3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

So, small tab (optional) with wire cutters, large tab with pliers and box cutter blade (brand new) and perhaps leveraging pliers to apply pressure?

 

The other thing that might work really well is a nice sharp chisel. Just pare it down.

 

I use a small pocket knife, but even a good kitchen pairing knife would be easier than a box cutter. The blade is too large on a box cutter to maneuver much inside the bulb base.

 

I used my pocket knife honestly. Just whittled it away.

 

I used a dremel, grinding stone on the metal tab, small cutting bit on the inner plastic tab. It went very smoothly to my surprise, only had one or two quick instances of the bit jumping while working on the plastic. When that happened I bounced between the two terminals for a second trying to keep my hand still, felt like that scene in 2 Fast 2 Furious where the mustang bounced between the two semi trucks....

but honestly it wasn't so bad, was a little iffy with it being the first time doing that, but happy with results.

 

Yep, that’s it. The box cutter blade will fit enough to do the job if you lead with the pointed end. The tab on the bulb mount, as you said, is optional to trim but if you take off about one or two dime widths from the larger of the three tabs on the end with the thinner metal, it’s easy to cut and it will make the bulb fit the mount with no effort.

 

Took less than a week to get these bad boys from the UK! Will install and report back my non-scientific impressions over the next few days!

 

Good Stuff! Mine are on the way. Currently running HIKARI Ultra LED. Looking forward to your review and looking forward to receiving mine.

 

Comparisons between the +100 Philips I’ve been a die hard fan of vs the new Pro150s. To me they look very similar aside from the narrow blue band in the center and a slightly larger glare cap...

 

If you have the opportunity, you might replace only one and get a side-by-side wall shot at night.

 

Is the blue band at the tip of the 100 darker than the 150?

 

yes, it does appear a bit darker for sure. I’ve got my 3yr old who needs my attention tonight but will try to get some side by sides in the next couple of days to compare! Sounds like others here will soon have them as well including our resident mad scientist, Crash

I still will be amazed if a 400hr light comes close to competing with some of the shorter lifespan bulbs but if this 400hr bulb outperforms the 300hr +100s that’s a nice upgrade in and of itself

 

I used dykes (diagonal cutters) to trim the metal tab.
My favorite German ones to start:
https://www.amazon.com/KNIPEX-70-02...iagonal+cutters+knipex&qid=1602039571&sr=8-13
Then a cheap pair of smaller harbor freight $1.29 cutters with a smaller head to get closer and with a cutting/twisting motion to finish the job:


Doesn't have to be perfect, you see the end result above and it fits just fine. Took about a minute using both cutters to do it.

For trimming the plastic tab I used a utility knife with the fresh sharp blade extended fully out, wearing gloves, with a few slices and chops on each side of the tab it sliced it all the way to the bottom and out, also in about a minute.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-3-4-in-1-Blade-Retractable-Utility-Knife/1000594623
So many ways to skin this cat

 

I tried box cutter, hot knife, cutters.. didn’t work. Someone recommended this and surprisingly they work perfectly. There are some Harbor Freight for 3.99, but they were out of stock and ended up getting similar from HD.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-5-in-Light-Weight-Flush-Cutter-D2755/100647983

 

After reading this thread last year, I quickly made the switched to H9s. Even did it for my moms 2011 Camry. But, I have to say I notice way too many individuals running LEDs in Halogens and it fucking hurts my eyes!!!

 

Hello @crashnburn80, I have spent hours reading your lighting threads, thank you so much for your time, effort, and work you put into the info for random strangers! Very cool! I apologize if this has already been addressed, but after scanning the thread for awhile, I was unable to find anything on the high beam bulbs. Do you have a recommended bulb? Would an LED bulb get better throw distance in the highbeam reflector, vs the low beam projector?

Thanks for any input!

 

The stock Philips H9 high beam bulb is a very high performing bulb, there isn't any better halogen H9 to upgrade to. I've done some limited testing with LEDs in the high beams, but unfortunately to run a distance test at night to get adequate data results in blasting my neighbors windows with light like a scene out of Christmas Vacation. Based on imperfect data, it seems the Hikari Ultras might offer a small improvement, less than 20% peak intensity. While high beams provide more scattered light, they do still have a hot spot focused above the cut offs to not only create the flood effect above the cut off but also focus light down road for maximum distance projection. Replacement LEDs by their nature are less focused, as they are larger, so they tend to provide more scattered light in the light beam and less focused distance projection light. Some high beam testing was covered in the Hikari Ultra review linked in post #3.

The most effective way to improve high beam performance is to add aux high beam lights. Check out post #2177 in this thread, and my quoted posts in that post. The KC Pro6 appears to be the highest intensity SAE J581 aux driving light. Rather than a <20% improvement, you get a 270% improvement. Higher peak intensity can be had with a 30" Diode Dynamics driving light bar, though is not technically legal unlike the KCs.

 

Thanks for the most informative post I've ever seen! My concern is that the Philip's H9s are no-longer listed in their catalog, so it appears they're phasing them out. What do we do if we can't find them anymore, or what would be the best alternative?

I also cannot find the Night Breaker H11s for fogs, not sure if that was a misnomer? The link that was associated with it also does not list H11s. Should a user just upgrade to the KC G4's in amber for better fogs (I'm just digging into the fog thread as I type this)

 

$11 Philips 12361B1 H9 Standard Halogen Replacement Headlight Bulb, 1 Pack

Link to Phillips H9 I purchased.