I was wondering if it is appropriate to warn about a bad item that is for sale on srt-4's all over ebay.
Didn't know if posting about it on this forum is proper.
Just want to make sure others don't waste money.
But I don't want to overstep my bounds here.
Feedback?

 

Hey, warn away! We've posted warnings on "performance chips" in the past. What you got?

 

as dusty said, post away, I am anxious to hear what the problem is...

 

Not a big deal but I thought that others might be interested.

I was looking for a headlight replacement for my srt-4 and I came across a "great deal" on a pair of new bulbs for 9.99 on e-bay. The seller posts these often, there. They were advertised as hid'like appearance and better brightness than stock.

They are called "XTREME VISION".

They are titled "BLUE 6500K HID XENON HEADLIGHTS DODGE NEON SRT-4 95-03" or some close facsimile thereof.

After recieveing them quickly I was excited to get them on the car and test them out that night. So out I went into the night. As I entered an unlit street I was surprised to find that I could hardly see anything. I proceeded and found that I could not drive over 15 mph because it was so dark. I went home dissapointed and posted the seller about my findings and asked if there could be a problem with the bulbs - I was told that I didn't know what I was talking about - that I wasn't used to "blue lights" and they were brighter and I was wrong. He said, as well, that they are as good as silverstars. "If they are on they are working properly" I was insulted.

Giving the benefit of the doubt to the seller I got my friend who is a photographer to bring over some light metering equipment. We found that the brightest point cast by the replacement was 38% dimmer than an average reading from a stock bulb. I was gald to see my eyes do work.

I posted the seller with the results and he returned with the same position he took the first time.

I went out and bought a pair of silverstars and a pair of piaa's and two pairs of oter aftermarkets(which sold for 20$ to be fair) to compare other aftermarket bulbs and found that the two aftermarkets were marginally better than stock, the PIAA's were hugely brighter than these "extremes" by about 50 %. Then the Silverstars - surprise, they are even better than the PIAA's - 55%better than the "Xtremes".

I asked the seller if he wanted to take a return or if he would exch. for another set to see if maybe there was an abberation in his product and he declined and stopped answering emails.

So, I posted a NEUTRAL review - saying a couple of good things about his shipping time and the fact that they are blue, just not quite as bright as stock.(didn't want to hurt the guys business)

I went on with my business - using my silverstars and very happy with them.

Two days later he posted a very nasty negative review about me on ebay.
Since this is my only review, this has become a problem for me in a couple of purchases thereafter.

I don't care that much about the product - It only cost 10$. But I take his slanderous remarks very seriously. I pride myself in being a professional and corteous businessman.

I don't know if he has other items for sale but I would be real careful with this guy.

And as far as bulbs go - get the silverstars. They are the best out there for the money. They are even better than Extreme white PIAA's(which I swear by).

Sorry about the long post.

Hope this is helpful to someone out there.

 

Good posting, this is what DF is all about, members helping other members out.[sm=smiley20.gif]

How difficult was it to put in the new bulbs? I've read horror stories in the Neon section....[sm=smiley5.gif]

 

Not the slightest bit difficult.

 

All you have to do is take out the 3 8mm bolts at the top of the grille(holding the top of the bumper on, take out the two screws holding on the headlight assy.. Then flex the bumper a little to give clearance to pull out the assy. - then just turn the plastic retainer for the bulb and it pops right out. put in the new, lock it and put the lamp back in.

More screws than a honda(none vs. 5 - all 8mm) but still pretty easy.

After doing it maybe 10 times on the srt to test a number of bulbs it's really easy.

foglights are easy too.

Reach in from under the bottom of the bumper and drivers' side is just a twist and it pops out.

Passenger side is easy once you realize that you need to enter from the top need to remove one part to get to it - I forget what it was - maybe a headlight or a bracket(duh on me)i'll post after i check it this evening.

 

Did you just go in from the rear and twist them out or have to remove the entire headlight?

 

You do have to pull 'em completely - but it is pretty easy.

just pull out(flex) the bumper cover to give you access to pull and replace them.

I did this a number of times and have found that (at least on my silver one)hopefully your silver one is the same case) the paint is very flexible and the urethane has no problem with deformation - and I am really picky.

the assembly pops in place and it is fixed so you don't enev need to re-aim

But if you're picky like me - aftermarket bulbs are a little bit longer/larger, usually, in the 9007 so you might want to aim the beam up a tiny bit to help with focus. The brightness increase for me with just a half turn of the torx adjusting bolt was significant.

I've read your posts, dusty, If you can build a catch can(not too tough) this should be a cinch.

BTW thanks for the can idea - Great mod - My car is running smoother already and I really like the fact that I don't have to clean my exhaust tips constantly anymore.

Got any comments on the mopar tails on the road yet? I still haven't gotten mine but i'm sure they will be the first major visual mod I do. Damn backorders.

With The Silverstar Heads and Fogs on It doesn't look like the same car from the front at night. Quite mean[:@]

 

Thanks for the good info...it will come in handy!!!

As far as the 3D Mopar Taillights, I've had 3 people in 2 weeks ask me where I got the LED taillights....and they are as easy to put on as the $20 OCC!! In fact, I posted a "how to" in the General Tech section a couple of weeks ago. You may have to go back a page or two to find it...[sm=smiley20.gif]