eddiebx
New member
I've gotten a lot PMs requesting instructions on doing this relatively cheap light bulb mod, so I decided to make a new thread and make life easier for everyone. Just to be clear, there's already a lot of threads floating around on the internet on how to do this, so I am not trying to take credit for anything. I figured everyone loves pictures and I happened to snap a few when I did this a few months ago, so why not share 
Before I begin, please note that this is not street legal nor DOT approved, so proceed at your own risk. Obviously, it's going to be pretty hard to tell since everything looks factory (just brighter), so chances of getting ticketed are next to nil. Also, the factory harnesses and fuses should be able to handle these just fine since we're only bumping up the wattage a tiny bit. Lastly, the slight additional heat generated from the new bulbs should fine as well since it's basically just putting a standard high beam bulb in place of a low beam bulb.
To do this mod you will probably need some wire clippers, small files, needle nose pliers and maybe even a Dremel, if you have. The pictures speak for themselves so you decide on how you plan to attack this. Personally, I just used a wire clipper and a needle nose pliers to nip off the excess material; then cleaned it all up with a variety of metal files.
Parts:
-2x Amazon.com: Philips H9 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1: Automotive
-2x Philips 9011 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1 : Amazon.com : Automotive
I ordered these bulbs from Amazon because they were the cheapest and still high quality bulbs, but any standard H9 and 9011 will do. So you can just pick them up at you local auto parts store if you don't mind paying a bit more.
The concept of this mod is to replace the factory H11 low beam bulb with a modified H9 bulb, and replace the factory 9005 high beam bulb with a modified 9011 bulb, respectively. As you can see from the pictures below, the only difference between the bulbs are tabs on the base and/or the plug.
H9 Bulb Conversion:
On the base of the bulb you will see a wide metal tab on the base, this tab needs to be trimmed down a bit to make it go into the headlight housing easier. If you don't feel like trimming it, you might be able to shoe horn it in at a slant (you'll see what I'm talking about if you put the base of the H9 bulb up to the headlight housing); but personally, I rather just trim it off so I can put it in and take it out easier. This does not need to be trimmed to exacting standards, just trim off enough so you can get it past the slot on the headlight housing. It does not have to be perfect or neat either because it does nothing as far as securing the bulb to the housing goes.
On the plug end you will see that there is an extra plastic tab towards the top of the plug, this needs to go or else you won't be able to push the factory plug on. You need to get this as flat as possible and as far down as possible into the inner surface of the plug.
Close up view in case you guys can't see exactly what's going on from the pictures above.
And well, that's all folks! Remember to clean off all the left over debris and wipe down the bulb with a soft towel and 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol leaves more residue) before installing them. Also, don't touch the quartz envelope of the bulb after wiping it down in order to ensure longer bulb life
Since I know someone's going to ask, no I don't have before and after pictures comparing the light output, lol. The color of the light will be a "whiter" light in the sense that it's not as dull/brown looking as the OEM bulb. If you're looking for that cool white HID look, you'll be disappointed. Just picture high beam color output and that's about what you will have.
The pattern is pretty much just like stock but brighter. Glare is controlled just fine because the filament is in the same exact spot as the H11 bulb and you have glare shields built into the headlights in front of the bulbs too.
Please note, this would be a good time to re-aim your headlights and make sure they are not pointed too high because while there isn't any extra glare from the H9 bulbs, the still H9 bulbs are significantly brighter and way more annoying if you're shinning them right into someones eyes vs. the H11 bulbs.
Lastly, this mod works the same exact way if you want to put them in the fog light housings; but I must say that you may or may not want to install them there depending on how you use your fog lights. This is because the tip of the H11 bulbs are dipped with opaque paint to prevent forward glare, and the H9 bulb tips are not. Unfortunately for us, the fog light housings do not have an additional glare shield in front of the bulb, so do this mod at your own discretion.
Happy modding! :cheers:
Before I begin, please note that this is not street legal nor DOT approved, so proceed at your own risk. Obviously, it's going to be pretty hard to tell since everything looks factory (just brighter), so chances of getting ticketed are next to nil. Also, the factory harnesses and fuses should be able to handle these just fine since we're only bumping up the wattage a tiny bit. Lastly, the slight additional heat generated from the new bulbs should fine as well since it's basically just putting a standard high beam bulb in place of a low beam bulb.
To do this mod you will probably need some wire clippers, small files, needle nose pliers and maybe even a Dremel, if you have. The pictures speak for themselves so you decide on how you plan to attack this. Personally, I just used a wire clipper and a needle nose pliers to nip off the excess material; then cleaned it all up with a variety of metal files.
Parts:
-2x Amazon.com: Philips H9 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1: Automotive
-2x Philips 9011 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1 : Amazon.com : Automotive
I ordered these bulbs from Amazon because they were the cheapest and still high quality bulbs, but any standard H9 and 9011 will do. So you can just pick them up at you local auto parts store if you don't mind paying a bit more.
The concept of this mod is to replace the factory H11 low beam bulb with a modified H9 bulb, and replace the factory 9005 high beam bulb with a modified 9011 bulb, respectively. As you can see from the pictures below, the only difference between the bulbs are tabs on the base and/or the plug.
H9 Bulb Conversion:
On the base of the bulb you will see a wide metal tab on the base, this tab needs to be trimmed down a bit to make it go into the headlight housing easier. If you don't feel like trimming it, you might be able to shoe horn it in at a slant (you'll see what I'm talking about if you put the base of the H9 bulb up to the headlight housing); but personally, I rather just trim it off so I can put it in and take it out easier. This does not need to be trimmed to exacting standards, just trim off enough so you can get it past the slot on the headlight housing. It does not have to be perfect or neat either because it does nothing as far as securing the bulb to the housing goes.
On the plug end you will see that there is an extra plastic tab towards the top of the plug, this needs to go or else you won't be able to push the factory plug on. You need to get this as flat as possible and as far down as possible into the inner surface of the plug.
Close up view in case you guys can't see exactly what's going on from the pictures above.
And well, that's all folks! Remember to clean off all the left over debris and wipe down the bulb with a soft towel and 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (Rubbing Alcohol leaves more residue) before installing them. Also, don't touch the quartz envelope of the bulb after wiping it down in order to ensure longer bulb life
Since I know someone's going to ask, no I don't have before and after pictures comparing the light output, lol. The color of the light will be a "whiter" light in the sense that it's not as dull/brown looking as the OEM bulb. If you're looking for that cool white HID look, you'll be disappointed. Just picture high beam color output and that's about what you will have.
The pattern is pretty much just like stock but brighter. Glare is controlled just fine because the filament is in the same exact spot as the H11 bulb and you have glare shields built into the headlights in front of the bulbs too.
Please note, this would be a good time to re-aim your headlights and make sure they are not pointed too high because while there isn't any extra glare from the H9 bulbs, the still H9 bulbs are significantly brighter and way more annoying if you're shinning them right into someones eyes vs. the H11 bulbs.
Lastly, this mod works the same exact way if you want to put them in the fog light housings; but I must say that you may or may not want to install them there depending on how you use your fog lights. This is because the tip of the H11 bulbs are dipped with opaque paint to prevent forward glare, and the H9 bulb tips are not. Unfortunately for us, the fog light housings do not have an additional glare shield in front of the bulb, so do this mod at your own discretion.
Happy modding! :cheers:
op2:
