HIR bulb fiasco - what's latest? (1 Viewer)

[IdahoDoug]

So Im trying to buy a pair of HIR 9012s. We all remember how great it was when someone who should be knighted here discovered the HIR John Deere bulbs would fit with the tabs clipped. Amazing upgrade.

So now when I look around, EVERYONE's got them for sale. They no longer look different - all normal barrel shaped glass vs the original spherical section with the faint coating. They are also called variously "HIR standard halogen" (Phillips - its right on the paper packaging), "HIR LED" (can't recall - some rice rocket site), etc, etc. So it feels to me like various unscrupulous types have all jumped on the HIR bandwagon and some are just labeling ordinary bulbs this way. There's even an "HIR LL" (LongLife by Phillips, I think) bulb probably reacting to the complaints some of these are burning out fast.

I see Rallylights.com is selling a Vaslo brand or something for a whopping $56 each. And they have apparently a "normal" HIR and this $56 specimen is labeled a "+30" HIR. I've had it and I give up. One place has cleverly made "HIR2" THEIR PART NUMBER (some crap site selling blue bulbs) for a normal halogen no-name bulb, so it comes up on a search for the unwary. I just blew an hour on a Sunday trying to make sure I get the correct and true HIR bulbs that have been kicking ass in my 80 for 15 years or so. I think some of us are getting screwed with ordinary bulbs.

Can anyone point me to a link I can simply buy the genuine article? Dont' suggest this site or that, because for instance the CandlePower site only has 9011s which come up when you search 9012 on their site. Thanks in advance. Might help others also trying to find the "real" HIR bulbs which have a specific coating inside the glass envelope that causes the IR to bounce back at the filament. If yours is perfectly clear glass (you can see this coating faintly at the edges) you've also been ripped off.

Thanks!
Doug

 

[LFD2037]

Phillips is the only manufacturer of HIR bulbs.
The real ones no longer have the coating.
There's many sources for them.

 

[mct75]

IIRC the coating was supposed to be what set the HIRs apart, however "regular bulb" technology has improved enough that you can get the equivalent output of a HIR bulb without the special coating.

 

[SteamerF18]

I put 9011's in all four holes today, packaging and light bulb pics below. Purchased from Rock Auto at ~ $9 per bulb. Not sure if they are real or fake, but appears to be the product others touted here on Mud. I perceive improved light output from the 9005/9006 resident previously, could be placebo effect.

 

[Notch]

This is what I have in my low beams. In hind sight I should have spent the $40 (they were $19.xx/ea when I bought them last year) on a HID retrofit which I'm doing now.

 

[IdahoDoug]

SRF18 - could you post the p/n or something specific to Rock Auto? I tried to find bulbs and got no love. Thanks in advance. I knew I should have bought a lifetime supply of those bulbs - in case they're slowly evolving to just above average. The last ones didn't seem to jump out at me as bright, and I'm always noodling around with the other car's lights to get brighter quality forward illumination. Anyone else?

 

[SteamerF18]

IdahoDoug - I went to Rock Auto and under the part number search, I searched Wagner 9011 and the bulbs I have came up:

RockAuto

Looking at the order receipt it shows:

Part Number Part Type Price EA Core EA Quantity Total
WAGNER 9011 Headlamp Bulb $ 8.57 $ 0.00 4 $ 34.28

Of note putting HIR in the search brings up everything other than the bulbs I ordered. HTH.

 

[Corbet]

I get my HIR bulbs here. Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply

 

[PDoyle]

Do you still have to clip one of the tips around
the ring to get it to lock in place?

 

[SteamerF18]

Yes

 

[HardyDanger]

Bought mine off amazon for $10.97 a couple months ago. Sold as Wagners but they are Phillips. Confirmed. Way brighter than stocks.

Just added slee upgrade harness today. A smidge brighter yet. Mainly added slee for was of adding aux lights.

Tip. Wrap one thickness of self fusing tape around barrel to make it fit in socket a bit better.

