HID/XENON Upgrade on Halogens (NOT LED) - anyone?

[Anthony DeVor]

The housing will tell you what size of bulb to use: look on the front of your lights. As others in different threads have noted, the manual is inaccurate.

My projectors are HB3 and the high beams H9 (on the front of the light). Couldn't see what they were on the turn and fog housings, but take the bulbs out and look and see what they are. YMMV.

I believe 9005 is equivalent to HB3 and H11 equivalent to H9 (have not researched precisely what the numbers mean, doesn't really matter).

Yes you are correct in the cross referencing


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[1111ExpyEL1111]

For me they work fantastic. Especially being split beam and having Bambi mode on. I haven’t gotten my light bar in behind my grille yet but idk if i will with how far down road my lights reach


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I honestly think this truck does not have drls. I do want to add light bars to both are 2012 and 2016 expeditions.

 

[Anthony DeVor]

Use forscan it should have drl options - i changed my drl’s to anytime in gear my foglights and running lights are on


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[1111ExpyEL1111]

Use forscan it should have drl options - i changed my drl’s to anytime in gear my foglights and running lights are on


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We are the second owner of this 2016 and it's possible that the original owner had the drls turned off.

 

[Anthony DeVor]

Use forscan and turn it back on


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[1111ExpyEL1111]

Use forscan and turn it back on


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Nope, dont want to.

 

[lv2drive]

updating this original inquiry of non-led upgrades to the g4 halogen lenses.

after careful consideration, and numerous discussions with people far more educated than i am, i’ve decided NOT to mess with any warranty-voiding (and not road legal) HID / xenon kits, and the required wiring holes drilled in the weather cap...

i have discovered that there are identical wattage, denser coil 9011 HIR bulbs on the market that could possibly be the best choice for non-led halogen solution, at least for the combination of output & quality of light. evidently super simple trimming of a plastic tab allows them to replace the 9005 as a direct fit - and evidently the manufacturers make it easy to trim for this purpose.

the best quality HIR bulbs i can find today are the newer generation Sylvania basic 9011 (made in Korea , not the old german ones....) they have evidently resumed using the patented HIR technology (a clear IR coating on them that reflects back to
the coil & magnifies the bulb output to produce additional light.)

will take pics to share for comparisons etc.

interested to do a side by side. might even throw in an LED on one side to compare for those LED folks -

 

[lv2drive]

So i finally got a chance to eyeball test some halogen low beam non-LED upgrades.

the two bulbs i tested were:

Tungsram Nighthawk Platinum 9005/hb3 (direct fit. Tungsram made the GE megalight series.)

Sylvania 9011 HR1 (new gen / korean made, slight bulb tab trim required - precise mm’s but otherwise easy)

i think the 9011s a winner - not as tall a hotspot, but seemed more intense down center when on the road. both are obvious improvements - so i’m running the 9011 hr1’s for now to see how long they last.

real world night driving so far has been a dramatic improvement in overall road illumination, distance & peripheral coverage & clarity as well. - everything really. found myself not reaching for the driving lights to supplement. it’s really amazing to see how much a difference it makes to feed these projectors decent light source. beam purity approaches the xenon realm of coverage, but is still warm. the plastic tab trim on bulb base was easy. i would so far recommend both bulbs.

pics below.
(1) stock / stock reference
(2) nighthawk / stock
(3) stock / 9011 hr1

 

[John I]

So i finally got a chance to eyeball test some halogen low beam non-LED upgrades.

the two bulbs i tested were:

Tungsram Nighthawk 9005/hb3 (direct fit. Tungsram made the GE megalight series.)

Sylvania 9011 HR1 (new gen / korean made, slight bulb tab trim required - precise mm’s but otherwise easy)

i think the 9011s a winner - not as tall a hotspot, but seemed more intense down center when on the road. both are obvious improvements - so i’m running the 9011 hr1’s for now to see how long they last.

real world night driving so far has been a dramatic improvement in overall road illumination, distance & peripheral coverage & clarity as well. - everything really. found myself not reaching for the driving lights to supplement. it’s really amazing to see how much a difference it makes to feed these projectors decent light source. beam purity approaches the xenon realm of coverage, but is still warm. the plastic tab trim on bulb base was easy. i would so far recommend both bulbs.

pics below.
(1) stock / stock reference
(2) nighthawk / stock
(3) stock / 9011 hr1

Thanks for posting this. Which Tungsram Nighthawk bulbs did you use? Looks like there's a Nighthawk, Nighthawk Platinum, and Nighthawk Xenon.

Just yesterday I replaced the OEM standard Sylvania HB3/9005 bulbs in my '19 XLT with a set of Osram Night Breaker Unlimited bulbs (direct replacement). My initial impression is that the lights are a little whiter/brighter.

 

[lv2drive]

Thanks for posting this. Which Tungsram Nighthawk bulbs did you use? Looks like there's a Nighthawk, Nighthawk Platinum, and Nighthawk Xenon.

Just yesterday I replaced the OEM standard Sylvania HB3/9005 bulbs in my '19 XLT with a set of Osram Night Breaker Unlimited bulbs (direct replacement). My initial impression is that the lights are a little whiter/brighter.

this was nighthawk PLATINUM. in projectors it showed optimal lux improvement for low beam use, so i tried & was pretty impressed with output when stacked against the much higher lumen 9011 - both were comparable to me in terms of light quality and real world road illumination from these projector lenses.