Gy6.35 HIR 921 reverse light upgrade (vs high power LEDs)

Inexcusably terrible packaging. But at least the correct bulbs arrived.

 

Mine came in the same type of package boxes ripped open and squashed. But at least you got the right bulbs. Bulbsamerica came in nicely packaged box wrapped in a ton of paper. Boxes where In perfect condition .

 

If I do get another set I will be sure to go the Bulbs America route, Glad you got the proper bulbs and get your shine on, in the meantime, completed my install of the lamps, bent the prongs on the socket, pleased to know that the socket the bulbs go into is separate from the harness and if one by chance mangles the prongs, you could probably go to the dealer or online to replace them if need be. No pics but I used nitrile gloves and used the plastic sleeve the bulbs come in to hold the bulbs while installing. Tested them with parking brake on in reverse and they light up. Daytime so just glad I got them in. I noticed the bulbs had a rainbow look on the glass so I assumed that was the IR in the glass confirming the correct bulbs. Took about 15 minutes, main thing was bending the socket prongs and hopefully not fudging them up. Noticed that when I had the bulbs inserted I heard a resounding click, I thought I had broken one of the legs, but it turned out to be the thinner part of the leg being held in place by the socket. Now I know these bulbs are secure in the housing. Hope to get some pics later tonight when I go to work at 12AM.

@crashnburn80 thanks for the proven and tested additions for the Tacoma World members, next chance I can go to visit my folks in Centralia, I'll be sure to buy you a cold one.

 

You are correct, the subtle rainbow appearance is the IR reflective coating. That plus the spherical bulb shape (vs oblong) is how to visually differentiate the HIR bulbs from the standard halogens. Be sure to share your thoughts after trying them out.

I keep telling myself I need to make a beer map to map out those offers. I do make the Seattle area brewery get togethers at least every other month, listed over in the regional North West section of the forum.

 

In the parking lot at work and took a few pics.
Left side facing the adjacent building and the right side. Side of the truck and rear camera view.

 

Crashnburn80
Thank you for the fantastic inexpensive updates that make a true difference - did the Phillips H9 low beams a few weeks ago and now the reverse HIR921s!
Pretty happy with the factory foods for now but we'll see what happens after you test the 360s....
Thanks again!

 

Just ordered a set of the HIR921's myself thanks for another great post @crashnburn80 !

 

A little reminder to folks making this simple and very effective modification to your trucks. These bulbs fit more than just Tacomas. Just about anything that takes a 921 bulb can utilize the HIR 921's. For instance, I just slipped a set into my son's backup lights on his 2013 Scion tC the other day. He was blown away with the increased performance. The ricer LEDs that were in there before are now history.

 

Yep, we’re also running the 30w Philips HIRs in the EcoBoost Escape. With its much smaller housings I didn’t want to go for the 35w Osrams.

 

A friend of mine paid $49.95 for a pair of LED bulbs that defeat CANBUS bulb-out errors. They are very bright. I decided to go with the OSRAM 35W bulbs instead, for $13. They are a little less bright than the LED's; not enough to feel inferior at all. Also, the tint of the OSRAM is more natural looking, easier on the eyes. In order to get mine to fit properly, I had to bend the prongs a bit. I used 2 pliers to avoid any stress on the glass, and achieved this:

 

When comparing brightness, be sure to compare from standing behind the light source looking at the output, not facing it. The blue light from LEDs is difficult for human eyes to process and focus on, making them appear much brighter when looking at a light source than than an incandescent based source, even though they may put out less light.

 

Yes, my judgement was from looking at illuminated objects by the lights. The LED's looked a little brighter, but the tint spoiled that perceived output. The OSRAM bulbs were far more "usable" in appearance, IMHO.

 

Installed mine this weekend. Incredible difference and just in time since its gettig dark here around 5:30 now.

 

I have my upgraded Osram GY6.35 bulbs in now and they're great. As of today, I got the correct bulbs from Bulbs America AND from Light Bulbs International. The reason why I know this is because I snapped a bulb on my first attempt.

I had better luck with bending the prongs perpendicular to most descriptions here. Instead of bending them in combos of left/right and in/out, I bent them forward and back in a helical arrangement. This made them easy to install, as the socket has ramps that make the prongs easier to accept in this orientation. Sorry I didn't take a picture, I did it in a hurry.

 

Against my better judgement i grabbed a set of those AUXITO "4000lm" blah blah blah blah bulbs

$35 AUXITO Error Free 912 921 LED Bulb Reverse Lights Backup Lights 4000 Lumens/Pair Extremely Bright CSP 9-SMD 906 W16W T15 LED Bulbs Plug and Play for Backup Reverse Lights, 6500K White (Pack of 2)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071G7QD5T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Put one in for about 30 secs, and went, yup less output than my standard halogen GY6 35w bulbs, and the LED scatter was SO SO SO bad.

Headed over to bulbsamerica site, Got 2 35w OSRAM HIR bulbs and will pop those in and enjoy a proper spread of useable light. for less than half the cost of the shitty LED's. Bulbs america even gave me 5% off "LASTCHANCE5" as a code.

@crashnburn80 have you ever done a comparison of standard Halogen GY6 35w's and the Osram HIR 35w's? or have a light reading of the standard halogen 35w's to compare?

 

LOL, sometimes you just gotta try it for yourself.

I haven’t done a comparison to the standard bulbs as I don’t see much reason to. The Osram specs say 600 lumens for the standard bulbs and 860 lumens for the HIRs, aka 43% brighter. Unlike those Chinese products, Osram provides actual reputable specs.

 

Oh well... shit that works, osram has always been pretty darn spot on with their specs, especially in house comparing bulbs. Cant wait for the HIR's.

What is interesting is your finding of the voltage drop on the stock reverse light wiring circuit, those with tow package have a seperate circuit dedicated for the trailer socket, could potentially utilize that for some extra umph back there.

 

I was going to build a dedicated harness, but I got some more voltage from the voltage booster. Not much of a priority now as they work plenty well. But heavier wiring or another circuit would certainly make them even brighter.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-northstar-agm-battery-voltage-booster-upgrade.604478/

 

Yeah I wont be going AGM anytime soon but, WOW didnt know voltage increases helped as much as they did with halogen!

I do have a 10awg dedicated line on a 30amp fuse directly from the battery that is going to the back of my truck already (for use of led bed lights and constant hot 12v socket), hmm maybe some testing n seeing how much voltage drop im currently seeing at the back of my truck with the 35w bulbs. Either way, they are going to be an increase with the HIR bulbs over standard at the same wattage.

Thanks for all of your hard work n testing stuff sir!

 

Crash, is there a third option that provides brighter high beams without a low beam that’s so bright? The SuperBright’s low beam at 80w is much higher than stock high beams and I don’t want to be “that guy” (blinding other drivers).