Upgrading Envoy/Ascender headlights

[Paul Bell]

I’ve wanted to upgrade the headlights on my truck. I have an Isuzu Ascender which pretty much has the same headlights as an Envoy.

I do NOT want the uncontrolled pattern that HID and LED lamps in the stock housings cause and blind other drivers. (Not a knock on you guys that have HID's, I drive around in NYC)

What makes a low beam bulb (9006) a low beam bulb is the shading that covers the tip of the lamp, stopping some light from going in that direction. High beam bulbs (9005) aren’t shaded, they’re completely clear.

The Envoy/Ascender headlight housing has this built in shroud around the tip of the low beam bulb (see pic) that I thought would perform the same function as the 9006's shaded tip.

The test: I installed a clear high beam 9005 bulb in the low beam location on one side. The light pattern and cutoff remained identical as with the 9006 shaded low beam bulb.

I decided to do the upgrade.

I got male 9006/5 tails that come with HID kits. Connecting them to the factory headlight plugs, I ran these wires to the coil terminals of a relay, one relay per side. This way, I didn’t hack the wiring harness and eliminated any voltage drop from the hair thin original wires.

I fed the relays with heavy wire, 10 gauge for the passenger side, 12 gauge for the drivers side, to a fuse to the battery, and negative also to the battery. Disabling the DRL system is a must.

I got some made to order headlight plugs, high temp with 12 inch 12 gauge tails. Wired them to negative and the relay for positive.

I installed 100 watt Hella 9005 lamps. Hella lamps will last waayy longer than the cheapo no-name bulbs on ebay. The factory lamp plugs are low profile. The aftermarket plugs are bigger requiring the housing to be clearanced a bit. Also, the 9005 lamp has keying slots inside the socket that are easily shaved off with a razor knife.

The results: Bright, white, beautiful headlights with the original beam pattern and cutoff without overpowering, melting or burning the original wiring, harness, relays, fuses or plugs. I’ve driven around at night a bunch and not one oncoming driver flashed his lights at me.

Amperage? The stock 55 watt lamps draw 4.6 amps each at 12 volts. 100 watt lamps draw 8.3 amps each.

Barring any unforeseen problems, I'm keeping this setup.

 

[Gerbil21]

Just wondering but are there any lumen ratings to those bulbs?, have you though about using hir bulbs instead?

 

[Paul Bell]

I'm unable to find lumen ratings for headlight bulbs. If anybody has them, post it!

The HIR lamps look interesting but searching for them it appears they can't be had anymore. Current ones look like 9005/9006 bulbs on a different keyed base. No more larger bulb envelopes.

 

[Gerbil21]

As far as I know you only need to trim the bulbs tabs to fit also I found these.

(Reviews said this is better than the Phillips)
Acdelco 9011 (low beams)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000C9RQ4W?cache=c50ed14c9a08ca0b8b7d8bbd1fccf516π=SX200_QL40&qid=1411840938&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

(I couldn't find an acdelco low beam)
Phillips 9012 (low beams)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00480N18G?cache=c50ed14c9a08ca0b8b7d8bbd1fccf516π=SY200_QL40&qid=1411839436&sr=8-1#ref=mp_s_a_1_1

How much did you get the 100w for?

 

[Mooseman]

I got a pair of real HIR bulbs on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-HIR1-Original-Equipment-Headlamp/dp/B000C9QPKS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411841481&sr=8-1&keywords=acdelco+hir

Pricey but worth it. Thinking of getting another pair for the lows and trimming the tabs to fit.

I would have major concerns about melting something in the housing with 100W bulbs, especially with a piece of metal right in front of it to absorb that heat and radiate it either to the lens or down to the housing through its legs. I melted my fogs by using 17W bulbs instead of the 12W 880's as specified. Wiring was fine, housings fell apart inside.

 

[Gerbil21]

Those are the same I linked to so that's good that I now know they work good on our trucks also are our fogs really that low wattage? That's really low

Forgot to ask do you have tb or envoy?

