3rd Gen HID vs LED vs Halogen H11 projector headlights

Wow....Lots of time invested in this thread. Bottom line, I replaced the OEMs w/ Nice, white, clear LEDs from Auxbeam. If they have a shorter life span, fine, I'll replace them. At least I can see.

 

did you add yellow tint to your KC G4’s? Love mine in white, got em for steel off eBay. I’ve Thought about adding laminx.

 

I believe they make them in amber as well as clear.

 

Until you are driving during inclement weather or hit a deer due to lack of throw.

 

Nope, those are KC amber https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...fog-light-review.554813/page-18#post-19144873

Used to.

 

Auxbeam historically as low performing poor designed lighting products. What replacement LEDs will do is cause a significant increase in short range foreground light, making you think you can see better and not realizing you’ve lost your distance light. What specific Auxbeam LEDs are you running?

 

Osram released an updated Next Gen Xenarc Laser HID that is supposed to be even better than the Xenarc Laser and Philips Xtremes tested in this earlier post.

https://www.powerbulbs.com/ca/produ...afMsoiholGpWaf3FhROC0ayobpYlctvB9RFEmbMA1eCa4

 

Yesterday I installed Phillips H9s in my lowbeams.They were made in the P.R.C.,not the German version.The green insert in the plug was very easy to remove on the drivers side but I had to trim the metal tab at the 12 oclock position on the bulb to get it to seat properly in the light housing. On the passenger side the green insert took a little more effort to remove but the bulb installed in the light housing effortlessly. Haven't tried them yet in the dark.

 

What did you find that worked to trim the little metal tab?

 

I used a pair of cutters.They didnt cut through the metal but scored it enough that by wiggling it back and forth it broke off. The whole tab didnt break off..just the metal extension that is in the opposite side of the tab on the H11 bulb.

 

Fiddle with it a bit and it will go into the housing without trimming.

 

On a Tacoma there is heaps of room behind the low beams so easier to do H9’s without trimming.

For my Odyssey, there is room for a pair of fingers at most so I trim. Maybe if I had smaller hands.

I use flush cutters as described. Score then pliers to bend and snap. Make sure no shards left over. Takes 60s or less per pair, much easier for me than bulb base mod.

 

Drivers side popped right in, Passenger side even with the washer tank moved a bit, I ended up trimming the tab

 

Just the opposite for me. Are we on opposite coasts?..lol.

 

Yes

 

Well, I got over two years of use out of the Pro150’s before one failed. Ordered the H9’s and couldn’t believe the upgrade. I’m so thankful for the amount of time and effort you put into finding the best bulb. Who would have thought a $10 bulb would be the best. Kinda kicking myself for not upgrading sooner, but cutting that tab out of the bulb didn’t look fun. I removed the green stopper things in the plug, so the H9’s are plug and play. Love them. The perfect bulb for stock headlight projectors! And only $20!!! Well done @crashnburn80 !!

Nate.

 

Well, I guess this method will work for cutting.

https://youtu.be/BFp-d-ZDC0E

 

I used side cutters for the plastic tabs in the bulb socket and then cleaned them up with a box cutter. Others remove the insert (green?) on the wiring harness plug.

No need to trim the metal tab for fitting in a Tacoma

 

As documented in this thread, GE/Tungsram H11 bulbs have continually proven to be the best performers in a projector. Of the top 3 performing H11 bulbs, GE/Tungsram owns them all, with the Platinums, Xenon +120 and Megalight +130. The precision of GE/Tungsrams filaments appears unmatched by the competition. This has always led to to be curious, if their H11s are so good, what about GE/Tungsram's H9s?

GE/Tungsram H9


GE sold its stake in automotive lighting to its partner Tungsram, who already co-produced bulbs in their shared Hungary factories. The GE branded products are the same as the Tungsram ones. Interestingly while Tungsram H11 bulbs are readily available in the US, the H9s are much less common. I picked up a domestically located GE branded H9 from ebay to test, otherwise it looked like ordering out of Europe for a Tungsram branded H9.

Philips German H9 left vs GE Hungary H9


The GE/Tungsram H9 just squeaks out the German Philips

Impressive, but the intensity difference is also only about 1%, so it isn't going to be noticeable in the driver seat.

While I have the Philips H9s documented at 74.75w the GEs draw 74.66w (5.41A x 13.8v).


Having just slightly lower power draw and also slightly better output intensity would indicate slightly better filament precision in the GE bulb.

However when you are down to a 1% output intensity difference it could realistically all be within the noise. I wouldn't place significant emphasis on getting GE/Tungsram H9s over Philips.

GE/Tungsram has stated that their performance bulbs have an output loss of only 10% over their lifespan, which is an impressive feat. All halogens degrade over their lifespan. Philips H9s have an output loss of 25% over their lifespan as documented in post #2693. It is unclear on how much output loss the standard GE/Tungsram H9s may have by end of life, but interesting that GE/Tungsram payed attention to that performance metric.

If someone wants to run a set of GEs/Tungsram H9s then send me the remaining bulb when the first one fails, that would be an interesting comparison point, as done with the Philips bulbs.

Bulb America sells Tungsram H9s, they are a little more expensive than the Philips H9s. Although at this time they are out of stock. GE/Tungsram H9s are also available on Amazon for a premium and ebay.

I was excited by these results, seeing something beat out the long standing best performing Philips H9 bulbs. But gains are so minor at 1% that it is all within the noise and I'd recommend getting whatever is convenient to purchase. Myself, being the crazed listing enthusiast I am, I'd probably pay the extra $2-3/bulb to go with the GEs even though I know I won't be able to tell the difference.

 

1%, feels like that could the diffrence from package to package (or batch to batch)