sduford Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 I upgraded my 9005 headlight bulbs to the 9011 HIR bulbs this weekend. HIR stands for Halogen Infrared, which is a type of halogen bulb that reflects the infrared energy back to the filament to increase the brightness. These bulbs were first used on the Dodge Viper but the GE brand was very fragile, the newer ones are just as sturdy as the 9005. You need to modify the bulbs by taking about 4mm out of one of the plastic tabs on the bulb base. This is very easy to do and took me all of 2 minutes per bulb. The 9011 HIR bulbs put out 2350 Lumens vs the 1700 Lumens of the 9005 bulbs, and the color temperature is a bit higher at 3600K. After installing them I was a bit disapointed. I compared one 9011 bulb with a 9005 and could only see about a 10% improvement just by looking at the headlights. However, last night I was drigin on a 2-lane highway and the first time I flicked the high-beams on I went "holy crap!". They are much brighter then the standard bulbs. I was lighting up road signs and reflectors from several 1000 feet. Road signs were so bright they were almost blinding. When I got back to my dirt road, I could see the imperfections in the road surface much better. These are hard to find but you can get them by emailing the good folks at CandlePower. At $34 a piece, a very worthwhile upgrade in my book. Sylvain www.digitalfotographer.com - Audi Q5 Club - MB-GLK Club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f1anatic Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Actually I do not share your enthusiasm. I sport J-SPEC R HIR 9004 bulbs of 100/80 Watt power on another car and while they're good...they are not the big improvement I was hoping for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sduford Posted January 2, 2005 Author Share Posted January 2, 2005 Completely different bulbs, so I cannot comment. Sylvain www.digitalfotographer.com - Audi Q5 Club - MB-GLK Club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axis008 Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Post pics! -ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatt Marrington Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Thanks for the post bro, I will prob contact you later for the modification instructions. Now if i could just find a way to keep my headlights from getting covered with road filth every 20 miles. -Hatt 2005 Obsidian Black Legacy GT 5MT Un-Limited Sedan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sduford Posted January 3, 2005 Author Share Posted January 3, 2005 This post on Scoobymods explains it very well, with pictures! http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3122 Sylvain www.digitalfotographer.com - Audi Q5 Club - MB-GLK Club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Seems like a simple but excellent mod. Quick question for you - does opening the "slot" in the back of the headlamp unit for the HIR, compromise the weather "seal" area of the bulb? Could you easily go back to the OEM bulb without any sealing issues? My main concern with this would be the emergency availability of the HIRs if/when one burned out and you couldn't replace it right away for whatever reason and needed to go back to the stock lamp. Would the stock lamp fit correctly in the headlamp unit? SBT - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sduford Posted January 3, 2005 Author Share Posted January 3, 2005 You do not modify the headlamp, you only remove a bit of plastic from the bas of the bulb. It is just a tab that is too large to fit in the regular slot, so you have to trim it down a bit. No changes to the car at all! Check the pictures in the link above, very simple. Sylvain www.digitalfotographer.com - Audi Q5 Club - MB-GLK Club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deer Killer Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 For most of us high-beams are rarely used anyway.. where are the H7 HIR's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 You do not modify the headlamp, you only remove a bit of plastic from the bas of the bulb. It is just a tab that is too large to fit in the regular slot, so you have to trim it down a bit. No changes to the car at all! Check the pictures in the link above, very simple. Funny, Now that I go back to that link, I see all the rest of the pics, including the mod to the bulb tab. Only saw the first one comparing the two bulbs. Given that the bulb is modified, and not the headlamp itself, this seems like a great mod, particularly for us older, visually challenged folks. Thanks again! SBT - Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sduford Posted January 3, 2005 Author Share Posted January 3, 2005 For most of us high-beams are rarely used anyway.. where are the H7 HIR's? And what would you do with them? Blind uncoming traffic? Sylvain www.digitalfotographer.com - Audi Q5 Club - MB-GLK Club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deer Killer Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdepew Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Actually I do not share your enthusiasm. I sport J-SPEC R HIR 9004 bulbs of 100/80 Watt power on another car and while they're good...they are not the big improvement I was hoping for. Chances are if they are 9004 bulbs, they are not HIR. True low beam HIR bulbs are labelled 9012. You may have been duped into getting the wrong type of bulbs, much like blue tinted 9004/9005/9006 bulbs are sold as H.I.D. (note the periods always seem to be present in the ripoffs). I think I'm gonna give the 9011s a shot in my high beams and see how they fare. Have done the 9005 high beam (1700 lumens) bulb in 9006 low beam (1000 lumens) housings on several of my families cars with tremendous sucess and very visible difference! See here for a great walkthrough on that modification - http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Upgrade/More_light.