 

[IdahoDoug]

SRF18,

Thanks - just ordered a few of the 9011s and I will try these in the low beams for the first time. Also, just finished a great aviation book called "A Higher Calling". True WWII account of a German fighter pilot who risks court martial by escorting a horrendously damaged USAF bomber out of the country through the German AA gun rings in the middle of a fight. He later becomes a top German ace, and one of few to fly and fight in the famous 262 jet-engined German fighter they managed to field as the war closed. Remarkable. Full of interesting accounts of the truth of many wartime aviation events from the German side. For decades he had no idea what became of the crew of the doomed bomber he helped. Remarkable.

 

[Tools R Us]

Phillips redesigned the HIR bulb, now looks more conventional, but has greater output than the Toshiba. I still have a John Deere/Toshiba on one side and a Wagner/Phillips 9011 in the other, the Wagner is notably brighter. In this case, mass production price reduction is a good thing.

 

[Rifleman]

SRF18,

Thanks - just ordered a few of the 9011s and I will try these in the low beams for the first time. Also, just finished a great aviation book called "A Higher Calling". True WWII account of a German fighter pilot who risks court martial by escorting a horrendously damaged USAF bomber out of the country through the German AA gun rings in the middle of a fight. He later becomes a top German ace, and one of few to fly and fight in the famous 262 jet-engined German fighter they managed to field as the war closed. Remarkable. Full of interesting accounts of the truth of many wartime aviation events from the German side. For decades he had no idea what became of the crew of the doomed bomber he helped. Remarkable.

Doug is that book your reading about fighter pilot, Adolf Galland, that was assigned to command Jagdgeschwader 54, in February 1945?

 

[chapel gate]

Are you not better off just getting the new generation of leds?

 

[Corbet]

Are you not better off just getting the new generation of leds?

Only if you can find a new LED bulb that emits its light from the same spot as an original halogen. Otherwise the internal reflectors do not work as originally designed. This is why the HIR's work so well as the filament is in the same spot as the halogen you replace.

 

[SteamerF18]

SRF18,

Thanks - just ordered a few of the 9011s and I will try these in the low beams for the first time. Also, just finished a great aviation book called "A Higher Calling". True WWII account of a German fighter pilot who risks court martial by escorting a horrendously damaged USAF bomber out of the country through the German AA gun rings in the middle of a fight. He later becomes a top German ace, and one of few to fly and fight in the famous 262 jet-engined German fighter they managed to field as the war closed. Remarkable. Full of interesting accounts of the truth of many wartime aviation events from the German side. For decades he had no idea what became of the crew of the doomed bomber he helped. Remarkable.

Happy to help, hope they work out. I'll need to check out that book, aviation stories from WWII have always been quite interesting to me.

Scott

 

[tacosupreme]

Only if you can find a new LED bulb that emits its light from the same spot as an original halogen. Otherwise the internal reflectors do not work as originally designed. This is why the HIR's work so well as the filament is in the same spot as the halogen you replace.

They are starting to come with a metal hood over the LED to fix that issue. Once you try these you will wonder how you got around without them. I don't get bright lighted, and they have a decent cut off on low beam. The high beams kind of spashes light around a bit, but I only use that offroad or on desolate highway anyhow. I've even had mine underwater a couple times and they still work. Amazon.com: MOSTPLUS 80W 9,600LM 6000K White Plug and Play H11 (H8/H9) CREE LED Headlight Conversion Kit Bulbs 4,800LM Per Bulb with 3 Year Warranty: Automotive

 

[mct75]

They are starting to come with a metal hood over the LED to fix that issue. Once you try these you will wonder how you got around without them. I've even had mine underwater a couple times and they still work. Amazon.com: MOSTPLUS 80W 9,600LM 6000K White Plug and Play H11 (H8/H9) CREE LED Headlight Conversion Kit Bulbs 4,800LM Per Bulb with 3 Year Warranty: Automotive

That's....... actually not bad at all. The LEDS are only 19W too apparently so less stress on the battery and harness.

 

[tacosupreme]

That's....... actually not bad at all. The LEDS are only 19W too apparently so less stress on the battery and harness.

You can leave them on while setting up camp and she'll still start in the morning. I have two LED light pods that I thought were nuclear bright before, now I can't even tell they are on. Really, if you run these in both low and high beam you will not need aux lights. Maybe if you have an LS swap and good suspension, but at 3FE speeds you can't outdrive them.

I now know how the first electric bulb users felt after switching from candles.