Poor man's HID low beams

ScionFred · 08-28-2007, 02:01 PM

Just mod some H9s to replace the stock H11s.

H11 = 55W/1200 Lumens
H9 = 65W/2100 Lumens

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=119161

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/p.../products.html

I just ordered a pair of Sylvania H9s from Amazon for $20 + $5 shipping. I'll post my results later.

yellow_sub · 08-29-2007, 05:07 AM

hmmm sounds interesting

ScionFred · 08-29-2007, 11:21 AM

I'm sure that H9s will produce much more light and my only concern is that they may be too bright or possibly burn too hot. Both the H9 and H11 use the same axial element placement so the beam pattern should be the same. I'm just hoping that they won't be too bright for oncoming traffic or melt the diffusor lens.

ScionFred · 09-05-2007, 03:40 AM

Installed the H9 bulbs tonight in about 15 minutes and what a difference! Same cut-off but much more light. What can I say? $25 to go from 1200 lumens to 2100 lumens vs $100-300 to go from 1200 to 3200 lumens with 4300K HIDs.

ketchup_xb · 09-05-2007, 03:44 AM

pics of these fer sure.

ScionFred · 09-05-2007, 04:04 AM

Unfortunately I don't have any before pics and from what I've seen posted in many HID threads, you can't tell shit about RL headlight performance from pics anyway...

WhiteNoise · 09-27-2007, 05:13 PM

Fred how about a quick update on how the h9 light bulbs have performed? Thanks.

ScionFred · 10-05-2007, 10:41 PM

The H9s are great. No problems at all, just much more illumination. They've been in for about 3 weeks now and so far I've only been flashed once and that was probably because my lights are aimed higher due to the TRD springs.

WhiteNoise · 10-06-2007, 01:28 AM

Good deal, i was thinking of replacing my fogs which i believe are h11s. think that would be ok?

ScionFred · 10-07-2007, 08:43 AM

I've heard of others replacing H11 fog bulbs with H9s and they were happy with the results. I can think of only 2 potential problems:

1) H9s will burn a little hotter
2) H9s draw 10W more (5.4A vs 4.6A)

jrw1981 · 10-22-2007, 03:00 AM

i swapped out the h11's for h9's as well on my xB2. definately an improvement. they're far from HID, but i'll take what i can get. the springs i put on there lowered the back .7 inches more than the front, so i also had to aim the lowbeams a bit lower. this was much easier than i thought it would be. there is an easily accessible bolt on the back of the light that controls the angle of the lens. toyota really did a great job making everything on this car easily accessible.

slvrbullet8069 · 11-04-2007, 07:39 PM

Interesting to know, I usually just buy the Nokya Hyper White bulbs to get the HID effect (I have them in now).....But now I'm thinkin I might have to try this on my xb2 to see which is better. Thanks for the info....

SnekerBox · 11-10-2007, 10:27 PM

Where can I get the H9 bulbs, and do they just plug in. Also what and where is the low beam adj screw?

Maddman · 11-18-2007, 05:08 AM

Fred, did you have to use the same mod for the low beams as the link u posted for the fogs?

ScionFred · 11-18-2007, 10:31 AM

H9s are a little scarce but I got my Sylvania (Osram) H9s from Amazon for ~$25. The silver 8mm HL adjustment screw is located near the top of each HL assy and accessible from the engine compartment. Use the notches as a guide. After installing TRD springs I adjusted mine down 6 notches which was just like stock. I'm now running them only 3 notches down because the stock setting was too low, IMO.

H9s require the same mods for any H11 application.

Maddman · 11-18-2007, 04:09 PM

I found them at Auto Zone this morning 14 bucks ea, did the mod ,,well see tonight :-)

al74dart · 12-22-2007, 10:51 AM

OK, I have located the 8mm silver bolt to adjust the headlights hight but which way do I turn the bolt to raise the beam? I am running all stock but my beams seem to be low as I overdrive my lights at night.
Al

ScionFred · 12-23-2007, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by al74dart

OK, I have located the 8mm silver bolt to adjust the headlights hight but which way do I turn the bolt to raise the beam? I am running all stock but my beams seem to be low as I overdrive my lights at night.
Al

I forgot which way to turn the bolt but just park in front of a wall at night and it should be obvious. Before you start adjusting, it's a good idea to mark the original position with something. I used a permanent marker. Keep in mind that what looks like a little at 10' is a lot more at 100'. Just a few notches makes a big difference.

SnekerBox · 12-24-2007, 01:50 PM

Any sign of a melt down on the defuser?

al74dart · 12-24-2007, 06:11 PM

OK, I just checked the direction and turning the screw Clockwise moves the beam up. I moved mine 6 marks as a starting point. I may have to back it down some later. I marked the adjustment screw so I can always go back to factory setting and wrote down which way I turned the screw and the number of marks. This way I can keep track of what works best for me.

Al