what's the point of sylvania's silverstar turn signal bulbs?

czechopino

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The only reason I got these is because they look cool (not amber) when they are off in the reflector housing. oversize image
 
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Alaric Darconville

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What's the point of the iridescent coating?
It... "looks cool" or something.

How does the coating affect turn signal performance?
It can reduce phantom signals.

Also, why does the product description say something about reducing tungsten filament evaporation? Is that a valid claim, and if so, how does this bulb achieve that?
It *might* use the halogen cycle. It appears to have a smaller glass envelope, or at least a partially envelope, inside the larger part of the bulb. The filament will heat that inner glass rapidly and then the halogen cycle may start taking place. Or it's just general GE handwaving.
 

-Virgil-

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Those bulbs (called Osram Diadem everywhere else in the world) light up amber or red, but have a purple-blue or green-blue mirror appearance when unlit, to eliminate what Osram's marketers call the "fried-egg effect" of an amber bulb behind a colorless lens. They work fine, though the amber tends to be a little on the reddish side. The coating is very durable and never flakes off like some of the plain see-thru amber coatings.

They are not halogen bulbs. There is no merit to any claim of reduced tungsten filament evaporation...which is a claim I've never seen for these bulbs, and does not seem to appear on the Amazon page you linked; where did you see it?

HOWEVER, the bulbs you linked have been out of production for several years now, though unsold stock is probably still around. What Sylvania presently sells as Silver Star turn signal bulbs have a blue see-thru coating on them for so-called "whiter" light. Totally pointless from a functional standpoint; it reduces the output and could potentially push some lamps out of color compliance. It also reduces the lifespan, which means Sylvania gets to sell them again to the gullible and the stupid and the babyish, which means Sylvania's shareholders are happy. (And no, these aren't halogen bulbs either).
 

Mr. Merk

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Back when I thought clear signal lenses were cool I used the Sylvania bulbs to eliminate that "ugly" amber look from the car but retain the functionality of the turn signals. I cringe thinking about before this (high school) I used the blue coated "super white" bulbs in my signals....LEDs were not readily available or affordable at this point.

With time the trends change......

That being said, I recently used a similar "chrome coated" bulb in the euro side markers on my wife's 2008 911.....maybe not much has changed after all.
 

-Virgil-

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Be careful with those chrome bulbs -- almost all of them are illegitimate. The only legit ones generally available are made by Philips (SilverVision). There's a fair amount of "magic" in their construction, to provide the mirror-off/amber-on appearance while also providing at least the minimum light output. All the imitation product (and there's a lot of it) gets the mirror part more or less right, but they don't put out anywhere near enough light. If we're talking about side markers, the easy "have the cake and eat it too" solution is this.

Also be careful with those "Euro side markers" (which is to say: be smart and put the right ones back on the car). The clear ones lack the side reflex reflector function required in the US and Canada. Removing it significantly increases the chances of the car getting T-boned or sideswiped while parked.
 

Alaric Darconville

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They are not halogen bulbs. There is no merit to any claim of reduced tungsten filament evaporation...which is a claim I've never seen for these bulbs, and does not seem to appear on the Amazon page you linked; where did you see it?

I'm seeing it at that linked page:
Amazon Page for a Bulb said:
Provide amber light when energized
Provides 100 percent street legal illumination
Reduces the rate of tungsten evaporation
Ensure greater luminance and efficiency
The second image almost looks like an envelope-within-an-envelope kind of setup. Or maybe it's just some kind of "artist's conception".
 
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-Virgil-

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Neither-nor. What you're seeing is the dark area in front of the bulb caused by the camera and photographer, so you see amber because the irridescent surface of that part of the bulb isn't being struck by a lot of light. The chrome-y rest of the bulb is reflecting the photographer's light box. That's how this coating works: it reflects chrome-y violet-blue, and it transmits amber.
 

Ls400

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Seems like Osram's "world-renowned German engineering team" (on the Nightbreaker Laser box) spends a lot of time thinking about cosmetic issues!
 

don.gwapo

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Is it legal to swap/put regular clear park/signal bulb instead of amber on clear lens on the front? I know the rears would be blinding like some idiots here put white LEDs on the rear and that inevitable hyperflash.
 

-Virgil-

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That depends on what you mean by "legal". Amber is the only allowable color for front turn signals as per Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108, Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108, UNECE Regulation 48, Australian Design Rules, Japanese Industrial Standards, Chinese GB standards, Russian GOST standards, and probably every other national and regional vehicle lighting regulation. Some US states still have language from the early '60s (1963 was the first year of amber front turn signals in the US), saying that front turn signals may be amber or white. Even if you live where local codes can be interpreted to allow you to run white front turn signals, doing so would be foolish. The reason why amber turn signals came in for 1963 is they're much more conspicuous than white ones, day and night. It would be plain, flat dumb to degrade the safety performance of the turn signals even if an outmoded, neglected state code fails to stop you.

Parking lights (front position lamps) are allowed to be white or amber throughout North America and in some other parts of the world, but front side marker lights must be amber, and on many vehicles the front side marker light function is provided by lateral visibility of the parking light.

Bottom line: if your front lenses are colorless, don't be a dumdum; run amber bulbs.
 
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