HIR bulbs

[ajrich]

Hope I helped some people out on this find. Great savings if you are planning on going with HIR bulbs.

[SiGTi]

wow, i wish i found this like 4 days ago when i got GE nighthawks...

[ajrich]

If it were me I would return the nighthawks and go with HIR. I guess it all depends on where you got them though.

[tomasro]

Seriously, I got HID, now I need to get rid of my HIR's...any takers?

[cappykd]

Originally Posted by ajrich

Hope I helped some people out on this find. Great savings if you are planning on going with HIR bulbs.

+1 rep for a good find.

[CNI Dawg]

These are noticeably brighter/better than the stock.
Not HID brightness but much better than stock.
Installed the drivers side last night @ 10:30PM after work but did not get the passenger side done.. was late & getting cold.
Took around the block & the HIR was noticeably brighter!
Gonna try to get the pass side done today before work.
They fit MUCH tighter than the stock bulbs.... a PIA to install 'cause they fit so tight!
Ended up filing the base to thin it so it would fit.

[rjl]

New Civic Si Sedan owner, but long experience with HIR's.

My previous vehicle was a Toyota Land Cruiser. To my knowledge, it was the Land Cruiser community which pioneered the use of HIR bulbs to replace the 9005 and 9006 headlight bulbs. It was a Land Cruiser owner in Australia who worked for a John Deere dealership who first discovered the bulbs' possible use, so it's interesting to see things come full circle.

Originally, they were only made by GE. The GE bulbs were of a totally funky design (part of the wiring actually ran on the exterior of the bulb) and were subsequently not up to the same quality as the HIR bulbs made today. My first GE low beams that I got from my local JD dealership only lasted about a year.

Since then, however, other manufactures have bought/licensed/whatever the technology from GE.

In fact, before I sold the Land Cruiser, I bought some cheapo bulbs to throw in and took out the Toshiba HIR's because I knew I'd want to put them in the Si.

HIR technology works by coating the interior of the bulb with a infrared reflecting film. It directs all the infrared light back to the filament, in turn superheating it and converting it into more light. HIR = High output, InfraRed. The beauty is they use the same power as a standard bulb and have the same life span. I'd rewired the lighting harness on my Land Cruiser to run on relays to ensure more power got directly to the headlight bulbs, but with the HIRs it was largely unneccesary.

All the US-sold-Silverstars (Silverstars sold in Europe are more legit) and PIAA bulbs are just blue-tinted jokes. Might as well cram some Uncle Ben's into your headlight housings. HIR bulbs are the real deal.

[skiz]

hiya, and welcome to the 8th!

[dentrecords]

awesome post, rjl...

these bulbs are a definite improvement!

[civiclx07]

FYI. It is now around $28 per bulb according to JD website

Part Details

Part Number: AH211917
Part Price: 27.24 USD
On Hand: 4
Description: BULB, HIR 2

Parts Country Where Used

[mikey5x]

Originally Posted by tomasro

Seriously, I got HID, now I need to get rid of my HIR's...any takers?

Hi, this is the first I've heard of HIR's ... they are adaptable to 9006 outlets?
How do they compare to HID's with the colour and light intensity and how long would i expect them to last?

I got a pair of SIlverstar's from Canadian Tire, one lasted like 2 months, the other 5 months, 55 bucks for the pair.. dissapointed! thanks.

[dentrecords]

Colour temperature is the same as stock. Light output is estimated at approximately 1800 lumens, versus around 1100 stock. 9012s can be shaved down to fit a 9006 socket and 9011s can be shaved to fit a 9005.

Hope that helps.

[skiz]

and the MTBF is almost as long as stock... stock low beam is ~1000 hours, the HIR 9012 = ~800 hours.

Well worth it IMO.

[FALer]

Originally Posted by rjl

HIR = High output, InfraRed.

Actually, it's Halogen, InfraRed but everything else seems correct. I first read about them many years ago on the forum at the predecessor to Automotive Lighting FAQ , when looking to buy an HID plug-and-play kit. Reading convinced me that HIR were the only way to fly if you didn't want to retrofit HID specific projectors, but I do find it interesting that Australian Land Cruiser owners were the originators of the use of HIR retrofits.

[rjl]

Originally Posted by FALer

Actually, it's Halogen, InfraRed but everything else seems correct. I first read about them many years ago on the forum at the predecessor to Automotive Lighting FAQ , when looking to buy an HID plug-and-play kit. Reading convinced me that HIR were the only way to fly if you didn't want to retrofit HID specific projectors, but I do find it interesting that Australian Land Cruiser owners were the originators of the use of HIR retrofits.

Ah yes, correction noted.

I'm not sure if it was owners, per se, but one who worked at an Australian John Deere dealership who immediately shared his finding with the "80 Series Land Cruiser Mailing List", which goes international.

Re-reading my posts on the ih8mud.com Land Cruiser board, it looks like I bought my first HIR bulbs in February of '04. Those, the early GE versions, burnt out a year later. I got my high beam bulbs in March of '04.

So now, I'm getting ready to install my March of '05 and March of '04 HIR bulbs into my new Si. How's that for longevity?

Here's a diagram of what the first GE bulbs looked like, by the way:

Untitled Document

Very goofy.

[MurderedCivic]

sorry for the newb question. but i have never heard of HIR lights. are similar to super brights ?

[rjl]

Originally Posted by MurderedCivic

sorry for the newb question. but i have never heard of HIR lights. are similar to super brights ?

What do you mean by super brights?

Most, if not all, your questions can be answered by either reading this thread or an internet search.

HIR bulbs are the brightest possible bulb you can get short of going with an HID retrofit.

[08civiclx]

Hey, went to my John Deere dealer today and they have two in stock but they told me they were right at $37 EACH! I didn't pick them up so I am still rolling with the silver stars, anyone think its worth $80 to pick these up? I could use some input

[av911]

Originally Posted by 08civiclx

Hey, went to my John Deere dealer today and they have two in stock but they told me they were right at $37 EACH! I didn't pick them up so I am still rolling with the silver stars, anyone think its worth $80 to pick these up? I could use some input

I would not pay that much. I'm regretting paying $50 for the pair.

[Firestrife]

Originally Posted by rjl

Ah yes, correction noted.

I'm not sure if it was owners, per se, but one who worked at an Australian John Deere dealership who immediately shared his finding with the "80 Series Land Cruiser Mailing List", which goes international.

Re-reading my posts on the ih8mud.com Land Cruiser board, it looks like I bought my first HIR bulbs in February of '04. Those, the early GE versions, burnt out a year later. I got my high beam bulbs in March of '04.

So now, I'm getting ready to install my March of '05 and March of '04 HIR bulbs into my new Si. How's that for longevity?

Here's a diagram of what the first GE bulbs looked like, by the way:

Untitled Document

Very goofy.

Wow those HIR's look really similar to HID bulbs