DIY upgraded H9 bulbs for FRS owners

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This DIY is very easy, cheap, and nets you higher output headlights without blinding people like the chumps with plug and play HID kits. There are, however, risks involved so I take no responsibility if you screw up.

Tools needed: Hands, latex gloves (don't touch the bulbs!), 8mm to aim headlights after, snips, x-acto knife for trimming, needle nose pliers.

Bulbs: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00480KOP4/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00"]Philips H9 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1 : Amazon.com : Automotive[/ame]

First of all this DIY has been around for a long time. I am not the first to do this.

Our cars use H11 bulbs for low beams. They are around 1300 lumens. They use 55 watts and 12 volts. They also suck the big one. H9 bulbs are 65 watts, 12 volts, and closer to 2100 lumens.

Here is what our H11 bulb on the left looks like compared to the H9 on the right.



You'll notice they are pretty much identical. That's because they are. They are the same size, connector, etc. There are a few modifications you need to make to the bulb to get them to fit. First you need to file down the inside of the connector with an exacto knife. Easy because the plastic is soft. In the picture below you can see the ridge in the center you need to remove.



Next you need to tweeze off some metal on the front of the bulb. I used needle nose pliers and simply bent and twisted the metal until it broke off. This picture is after I broke off the metal.



Below is a picture from behind the wheel showing the more powerful H9 bulb on the left, and the stock on the right.



Now lets talk about the risks. You're running a 65w bulb on a harness that is designed for 60w. Before doing this modification I took a look at the gauge of wire used and it can more than handle this minor bump. After driving around for 30 minutes I checked the wires, cold to the touch. The bulbs were warm but that's to be expected. The harness that the bulbs connect to was also cold. Again, this isn't a crazy bump in power or heat generated.

A word of warning: I needed to lower my headlights after this because the output was much higher. You must do this for the sake of other drivers. If you can suddenly see much more it's because you're blinding people, get an 8mm wrench and adjust them down. It took a few tries before I got them aligned correctly.

Only time will tell how long they last, but at $7 a piece and the minor work involved to get them to fit properly I doubt I'll complain if it's a yearly situation.

All I ask is that if you do this mod please align your headlights, I don't want to be an enabler for people to blind other drivers.

[PNW FRS]

Could you provide a bit more info on the alignment process?

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Originally Posted by PNW FRS

Could you provide a bit more info on the alignment process?

Sure, look at this picture and notice the red arrow. That's the alignment nut. Best picture I could find online. I can't remember which direction lowers or raises so you have to just play with it. 8mm wrench.

Bulb on the left with the blue is the low beam, right is the high beam.

[Ingen]

Hey somebody beat me to it! Hooray I don't have to make the thread.

I'm putting mine in tonight. How long did all the work / mods take you? I'm taking a short road trip after I put them in tonight, will definitely have a review of the results!

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Originally Posted by Ingen

Hey somebody beat me to it! Hooray I don't have to make the thread.

I'm putting mine in tonight. How long did all the work / mods take you? I'm taking a short road trip after I put them in tonight, will definitely have a review of the results!

Took about 10 minutes per bulb because it was my first time. Next time I could probably knock it out much faster as I was being overly cautious.

[Ingen]

Originally Posted by post_break

Sure, look at this picture and notice the red arrow. That's the alignment nut. Best picture I could find online. I can't remember which direction lowers or raises so you have to just play with it. 8mm wrench.

Bulb on the left with the blue is the low beam, right is the high beam.

Need some more detail here...

1) You replaced both the low beams form h11 to h9, right? The ones in the projectors.

2) Which pic are you referring to? The last pic with it shining on your other car, and the blue fringing on the left light meaning it's the bright one?

3) The alignment arrow - do you mean the piece we have to cut on in the third pic? Basically cut it to the right size so it'll align right in the projector, or are you talking about changing the angle of hte projector itself?

Thanks

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Originally Posted by Ingen

Need some more detail here...

1) You replaced both the low beams form h11 to h9, right? The ones in the projectors.

2) Which pic are you referring to? The last pic with it shining on your other car, and the blue fringing on the left light meaning it's the bright one?

3) The alignment arrow - do you mean the piece we have to cut on in the third pic? Basically cut it to the right size so it'll align right in the projector, or are you talking about changing the angle of hte projector itself?

Thanks

1. Both low beams are running H9 now. The ones in the projectors. Didn't touch high beams.

2. The picture of the BRZ is showing the H9 in the drivers side, stock in passenger.

3. The red arrow shows the 8mm head you need to turn to raise or lower the lamp. You don't cut anything to align, you turn the nut to raise or lower. That's the pic with the other purple arrows that you can ignore. You cut the metal on the bulb so it fits in the socket.

[Ingen]

Originally Posted by post_break

3. The red arrow shows the 8mm head you need to turn to raise or lower the lamp. You don't cut anything to align, you turn the nut to raise or lower. That's the pic with the other purple arrows that you can ignore. You cut the metal on the bulb so it fits in the socket.

Cool cool. can't see the pic, but I think I can find it Thanks for finding /solving all the annoying little bits for our specific car!

[Khánh]

good job. although how is this differ from getting HIDs kit? you adjusted the headlights pointing down to prevent blinding, this same concept could be applied to HIDs kit..

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Originally Posted by Khánh

good job. although how is this differ from getting HIDs kit? you adjusted the headlights pointing down to prevent blinding, this same concept could be applied to HIDs kit..

The cutoff is the same, these are halogen bulbs with a higher output, not an HID bulb. I will get a picture of the cut off tonight when it's dark. There is no glare like with HID.

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Originally Posted by Ingen

Cool cool. can't see the pic, but I think I can find it Thanks for finding /solving all the annoying little bits for our specific car!

Here ya go.

[Khánh]

Originally Posted by post_break

The cutoff is the same, these are halogen bulbs with a higher output, not an HID bulb. I will get a picture of the cut off tonight when it's dark. There is no glare like with HID.

have you had HIDs installed in your frs?

[cobrabyte]

FYI: turn the leveling adjustment clockwise to lower the throw and counter-clockwise to raise your throw.

8mm wrench will get 'er done.

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Originally Posted by Khánh

have you had HIDs installed in your frs?

Not me personally but here you can see the shitty cutoff of HID.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...fit+comparison