I installed HIDs in my 3rd gen before I sold it but thought I would go the easy route with my 4th gen pre-2006 headlights and try High Intensity Infrared (HIR) bulbs. Eventually I will probably do a proper HID projector retrofit.

Not much talk in the forums on HIR bulbs for a pretty long time. I assume that this is given the much lower cost of going the HID route these days. HIR bulbs are comparable in cost to Silverstars (and similar) with better light output. This BMW thread has a decent picture of the difference (second one down).

The biggest difference between HID and HIR (besides light output) is that the HIR install requires no real installation. Minor modification to the housing on the bulb is all that is required. Using a bench grinder it took me about 10 seconds per bulb.

In Summary, it was the easiest mod I’ve done to date with decent (but not HID bright) results. Definitely worth it if you don’t want to go the HID route and worry about the reliability of Silverstar bulbs. HIR bulbs also seem to be brighter and the newer Phillips bulbs are 25% brighter and last 40% longer than the Toshiba bulbs.

I purchased the bulbs from Candlepower. The HIR bulbs were cheaper here than on eBay and they are running a summer special right now where you can get all four bulbs for $100.

Here are the bulbs as packed and shipped.

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The first photo shows what the bulbs look like out of the box. The red banded one is the older Toshiba manufactured bulb and the yellow banded bulb is the improve Phillips for the low beams. The trimming diagram was provided by Candlepower. Note that you remove the GRAY area not the black.

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Here's a bulb properly trimmed and a high beam bulb where I removed the black instead of the gray by mistake. I ended up having to remove the entire top part but it does not seem to have any negative effect on the installation. Once installed, no amount of hard jarring moved the bulb (just the whole headlight).

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The real question. Did it improve the light output? Yes. It is somewhat difficult to see the difference in brightness in the pictures and it certainly wasn't a night and day difference but there was a decent improvement.

The first photo is before (unfortunately I had the fog lights on for all but the last picture). The second photo is HIR on the right, stock on the left. The third photo is the second photo modified in Microsoft Picture manager. I moved the mid-tone brightness slider to -100 saved the file and then re-opened the file and moved the mid-tone down another -50. This shows off the difference in brightness. The final photo is HIRs installed on both sides. Scroll between photo one and photo four and you can see the difference in fill (although not necessarily in brightness).

If you're looking for a super easy improvement in brightness with little work, this is a pretty good solution.

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Good write up. I will have to get these one day.

Very nice, thanks for the pics as well! These are on my mod list, just havne't quite gotten around to it yet.

Nice write-up. In the comparison pics, what type of bulbs did you have in the truck originally? And how long had the orig bulbs been in the truck.

How about real world results? Would you say they are a definite improvement when viewed through a naked eye instead of a camera?

I just bought the truck so I don't know how long the bulbs were in there. They appear to by standard Sylvania headlight bulbs (they don't say Silverstar on them).

There is a definite improvement in light. The light is whiter and more intense. Not blindingly so and no other vehicle driving down the road is going to wonder about your headlights. If I was looking for one descriptive word I would probably choose 'crisp.'

The modified picture gives you the best comparison. Basically I darkened the original photograph uniformly until you can see the difference easily. That difference is what you see in real world results. The original headlights are fine but the HIR is better, brighter, fuller - crisp.

If someone was planning on going with Silverstars, I'd recommend going this route instead given the increased light output and the better longevity of the bulbs. The costs are comparable when you consider that real world reports seem to indicate that Silverstars just don't last.

When these eventually burn out I'm just going to permanently modify the headlight housing. The design is simple and it looks like you just have to unscrew the three screws holding the bulb restricter on the headlight. It looks like once you get the bulb tabs past the restricter, the housing only uses the tabs to secure the bulb with friction. If you're doing this for the first time you might want to go that route. It looks really easy.

You can't see infrared with the naked eye. I think you fell for some marketing hype for brighter halogen bulbs.

HID is the way to go if you have '06+ projectors.

theres been alot of threads on the swap to HIR bulbs already,they are much brighter than than any of the aftermarket plus bulbs, the lumens prove it, no they not as high as HID but not every body needs or whats to go that route, & in some states if you get a ticket for them (HIDs) it can reflect in ur insurance. besides he doesnt have the projectors.

IIRC, the IR waves are reflected internally back to the element to increase visible light output.

HIR is the way to go for the non-projector crowd if brighter lighting is desired. Some people are using the High beam bulb in the low beam (with minor mod) as it is brighter although shorter life. Keep in mind also the high beam bulb doesn't carry a filament shield and can cause glare to on-coming.

I opted to go with 80 watt low and high (on relays) long ago because I could get the bulbs for free. -- No issues 5 years and 130K miles later. But HIR is a better route.

Thanks for the good write-up

Here is a good description on how they actually work. I have been thinking about going this direction myself. I have the Silver star Ultras and I have to say this is looking good to me. More light same/less energy I am liking that idea. Since the Fog lights take the same bulb I am wondering if this would be a good fog light mode as well.

HIR Headlights 9011 9012 bulbs

Manufacturers prototype spec sheet: http://hirheadlights.com/hir%20techsheet.htm

Original Patent info: http://hirheadlights.com/USPTO%20HIR%20bulbs.pdf

Here is a testimony from an engineer (and he speaks like one too) he found some interesting results: http://shnu.us/Bulb%20test%20and%20pix.htm

Go with HIR for the low beams and high beams, but I recommend yellow fogs. I installed the Hoen Endurance bulbs and they look great. The combination makes an awesome amount of light in any weather and will not blind oncoming traffic. (I don't think people like it in rear view mirrors too much though).

For those of us that like functional fogs for dark, foul weather driving, you can't beat a 2500K bulb. I'm running the Hella Optilux EY (extreme yellow) which are about the same as the HOEN mentioned above. Fantastic in bad weather at night.

But then there are those that simply want to look like a frickin' UFO coming down the road (refer to the movie "Close Encounters...") with all of their lights on, even in daylight...