DEPO Headlight assy and HIR bulbs

[tweak1029]

My headlights sucked, even my high-beams wouldn't elicit a flash from a fellow motorist, all because this one piece responsible for keeping vertical adjustment was broken. The plastic ball socket was no good:



I attempted a repair on the left headlight. It held for a little while but I suppose due to the spring's tension and temperature changes the flimsy metal wasn't enough to retain adjustment and it fell below my right light, which was propped up by a stick.



I've read great things about HIRs, but due to the stock assembly's lack of a full cap on the low beams I didn't want to convert the lows, and I wanted to do a complete conversion, so I browsed the DEPO lights and found some nice looking lights at about three to four times the cost of stock. DOT compliance should mean little to no glare, good beam pattern, and default 9005/9006 lights means 9011/9012 HIRs will fit

Here's the box they came in. It was much larger than expected, and free shipping was a major plus.



Another plus of the DEPO lights is they appear to be visually aimable DOT VOL compliant. The beam pattern on a wall resembles the depiction on the Candlepower store.



My HIR bulbs are expected here on Friday so I'll get a chance to do a comparison. In the mean-time, I adjusted my lights (in daylight) with a two-by-four marked two inches below the bulb and walked 25 feet out and tried to eye it into proper adjustment. It's probably off by a fair bit but it should do for now; I'll adjust them better at an abandoned wal-mart after work tonight.

The total cost is around $250. $140 to autopartsavenue on eBay and almost $110 on Amazon for the HIRs. The HIRs are the new Philips type, which are supposed to have the highest output. Candlepower, Amazon, and Finemotoring all have comparable pricing, but only Amazon explicitly advertises having Philips high and low bulbs. The others seem to limit you to mixing Toshiba and Philips. I tried standard shipping instead of Amazon's free shipping to get them here faster but there's no difference.

Finally, the car with the headlights installed:



I'll post more later when the HIRs arrive.

[iovaykind]

Looking good! May I ask why you chose HIR over HID's? For $110, you got HIR's, but for $130 you could've gotten mini H1 projectors and HID's, which would be a MUCH larger difference. Also, you interested in some clear DEPO turn signals? I have a set for the 92-94.

[tweak1029]

Originally Posted by iovaykind

Looking good! May I ask why you chose HIR over HID's? For $110, you got HIR's, but for $130 you could've gotten mini H1 projectors and HID's, which would be a MUCH larger difference. Also, you interested in some clear DEPO turn signals? I have a set for the 92-94.

The main reason I went with HIRs instead of HIDs is the focus and beam pattern retention. I work night shift and see people with HIDs in the fog lights and low beams all the time. They're pure shit.

There's a chance they may work in my car because it sits low, as I attribute my problems to two main factors:
(1) I usually see the kits in vehicles with high headlight placement such as trucks and SUVs.
(2) My car sits low, so I see more oncoming glare than others might.

But even so, people drive badly enough without my help. I don't want to give them a reason to hit me or drive off the road.

I'm not too interested in the clear turn signals. Mine work and the primary reason for this upgrade was enhanced visibility. The cosmetic benefit is just a bonus :P

[RU2CHKN]

I know this has been done to death but HIDS/DEPO clears bad, bad combination

[iovaykind]

Just saying you can get a cheap HID kit (cheap doesn't mean bad quality) with MH1 projectors for only a little more than your HIR bulbs.. and the MH1's will not only look cooler, they have MUCH better lighting output

[Eye8Pussies]

well, if he was going to retrofit projectors, then why wouldn't he just go all the way and get a good set of d2s projectors?

he's going for simple and I give him respect for realizing that reflector housings and HIDs are a bad combination for other motorists and doing the best he can to get good output without blinding others

some cars have reflector housings that don't glare *too* much with hids...but the camry ones def are not one of them

[Kyle_Mains]

HIRs are like legendary, i've never seen a picture of them installed. I heard they burn out way to fast to be worth it.

[tweak1029]

Originally Posted by iovaykind

Just saying you can get a cheap HID kit (cheap doesn't mean bad quality) with MH1 projectors for only a little more than your HIR bulbs.. and the MH1's will not only look cooler, they have MUCH better lighting output

HIDs may be the best, but they also cost more money and more time to work well. HIRs are supposed to offer at least 75% of the light output of HIDs, which is bearable, considering it's a much simpler process with almost no error margin. Trim a tab, plug in, go. Same old light, but there's more of it.

Originally Posted by Kyle_Mains

HIRs are like legendary, i've never seen a picture of them installed. I heard they burn out way to fast to be worth it.

I'll post pictures, and if I remember, update the thread or make a new post when they burn out.

[coffee-3000]

So the easiest method is to buy the DEPO Performance Lamps and use the HIR bulbs ? They just snap in if you remove a plastic tab ?

[iovaykind]

^Too good to be true in what way? Sure you'll be getting more light, but that light will be concentrated right in front of you and you won't be able to see what's on your sides.

I wasn't baggin on the OP about HID's. I was just wondering why he didn't go HID retrofit for only a bit more cost. btw.. OP, I'm not 100% sure if you understand, but its OK to go HID as long as you use HID projectors.. it won't cause glare.

