Search 9011 bulb for both low and high beams. All it takes is a minor trim of the plastic tab in the bulb to make them fit and the light output is actually pretty good.
First car, lx450!
- Thread starter tug123
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #522
Dunno how I missed that solution, seems perfect. I'll make this my weekend project. The only thing I was kind of concerned about is this crack, but it doesn't seem to go all the way through and it's fairly high up.
I installed Rigid Industries fog lights to use in addition to replacement low beam bulbs. The model I got is "D-Series PRO SAE Fog Yellow Pair SKU: 504816"
I bought the brightest Sylvania replacement low beam bulbs for my factory housings (without going to the 9011 high beam bulb in the low-beam position as mentioned above) and that made the low beams almost OK.
The Rigid fog lamps are SAE / DOT compliant so you can turn them on any time on the highway without blinding oncoming traffic and without getting a ticket for using offroad lights on the road.
The fog lamps are equally as bright as the brand new low beam bulbs in the factory housings, so essentially double the light when I have the fog lamps and low beams on together (which is whenever it's dark enough to need headlights).
The fog lamps are hands down my favorite upgrade on the cruiser. I was daily driving it for two years and now my wife daily drives it and we both use the fog lamps every time we use the headlights. The amber color is great for not messing up your night vision and it doesn't glare off of dust/rain/snow/fog in the air. I can't recommend them enough for vehicles with old technology headlights. They are expensive but I value the even beam pattern with a sharp cutoff to avoid blinding other drivers and the SAE / DOT legality so I don't have to worry about johnny law harassing me for using extra lights. Plus they have a nice wide beam that lights up the road shoulders or shines around corners a little on mountain twisty roads.
I bought the brightest Sylvania replacement low beam bulbs for my factory housings (without going to the 9011 high beam bulb in the low-beam position as mentioned above) and that made the low beams almost OK.
The Rigid fog lamps are SAE / DOT compliant so you can turn them on any time on the highway without blinding oncoming traffic and without getting a ticket for using offroad lights on the road.
The fog lamps are equally as bright as the brand new low beam bulbs in the factory housings, so essentially double the light when I have the fog lamps and low beams on together (which is whenever it's dark enough to need headlights).
The fog lamps are hands down my favorite upgrade on the cruiser. I was daily driving it for two years and now my wife daily drives it and we both use the fog lamps every time we use the headlights. The amber color is great for not messing up your night vision and it doesn't glare off of dust/rain/snow/fog in the air. I can't recommend them enough for vehicles with old technology headlights. They are expensive but I value the even beam pattern with a sharp cutoff to avoid blinding other drivers and the SAE / DOT legality so I don't have to worry about johnny law harassing me for using extra lights. Plus they have a nice wide beam that lights up the road shoulders or shines around corners a little on mountain twisty roads.
I'm also a fan of the Rigid SAE fog lights. I have the white ones on my truck and they are impressive. There's a very sharp cutoff on the top so it's easy to aim them as not to blind others.
I also have the spotlights but those are not SAE and I only use them as brights.
I also have the spotlights but those are not SAE and I only use them as brights.
- Thread starter
- #525
I don't hate that idea, but don't you need an aftermarket bumper to mount those kinds of fog lights? Have not been able to find a post of people doing this without one. Also, I do feel not wonderful about putting 9011 in the low beam spot - worth it to just do what you're kind of meant to do and put 9012s in low beams?
Yes it’s worth it to replace the low beam bulbs with the brightest you can buy. They get dimmer as they age and need replacing periodically.
Clean the new bulbs with rubbing alcohol and only handle them with clean gloves or a clean rag. Any oil or grease on the bulb from your fingers will make the bulb burn out prematurely.
No, you don’t need an aftermarket bumper. Drill one hole per light in the top of your stock bumper and bolt them right on. The photo below is a friend’s truck with aftermarket lights on a stock bumper.
Clean the new bulbs with rubbing alcohol and only handle them with clean gloves or a clean rag. Any oil or grease on the bulb from your fingers will make the bulb burn out prematurely.
No, you don’t need an aftermarket bumper. Drill one hole per light in the top of your stock bumper and bolt them right on. The photo below is a friend’s truck with aftermarket lights on a stock bumper.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #527
Springs came, waiting for my shocks gonna start putting penetrating oil on every night. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll have the new suspension on.
Considering tires, I'm leaning towards AT3 (still in between 265 and 285) but curious if anyone's used the new KO3s? I really can't find much on them, but they're definitely available now. Not a single post I can find on 80-Series, only some 200-Series posts when they were waiting for a year.
