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MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGB Technical - Brighter Tail/Stop lamps...

A friend sent me a pair of the new Sylvania Silver Star 1157A dual filament tail/stop lamp bulbs and I thought I would share with you my reaction to them since I have touted the virtues of the Halogen bulbs Jeff Zorn sells from his LBCarCo site for many years on this BBS. They may have not been perfect, but they were certainly brighter than anything else out there.

"Perhaps the one thing that I find best about them is that the difference between the "tail lamp" brightness and the "Stop lamp" brightness is pretty great, making the act of braking much more easily grasped by whoever is behind you than with the halogens I have been using. The halogens that Jeff Zorn sells ... have a stop lamp filament which is only somewhat brighter than the running lamp and that has been an arguing point for many years with folks who have chosen not to switch to the halogens. I never "seemed" to have any difficulty having my halogens seen, but I can tell just by looking at these Silver Star units that there is (in contrast) a VERY obvious difference between the two filaments. Seems like Sylvania did their homework."

I wanted to share this because I think that it is important for us to be seen and for our intentions to be seen, since we sit so low and are small targets for the careless. These bulbs seem to be available at most of the usual auto parts houses like Autozone and Checker/Schucks/Kragen and are about $20 for a set of two. Certainly not too expensive to try and you might like them better than the OE types or even the halogens we have had for years. FWIW.

Bob Muenchausen

Thanks for sharing the info Bob, been looking for something brighter myself to keep from getting run over by the phone yapping soccer moms in the SUVs.
LUVMYMG

Thanks for the tip, Bob.

I have fitted a high level brake light on my GT (top of the tailgate window) which hopefully will alert close following drivers who are too high to see my brake lights, eg in slow moving stop / start traffic.

Don
Don

Thanks Bob, I'll check my local Auto Zone today.
Rick Roberts 76 MGB

Thanks Bob, I'll try to find those bulbs today.
About three weeks ago in the Elikn Moonshine Rally I started to turn left into US 21. There were several rally cars behind me. As I started moving I double checked to the right and noted another car so I stopped," Bam". I got tapped in the rear by a Mercedes Benz with big Tire Rack and other racing stickers all over his car. Maybe a pair of those lights would have helped but probably not in this case. It felt and sounded like my car may have been seriously damaged but the only damage was bent bumper spring bars. I think he knocked a hole in his grill.

Clifton
Clifton Gordon

Thank you Bob,

I believe I will put this on my list of things to do as soon as possible. This is great because I cannot remember when I had to replace a tail light bulb of any kind. Knowing that bulbs get dimmer with age, there is no doubt that they need replacing.
Richard Smith

Richard,
So you're saying bulbs are like people.
John

Bob,
I went to pick up my Sylvania Silver Star 1157As and 1156As when I discovered they were amber..DUH....on my part...

I guess they perform fine under the already red and amber lenses????
Rick Roberts 76 MGB

Rick,
Yes they do work well under the red and amber lenses. Seems like the big deal for Sylvania was to get their licks in among the "Fast and Furious" crowd who seem to like lots of colored lights and something just a little different (but still legal) than the "old skool" ways of doing things. The bottom line for me, tho, is that they do work and very nicely, even for our old school sports cars.
Bob Muenchausen

OK man..thanks !
Rick Roberts 76 MGB

1156a? Are those the turn signal bulbs?

I will be looking for the 1157a for sure! Thanks again Bob M for great info!

kids1

yes sir, put mine in today..good reason to take her out tonight????
Rick Roberts 76 MGB

I bought a pair of Silverstars and installed them today. I cannot compare them to the halogens that Jeff Zorn sells, but I did compare them to new generic Narva 17916 21/5W 1157A replacement bulbs. They are what I had in my spares, I felt I should compare the Silverstars to new bulbs. I made two pairs of photos in my dark basement shop. The first two photos are with tail lights only on. The second two photos are with tail lights and stop lights both on. In both cases the stop lights are much brighter than the tail lights. That said I have problems seeing a great difference in the Silverstar and the generic bulbs brightness. I know my test isn't scientific but I recognize the brightness of other cars lights with my eyes. Perhaps I should have taken photos outside in daylight because that is when it's harder to see lights on older cars. You can see the photos in my Yahoo Photo albums. I hope it works for you.
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/flash1929/album?.dir=/d8e3&urlhint=actn,ren%3as,2%3af,0

Clifton
Clifton Gordon

I use halogens I bought at a car show a few years back that are rated 10W running and 50W for brakes and they make a noticable difference especially on a red car which makes red brake lights harder to see.

I do use the headlight Silverstars on my new Mazda3 and they are a bit brighter and cooler in color.
Mike MaGee

For UK users Paul Goff ?norbsa@freeserve.co.uk- I think -sells a twin filament tail/brake 10/35w halogen. Much brighter tho technically not legal as the wattage is high. Use a relay for the brake switch though!Other than that it is a straight replacement
Michael Beswick

Clifton, et al:
Here are my photos of a comparison to the LBCarCo halogens we have had available for some years: http://www.s95408591.onlinehome.us/33601.html
Bob Muenchausen

I just checked the Autozone and Advance Auto Parts on line for these bulbs. I was unable to find them at Autozone, but Advance had them listed for $2.99 ea.

