Need a new h11 bulb. I have sylvania silver stars but have mixed feelings with them. Any suggestions?
Best H11 headlights for color, visibility, life?
- Thread starter lubedude13
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Doesn't Phillips make a comparable bulb to the Silverstars? I've never had good luck with the Silverstars.....burn out way too quickly
Something like the Philips VisionPlus or Sylvania XtraVision are what you want. More efficient filaments -- up to 30% more usable light. Available at most auto parts stores.
I ordered Wagner britelite from rock auto for $24 for the pair shipped plus they have a $10 mail in rebate.......too good a deal not to try
The best H11 bulbs are either the Philips Xtreme Vision or the GE Nighthawk Platinum (not "Sport"). They are often available for good prices on Amazon. The Wagners are likely re-branded somethingelses. Check the country of origin on them when you get them.
Originally Posted By: lubedude13
Need a new h11 bulb. I have sylvania silver stars but have mixed feelings with them. Any suggestions?
H9 bulb. you'll get brighter (2100 lumens) and more life than Sylvania silverstars (approx. 500 hours).
It takes a quick modification of the bulb, basically removing a wall.
h11
h9
Trim that little wall on the top to make it match the H11. Super easy upgrade.
Yes, it's 65W, but the extra wattage is going to light output, not excessive heat and it will be fine in the 2010 projector housings.
If you want to take the effort,
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=254
Need a new h11 bulb. I have sylvania silver stars but have mixed feelings with them. Any suggestions?
H9 bulb. you'll get brighter (2100 lumens) and more life than Sylvania silverstars (approx. 500 hours).
It takes a quick modification of the bulb, basically removing a wall.
h11
h9
Trim that little wall on the top to make it match the H11. Super easy upgrade.
Yes, it's 65W, but the extra wattage is going to light output, not excessive heat and it will be fine in the 2010 projector housings.
If you want to take the effort,
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/product_info.php?products_id=254
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Caution, not all enclosures are able to handle the extra output of the H9 bulb, effectively destroying the effectiveness of the beam pattern.
Don't worry, the Stanley projector on the Camry are able to handle the extra output of the H9 bulb.
I've done the H-11 to H-9 conversion to my wife's 2013 Accord. The modification took about 30 seconds per bulb, the Phlips H-9 bulbs cost $7.55 at Amazon, and the improvement in illumination is significant.
The beam pattern is exactly the same as with the H-11 bulbs; only the illumination has increased. For the beam pattern to change the headlight would have to be damaged, which is very unlikely given the minor 10 watt increase in power requirement (65w vs 55w).
The beam pattern is exactly the same as with the H-11 bulbs; only the illumination has increased. For the beam pattern to change the headlight would have to be damaged, which is very unlikely given the minor 10 watt increase in power requirement (65w vs 55w).
Originally Posted By: UG_Passat
H9 bulb. You'll get brighter (2100 lumens) and more life than Sylvania Silverstars (approx. 500 hours).
It takes a quick modification of the bulb, basically removing a wall.
Are you sure that H9 bulb has longer life than H11 bulb ?
H9 bulb. You'll get brighter (2100 lumens) and more life than Sylvania Silverstars (approx. 500 hours).
It takes a quick modification of the bulb, basically removing a wall.
Are you sure that H9 bulb has longer life than H11 bulb ?
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
... For the beam pattern to change the headlight would have to be damaged, which is very unlikely given the minor 10 watt increase in power requirement (65w vs 55w).
Not true. Sometimes a headlamp assembly can be overcome by too many lumens, not always visible just by casual viewing. Too much light affects the way the beam is projected and causes internal reflections with unwanted side effects such as partial halos ranging from 4 to 10 feet above the lamp which can be right in the drivers line of sight. Sometimes not always evident in clearest of weather, but add particulates such as dust, fog, rain or snow and they can be quite distracting. I have seen it happen on a brand new headlamp. That's why you can't throw a HIR bulb into any old enclosure it may be compatible withe even if they have the same wattage.
But then again, some headlamps are so poorly designed the beam pattern was barely perceivable to begin with.
Projector assemblies tend to be more tightly controlled and overpowering of the assembly not as common, however if you were to put and HID kit in place (don't) the orientation of the light source would change and affect the beam pattern.
... For the beam pattern to change the headlight would have to be damaged, which is very unlikely given the minor 10 watt increase in power requirement (65w vs 55w).
Not true. Sometimes a headlamp assembly can be overcome by too many lumens, not always visible just by casual viewing. Too much light affects the way the beam is projected and causes internal reflections with unwanted side effects such as partial halos ranging from 4 to 10 feet above the lamp which can be right in the drivers line of sight. Sometimes not always evident in clearest of weather, but add particulates such as dust, fog, rain or snow and they can be quite distracting. I have seen it happen on a brand new headlamp. That's why you can't throw a HIR bulb into any old enclosure it may be compatible withe even if they have the same wattage.
