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

Well I half did this mod tonight.

Previously I installed them in our 5th gen 4Runner (post 579) and they've been great.

I was disappointed that my 96 Tacoma uses 1156 bulbs, but superbrightleds sells adapters, so I picked up a couple, modified the adapters,

and inserted the HIR bulb,

The filament appears to be in approximately the same place as the 1156

Unfortunately I haven't been able to test them since the reverse switch on the transmission is broken, bur I'll follow this up once I've fixed it.

 

HIR bulb driver side, standard 1156 passenger.
The housings get toasty, but I'd say it works for a first gen

 

With the adapters you just need to watch that lens temp. There have been others that have had melting issues running the adapters and getting too close to the lens, though I don’t recall the specific vehicle off the top of my head. Could always go slightly down in wattage too to help avoid melting if concerned.

 

Sounds good, these adapters put the bulbs approximately the same distance from the lens as the 1156 bulbs, though I know these run much hotter. I currently have crummy eBay housings installed now, so if I damage them I'll refurbish my stock housings. I may go down in wattage regardless. Seems like the 30W bulbs have pretty good output as well and I'd imagine run somewhat cooler.

 

I also received 37w bulbs from International Bulbs/ATR via Amazon. Have you tried running these? Any issues?

FYI @crashnburn80

I received this message today:

“Good afternoon. Unfortunately 37-watt is how these are manufactured now. I believe they had to increase the wattage a bit to meet lumen efficiency requirements.
Thanks, Light Bulbs International”

Note from LEDVANCE:


https://www.ledvance.com/en/product-datasheet/7128/91371

 

New here, but thought I would hopefully contribute. I do not have a Tacoma but do require brighter reverse lights. My Audi Q7 has abysmal reverse lights and a tiny reverse housing. To prevent overheating I have bought these 25 watt, 500 lumen OSRAM Halostar Pros, which should be roughly twice as bright and hopefully run cooler than stock. Part number 64429.

 

So finally got to try my bulbs. I don’t know if adding ferrules has been suggested but so far they are working for me. Cheap at Home Depot, and a little crimp and good to go. Solder may also be an option.

 

Neat idea with the ferrules, I'll have to give that a shot.

 

Is this still the go to option for reverse lights or is a vled a better option ?

 

Depends on what you are going for. This will give you OEM like pattern being very wide and uniform while on significant steroids. Lots of PnP LED options out there. PnP LEDs can give higher output in some cases, but also result in a less uniform more scattered pattern, or a much narrower pattern. Many LEDs rapidly dim as they heat up, and some specifically warn not to use reverse long due to damaging the LED units for those that are significantly overdriven. The assembly is designed for an omnidirectional light source and LEDs do not replicate that, so the pattern will suffer.

Personally I'd go with the HIRs, but if looking for a PnP LED option, I'd consider the XPRs:
https://www.diodedynamics.com/921-xpr-cool-white-backup-led-bulbs.html

 

$100 per pair before shipping..... No Thank You.... i stick with HIR bulbs. Speaking of need some extra just in case.

 

curious what you get and what’s correct?35-36-37 w
Want to be sure as I’m ordering today. Thanks

 

Would someone share an up to date link to these? I’m looking online but I don’t see bulbs that match all of the variables; wattage, lumens, base, voltage.

 

https://www.bulbamerica.com/products/osram-64432ll-long-life-35w-12v-gy6-35-base-halogen-halostar-pro-bulb

Or

$11 Osram Northstar AV 69378 Bare Lamp Replacement

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BMUFN8

 

Great! Thanks!
That’s one that I was looking at on Amazon but it has all sorts of conflicting information in the product description. It says “765 Lumen”, “100 to 120 Volts and 60 Hertz”, and “12 volts_of_alternating_current”, so I questioned if it was the real McCoy or not.

Thank you again.

 

Agreed on the conflicting info, it’s the same link from page one of the thread though info has changed. Says 35w, 50w equivalent which is the key. Should be the Halostar Pro. If wanting to be 100% certain, Bulb America doesn’t have any conflicting info.

 

Thanks for the research, OP. Took less than 20 mins to swap factory bulbs for the Osram 35W Halostar Pro’s. Hardest part was getting the power harnesses off. Squeezed the prongs together in the sockets as suggested and think the bulbs are well-seated.

 

Great thread.

 

Thanks @crashnburn80 ! I followed the Amazon link and got these. Took a couple minutes to put them in using a combination of bending the prongs and closing up the socket.
I had also just installed the license plate light “Disable in Reverse” mod and the two together GREATLY improved my backup camera vision at night.
I have also switched to H9s in my headlights based on your posts so you’ve helped my lighting in front and in back. Thanks for what you do for the community!