 

[Paul Bell]

What is the wattage of these HIR lamps? If they're 55 or 65, the 100 watt Hella 9005 will produce more light.

I haven't yet melted anything in the headlght housings.

I also upgraded my fog lamps to 50 watt 885 lamps, also no melting issues with their housings.

 

[Paul Bell]

The Hella lamps are readily available at a reasonable price.

http://www.amazon.com/HELLA-HLA-H83165271-9005-100W-Halogen/dp/B000COBLOI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1411849292&sr=8-4&keywords=9005+100+watt

 

[Gerbil21]

They are 65w and 55w also I'm shure 100w will produce a lot of light but the hir bulbs were made to compete with hid in terms of lumens but then again I've never had either so I really can't say anything.

Also keep updating on the 100w bulbs and fogs my bulbs are good but I would definitely like to upgrade the fogs in the future too

 

[Paul Bell]

I'd like to see a lumens chart of these lamps, very curious what they put out compared to a 100 watt Hella.

I did some research on them, they were made by Toshiba up to 2007 and they max out at 65 watts. They have a special coating inside the envelope that increases the output.

Strange tho, if they were so great, why are they no longer made?

Current HIR lamps are called "gen 3" and while having the HIR base, the bulbs are 9006/9006 style.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-9012-Standard-Halogen-Headlight/dp/B00480N18G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411854418&sr=8-1&keywords=Phillips-9012-HIR-2

 

[Mooseman]

I also did a lot of research on them. Some Guys were getting them cheap from John Deere until they jacked up the price. The coating reflects the infrared light back to the filament making it brighter without the need for more power. I found a very big difference compared with regular halogens on high beams.

Maybe they stopped making them just because there was no money to be made.

 

[Paul Bell]

Well I'm pretty happy with the above upgrade I did. Unless there's a heating problem that hasn't yet happened in use, I'm gonna stay with it. I'm not too keen on chasing after discontinued bulbs when I've performed a mod that I'm more than satisfied with.

 

[Gerbil21]

I'd like to see a lumens chart of these lamps, very curious what they put out compared to a 100 watt Hella.

I did some research on them, they were made by Toshiba up to 2007 and they max out at 65 watts. They have a special coating inside the envelope that increases the output.

Strange tho, if they were so great, why are they no longer made?

Current HIR lamps are called "gen 3" and while having the HIR base, the bulbs are 9006/9006 style.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-9012-Standard-Halogen-Headlight/dp/B00480N18G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411854418&sr=8-1&keywords=Phillips-9012-HIR-2

All new hir bulbs are made by Philips and they dont have the infrared coating they use a different gas mixture instead.

High Beam stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hours / Hi Beam HIR1: (9011), 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 400 hours

Lo Beam stock: 9006, 12.8V, 55W, 1006 lumens, 360 hours /
Lo Beam HIR2: (9012), 12.8V, 55W, 1875 lumens, 1000 hours

I also did a lot of research on them. Some Guys were getting them cheap from John Deere until they jacked up the price. The coating reflects the infrared light back to the filament making it brighter without the need for more power. I found a very big difference compared with regular halogens on high beams.

Maybe they stopped making them just because there was no money to be made.

They also used them on aux. lights for snow plows

Well I'm pretty happy with the above upgrade I did. Unless there's a heating problem that hasn't yet happened in use, I'm gonna stay with it. I'm not too keen on chasing after discontinued bulbs when I've performed a mod that I'm more than satisfied with.

Well at least you will never have ice on your headlights lol

 

[Paul Bell]

All new hir bulbs are made by Philips and they dont have the infrared coating they use a different gas mixture instead.

High Beam stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hours / Hi Beam HIR1: (9011), 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 400 hours

Lo Beam stock: 9006, 12.8V, 55W, 1006 lumens, 360 hours /
Lo Beam HIR2: (9012), 12.8V, 55W, 1875 lumens, 1000 hours

Very interesting information, thanks!

Did the original design with the infrared coating perform better, worse or the same as the current gas mixture version?

