Lighting upgrade, in my search for more lights... Options

[Rayme]

If some of you are like my and totally not interested in those fake, overly expensive short lived "blue" hid like bulbs, well I feel your pain, the general concessus seems to be "buy silverstars and like it".

There is 2 "legal" options to results in actual more light output, and both costs less than 50$ !
Both will results in 3400+ lumens from low beams instead of the regular 2000 lumens (hid would results in the 6000 lumens), thats almost 170% more lights! Also your beam pattern will remain the same, so glaring is almost a non issue if you have your lights properly aimed

So what is it?

1. HIR bulbs

-HIR bulbs are not well known but works really well. They are special bulbs coated in an infrared reflective coating thats sends back heat to the filament resulting in almost 80% more light output than regular halogen bulb at the same wattage and lifespan. (halogen being 1000 lumens, HIR is 1875 lumens).

You can google about the technology, or theres that one seller on ebay that sells them, they are expensive though.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/TOSHIBA-HIR-9011-9012-B...1QQcmdZViewItem

The bulb will requires small modifications to the socket to fit into the low beams.


2. 9006 to 9005 conversion.
This will result in a little less light than HIR but is easier(bulbs are common) and cheaper. Basicly you modify the high beam bulb (9005) to make it fit into the low beam headlight. High beams bulb outputs 1700 lumens vs 1000 for low beams. You need to modify the socket for them to make it work. As you can see in the image, they are very similar and the 9005 has not coating at the top end. The only small disadvantage is these use 65 watts instead of 55. Your wiring/socket might handle the 10 watts over or might not, its a risk to take, or just upgrade your wiring for safety's sake.


This is a little messed up but you get the idea, I'll be doing the 9006-9005 convertion myself, possibly with silverstars.
These are a great alternative to stock housing HID retrofit which are, illegal, unreliable, expensive and dangerous for other drivers.

This post has been edited by Rayme: Feb 22, 2007 - 12:02 PM

[cnelson]

Or you could just buy fake HID's off ebay. lol. (if your cheap like me) -cnelson.

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

Those HIR's don't seem too expensive. I used to use Silverstars in my lows and highs. I run my low beams all the time, so I was burning the Silvers out very quickly. I went back to the stock bulbs (still had them in my trunk) and haven't had a problem since. They are not very bright though. Are you going to get the HIR bulbs and put them into the 9005(high) and 9006(low) spots. I would only be interested in the lows, as I still have the original Silver Stars in the highs because I don't use them that much. I'm interested in how this goes.

[topshed]

I can't see why there should be a problem with using the main beam bulbs in the dipped as the amperage of the fuse is the same for both, was thinking of doing that myself.

[Starcraftjunkie]

Has anyone here bought those bulbs yet? I'm tempted to try too, but don't want to be the first guinea pig.

[Bitter]

i've got one on my pass lowbeam and i'm waiting for it to get dark out.

[Starcraftjunkie]

remember to take pics!

[Bitter]

i didnt take pics but i'll post what i posted on the corolla forum....

well its hard to tell if its much brighter than the nighthawk because there was alot of other traffic, but it sure lights up the signs! they appear as if backlit with the HIR bulb and i saw a racoon by the side of the road i dont think i'd have seen before. the HIR bulb lighting pattern is a little different which may be why it catches the signs better. anything reflective seems to just GLOW back at me brighter than before.

[Coomer]

This may be of interest. That link has some good information.

[Bitter]

thanks for the link. i'll say that for sure the HIR is slightly brighter but its hard to notice when driving around street lights and other cars. the couple times i was alone on the road in the dark the side of the road seemed to be lit up better than with the GE nighthawk alone, but not a dramatic increase. if i had stepped from a standard halogen to the HIR i think i'd have noticed a difference more so than from the nighthawk to HIR. the nighthawks are pretty damned good bulbs for a regular halogen.

