Want to upgrade your headlights the right way? Read here.

[d1ck]

So I decided to contact the guys over at Daniel Stern Lighting (http://www.danielsternlighting.com/) regarding the headlight bulbs in the FR-S. I wanted an effective, and reasonably priced upgrade over stock as I do lots of night time highway driving. I also wanted to make sure that I wouldn't be blinding oncoming motorists, I know how frustrating that can be.

When asked about the H11 Low Beam he said the following

In your FR-S? Your low beams take a 1350-lumen H11 bulb. You can easily, safely, and effectively replace this with a 2100-lumen H9 bulb, which you ought to be able to find locally by seeking the high beam bulb for a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. Use a good brand (GE, Philips, Osram-Sylvania) and stick to colorless clear bulbs, not any kind of "whiter light" bulb such as the Sylvania Silver Star scam. Can also get online, http://store.candlepower.com/h-9.html .You may need to shave a small ridge of plastic off the H9 bulb's connector so that the H11 socket will snap on. Other than that, it's a direct swap. The only disadvantage is shorter low beam bulb life — the H11 is optimised for very long life with relatively modest light output, while the H9 is optimised for very high output with relatively short life. Note that the H9 swap is not universal; it works well in projector-type low beams but is not safe in most reflector-type low beams or in fog lamps of any type.

1350 Lumens to 2100! That's an increase of 55% in light output.
DIY Can be found here:
http://www.rx8club.com/do-yourself-f...socket-119161/

For the 9005 High Beam he said:

If you want to upgrade the high beams, go to your local Chevrolet dealer (or www.gmpartsdirect.com for a better price)and pick up two part number 15094219. Can also get them online, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00480J5CW . That is a Philips 9011 bulb. They are not some tinted or overwattage version of 9005, but share the identical filament geometry and base architecture as well as the same power consumption.

Here's the comparison:

stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hours
new: 9011, 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 320 hours

The 9011 bulbs have a double-wide top ear on the plastic bulb base, this is to comply with the law requiring different bulbs to have different bases. The extra-wide plastic top ear is easily trimmed or filed to make the bulb fit your headlamp's bulb receptacle. Once that's done, they go directly into the headlamp, and the existing sockets snap on. Please see http://dastern.torque.net/Mods/HIRmod.html for details.

Once again, a very respectable increase in light output over stock at 48% more light.

I also asked about the retrofit kits available from The Retrofit Source and he said:

Headlite-shaped toys are all you can buy from TRS. Don't. Removing the optics from one headlamp and installing them in another can be done, but it is a great deal more complicated and difficult to do correctly than is commonly understood. Typically the explanation goes along the lines of "bake the headlight assembly to open it (loosen the adhesive), cut the reflector, paint it black, mount HID projector, aim, re-bake and silicon shut". There are all kinds of problems not mentioned here. Silicone-based sealants produce gases that attack and fog lamp optics. The projector has to be mounted with extreme precision; if you get the centre of gravity wrong it _will_ shake-rattle-and-roll out of alignment and eventually off its mounts. The low beam projector has to be aimed correctly relative to high beam. You usually cannot get a good and durable seal after the lamp's been baked...etc...

I will say that I'm in no way affiliated with Daniel Stern Lighting or The CandlePower Store, I'm just a very pleased customer.

TLR Version:

Buy a set of Phillips H9's for the low beam and trim the inside of the plug molded onto the bulb. 55% more light without blinding people. DIY Here:
http://www.rx8club.com/do-yourself-f...socket-119161/

Buy a set of 9011's for the high beam and do this (http://dastern.torque.net/Mods/HIRmod.html) 48% more light than stock with properly focused beam.

Total cost of ~$150.00 or less and significant improvement.

FYI if you're looking for ricer blue headlights that look "cool" this won't accomplish that.

[SkAsphalt]

" There are all kinds of problems not mentioned here. Silicone-based sealants produce gases that attack and fog lamp optics. The projector has to be mounted with extreme precision; if you get the centre of gravity wrong it _will_ shake-rattle-and-roll out of alignment and eventually off its mounts. The low beam projector has to be aimed correctly relative to high beam. You usually cannot get a good and durable seal after the lamp's been baked...etc..."

I disagree with all of these points...but whatever. I did a projector retrofit myself (as have tens of thousands of others with other types of cars and headlights)

our car's projector as 4 screws that mount it to the headlight assembly. How can you f" 4 screw mounting points?

[Asphalt~86]

But if I don't blind people thats fewer people bitching about HIDs. First world problems.

[d1ck]

Originally Posted by SkAsphalt

I disagree with all of these points...but whatever. I did a projector retrofit myself (as have tens of thousands of others with other types of cars and headlights)

our car's projector as 4 screws that mount it to the headlight assembly. How can you f" 4 screw mounting points?

I was surprised by this as well to be honest. That said, I've never done it before so I can't really comment one way or another.

[Rayme]

Thanks for the info, but like aftermarket HID's, you still end up placing bulbs that were not designed for our housings, much like aftermarket HID's. I had my share of HID retrofit, I even build custom lenses for my 6th gen celica and I can say that if somebody wants to to a proper HID setup on the cheap, a 4000-5000 K aftermarket HID kit will work, and if you want to be really "good" to other drivers you can bend off the squirrel finders. (I'm talking about the stock FR-S headlights here).