While searching for the lumens rating of the Hella 9005 100 watt lamp, I came across this:

Far brighter than 65watt oem, and far brighter than the stupid blue coated bulbs. I took a light meter and the factory brights were 95 ft/cd, the 100 watt blue coated bulbs were 120 ft/cd, and the Hella 100 watt bulbs measured 320 ft/cd (all measured at brightest point, at the same distance)

 

[Gerbil21]

From what I've read the new mixture is better. Also all I could find on the 100w bulbs is that they put out around the same lumens as an hir


H3 Rallye 100w 2300L (h3 are the same as hb3 just the base is different)

(These Are blue coated bulbs)
9005 HL83510 - 100W, 2325 Lumens

Also found this:
Please note that the HIR Technology is old and there is no need to coat the bulbs with an HIR coating to achieve the same results.

 

[Paul Bell]

Any blue coated lamp will be down a bit in lumens output.

I'm considering picking up a 9011 lamp just to test it.

I have a feeling the 9005 100 watt lamp will still have more output-but not by much.

 

[Paul Bell]

You guys are certainly taking me to school on this, thanks.

Here is the currently produced Philips 9011 lamp. It doesn't have the fatter bulb envelope that the older versions have. It looks like a 9005 with the different keyed base.

Does this new skinny version of the 9011 have the same lumens output as the older fat bulb version?

 

[Gerbil21]

You guys are certainly taking me to school on this, thanks.

Here is the currently produced Philips 9011 lamp. It doesn't have the fatter bulb envelope that the older versions have. It looks like a 9005 with the different keyed base.

Does this new skinny version of the 9011 have the same lumens output as the older fat bulb version?

i found this:

Our testing has the HIR1(was 9011) running 10.8% brighter than the Toshiba with a differently designed and upgraded filament gas mixture which also maintains the lumen maintenance throughout 70% of its life hours.

this is the old original prototype one
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-91565365470012_2270_908154

these are the new ones
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-91565365470012_2272_8215206

 

[Mooseman]

Now I gotta get me a set of those Philips 9012's

 

[Paul Bell]

OK Mr. Gerbil21, if I'm going to purchase this lamp to compare it to my hundred watters, should it be the newer straight bulb design (Philips) or the original fat bulb design that ACDelco seems to still offer?

 

[Gerbil21]

ok we'll this is what I found

9011 - high beam
9012 - low beam

Ac-Delco 9011 $23.73: (reviews say these are real Toshiba's)
http://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-HIR1-Original-Equipment-Headlamp/dp/B000C9QPKS/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Philips 9011 $19.64: (reviews show them as good real Philips hir's)
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-9011-Standard-Headlight-Bulb/dp/B00480J5CW/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1411996737&sr=1-1&keywords=hir1

Philips 9012 $22.47: (reviews say they are the newest gen 3 hir2 bulbs)
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-9012-Standard-Halogen-Headlight/dp/B00480N18G#Ask


Here it says that the new Philips 9011 are brighter that OEM replacement's 9011 (acdelco)
"http://store.candlepower.com/hirlighting.html"

They also have the 9011 and 12 bulbs for $24 and $27or $45 & $50 for two $90 for all 4


Also some reading:
(What is hir)
http://store.candlepower.com/9011hir.html

(How to modify hir bulb bases)
http://store.candlepower.com/mohirbuba.html

(9011 & 9012)
http://store.candlepower.com/hirlighting.html

 

[Gerbil21]

Any updates?

 

[Gerbil21]

Anything?

 

[Paul Bell]

Funny you should ask.....

A friend of mine asked me to help his headlights on his '03 GMC Safari. He has aftermarket "HID housings" and actual HID bulbs. The housing are lousy and so are his lights.

I told him to order some nice clear lensed housings that are all over ebay and some of these 9011 bulbs. These housings have a little metal shield like on our Envoy housings so I figured it'd work the same without the shaded tip bulbs.

I'm looking forward to seeing what these bulbs put out in person. I'm doing the installation in a few days. I'll report back with the results.

Meanwhile, I'm loving my 100 watt bulbs. So far so good, no temperature issues with the housings.

