9006/9005 to 9012/9011 bulbs

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Apr 15, 2017
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Napa, CA.
A pair of wire cutters and 5 mins of my time and wow this is so much better!

Who else has done this?

I have aftermarket HIDs in the Escape and honestly I like the light from the 9012/9011 bulbs in the Suburban better!
 
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I loved them in my Sonata too, I much preferred that warm color and powerful output over the 2 sets of LEDs I tried.
 
Originally Posted by dogememe
Who else has done this?
Yes!

Fine little upgrade I learned right here from my friends on BITOG.

smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722
I went from 9005 to 9011 to LED and then back to 9011 in my 300. The 9011's blow the LED's out of the water.

Yeah, I was gonna do LEDs but I thought I'd try this upgrade first and I'm really happy.

In the Escape I replaced my regular bulbs with LEDs, ran those for about a year, then sold them to my coworker for his Jeep and now I have HIDs in there. Even though I bought 5K not 6K HIDs the 9011/12 bulbs just have more pleasant light then either LED or HID.
 
I really like the HID 4300/5000K light in projectors, ON DRY ROADS. Once things get wet, I personally have a much harder time making out lane lines and the edge of the road due to the glare. I have had about 6 different H7 bulbs, from Philips Nightbreakers and Osram Rallyes (too short of bulb life), then on to a VVME 55W 5000K HID (terrible ignition stutter in the winter, glare when roadway was wet), then to some Hikari "9600" lumen LEDs (terrible aim point, terrible illumination from driver's seat, terrible glare to oncoming traffic), and now back to a set of EvoFormance Alfas (decent output but not revolutionary by any means). High beams I did the Nightbreakers or whatever it was rated at 150%, and came back to AC Delco 9011s. I have a much better time with the warmer light in adverse conditions, and other than color rendering, the 9011s give up very, very little over the stupidly bright output of the 55W HIDs. The EvoFormance Alfas are not quite as bright as what I was hoping, but since I live out in the middle of nowhere and can fire up the 9011s for about 70% of my commute, it's not too bad.

Now, if I could just find a better replacement for the H7 low beams that were on par with the 9011s...
 
A pair of wire cutters and 5 mins of my time and wow this is so much better!

Who else has done this?

I have aftermarket HIDs in the Escape and honestly I like the light from the 9012/9011 bulbs in the Suburban better!
Uh so dumb question from someone who now has a vehicle that uses these. How do you do this?
 
One of the tabs on 9011/9012 is much bigger than the counterpart used on 9005/9006. All you have to do is shave that bigger tab.
I use nail clippers, works great. This is a great guide on how to trim them. Some cars do not require trimming, most do though.

 
2001 Grand Prix. calls for 9006 low beams and 9005 high beams, do I need to change my sockets to use the 9012 and 9011? Where do l get the sockets if so, and what do I look for at Amazon.
 
I’ll choose this mod or HIR conversion (yes, R) every single time over LED or HID. The color rendering index of incandescent light is still to my eyes much more effective for both detail and fatigue. I do have the conversion in play in my wife’s CRV and she quite appreciates it.
 
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