Whichever way, you have to spend money and time thinkering with your headlights, but all theses solutions are good anyway.

[d1ck]

Originally Posted by ottopilot

Thanks for the info, but like aftermarket HID's, you still end up placing bulbs that were not designed for our housings, much like aftermarket HID's. I had my share of HID retrofit, I even build custom lenses for my 6th gen celica and I can say that if somebody wants to to a proper HID setup on the cheap, a 4000-5000 K aftermarket HID kit will work, and if you want to be really "good" to other drivers you can bend off the squirrel finders. (I'm talking about the stock FR-S headlights here).

Whichever way, you have to spend money and time thinkering with your headlights, but all theses solutions are good anyway.

From what I've read wrt to swapping bulbs, the main reason HID swaps are a problem is that the bulb itself is a different size & shape, not to mention that the light mainly comes from the ends of the bulb. With the alternatives suggested here this is not the case. The new bulbs are the same size and shape, with the filament in the same location. Theoretically they should have the exact same beam pattern and focus as stock.

[PNW FRS]

When asked about the H11 Low Beam he said the following
Quote:
In your FR-S? Your low beams take a 1350-lumen H11 bulb. You can easily, safely, and effectively replace this with a 2100-lumen H9 bulb, which you ought to be able to find locally by seeking the high beam bulb for a 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. Use a good brand (GE, Philips, Osram-Sylvania) and stick to colorless clear bulbs, not any kind of "whiter light" bulb such as the Sylvania Silver Star scam. Can also get online, http://store.candlepower.com/h-9.html .You may need to shave a small ridge of plastic off the H9 bulb's connector so that the H11 socket will snap on. Other than that, it's a direct swap. The only disadvantage is shorter low beam bulb life — the H11 is optimised for very long life with relatively modest light output, while the H9 is optimised for very high output with relatively short life. Note that the H9 swap is not universal; it works well in projector-type low beams but is not safe in most reflector-type low beams or in fog lamps of any type.
1350 Lumens to 2100! That's an increase of 55% in light output.
DIY Can be found here:
http://www.rx8club.com/do-yourself-f...socket-119161/

The DIY link details the cutting of more than the "small ridge of plastic..." Does this need to be done for the FRS fitment?

[Ingen]

Originally Posted by d1ck

Total cost of ~$150.00 or less and significant improvement.

$150? MUCH less lol, my amazon cart right now is like $48 for 4 bulbs.

Originally Posted by PNW FRS;665489[SIZE=2

The DIY link details the cutting of more than the "small ridge of plastic..." Does this need to be done for the FRS fitment?
[/SIZE]

I noticed that, and googled for other tutorials. Apparently some people don't bother with that. See here:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=2083911

He didn't do the front cover mod and doesn't seem to have run into any problems. Also, he has temperature data between the two lights!

[JonnyRocket]

Originally Posted by SkAsphalt

I disagree with all of these points...but whatever. I did a projector retrofit myself (as have tens of thousands of others with other types of cars and headlights)

our car's projector as 4 screws that mount it to the headlight assembly. How can you f" 4 screw mounting points?

Daniel Stern is widely regarded as an authority on automotive lighting. As for why HID kits and projectors are usually a terrible idea, look here: Thinking of converting to HID? - It's due to many factors, like bulb shape and housing design.

[zohare]

Anyone have comparison pics? I'll do it with pics if anyone is interested.

[Khánh]

FWIW, h9 was design to use for high beams... it uses more heat and energy, hence why it has low life span as compare to h11... just like back in the days, where 9006.9005 was popular.. people would modify high beam bulbs (9005) to fit in place of 9006...
if you do lots of night driving, will this extra heat be okay to the housing/wiring?

[PNW FRS]

"Ingen" - thanks for the link to the other write-up. The temperature information was very informative; nice to know there is no significant heat build-up. Deeper into the thread, lots of good reports from users.

$7.03 and if you order $25+ (order 4), free standard shipping.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Standard-Headlight-Bulb-Pack/dp/B00480KOP4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358307791&sr=8-1&keywords=phillips+h9"]Philips H9 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1 : Amazon.com : Automotive[/ame]


For comparison, Autozone is asking $14 and change for 1 bulb.

[Ingen]

Originally Posted by Khánh

if you do lots of night driving, will this extra heat be okay to the housing/wiring?

all 3 degrees?

Yep. Should be fine. The link I posted has a second DIY where a guy only encountered a slight heat build up issue over 10 minutes with lights on and car not moving.

[msile]

Theoretically some of the OP's / Daniel post may be accurate, but I disagree with the TRS diatribe. Practically, the visible end result is more valuable. I went the TRS route, with projectors and proper cutoffs. The product was well made, there is only one way to mount the lens and it is VERY secure (center of gravity.....please).

What I experience is MUCH better lighting than stock. No bulb vibration (impossible with the screws holding the lens in place), no gaseous interference from silicon (used factory adhesive) etc, etc, etc.