 

[Gerbil21]

Thanks i would love to see how they compare to 100w. maybe you guys can park side by side and unplug each headlight that is next to each other so you can see each bulb by its self and the reach and spread seperate

also even if light output is matched im shure you'll melt the snow faster so theres a good bonus lol

 

[dmanns67]

He has aftermarket "HID housings" and actual HID bulbs. The housing are lousy and so are his lights.

When you say "HID housings" are you referring to projectors? Or are you talking about reflector housing made for D2R based HID bulbs? Similar to the prius or older Acura vehicles.

 

[Paul Bell]

They're those cheepo aftermarket housings that look cool and have LED rings. They have a poorly designed HID style reflector. They never work good and send light everywhere. They're not much better than installing HID bulbs in a housing made for 9006 bulbs.

A side by side comparo sounds like a good idea.

 

[Paul Bell]

I made a trip to Detroit from NYC and back, driving all night long two nights in a row. I-80 pretty much all the way.

The headlights are amazing. I'm glad I did this mod.

This was a test, the headlights were lit for many hours and no damage from the heat occurred.

While I'm at it, the 50 watt bulbs I installed in the fog housings also worked fine, no damage from heat. These fog housings are the same used on the Trailblazer.

 

[Gerbil21]

Thanks for the update. anything on the hir's? also 50w in the fog lights sound great

What bulbs do you have on the fogs.

 

[Paul Bell]

It appears the 100 watt 9005 lamps are brighter than the 9011 lamps.

I have 50 watt 885 bulbs in the fog housings.

 

[Ilikemy3s]

I have been reading this thread and was wondering if someone can breakdown / recommend that to use as I would like the brightest white light for the lows and highs while keeping the stock light harness and connections ... do I order the 9011s ? where to get them? same for the fog lights.

 

[Paul Bell]

As the 9011 lamps are brighter than the 9005/6 lamps and use the same wattage, they'll provide more light while allowing you to retain the stock harnesses.

As I stated above, going to the 50 watt 885 lamps in the fog position caused me no problems with heat or the wiring.

 

[KNBlazer]

Why not just do a Projector retrofit...

 

[Paul Bell]

Why not just do a Projector retrofit...

As I understand it, it's very expensive-at least $400.00. There's a shop in Brooklyn that does the work. You can't just whack the housing and stuff it in, it needs to be within a small percentage of target.

And I'm very happy with the lights as I did them. Plenty light, I don't need more. They're more than I hoped for. My total cost was like fifty bucks.

 

[dmanns67]

As I understand it, it's very expensive-at least $400.00. There's a shop in Brooklyn that does the work. You can't just whack the housing and stuff it in, it needs to be within a small percentage of target.

And I'm very happy with the lights as I did them. Plenty light, I don't need more. They're more than I hoped for. My total cost was like fifty bucks.

Is the shop you speak of called HID Illusionz?

Do you happen to have any output shots? Maybe some before and afters?

 

[Paul Bell]

OK Gerbil21, I had a chance to visually compare these bulbs at night on a white garage door.

In the high beam position, the 65 watt 9011 lamp is brighter and whiter than the stock 65 watt 9005 lamp.

In the low beam position, the Hella 100 watt 9005 bulb is just a touch brighter than the 65 watt 9011 lamp. However, the 9011 is slightly whiter.

Verdict: The 65 watt 9011 bulb will provide great light in the low and high beam positions without requiring any harness or plug changes.

I would consider removing the wiring, relays and 100 watt lamps and replace them with 9011 lamps because the Hella 100 watt bulbs have a short life. In the two months I've had them, one bulb went.

 

[Gerbil21]

Thanks for the update its good to have a actual review especially for our headlights. And especially since they sound like they turned out pretty Good.

How are the fogs holding up?

 

[Paul Bell]

They're working great!

 

[SnowBlazer]

Any updates on the 9011 bulbs? After reading this, I'm thinking about popping a couple in the low beams.

 

[Mounce]

Use the elusive search function. They've been discussed many times.