Looking for Plug and Play BRIGHTER Headlight Replacements

I had tried the Sylvania Silver Star Ultra, but they only lasted a couple of months. Well short of what I thought would be a year. I'm looking too.

I found mine on Amazon about 35$ for the pair. Walmart had them for almost 70$. Glad I looked on Amazon. But now I'm not happy about the longevity.

Nexus 7 ? 4

 

A 35w digital HID kit doesn't need a relay or anything like that. Yeah, you still need to hide the ballasts, but you can use all of the OEM wiring.

In my experience, silverstars and other super bright halogens are expensive and have a fairly short lifespan. You can get an HID kit for the same price and the bulbs will last way longer. I've had bulbs last three years before they began to change color.

Also, it's worth knowing that you pretty much need to move the coolant tank to change the bulb in the passenger side, so better to do it once and not worry about it for a while.

 

An HID kit would be best but it does require a bit of tinkering so I would not recommend it if you don't want to mess with mounting the little ballast boxes although that is basically all that needs to be done since HIDs just plug in to the existing wiring like a bulb.

That said, if you just want to replace your stock halogen bulbs with better ones, look for a 'xenon', 'ultra' or 'crystal' type bulb (H11, 55w) like these:

Philips H11 CrystalVision Ultra Headlight Bulb, Pack of 2 : Amazon.com : Automotive

It gives off a more pure white light rather than off white like the stock ones. These tend to be slightly brighter as well, but also do not last quite as long.

 

I've used PIAA bulbs, but am not sure if I have a fair brightness comparison as it is replacement for blown bulbs.

SCH-R530M ?

 

Piaa, Hella, Phillips are all good. I'd just buy the cheapest of the 3.

 

I would add thay for whatever reason, the lamps come from the factory pointed way low. Me and others here re-aimed and found a vast improvement from the stock bulbs.

 

Mine seem just about right but how do you move them up?

 

Try xexonsupply. They have a true plug/play kit and a video showing how-to on an actual Prius.

 

it might be the later models have set better. to adjust, there is an adjustment shaft towards the rear of the headlight housing. rotate to adjust up or down. thereis a good thread with all the details i cant remember off hand.

 

I'm using modified H9 65w bulbs in my Camry and they are definitely brighter than stock (H11 55w). Some of the reviews on Amazon specifically mention substituting H11 bulbs with H9 bulbs for an easy upgrade over stock:

Amazon.com: Philips H9 Standard Headlight Bulb, Pack of 1: Automotive

You just need to modify 2 things on the H9 bulbs to get them to fit on your H11 lowbeam harness connector and to fit in the H11 mounting socket in the back of the headlight housing.

SCH-I535

 

They are supposed to carry 1 year warranty

 

How do you raise them.

 

At the back of the headlight housing there is a wheel with serrations on it, kind of looks like a small silver bottle cap. It also has a small, 8 mm bolt head on the back of it. I find it easiest to use this 8mm bolt to adjust the aim. Turn the wheel with a socket wrench counter clockwise to raise the projectors, and clockwise to lower the aim. I look at the serrations on the wheel and count how many notches I move the wheel when turning, if that makes any sense lol.

SCH-I535

 

Thanks. Will have to look at them

 

Regarding aim. You want to use a flat, level area with a wall about 30 ft away. The cutoff line on the wall should be slightly below the height of your headlight height at the car.

You definitely don't want your beams to be rising upward from your lights or they'll be glaring into oncoming drivers eyes.

SCH-I535

 

It's not terribly difficult. Check this out.

 

The H9 upgrade is simple and effective, increasing output from, iirc, ~1250 lumens to ~2300. Effective and very cheap. Be very careful if adjusting aim to follow procedure with measurements with the car loaded on a very level surface. There is the potential to put out a lot of glare to oncoming drivers if you get it wrong.