But then again, some headlamps are so poorly designed the beam pattern was barely perceivable to begin with.
Projector assemblies tend to be more tightly controlled and overpowering of the assembly not as common, however if you were to put and HID kit in place (don't) the orientation of the light source would change and affect the beam pattern.
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
... For the beam pattern to change the headlight would have to be damaged, which is very unlikely given the minor 10 watt increase in power requirement (65w vs 55w).
Not true. Sometimes a headlamp assembly can be overcome by too many lumens, not always visible just by casual viewing. Too much light affects the way the beam is projected and causes internal reflections with unwanted side effects such as partial halos ranging from 4 to 10 feet above the lamp...
Sorry, I'm not seeing the physics of how more light output effects the way photons travel within a headlight. Now, on the other hand, if you were to say a higher output bulb more clearly reveals flaws in the manufacture or design of the headlight, well that's another story. Or, if the bulb is of a different configuration, yes, of course I agree with you. But the raw quantity of light has no impact on the reflected or projected pattern. That's basic physics.
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
... For the beam pattern to change the headlight would have to be damaged, which is very unlikely given the minor 10 watt increase in power requirement (65w vs 55w).
Not true. Sometimes a headlamp assembly can be overcome by too many lumens, not always visible just by casual viewing. Too much light affects the way the beam is projected and causes internal reflections with unwanted side effects such as partial halos ranging from 4 to 10 feet above the lamp...
Sorry, I'm not seeing the physics of how more light output effects the way photons travel within a headlight. Now, on the other hand, if you were to say a higher output bulb more clearly reveals flaws in the manufacture or design of the headlight, well that's another story. Or, if the bulb is of a different configuration, yes, of course I agree with you. But the raw quantity of light has no impact on the reflected or projected pattern. That's basic physics.
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
... For the beam pattern to change the headlight would have to be damaged, which is very unlikely given the minor 10 watt increase in power requirement (65w vs 55w).
Not true. Sometimes a headlamp assembly can be overcome by too many lumens, not always visible just by casual viewing. Too much light affects the way the beam is projected and causes internal reflections with unwanted side effects such as partial halos ranging from 4 to 10 feet above the lamp...
Sorry, I'm not seeing the physics of how more light output effects the way photons travel within a headlight. Now, on the other hand, if you were to say a higher output bulb more clearly reveals flaws in the manufacture or design of the headlight, well that's another story. Or, if the bulb is of a different configuration, yes, of course I agree with you. But the raw quantity of light has no impact on the reflected or projected pattern. That's basic physics.
A light source that is significantly more powerful than what was intended can increase glare in certain measurement points, to where the lamp is now out of compliance with regulations. Additionally, even though the bulb may be to the same specification (H11, for example), filament placement is critical to headlamp performance, and higher quality bulbs usually have more precise beam focus because the filament is smaller and positioned in the bulb to a tighter tolerance than what is minimally required. So some aspects of the beam pattern can "change", though it's usually not to a great degree.
I saw this first-hand with HB2 bulbs in our Honda CR-V. With the standard Philips LL bulbs, there was a fairly even distribution of light within the beam, with no particularly bright or dark areas. With up-rated Philips Xtreme Power bulbs, one would think that everything within the beam pattern would be made brighter by X multiple. That didn't happen. Because the beam focus of with the XP bulbs is much better, there is an intense hotspot in the center of the beam, straight down the road. Other areas of the beam pattern did become brighter, but the relative change was not constant throughout.
It is possible for areas of light outside the intended beam pattern to increase to annoying or dangerous levels. We're talking about almost doubling the source lumens here...1100 lumens for an H11 and 2100 lumens for an H9. Sometimes bulb base reflections and other areas of controlled glare that are acceptable with an H11 become unacceptable with an H9.
I think both of you may be talking around the same point. It is true that the beam pattern will not change, in the sense that the general and shape of the cutoff and relative distribution of light within the beam pattern should remain the same, at least to some degree. It is true that areas of controlled glare or unwanted reflections that are acceptable or are within compliance limits with an H11 could be made unacceptable or taken outside of compliance limits with an H9.
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
... For the beam pattern to change the headlight would have to be damaged, which is very unlikely given the minor 10 watt increase in power requirement (65w vs 55w).
Not true. Sometimes a headlamp assembly can be overcome by too many lumens, not always visible just by casual viewing. Too much light affects the way the beam is projected and causes internal reflections with unwanted side effects such as partial halos ranging from 4 to 10 feet above the lamp...
Sorry, I'm not seeing the physics of how more light output effects the way photons travel within a headlight. Now, on the other hand, if you were to say a higher output bulb more clearly reveals flaws in the manufacture or design of the headlight, well that's another story. Or, if the bulb is of a different configuration, yes, of course I agree with you. But the raw quantity of light has no impact on the reflected or projected pattern. That's basic physics.