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?mfrcode=SYL&mfrpartnumber=1157A

Zach
Zach

Bob, Thanks, I can see I should have taken my photos at night for better results.

Zach, Your link is for a standard Sylvania 1157A. The Sylvania Silverstar bulbs are $19.95 for two at Auto Zone. I suspect the Advance price is about the same.

Clifton
Clifton Gordon

I just looked at the local Advance store and their price for the Sylvania Silverstar 1157A two pack is $19.98.

FWIW, Clifton
Clifton Gordon

sylvania has a toll free customer service line and according to the person I spoke to the 1157a silver star bulbs are no difference in brightness than the standard 1157a bulbs.they are a clear bulb with a irridesant coating that glows amber and are for cosmetic use.
wdhound

For some reason Sylvania doesn't list the wattage of each element on the base of the Silverstar bulb. A standard 1157A normally has 21 watts for the stop light filament and 5 watts for the tail light filament. The following reference lists the Silverstar filaments as 2.1 and .59 amps. Using 12.8 volts and converting to watts I get 26.88 watts for the stop light filament and 7.552 watts for the tail light filament.
http://www.suvlights.com/halogen-special-silverstar.htm

The 1157A ST is near the bottom. As I said in my earlier post it's hard to notice the difference by looking but the numbers say they are brighter. I need to do my photos differently to make is easier to compare Silverstars to standard 1157A bulbs.

FWIW, Clifton
Clifton Gordon

Clifton and list,

Is there a difference between the 1157 and 1157A bulbs as well? I was under the impression that the 1157A were the silverstar bulbs and the 1157 bulbs were the standard bulbs. Are the 1157A ST the SilverStar bulbs?

I also tried looking at the Sylvania website, but I didn't see a difference, as Clifton said, except for the MSCD (I thought that the greater the MSCD the better?).

Zach
Zach

Zach, I didn't know the difference until I did some searching. This article explains the difference between 1157 and 1157A. The Sylvania Silverstar is a 1157A ST. 1157 has clear glass, 1157A has amber glass.
http://www.mustangandfords.com/techarticles/127_0312_fords_lights/index2.html

Clifton
Clifton Gordon

Bob Muenchausen is correct in saying that contrast is what counts, between the taillight and stoplight, so that the eye can see a maximum difference in brightness.

I think need to get a couple of facts straight. For day time driving we need bright stop lights and for night time use we need a big contrast between the tail and stoplight, so as a following driver instantly registers that we are stopping!

So firstly, a brighter taillight is not really needed as long as the current brightness is such that our vehicle can be seen well at night from behind, but a extra bright stop light is what will help prevent tail end collisions!
Jeff at LBcarCo has a new halogen bulb rated at 12v 35/5 that has a similar tail brightness as a normal bulb, but a very bright stop light without over doing it.

Lastly, after discussing this with a professional photographer friend, any photo comparisons need to be done with the cameras auto exposure switched off, so as not to over compensate with the changes in brightness of the different bulbs.

Hope that helps. I must say that I am more than satisfied with my halogen conversions.

cheers
Ian Buckley

Of course, you could add a center brake light as I have done . . .
Dan Robinson

There have been comments on center brake lights for GTs before, but I would appreciate a US available part number/source, as my present situation really calls for such a light.
John Hubbard

What I have had for several years is a J C Whitney 12-LED light mounted just above the trunk with its self-adhesive tape. The version available at present is 4.25" wide, .75" deep, .75" high. $10.99. WA830680R. (800)-529-4486, www.jcw.com
Dan Robinson

John,
Here are few sites I have found recently which may help you find a decent interior mount third brake light.

http://www.v-sales.com/stop_lamps_third_brake_lights.htm you ought to check out the line of lamps they have, one might appeal to you more than another.
http://www.v-sales.com/atpdfs/led-40.pdf

http://www.stylinconcepts.com/parts.aspx?categoryid=26&partfamilyid=1095&subcategoryid=199 (the first one shown just happens to be the unit I am running on my GT, mounted along the top of the rear window. It used to be sold by MCM Electronics, but no more).

If you wanted, you could add this circuitry for a pulsating third brake lamp, http://www.electronics-lab.com/projects/automotive/002/

Bob Muenchausen

The 2357 bulb is a direct replacement for the 1157 and sports a brighter brake light output. The tail light output is the same as the 1157.

read the following:

http://www.gadgetjq.com/brakelight_replacement.htm
S Rechter

Pick up a copy of a Street Rodder magazine and you will find quite a few company's that sell different types of 3rd. brake lights...Steve
Steve

This thread was discussed between 03/06/2005 and 14/06/2005

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