I was reading last night and came across this headlight mod. I never realized it was so popular! So I did it...

I used regular Philips H9's and 2011's. I followed the instructions I read in multiple threads here. Basically these bulbs can replace the stock bulbs in our headlights and highbeams. All that's required is to trim a couple of tabs.

I didn't take a bunch of pictures for a real writeup because I was in kind of a hurry. The only thing I had to do that I didn't read anywhere was trim one of the metal tabs on the H9. I used a dremel with a cutoff wheel for the metal tab, and a grinding bit for the plastic parts. Sorry again for not doing a real writeup. However, this mod is all over this forum and the internet.

Anyway, I did take a pic halfway through the installation so you can see the difference in brightness. This is with the engine running and the highbeams on. It is definitely a lot more output! The driver's side is the one with the mod, the passenger side is stock. Its noticeable in the pic, even more so in real life. Whiter too.

I like it. Now that you have both, how noticeable is improvement?

You mentioned "2011" bulbs.... I am assuming you typoed and meant 9011 which refers to the "HIR" type incan. bulbs.

The 9011's replace the stock 9005 high beam bulbs and are significantly brighter to my eyes, one of the best "bang for your buck" lighting mods there is.

Awesome mod. I never messed with the H9's but supposedly those are a good improvement over the 9006's low beams.

For those interested, here is some good info:
HIR Headlights 9011 9012 bulbs

Truck is looking good by the way, I just noticed the LED's (Rigid D2's??) on the front bumper!

Cheers!

I read about this yesterday also! Looked like a pretty effective and easy mod. May have to try it out myself.

ooh well... just did the H9 to H11 mod to fogs and headlights.

Now you all have convinced me and I'm doing the HIR conversion for high beams! Just ordered the lights from ebay

My primary benefits will be from the H9 Low-Beams + Fog Lights. How do you compare your current H9 mods vs stock H11 output?

It seems there's tons of conflicting info on the H11 vs H9 debate on the inter-webs (go figure! )

What about just doing a straight upgrade to say... Osram Nightbreaker H11's? They seem to get good reviews and there wouldn't have to be any modification.

Any experience with this?

Here's a write-up I found on how to do the conversion. Seems simple enough. It seems like it would be a pain to do it every time the bulb burnt out though.

H11-H9 writeup

Its really pretty painless, plus I've had great life out of my 9011's - going on 2 years so far.

Check the "lumen" output. Some are selling lamps as a "brighter" replacement but in reality they do not produce any more lumens.

The H11 to H9 conversion will net you an increase of 750 lumens.
H11 = 55w = 1350 lumens
H9 = 65w = 2100 lumens

So, do the math: 2100/1350 = 1.55 which equates to 50% more ("brighter") light output. And, the difference in wattage (10w) will only draw 0.83 more amps, so they will not overburden the wiring, sockets, fuses, etc.

I replaced the stock H11s with Sylvania Silverstar Ultra (or something like that). I know, I know. Expensive and questionable life but so far so good. I think the stockers are pretty good but the Silverstars are significantly brighter, a little whiter, cutofff is very clean and have good side-to-side dispersion. I was very careful to not get any skin oil on the bulbs when installing. It's been just over a year and still going strong (knock on wood). Many have complained of super short life. I don't drive that much at night so I'm not a good gauge on bulb life.

How about Silverstar H9s in place of the H11s?

The Silverstar H9 should be rated for 2100 lumens, but I have not been able to confirm that (seems to be a well-kept secret).

It's all about the "lumens" when discussing "output". Now, color temperature has a great effect on your perception of "brightess". The lights may look "whiter", therefor perceived as "brighter" but, a lumen is a lumen, and that is what is going to light up the roads in front of you.

Note: a lamp's lumen output will degrade over its lifetime. So the initial "brightness" of a newly installed lamp will diminish over time. Lighting designers will typically use a LLF (light loss factor) of 75-80% for design calculations, to compensate for lamp life.

I know, very technical stuff here, but it really bugs me that people are getting sold on the "whiter" = "brighter" sales pitch.

I'm not about to argue with anyone over this- I really don't know much about it, but: If the lights "look" brighter isn't that all that matters? Hell, if it looks brighter to me i'm happy.

It's like when I bought my wife her engagement ring. They told me all about clarity, cut, blah blah blah. I looked at the lady and said- "I really don't care. It's a rock, it will never ever be worth what it costs (especially when I could buy one hell of a lot of mods for the price!), and I will never sell it."

I looked for one that was clear and sparkly and bought it. It was real, she was happy.

I look at lights the same way. Maybe I'm just a friggin wierdo. I dunno.

I fully appreciate the upgrade, but see no need to replace the OEM's. The OEM bulbs work fine for my aging eyes. My Tacoma still has the OEM headlights for a decade now, talk about saving money!

The upgrade for the High Beams is not as dramatic...
The HB3(9005) to HIR(9011) conversion will net you an increase of 490 lumens.
HB3(9005) = 60w = 1860 lumens
HIR(9011) = 65w = 2350 lumens

So, again with the math: 2350/1860 = 1.26 which only equates to 25% more ("brighter") light output. And, the difference in wattage (5w) will only draw 0.42 more amps, so again, they will not overburden the wiring, sockets, fuses, etc.

Bottom line: want more light, get more lumens.