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdepew Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 You know I just got to thinking..... The differences that are common to the 9005, 9006, and 9011 are the top tab. You have to remove one side of the 9011 tab to fit into the 9005 and the opposite side of the 9005 to fit in the 9006... what are the chances that the 9011's tab could be made to model that of the 9006? This would be a tremendous coup for the Outback owners looking for a lighting upgrade on the fog lamps which use 9006 bulbs. hrmmm... 2350 lumens (9011) vs. 1000 lumens (9006) 135% improvement (or 235% of stock - you pick the math you like). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedawgs Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 I was wondering about the wattage. I do not want to burn out my wires. Anyone help me out on this one. Updated my vBGarage: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdepew Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 Wattage stays the same between the 9006/9012 at 55W and also on the high beam 9005/9011 at 65W The idea behind HIR is to draw on the heat (by IR light) already produced rather than drawing more current so wattage draw should stay the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firedawgs Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 Hey SDUFord, Where do you buy these bulbs anyways. Updated my vBGarage: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sduford Posted January 5, 2005 Author Share Posted January 5, 2005 As I said in the original post, just email the folks at CandlePower Sylvain www.digitalfotographer.com - Audi Q5 Club - MB-GLK Club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdepew Posted January 27, 2005 Share Posted January 27, 2005 I was looking into these again, and found a seller on Ebay, I've emailed asking for a complete picture with clear view of the labelling on teh base to see if they are the same ones SDUFORD has. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33710&item=7949091180&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdepew Posted January 29, 2005 Share Posted January 29, 2005 So I just ordered them, and they'll probably be in tomorrow - I hope to have pics up with a good comparison some time later this week. Definitely check this guy out - he has a bunch of sets left, and his communication and information has been spot on! Now to convince someone to buy my the HID kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LotusSeven Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 I replaced the OEM Slyvania 9005 high beam bulbs with a set of 9011 HIR bulbs from Bill Fox, the person who sells them on eBay and also directly from his website: http://www.finemotoring.com/ As some others have said, this is an amazing change! The usable range of the high berms is at least 50% farther and the apparent intensity is way up. The 9011 HIR's are clearly much brighter than the 90/100 watt replacements and they don't require any relays or wiring changes and won't melt your housings. The simple modification of the mounting tab on the bulb takes about 1 minute with a Dremel tool or 2 minutes with a file. I have access to a labratory grade, light meter with tracable calibration and did a "quick & dirty" objective measurement of the high-beam intensity of the stock 9005's versis the 9011 HIR's: A calibrated Weston Model 514 Foot-candle Meter was positioned 96 inches in front of the left headlamp assembly, directly on the horizontal center axis of the high beam reflector. the FC Meter uses a 37mm dia. silicon photo sensor. The center of the sensor was positioned 3.5 inches below the vertical center axis of the reflector. The low beam bulb was disconnected and the right side lamp was blocked. All measurements were taken with the engine running, the cooling fan off, and a measured voltage at the battery of between 13.98 and 14.06 Volts. The bulbs were turned on for 5 minutes before measuring intensities. With the stock Sylvania 9005 bulb the light intensity was 122 fC, with the new 9011 HIR bulbs the intensity was 212 fC or an increase of 73 %. With the stock high-beams, I was just barely able to see a particular stop sign at a distance of 1800 feet with the stock high-beams, with the HIR bulbs the same sign is bright and clearly visible. These bulbs transform the LGT headlights, but I'd caution anyone using them to be very respectful of other drivers. PLEASE dip to the low beams if you can see anyone coming toward you or if you are following within 2000 feet of the car in front. Heavy Metal Killed Beethoven Support Classical Music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewster Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 interesting timing for you to bring this post back up, i happen to be reading up on HIRs and stumbled onto the ebay link and ordered a set of high beams last night. Have you done anything with the low beam H7 bulb yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LotusSeven Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 drewster, No, The low beams seem OK for my usual suburban driving, but I have discussed this with Bill Fox. There are HIR options that can be adapted to the projector low beams and Bill has some feedback from people who have done it on BMW's with apparently very good results. I'm sure he'd be happy to have someone try this on a Legacy. Heavy Metal Killed Beethoven Support Classical Music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deer Killer Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 HIR = $$$, post your deals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PGT Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 is this the auction? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOSHIBA-HIR-9011-9012-BULBS-THE-BRIGHTEST-AVAILABLE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33710QQitemZ8014207460QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW I'd like a better bulb for hi-beams to go with my 4000K xenon swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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