H11 Silverstars

[Scoobs]

I was hoping to catch you before you put your money down on the Silverstars. You might want to run your Silverstars until they die, and then give the H9 and HIR 1 set up a try. Your call.

Both the H9 and the HIR 1 ( 9011 ) can be purchased online at the links that I previously posted. When I ordered mine I got very good service and they arrived in 5 days. Probably would arrive quicker in the U.S.. You do have to trim the tabs on the H9 bulbs to get them to fit. Took me a couple of minutes on each one with a dremel tool to do it. Just pull out the existing low beam and compare the tabs to see what you have to take off. I can't remember if I trimmed the tabs on the HIR 1 ( 9011 ) to get it to fit, but if I did it couldn't have been a big deal because I don't remember doing it.

9011 (HIR1) HIR 1 Toshiba. Some are made in Japan by Toshiba, some are made in China by Toshiba. They look exactly the same regardless.

H9 bulb H9 I believe the H9 is made by Narva, a European manufacturer. Just checked the box, " NARVA. Made in Germany "

I agree regarding the fogs. I was not suggesting HIR bulbs in the fogs. Put a yellow bulb in as suggested by Nuke, or leave the OEM bulb in and paint the lens as suggested by Daniel Stern in the stuff I previously posted. If it were me I'd try a yellow bulb, at least it's easily reversible if I don't like the result. If you paint the foglight lens you are stuck with the result whether you like it or not.

If you want the fogs for extra light I suppose you could put in the HIR bulbs, I'm not sure if anyone has tried it? They apparently don't generate any more heat than the OEM bulb so they should be ok in the foglight enclosure.

 

[Scoobs]

This guy apparently sells HIR2 online.

HIR FAQs

 

[chaz]

scoobs, im just curious as to why daniel stern didnt suggest the h9 bulbs to me when i told him i wanted the brightest legal low beam bulb, instead he said for me to get the osram nightbreaker +90. is it because the h9 are 65 watt & not the stock 55w? has there been problems using the higher watt bulbs with the h11 sockets? i know it needs to be modified to fit an h9. also, he didnt recommend the hir for the highs either. like i said, im just curious since it seems hes giving different suggestions to basicly the same asked questions. on another note, ive heard the phillips extremes are good too.

 

[Scoobs]

scoobs, im just curious as to why daniel stern didnt suggest the h9 bulbs to me when i told him i wanted the brightest legal low beam bulb, instead he said for me to get the osram nightbreaker +90. is it because the h9 are 65 watt & not the stock 55w? has there been problems using the higher watt bulbs with the h11 sockets? i know it needs to be modified to fit an h9. also, he didnt recommend the hir for the highs either. like i said, im just curious since it seems hes giving different suggestions to basicly the same asked questions. on another note, ive heard the phillips extremes are good too.

Unfortunately I have no idea why. I have not heard of a single person who has had problems with the H9 bulb or the HIR bulb. I suspect if they had it would have been posted somewhere by now and I haven't seen it. We can always find lots of people who complain about different types of "plus" bulbs burning out early, or not giving any more usable light etc.

People are running the H9s in Hondas, Fords, Dodges, Mazdas, BMWs, Toyotas etc etc without complaint. The only common comment is what a dramatic difference it makes in the available light. My comment would be that I would only put an H9 in as a replacement in a projector housing. In a normal housing the increased light output would definitely create a lot more "flare" on the light and bother oncoming drivers. H9s in projectors aren't a problem however as the light is focused in a very clear beam. I was out driving last night in mild fog and you could clearly see that all the low beam light was focused on my side of the road, the cutoff from the projectors was quite noticeable,

I know he has recommended the H9/HIR 1 setup to members of numerous different forums driving different vehicles, the common denominator being the presence of projectors for the low beam. Perhaps given that the supply side for H9 and HIR bulbs is much more limited he is recommending bulbs that are much more readily available, or perhaps he's helping people avoid the trouble of having to modify the bases? He's answered your questions before, drop him a line and see what he says. As someone who is exceedingly happy with the H9/HIR combo I'd be interested in knowing if he has changed his opinion, and why, or does he just have a couple of different combo suggestions that he recommends.

 

[Scoobs]

Here's Daniel Stern's July 2008 e-mail reply to the owner of a 2008 Honda Pilot, a vehicle which uses the same OEM bulbs as the 2006 and up 4R, and also has low beam projector housings. I think this response was also found in one of the previous links I posted.

I received the following response from Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply.

> I just finished reading your site. Very interesting information. Thank
> you.

You're welcome!

> I recently purchased a 2008 Honda Pilot. The headlights are good but
> not great.

The optics are quite good. You can without too much trouble replace the
H11 (1350 lumen) low beam bulb with an H9 (2100 lumen) item:
H9 bulb You may need to shave a small ridge of plastic off the H9 bulb's connector so that the H11 socket will snap on. Other than that, it's a direct swap.

