H11 bulb options

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jan 12, 2005
Messages
4,353
Location
FL
I recently got a new car (Fiesta ST). It comes with H11 bulbs for the low beam. The light is decent, but I'm used to the HID in my Maxima (OEM D2R reflectors).

I am thinking about replacing the bulb in the Fiesta for something brighter. Will I get a significant increase in light output from pricier bulbs such as the Philips XtremeVision or Silverstar Ultra? I know they have a lower lifespan.

Another option is modifying a H9 bulb to fit the H11 socket. I'm kind of leaning towards this option, but I've read the life of a H9 bulb is only around 250 hrs.

Opinions?
 
I have H9(modified) in my daughter 2014 Accord low beam(projector), it lasted about a year and a half.

The Accord uses high beam with reduced power for DRL, so the low beam is only used at night and the estimated 250-300 hours is probably true.
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
The H9 is the better bulb but the better beam comes at the cost of reduced life span. If they are easy bulbs to change get a good name brand H9 like Phillips.

The H9 is 2100 lumens while the H11 is 1250, so even the regular H9 will be brighter than pretty much any fancy h11 bulb and be cheaper too.

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/bulbs/bulb_types/bulb_types.html

I had Phillips H9 on my daughter Accord, it looks like quality bulb but made in China. Currently I have Osram H9 on the car now and it is also made in China.

H9 is clearly brighter than standard H11 but still not as bright as HID on S2000.
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Just don't convert to HID...


I sort of have to question this... One illegal retrofit is ok while the other isn't? They are both not compliant with DOT, regardless of what Daniel Stern or whomever else says...
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Just don't convert to HID...


I sort of have to question this... One illegal retrofit is ok while the other isn't? They are both not compliant with DOT, regardless of what Daniel Stern or whomever else says...


What's illegal about a H9 bulb?
 
An h9 bulb while brighter wont glare if you have a full bulb shield that covers the end of the bulb in the headlight assembly.
The h9 filament is in the exact same location as the h11

HID retrofits generally are awful and toss glare all over blinding people.

Some can work ok. Even many OEM HIDs are blinding due to poor aiming, car loading etc.
 
Not that I planned to do this retrofit, but my Mazda3 has projector housings (for halogen bulbs) and I don't think they have any shields in front of the bulbs. I find the H11's to be plenty adequate, but then, I live in an area with almost 100% coverage of street lights.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that the retrofit might not be a good idea for projector housings. I suppose you could paint the ends of the bulbs with some high temp grill paint, right?
 
Originally Posted By: Rand
An h9 bulb while brighter wont glare if you have a full bulb shield that covers the end of the bulb in the headlight assembly.
The h9 filament is in the exact same location as the h11

HID retrofits generally are awful and toss glare all over blinding people.

Some can work ok. Even many OEM HIDs are blinding due to poor aiming, car loading etc.

Without self-leveling my S2000 with perfect aiming OEM HID can be blinding when going up incline. On level ground or decline its cutoff is below the bumper bottom at 80-100 feet so no glare to the opposite traffic.

Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Not that I planned to do this retrofit, but my Mazda3 has projector housings (for halogen bulbs) and I don't think they have any shields in front of the bulbs. I find the H11's to be plenty adequate, but then, I live in an area with almost 100% coverage of street lights.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that the retrofit might not be a good idea for projector housings. I suppose you could paint the ends of the bulbs with some high temp grill paint, right?

I installed H9 in 2014 Accord projector headlight, same beam pattern with H11 just a little brighter, no need to paint the tip of H9 for projector(at the minimum no need for Accord), for reflector you may need to paint the tip to reduce glare.
 
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Not that I planned to do this retrofit, but my Mazda3 has projector housings (for halogen bulbs) and I don't think they have any shields in front of the bulbs. I find the H11's to be plenty adequate, but then, I live in an area with almost 100% coverage of street lights.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that the retrofit might not be a good idea for projector housings. I suppose you could paint the ends of the bulbs with some high temp grill paint, right?
What year Mazda 3 do you have? My other half's 08 Mazda 3 has low beam projectors but they use a H7 bulb.
 
Originally Posted By: xxch4osxx
Originally Posted By: DBMaster
Not that I planned to do this retrofit, but my Mazda3 has projector housings
What year Mazda 3 do you have? My other half's 08 Mazda 3 has low beam projectors but they use a H7 bulb.


2012 Skyactiv version.
 
I have done the H11 to H9 conversion on my (traded in) Lexus CT200h and my current Lexus HS250 using the BulbZilla wire harness adapter. This makes it easy to use H9 bulbs. Then you only have to snip off part of one metal tab on the base of the H9 bulb so it fits into the factory H11 socket. This takes a few minutes. The conversion has been discussed on many forums and if you Google it, you usually find the Mazda forum explanation which had nice photos. I use Philips H9 bulbs which are inexpensive on Amazon such that I do not mind replacing them every year for the much improved lighting. Plus the Philips bulbs are the factory color which really is best for night time vision.

I think you can also find BulbZilla on Amazon.
 
Last edited:
Yes they are essentially the "same" bulb, here is how Virgil puts it's on candlepowerforums

Originally Posted By: Virgil from candlepowerforums

It's basically a matter of different filament with different characteristics. The H9 has a 65w (nominal) filament optimized for maximum luminance and flux at the expense of shorter lifespan. The H11 has a 55w (nominal) filament optimized for long life at the expense of lower luminance and flux. Both bulbs have equal filament precision, etc.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top