H11 Silverstars

[chaz]

as promised, heres DS answer, No, I do not recommend using the H9 in that application -- too much glare.
> a few months ago i asked if you could suggest the brightest legal headlight bulbs for my 06 4runner that uses h11 for the lows, & u suggested the osram nightbreaker + 90 h11, which i really like , so thankyou. but i couldnt help but wonder why you have suggested to other 06+ 4runner owners to use the h9 for the lows & hir for the highs. im just curious cause i would of gone with the h9 if they are brighter than the nightbreakers & gone with the hir in stead of the ss ultras for the highs. thanks in advance.

 

[Scoobs]

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 Xenon headlight bulbs, Headlight Bulbs

Who is shooting anything down? I have always found your posts to be very helpful. :hatsoff: I, like you, was just providing additional information to help people make an informed decision. I really don't care if people upgrade their bulbs or leave them OEM, or spend lots of money doing it or little money doing it, or use my set-up, although it's not "mine", or use another set-up, HID etc. It would be pretty boring if we all did exactly the same thing, and we all learn from others doing and trying different things.

 

[chaz]

yea, sorry scoobs, didnt mean anything by it, ive always found yours informative also. anyway, i just posted what Sterns answer to the use of H9 for lows in 06+, so either he's changed his opinion or mind on they're use . wish he gave a more detailed answer, but at least i got that. oh well.

 

[Scoobs]

Yes his answer to you was somewhat cryptic. Almost sounds like he got "caught" making a recommendation ( H9 ) that might have backfired when someone used it and now he is pulling in his horns a bit. Anyway thanks for posting his answer.

I'll let you know how my H9s work out for life expectancy, other driver annoyance etc. Please let us know how your lights work out.

 

[chaz]

i think this is an adapter for the H11 to use H9 bulbs for someone who doesnt want to mess with modifing the bulb to work. Bulbzilla Headlight and Foglight Brightness Conversion Kits - Bulbzilla BFH119R - TruckCustomizers.com

 

[chayos00]

Hey guys thought I would let you know that I returned the bulbs to autozone. I was wondering if they would take them after I had installed them.

So I picked up the plain Jane OEM H9 bulbs, I just installed them in my truck with the help of my dremal, just a few moments of time. So my wife is driving the truck tonight since I'm detailing her car. So I'll let you know the difference that I see tomorrow when I go back to work.

Plus I did notice with the silverstart that I didn't get that razor sharp cutoff line from the projectors anymore. Plus it did seem that I lost distance.

 

[chaz]

looking forward to the update. 2 questions, -1) did you have to trim the metal tab on top also? 2) did you have to adjust the headlights lower because of glare?

 

[chayos00]

looking forward to the update. 2 questions, -1) did you have to trim the metal tab on top also? 2) did you have to adjust the headlights lower because of glare?

I go back to work tomorrow. So I can tell you then if there is a difference.

#1 - Yeah I had to trim the tab inside of the connector, then I had to grind down about a 1/16 to an 1/8 of an inch on the tab at the top of the base.

#2 - Lets see how much I get flashed tomorrow.

 

[chaz]

ive read that after trimming the metal tab on top, that the bulb might be alittle loose, one person said to just bend it back instead of cut, do you think this is nessesary? the metal tab just needs to be/look like the one on the h11 right?

 

[Scoobs]

chayos00 hopefully you won't get flashed. I can honestly say that I have yet to have anyone flash me while driving the 4R, and I've had the H9s in since June.

Chaz I hadn't thought of just bending the top tab. That might work.

 

[chaz]

yea, one person says just bend the leading tip of the metal tab back a bit with needle nose plyers, yet another says if you wiggle it just right while turning that it fits right in tight. either way, ill try one then the other before i cut.

 

[chayos00]

Yeah when I went to install the bulb, first I noticed the extra plastic ridge inside the connector I trimmed and attempted install, that's when I noticed it wouldn't go in. So I then compared bulbs and found the top tabs to be different so I immediately went for my dremel. But I wonder if bending would of worked to, dunno. Too late now huh? lol

I just checked the seat of the bulbs, they don't wiggle around or anything, feels firm to me.