A light source that is significantly more powerful than what was intended can increase glare in certain measurement points, to where the lamp is now out of compliance with regulations. Additionally, even though the bulb may be to the same specification (H11, for example), filament placement is critical to headlamp performance, and higher quality bulbs usually have more precise beam focus because the filament is smaller and positioned in the bulb to a tighter tolerance than what is minimally required. So some aspects of the beam pattern can "change", though it's usually not to a great degree.
I saw this first-hand with HB2 bulbs in our Honda CR-V. With the standard Philips LL bulbs, there was a fairly even distribution of light within the beam, with no particularly bright or dark areas. With up-rated Philips Xtreme Power bulbs, one would think that everything within the beam pattern would be made brighter by X multiple. That didn't happen. Because the beam focus of with the XP bulbs is much better, there is an intense hotspot in the center of the beam, straight down the road. Other areas of the beam pattern did become brighter, but the relative change was not constant throughout.
It is possible for areas of light outside the intended beam pattern to increase to annoying or dangerous levels. We're talking about almost doubling the source lumens here...1100 lumens for an H11 and 2100 lumens for an H9. Sometimes bulb base reflections and other areas of controlled glare that are acceptable with an H11 become unacceptable with an H9.
I think both of you may be talking around the same point. It is true that the beam pattern will not change, in the sense that the general and shape of the cutoff and relative distribution of light within the beam pattern should remain the same, at least to some degree. It is true that areas of controlled glare or unwanted reflections that are acceptable or are within compliance limits with an H11 could be made unacceptable or taken outside of compliance limits with an H9.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
It is true that the beam pattern will not change, in the sense that the general and shape of the cutoff and relative distribution of light within the beam pattern should remain the same, at least to some degree. It is true that areas of controlled glare or unwanted reflections that are acceptable or are within compliance limits with an H11 could be made unacceptable or taken outside of compliance limits with an H9.
That's pretty much how I see it.
It is true that the beam pattern will not change, in the sense that the general and shape of the cutoff and relative distribution of light within the beam pattern should remain the same, at least to some degree. It is true that areas of controlled glare or unwanted reflections that are acceptable or are within compliance limits with an H11 could be made unacceptable or taken outside of compliance limits with an H9.
That's pretty much how I see it.
Another vote here for the H11 to H9 conversion, and the Philips bulb from Amazon. You get a 50% brightness boost, same beam pattern. You won't get anywhere near that brightness with any legal H11 bulb. Generally, the H11 55W to H9 65W power uptick won't cause an issue, YMMV. The H9 bulbs will outlast the boutique H11 Silver/ Platinum / Diamond / Titanium / Death ______Star bulbs too.
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
... For the beam pattern to change the headlight would have to be damaged, which is very unlikely given the minor 10 watt increase in power requirement (65w vs 55w).
Not true. Sometimes a headlamp assembly can be overcome by too many lumens, not always visible just by casual viewing. Too much light affects the way the beam is projected and causes internal reflections with unwanted side effects such as partial halos ranging from 4 to 10 feet above the lamp...
Sorry, I'm not seeing the physics of how more light output effects the way photons travel within a headlight. Now, on the other hand, if you were to say a higher output bulb more clearly reveals flaws in the manufacture or design of the headlight, well that's another story. Or, if the bulb is of a different configuration, yes, of course I agree with you. But the raw quantity of light has no impact on the reflected or projected pattern. That's basic physics.
A light source that is significantly more powerful than what was intended can increase glare in certain measurement points, to where the lamp is now out of compliance with regulations. Additionally, even though the bulb may be to the same specification (H11, for example), filament placement is critical to headlamp performance, and higher quality bulbs usually have more precise beam focus because the filament is smaller and positioned in the bulb to a tighter tolerance than what is minimally required. So some aspects of the beam pattern can "change", though it's usually not to a great degree.
I saw this first-hand with HB2 bulbs in our Honda CR-V. With the standard Philips LL bulbs, there was a fairly even distribution of light within the beam, with no particularly bright or dark areas. With up-rated Philips Xtreme Power bulbs, one would think that everything within the beam pattern would be made brighter by X multiple. That didn't happen. Because the beam focus of with the XP bulbs is much better, there is an intense hotspot in the center of the beam, straight down the road. Other areas of the beam pattern did become brighter, but the relative change was not constant throughout.
It is possible for areas of light outside the intended beam pattern to increase to annoying or dangerous levels. We're talking about almost doubling the source lumens here...1100 lumens for an H11 and 2100 lumens for an H9. Sometimes bulb base reflections and other areas of controlled glare that are acceptable with an H11 become unacceptable with an H9.
