Originally posted by 97 GeeEssAre
Actually, the SilverStars ARE brighter.
look at the Kelvin chart on their website:
http://www.sylvania.com/auto/silverstar.htm
I was using some Xenon bulbs from Germany for a while which were brighter than stock, but am now using the SilverStar bulbs and I notice a tremendous difference.
But most of the other "HID Look-A-Like" bulbs out there are coated as you stated, and are awful and decrease your visibility.
Kelvins don't equal Lumens. Kelvin is color related. Just to reinforce this fact, 6000K and higher HIDs give LESS light than 4300K HID.
Euro silverstars aren't coated and give more (~30%) lighting output. Phillips premium bulbs (euro spec) give 50% more light output than stock, whereas silverstars (US) give ~10%. I believe Phillips are still cheaper than Silverstars after shipping from the UK.