Your high beams can also be significantly upgraded if you will Replace the existing 9005 bulbs with 9011. The new bulbs are not some tinted or
overwattage version of 9005, but rather employ a relatively new technology called HIR, Halogen Infrared Reflection. The mechanical dimensions of the bulb are all virtually identical to the 9005, but the bulb glass is spherical instead of tubular, with the sphere centered around the filament. There is a "Durable IR Reflective" coating on the spherical
glass. Infrared = heat, so the coating causes heat to be reflected back to the filament at the center of the sphere. This causes the filament to
become much hotter (producing more light) than it can by passing
electricity through it, *without* the shorter life or greater heat
production that comes with overwattage bulbs (to say nothing of
overwattage bulbs' incompatibility with stock wiring.)

Here's the comparison:

stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hours
compare: 9005+50, 12.8V, 55W, 1830 lumens, 175 hours
new: HIR1, 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 320 hours

These bulbs are costly as bulbs go - $23.95/ea - but their cost is worth
considering in context: Any number of companies will charge you more than this for a tarted-up 9005 with blue colored glass (PIAA and Sylvania
Silverstar come to mind) that doesn't produce more light and has a very
short lifespan.

The HIR bulbs have a double-wide top ear on the plastic bulb base, this is to comply with the law requiring different bulbs to have different bases. The extra-wide plastic top ear is easily trimmed or filed to make the bulb fit your headlamp's bulb receptacle. Once that's done, they go directly into the headlamp, and the existing sockets snap on. Please see
HIR bulb base modification for details.

The direct order link for these bulbs is
9011 (HIR1)

> What about brake lights, turn signal, etc?

No upgrades for these. It is a real shame; Honda upgraded the lighting
system on the pilot last year with better headlamps, side turn signal
repeaters, etc., but kept the *red* rear turn signals. Amber ones are much safer and are required everywhere outside America.

> I was also going to do the turn signal rewire but my car has side lights
> (on the fenders, just in front of the doors) that flash when the turn
> signal is activated.

Right, so the rewire isn't needed. But you can make the side turn signal
repeaters and front parking and front/rear sidemarker lights brighter for
better conspicuity with these:
Mini wedge base upgrade bulb - stage 2


DS

 

[chaz]

ok, i emailed him asking about this, hopefully i get an answer. ive only had my nightbreakers for 4 months, (im happy with them) mainly i was just wondering if he is no longer suggesting the modding of the H9 65w bulbs for use in a socket that calls for an H11 55w bulb, (legal issue, problems,or what?) im curious because if the H9(lows) & HIR (highs) are far superior to the nightbreaker & SS ultras, i would of gladly of purchased that setup instead. theyre less $ too. i hope it wasnt just to sell me on the more expensive bulbs. i also wonder if the high burnout rate on + bulbs is partially due to the fact that people dont clean the bulbs first & use gloves when installing . anyway , thanks for the info scoobs.

 

[chaz]

just been doing a little more research, & found out it technically illegal to modify the H9 65w bulbs for use in the H11 55w socket. the HIR also needs to be modded to fit, not that anyone could catch you on it without a full inspection, but that might be why DS is suggesting the nightbreakers more now. & he does refer to possible overheating,shorter life & incompatability of over wattage bulbs (H9 are 65w, not the stock 55w) with the stock wiring & H11 socket, but it is true that i asked him "what is the brightest , LEGAL , bulbs i could use."

 

[chayos00]

just been doing a little more research, & found out it technically illegal to modify the H9 65w bulbs for use in the H11 55w socket. the HIR also needs to be modded to fit, not that anyone could catch you on it without a full inspection, but that might be why DS is suggesting the nightbreakers more now. & he does refer to possible overheating,shorter life & incompatability of over wattage bulbs (H9 are 65w, not the stock 55w) with the stock wiring & H11 socket, but it is true that i asked him "what is the brightest , LEGAL , bulbs i could use."

I can tell you when I was running the Nokya bulbs in my Ranger they were 9007 bulbs. So I believe that its wattage is like 55W Low & 65W Hi. I was running 80W/100W bulbs in there for like 2-3 years with ZERO problems. So I don't think that it would cause an issue going from 55W to 65W bulbs. Doing the math its somewhere around a half an amp difference if you based it off 14.5VDC

So 55W/14.5VDC = 3.79A
65W/14.5VDC = 4.48A

I'm sure the probably 18AWG wire can handle that amount of current. The following site show's that it can handle more load than that. Scroll down the page to see the different AWG current ratings. American Wire Gauge table and AWG Electrical Current Load Limits with skin depth frequencies


Thank you guys for all the info on headlights. I think I'm going to return those silverstars and go with what I mentioned earlier as to what I'm going to do.

 

[chaz]

my point was, whether people are having problems or not, its never recommend to use a higher watt bulb in a socket or with wiring not intended for it.even tho most of us have done this at one time or another.still, anyone can try to justify it all they want but there are reasons why its deemed unsafe & illegal.

 

[chayos00]

my point was, whether people are having problems or not, its never recommend to use a higher watt bulb in a socket or with wiring not intended for it.even tho most of us have done this at one time or another.still, anyone can try to justify it all they want but there are reasons why its deemed unsafe & illegal.