I think both of you may be talking around the same point. It is true that the beam pattern will not change, in the sense that the general and shape of the cutoff and relative distribution of light within the beam pattern should remain the same, at least to some degree. It is true that areas of controlled glare or unwanted reflections that are acceptable or are within compliance limits with an H11 could be made unacceptable or taken outside of compliance limits with an H9.
Agree you guys are talking around the same point. I think the big difference is if the application has halogen projectors vs. typical refelctors. I did some research a while ago on the Candlepower Forums where there is a mod who has significant knowledge of what you are talking about. Essentially he said that projectors are good to go H11 to H9 but refelctors are not. The exact example was the 4th Gen 4Runner vs. the new ones. The 4th Gens have halogen projectors and can handle the increase from a H9 without glare, but new ones cannot because they have the non-projector shields.
To the OP, you should be ok with the H9s. I got mine from candlepower.
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Originally Posted By: Le_bow_ski
... For the beam pattern to change the headlight would have to be damaged, which is very unlikely given the minor 10 watt increase in power requirement (65w vs 55w).
Not true. Sometimes a headlamp assembly can be overcome by too many lumens, not always visible just by casual viewing. Too much light affects the way the beam is projected and causes internal reflections with unwanted side effects such as partial halos ranging from 4 to 10 feet above the lamp...
Sorry, I'm not seeing the physics of how more light output effects the way photons travel within a headlight. Now, on the other hand, if you were to say a higher output bulb more clearly reveals flaws in the manufacture or design of the headlight, well that's another story. Or, if the bulb is of a different configuration, yes, of course I agree with you. But the raw quantity of light has no impact on the reflected or projected pattern. That's basic physics.
A light source that is significantly more powerful than what was intended can increase glare in certain measurement points, to where the lamp is now out of compliance with regulations. Additionally, even though the bulb may be to the same specification (H11, for example), filament placement is critical to headlamp performance, and higher quality bulbs usually have more precise beam focus because the filament is smaller and positioned in the bulb to a tighter tolerance than what is minimally required. So some aspects of the beam pattern can "change", though it's usually not to a great degree.
I saw this first-hand with HB2 bulbs in our Honda CR-V. With the standard Philips LL bulbs, there was a fairly even distribution of light within the beam, with no particularly bright or dark areas. With up-rated Philips Xtreme Power bulbs, one would think that everything within the beam pattern would be made brighter by X multiple. That didn't happen. Because the beam focus of with the XP bulbs is much better, there is an intense hotspot in the center of the beam, straight down the road. Other areas of the beam pattern did become brighter, but the relative change was not constant throughout.
It is possible for areas of light outside the intended beam pattern to increase to annoying or dangerous levels. We're talking about almost doubling the source lumens here...1100 lumens for an H11 and 2100 lumens for an H9. Sometimes bulb base reflections and other areas of controlled glare that are acceptable with an H11 become unacceptable with an H9.
I think both of you may be talking around the same point. It is true that the beam pattern will not change, in the sense that the general and shape of the cutoff and relative distribution of light within the beam pattern should remain the same, at least to some degree. It is true that areas of controlled glare or unwanted reflections that are acceptable or are within compliance limits with an H11 could be made unacceptable or taken outside of compliance limits with an H9.
Agree you guys are talking around the same point. I think the big difference is if the application has halogen projectors vs. typical refelctors. I did some research a while ago on the Candlepower Forums where there is a mod who has significant knowledge of what you are talking about. Essentially he said that projectors are good to go H11 to H9 but refelctors are not. The exact example was the 4th Gen 4Runner vs. the new ones. The 4th Gens have halogen projectors and can handle the increase from a H9 without glare, but new ones cannot because they have the non-projector shields.
To the OP, you should be ok with the H9s. I got mine from candlepower.
Originally Posted By: UG_Passat
Originally Posted By: lubedude13
Need a new h11 bulb. I have sylvania silver stars but have mixed feelings with them. Any suggestions?
H9 bulb. you'll get brighter (2100 lumens) and more life than Sylvania silverstars (approx. 500 hours).
It takes a quick modification of the bulb, basically removing a wall.
h11
h9
Trim that little wall on the top to make it match the H11. Super easy upgrade.
What tool would I use to trim that wall or tab, to make the H9s fit in place of the H11s?
Originally Posted By: lubedude13
Need a new h11 bulb. I have sylvania silver stars but have mixed feelings with them. Any suggestions?
H9 bulb. you'll get brighter (2100 lumens) and more life than Sylvania silverstars (approx. 500 hours).
It takes a quick modification of the bulb, basically removing a wall.
h11
h9
Trim that little wall on the top to make it match the H11. Super easy upgrade.
What tool would I use to trim that wall or tab, to make the H9s fit in place of the H11s?
Wait I can just replace H11 with H9 just by trimming that piece? I may try that on my fog lights.
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