[kufor]

hi guys
i just bought Toshiba HIR low&high bulbs from eBay and all i can say is, that it makes a great upgrade comparing to standard halogen bulbs for those, who can't/don't want to use HID (xenon kit)
the light is brighter and you can see much more on the sides
conclusion - good deal for reasonable price

[njccmd2002]

hi guys
i just bought Toshiba HIR low&high bulbs from eBay and all i can say is, that it makes a great upgrade comparing to standard halogen bulbs for those, who can't/don't want to use HID (xenon kit)
the light is brighter and you can see much more on the sides
conclusion - good deal for reasonable price

night pics please, im interested. Post your acution so i can see the seller...

[hongkongnerdboy]

HIR bulbs from john deere works fine

[GriffGirl]

Be aware guys if you buy them off eBay, the cost is $24.95 PER BULB (on the auctions I found)

I believe HKNB got them at a farm and ranch type of store, right? So those of you who live around that kind of place can probably find them in a store. I've been lazy to look, but there's one near my house, now I'm gonna get off my azz and go there to find out this evening. If I find them, I'll let you guys know, in case any one wants me to pick some up for them. We don't have sales tax here, so I can do it for actual price plus shipping if anyone's interested.

[pittfirefighter]

"This is a little messed up but you get the idea, I'll be doing the 9006-9005 conversion myself, possibly with silverstars.
These are a great alternative to stock housing HID retrofit which are, illegal, unreliable, expensive and dangerous for other drivers."

-OK i do agree that this is true. HID's are dangerous without the projector upgrade. BUT high beam bulbs in a low beam housing are just as problematic. The 9005 bulb is not made to be looked at by other drivers. That's why its missing the coloring in the tip and is of a higher intensity. You will blind every driver with 9005 bulbs, no matter how you have the light output pointed.

- AND on a personal note, I am running HID's and have been pulled over for various other things including window tint, dumb driving (left hand turn where i shouldn't have made one), and driving too fast. Never once have they mentioned anything about my headlights. It even passed inspection in Pa with HID's in. I can't say the same thing about a 9005 bulb in the low beam housing.

-9006 - 9005 conversion is completely illegal (at least in pa), light output for low beam headlights is restricted to 55 watts

This post has been edited by pittfirefighter: Mar 20, 2008 - 2:16 PM

[joehernandez]

i just want to see night pics of those HIR lights,, if convinced i might try em.

[Rayme]

"This is a little messed up but you get the idea, I'll be doing the 9006-9005 conversion myself, possibly with silverstars.
These are a great alternative to stock housing HID retrofit which are, illegal, unreliable, expensive and dangerous for other drivers."

-OK i do agree that this is true. HID's are dangerous without the projector upgrade. BUT high beam bulbs in a low beam housing are just as problematic. The 9005 bulb is not made to be looked at by other drivers. That's why its missing the coloring in the tip and is of a higher intensity. You will blind every driver with 9005 bulbs, no matter how you have the light output pointed.

- AND on a personal note, I am running HID's and have been pulled over for various other things including window tint, dumb driving (left hand turn where i shouldn't have made one), and driving too fast. Never once have they mentioned anything about my headlights. It even passed inspection in Pa with HID's in. I can't say the same thing about a 9005 bulb in the low beam housing.

-9006 - 9005 conversion is completely illegal (at least in pa), light output for low beam headlights is restricted to 55 watts

That doesn't make much sense to me. When I swapped my high beam bulbs into the low beam there wasn't difference to the naked eye, I couldnt see it more blinding. The frosted lens makes a damn good job at directing the light where it's supposed to be. I once took out the lens and moves it around the headlight, what happend? The beam pattern stayed the same wherever I moved it.
Plug and Play HID's are the new rice.

[jason]

if you look directly at the beam of a 9005 conversion, its much more intense than a 9006.

and i agree on the hid being rice.... i think the car has to suit the looks of the color chosen. if your car isint tastefully modded should go with a white 5000k color, if it is, then go up the color temp

has anyone posted pictures of the difference of the hir bulbs over normal halogen ones?

it would be nice to see a comparison, like the camera on a tripod, same exposure etc settings, take a pic of normal lamps, then put the HIR ones in, and take the same pic.