvantage. Quite likely they will not produce any more light than a single large (ie.standard) reflector with a decent bulb. If you want tha twin light look, fine, but don't expect better light than the standard setup.