Correct I understand what you are saying, I was just giving input from an Electronics Tech perspective, as to why theoretically it should be fine. Of course someone made the laws for a reason(what they are who knows), it's each and everyone's prerogative as to if you follow it or not. We are all adults and we know the consequences of what our actions are.

The other part is, is the connector capable of handling the extra heat, the wiring will be fine, it's the question of if the plastic is able to withstand the heat.

Since it's hard to read people from just typing, I'm not upset or anything don't take what I'm saying the wrong way.


Jason

 

[chaz]

heck no, were just rappin. goodluck with what ever you decide.

 

[chayos00]

Good stuff Chaz, it's easy to read stuff wrong. The only problem with this form of communication. There is no emotions. LOL

So does anyone know who makes some "upgraded/improved" H9 bulbs?


Going to do the following.
High's replace with 9011 (HIR1)
Low's replace with H9's (upgraded not OEM, who makes them??)
Fogs replace with 9012 (HIR2)

 

[Scoobs]

Good stuff Chaz, it's easy to read stuff wrong. The only problem with this form of communication. There is no emotions. LOL

So does anyone know who makes some "upgraded/improved" H9 bulbs?


Going to do the following.
High's replace with 9011 (HIR1)
Low's replace with H9's (upgraded not OEM, who makes them??)
Fogs replace with 9012 (HIR2)

You don't need "upgraded" H9 bulbs. Out of the box a standard H9 bulb is @ 2100 lumens, and is an extremely bright white light. There is no hint of blue at all ( at least with the Narvas there isn't, although I have seen some Sylvania H9s that have a blue tint -- I'm not sure why they thought it was necessary.). Compared to Osram Nightbreakers that are @ 1780 lumens and have a hint of blue to them.

How much light do you want ? The OEM hi-beams in the Pontiac G8 are standard H9 bulbs. That's how much light they put out.

 

[Scoobs]

Someone put H9 bulbs in the fogs on a TSX

 

[Scoobs]

Here's a picture of the H9 low beam in a 4R projector. Driveway is slanted so beam is projecting higher than normal on the door.

Here's the the H9 low together with the HIR high

 

[chaz]

heres some HOENS that come in H11 70w & H9 80w, just in case your interested. Hoen high performance halogen

 

[Scoobs]

heres some HOENS that come in H11 70w & H9 80w, just in case your interested. Hoen high performance halogen

The Hoen H9 appears to be 65 watts, not 80 watts.

The xenonmatch plus line offers increased Lumens better suited for
main beam or high beam use. M Coupé is shown above with 9006
xenonmatch plus bulbs installed in main beams.



Höen xenonmatch plus bulbs feature the same high quality construction as the xenonmatch line but feature increased Lumens for further lighting power. The plus line is rated at 80W except the H9 and 9005 which operate at factory wattages of 60/65.

When installed in reflector based lighting systems the Höen xenonmatch plus system outperforms retrofitted HID upgrade systems for considerably less investment and glare. As with all bulbs 70w or higher heavy duty connectors and / or a harness upgrade is recommended for optimum lighting performance. Connector upgrades are not required on H9 and 9005 bulbs.

 

[Scoobs]

The Hoen Xenonmatch are blue.

Any filter on the bulb will cut down on the light and will cause a loss of light intensity. Clear bulbs are better.

 

[chaz]

well, you can shoot down any suggestions made by people, in favor of your own, but the man has asked for different suggestions so i just thought id throw some out there, in case he see's one he likes. just trying to help out if possible .please dont take offense to this, but with all do respect, scoobs, you dont seem to be open to anything else, im not saying your wrong or right, but you sure do seem to be pushing your setup pretty hard. anyway, heres another blue one, seems to have long life.also one with a 10 year warrenty. ha , ha, only a joke, ill unsubcribe from this thread leave it subject alone. Recon Accessories: Part # 264H11DW - H11 (4,600 KELVIN) Headlight Bulbs in Diamond White http://www.wheelzngrillez.com/plsehebu.html

 

[scottm]

I just ordered the 9011/HIR1 from Candlepower, and the 9012/HIR2 from my local John Deere dealer ($28). I used these in my Land Cruiser, it took minimal trimming of one small ear to make it fit into the reflector. I've read that Toshiba is no longer making the HIR2, and vendors show it unavailable, that's probably why the H9 is now suggested. I may be wise to get two pair in case they never come back.

I couldn't find amber 168 5W bulbs anywhere for my front marker lights, 194 appears to fit there also, but no amber 5W or any upgrades. I'll try the Toyota dealer.

My owner's manual doesn't give a part number for my stop/turn bulbs, just "wedge base" and 21/5W clear. I'd like to upgrade them, but what bulbs fit there? I'll be working on making the rear fogs functional, so this is not as critical.

I don't have DRL lights, but I'm a firm believer in running lights during the day. Anyone know if the front turn signal socket will take the two-filament bulb that is called out for the DRL? If so, a little wiring and relays might give me what I'm after. If not, I may be adding aux lights anyway, I don't have factory fogs.