I guess now I'll just have to look into getting HIR bulbs, but since I've been out of work for 2 weeks now (had my appendix out on the 16th of Nov) money is a little short. So I'll probably look into the HIR's in January or so.

 

[chayos00]

Hey I just wanted to give you an update. So far no one has flashed me, also since it has been a few weeks driving at night I'm going to swap the bulbs out and take pictures to tell the difference. But I can tell you they are better than the silverstars, the H9's vs H11 bulbs.

This weekend when I get some time I'll but the H11's back in an take a pic with them vs the H9's.

 

[chaz]

i just put the H9 in mine this morning, ill update this weekend on if theyre better than the nightbreakers. the reason i needed brighter lows is my headlights are blacked out instead of chrome so there seems to be less reflection of light. i also had to adjust the headlights since i didnt do it after the front lift. on a side note , just the tip on the metal tab needs to be bent with plyers on the H9 to fit, but it looks cleaner if its cut.

 

[chaz]

ok, heres the verdict. the H9 are a big improvement over the osram nightbreakers. mad props to SCOOBS for suggesting them! ive got silverstar ultras for my high beams, & the H9 lows blow them away. now i guess ill have to replace them with HIR 9011 s. so anybody looking to upgrade they're headlight bulbs from H11 without going to HIDs, should consider swaping in the H9s, its well worth it.

 

[Trendari]

This is funny Chaz as I was excited to have just received my Osam Nightbreakers and installed them today...nice improvement from stock bulbs...then you go and one up me by puting in these bulbs! haha

 

[vasekvi]

Save your receipt for the Silverstar. A few of my friends who upgraded to those have experienced bulb life to be less than a year. I gotten two out of mine.

Regarding Silverstar longevity; I've been using Silverstars for years and now the Ultras. My 3rd gen's DRL's used the low beam bulbs and I was lucky to get 1 1/2 - 2 years out of them but I also did a lot of nightime driving. On other vehicles that don't include the Silverstars as DRL's I've put over 2 years min on them. IMO, they're worth the shorter life.

I have not seen good life out of the silverstars. On our 2005 4Runner both the low beams and the fogs are 9006. I had silverstars in them and I replaced them a couple times already. When I replaced one that was burned out I always replaced the other one that still worked, and I noticed that the filament looked like it was about to give. So I got fed up with replacing bulbs and now I have 8000K HID in the low beam and 3000K HID in the foglamps and I couldn't be happier.

 

[chaz]

ok, another update, had silver star ultras for my hi s, just replaced with the HIR 9011, what a big difference! there is absolutely no comparison! again another well worth upgrade thanks to SCOOBS suggestion, thanks again man.

 

[chayos00]

**Update**
With the Sylvania OEM H9's the only place I have gotten flashed is over at my inlaws neighborhood. It's a retirement community, they must be more sensitive to the light as they get older. No where else in town have I got flashed since I've installed them.

On the candlepower website they have the new HIR 9012 bulbs, I was going to order them but I decided to do the Phillips Xtreme 9006's the 9011's for my truck. Plus some Phillips Xtreme 9007's for my wife's old Tercel that I'm going to use for commuting to work, just to save some miles on my truck.

 

[VUI Guy]

ok, heres the verdict. the H9 are a big improvement over the osram nightbreakers. mad props to SCOOBS for suggesting them! ive got silverstar ultras for my high beams, & the H9 lows blow them away. now i guess ill have to replace them with HIR 9011 s. so anybody looking to upgrade they're headlight bulbs from H11 without going to HIDs, should consider swaping in the H9s, its well worth it.

So I found some Hella H9's here
Hella OE Replacement Bulbs - Halogen H9 - Hella 008357001 - TruckCustomizers.com

Is that the right bulb to swap out for the H11's for the low beams?
If so, I imagine the trimming/cutting/bending is obvious once you are comparing the H11 and the H9?

Thanks in advance,
Wally