HIR lights for HighBeams?

[sudz]

Hey Guys - I have an Highbeam/DRL burned out so it means new headlight time. I have cheapo blue tinged ones which are horribly dim. I want the Brightest Possible, but know I can't go xenon's as I don't want to do the DRL mod.

I was looking into HIR lights - Anyone on the forums have them? i poked around but the stupid search won't let you search anything with 3 letters or less.

HIR's are halegons that have a slightly reflective coating which reflects the UV back into the filament. Basically the heat output is the same, but the filament gets hotter/brighter as the heat is reflected back into the bulb.

So 55 watts gets you about 2300 lumes as opposed to 1700 from a standard halegon, and just slightly whiter than a stock Halegon bulb.

Thoughts/where I can buy? E-bay is pricey. (35 bucks a bulb)

[gabbygenier]

http://autolumination.com/headlights.htm

15 a pair here. not sure on the quality though. i was about to get some for my fogs but then got other bulbs from a sponsor here

[sp3GT]

OP, would you be interested in Nokya's or Metal whites for DRL?

Almost 1/2 the price of those HIR's

[Harbour Rat]

I can't go xenon's as I don't want to do the DRL mod. . .

So 55 watts gets you about 2300 lumes as opposed to 1700 from a standard halegon, and just slightly whiter than a stock Halegon bulb.

Thoughts/where I can buy? E-bay is pricey. (35 bucks a bulb)

I had HIRs in my high beams for a while. They are noticeably brighter than halogens and somewhat whiter. I got mine from rallylights.com (http://www.rallylights.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=185). I believe they were ~$70 with shipping, which was less than half what a decent HID kit was going for at the time. Prices on HID kits have come down quite a bit in the last couple of years so HIR vs HID is pretty much a wash money-wise.

I have 55 watt, 3000K HIDs in the high beams now. I am not sure if the 2007 is the same but on my 2008 I just pulled the DRL fuse and everything is fine. The HIDs are brighter than the HIRs but they take a while to warm up, especially when they are cold or have been off long enough to cool significantly. This makes them seem not as bright at first because the light sort of ramps up rather than the instant increase in output you get with filament bulbs. To be honest, if I knew then what I know now I doubt I would bother with HIDs in the high beams, even with prices being comparable to HIRs now.

[RedRaptor]

Too bad the HiRs are so expensive for a pair. I wanted to get a pair for my highbeams way back as they are advertised to put our more light on the road. Putting HIDs in your highbeams are a total waste of money and effort. Unless you drive on cottage roads every night where they'll stay on, using them as flashers will actaully kill them quickly.

[taz4432]

Too bad the HiRs are so expensive for a pair. I wanted to get a pair for my highbeams way back as they are advertised to put our more light on the road. Putting HIDs in your highbeams are a total waste of money and effort. Unless you drive on cottage roads every night where they'll stay on, using them as flashers will actaully kill them quickly.

Bi-Xenon retrofit eradicates that problem and if you really want, you can have it so when DRLs are on, your old highbeams are used when flashing and when Low-Beams are on, you get the Xenon highbeams activated (as required).

I'll try and find the link to one of the Mazda 6 guys who did it like that. I was thinking of doing it this past summer but got caught up in other car-related projects.

[Harbour Rat]

Too bad the HiRs are so expensive for a pair. I wanted to get a pair for my highbeams way back as they are advertised to put our more light on the road. Putting HIDs in your highbeams are a total waste of money and effort. Unless you drive on cottage roads every night where they'll stay on, using them as flashers will actaully kill them quickly.

Yes, HIRs do seem kind of expensive, especially with HID kits being so affordable these days. They do perform well though and if you want or need a noticeable boost in high beam brightness then I can say from experience HIRs are worth the cost. They are not quite as bright as HIDs but 9011 HIRs have the advantage of being a drop in replacement for 9005 halogens - you may need to trim a 2-3mm off one locking tab but there are no ballasts or additional wiring harnesses to install so they are a convenient upgrade.

Having used both I agree that for the money HIRs or some other high output halogen make more sense than HIDs in the high beams unless you drive in the boonies where there are no street lights. If you drive in mostly urban areas the HID high beams are not going to help much as they will rarely be on long enough to warm up and you will not get to really take advantage of them very often or for very long.

My commute to/from work is 30 km up/down/on top of Blue Mountain on country roads with virtually no lights. On many (probably most) nights I see more animals on the road than vehicles so the extra light from HIDs compared to HIRs does make a difference for me. The warm-up time (approx 5-8 seconds from cold to full brightness) is kind of annoying but I usually only have to sit through that once per trip so it isn't a deal-breaker for me.

[RedRaptor]

I think I am going to order a pair of Toshiba HiR1 9011 fits 9005 and see for myself. For those who drive country roads on a regular basis, there is a lot of value in lighting up more of the road.

They are $25 each at http://hirheadlights.com/

[Noisy Crow]

I think I am going to order a pair of Toshiba HiR1 9011 fits 9005 and see for myself. For those who drive country roads on a regular basis, there is a lot of value in lighting up more of the road.

They are $25 each at http://hirheadlights.com/

I have 9011s in my high beams, and they are great ... definitely worthwhile.

[sudz]

Hrmmm... Just put in Sylvania Xtravisions for now, but I think I will go the HIR route. Red Raptor - Post pics when you get them!

[mit-gee-mui]

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?31031-Awesome-HID-alternative-HIR&highlight=hirs

:FYI smiley

[SwiftStorm]

I have the Toshiba 9011 HIR1 bulbs in my highbeams.

They didn't fit my highbeam port since the diameter is slightly bigger than a 9005 bulb, so you may want to be careful about that. Had to use a dremel to sand it down all around before it would fit.

Other than that, I like them better than my 55 watt HID kit in the lowbeams which have horrible colour rendition thanks to the 6000k colour temperature that looks like cheap fluorescent lights.