Considering tires, I'm leaning towards AT3 (still in between 265 and 285) but curious if anyone's used the new KO3s? I really can't find much on them, but they're definitely available now. Not a single post I can find on 80-Series, only some 200-Series posts when they were waiting for a year.
For the tires it just depends on if you want to try something new or go with a proven option.
For things as variable as tires I like to let other people try the new stuff first.
- Thread starter
- #529
Makes sense, I'll just stick to AT3s.
I'm firmly in the 265 75 R16 camp for snow tires on the stock 16x7 wheels. The narrower the better for snowy road driving. They might be a little cheaper too which never hurts. I'd buy 5 and rotate the spare on once in a while.
- Thread starter
- #531
I know I'm basically there too, speedo is way more accurate, probably quieter, maybe a bit better MPG. Definitely cheaper by a few hundred. The 285s are just tempting me with looks haha but I will probably do 265s because it's the very reasonable thing to do. I doubt 285s will give me any benefit for how I use the rig other than vanity points.
I don’t know, there really isn’t a nickel’s worth of difference between 265’s and 285’ once you drive around the block and then take a look at them. My rig came with fairly new 265’s, ran them for 6 months and then took off for some Wildpeak at3’s and ran them for 3 1/2 years. Took them off in April to put on another truck and went back to the 265 with a plan to go tall skinny 255/85r16. The 265’s give a little better mpg, I can hold 3rd gear longer on my local grades that I absolutely push until a brief shift into 2nd. I’ll pull 2nd at 4800 rpm touching 70 mph as I crest the grade, have done that a bunch of times, 1FZ FE doesn’t care. I’m actually liking the 265’s just fine. Basically stock rig with WKOR sliders, Dissent front bumper, OME 861/862 Springs with 10mm spacers and Dobinson’s IMS shocks. Just got 14.8 mpg with medium load round trip mountain run.
- Thread starter
- #533
This is solid to hear in some ways but makes this a bit harder, I wish you had told me 265s were way better than 285s haha. I'll probably go with 265s at the end of the day though.
I guess I’m saying that it’s worth it to me to gain the little bit of performance out of the 265’s, bit better mpg and some hill pulling improvements. But true, not drastically different even in looks.
To be more clear, I was mainly indicating that there really isn’t a nickel’s worth of difference regarding their looks. Drive around the block and you forget what the other one looked like. There is a bit of performance difference however, but also somewhat marginal.
- Thread starter
- #536
Yeah fair enough, and the cost can be pretty marginal. E rated are probably overkill if I'm not rock crawling as well, right? SL vs E are pretty hefty price difference, not quite sure I really need E rated.
It just depends on what you are using the cruiser for. E might be overkill if you are rarely off road, but having the tougher tires makes sense if you spend time on gravel and rocky roads. It looks like the E version weights 7lbs more per tire.
Since you are in WY and have access to so many remote dirt and gravel roads I'd recommend going with the E version. Don't be scared of the bigger size as well (285/75/16) if you truly plan on some off road driving. Having just a little more clearance isn't a bad thing and they will still be great in the snow.
- Thread starter
- #538
I am really glad the hardest thing I have to deal with now is what tires I want haha, this has come a long way.
When the roads are open I'm definitely going up to the mountains at least once a week, and those aren't very friendly roads. They're not hardcore trails but they're not very maintained either. I got some time to think on it, but if I do E either way it's like a $20/tire cost difference between 265s and 285s so it's purely use case. Will probably make the decision next month once I get suspension swapped.
That's what I chose for mine after buying the rig with practically bald tires 3 years ago. The stock wheels are 16x8. The BFG I got are load range E. I figured this was probably best for the Denali highway and possibly the Dempster or Dalton in the future. Also this size is almost stock so speedometer/odometer will be fairly accurate. OEM suspension here. It's a nice ride, I see no reason to replace it for my needs.
- Thread starter
- #540
Finally got my suspension installed this weekend! Wasn't crazy hard, I thought it'd be a lot worse. My old shocks were pretty shot, old springs seemed mostly okay though - front springs were actually an inch taller than the new OME 861 (rear OME 826 were an inch taller). Having a few extra washers was very helpful.
Ride is kind of smoother on the bigger stuff, but fairly bumpy at low speeds - my friend told me (after the fact of course) that I was supposed to push the new shocks in by hand three times to break them in. I definitely didn't do that.
Ride is kind of smoother on the bigger stuff, but fairly bumpy at low speeds - my friend told me (after the fact of course) that I was supposed to push the new shocks in by hand three times to break them in. I definitely didn't do that.