D2S doesn't mean that its a better projector. The Mh1's are AMAZING for what they are.

[fenixus]

Originally Posted by tweak1029

HIDs may be the best, but they also cost more money and more time to work well. HIRs are supposed to offer at least 75% of the light output of HIDs, which is bearable, considering it's a much simpler process with almost no error margin. Trim a tab, plug in, go. Same old light, but there's more of it.


I'll post pictures, and if I remember, update the thread or make a new post when they burn out.

I agree.

HIRs (except for trimming the tiny piece of plastic on bulb base) is a plug and play solution.

and they ARE strong. 75% of HID brightness is what I can believe and somewhat confirm. I had 4300K HID kit (in reflector housing, I know hehe, don't flame yet) before and know how strong those were. You could see light beam on road almost always even before the sunset (can't do that with regular halogens).
HIRs are not as bright, but they will be there too. awesome at night, almost just as strong as HIDs, only noticeable difference is the stock color.

I think my halogen high beams are weaker than low beam HIRs ... and no infamous glare of a HID kit

[tweak1029]

After driving around a bit with properly adjusted lights I'm pretty impressed with the plain DEPO outfit. My lights are definitely among the best that I've had the pleasure of sitting behind, which makes me wonder just how amazing the HIRs are going to be. :P

FedEx decided not to go the slow route and gave the order to USPS for final delivery, so they will be here today.

Originally Posted by coffee-3000

So the easiest method is to buy the DEPO Performance Lamps and use the HIR bulbs ? They just snap in if you remove a plastic tab ?

You don't have to get the DEPO lamp if you modify your low beam to include a full or top end cap or only upgrade your high beams, but from all I've looked at it's probably one of the easier methods to upgrade your lighting, albeit somewhat costly.

Originally Posted by iovaykind

^Too good to be true in what way? Sure you'll be getting more light, but that light will be concentrated right in front of you and you won't be able to see what's on your sides.

I'm not sure what you mean by this. I can look straight beside me in either direction and see pretty clearly with my high beams. The low beams are limited, as usual, but they're a lot better than my old ones if only because they're adjusted.

Originally Posted by iovaykind

I wasn't baggin on the OP about HID's. I was just wondering why he didn't go HID retrofit for only a bit more cost. btw.. OP, I'm not 100% sure if you understand, but its OK to go HID as long as you use HID projectors.. it won't cause glare.

I did consider it, but projectors are expensive, require modifying the headlight assembly, and only upgrade the low beams. To clarify, I'll be getting four bulbs in the mail today, two for the lows and two for the highs. Since Amazon standard and free shipping are the same thing, deduct shipping costs, and you're left with $54 for HIRs versus $130 and a lot of time for MH1s + HIDs. In terms of percentage this comes out to be at least 240% cost for at most 25% more light.

EDIT: Philips 9011 bulbs are ripoffs, that's why nobody but Amazon sells them. If you plan to upgrade your high beams, buy Toshiba. I could see the HIR coating on the low beam, but not on the high beam, so I investigated and came across this:

The only current OE-certified manufacturer of 9011 and 9012 is Toshiba of Japan, and those are the bulbs that Daniel Stern sells. They do not have GE's fragile construction nor Philips "kinda sorta not really" compromise. They have the spherical bulb glass with the infrared-reflective coating, but are otherwise practically identical to 9005 and 9006 in all critical dimensions (with the obvious exception of the one plastic base tab which must be filed down in order to use these bulbs where 9005 and 9006 were originally specified). The overall length of the Toshiba HIR1 and HIR2 bulbs is identical to 9005 and 9006, so there are none of the "Tough luck, too long, won't fit" problems often encountered with the discontinued GE product.

Now, what about that "kinda sorta not really" Philips HIR1?

HIR means "Halogen Infrared", which refers to the heat-reflective construction and technology discussed at
http://www.bmwz.org/articles/lighting/0506trick/ . General Electric (GE) originally designed these bulbs as discussed above. All automotive headlamp bulbs are given an official designator by the US DOT when they are first approved for use in headlamps, but at the time these bulbs were developed the DOT was still assigning two different designators to each new bulb. (Examples: 9004/HB1, 9005/HB3, 9006/HB4, 9007/HB5, etc.). The two designators for the low beam are 9012/HIR2, and for the high beam 9011/HIR1. However, the technical specs for any bulb type contain performance requirements for minimum/maximum allowable light output, electrical power consumption and mechanical dimensions only. The specs do not say how these minimum and maximum specs must be met.

In response to Chrysler's use of the fragile GE 9011 (HIR1) in the high beam of the Viper, Philips added a replacement product to their line. They first displayed it in their booth at the 2000 Automotive Aftermarket Parts Exchange show in Las Vegas, at which time their product manager told me "We didn't want to pay GE a royalty or tool up for different bulb glass, but we wanted to serve the replacement market, so we just basically put together this bulb with a maximum-legal-wattage 9005 filament, overdriven to get the minimum allowable lumens for type 9011. Life isn't optimal, but our bulb costs less to make and we probably won't make it for very long." Remember, this kind of bulb is called a 9011/HIR1 because that's its type designator, not necessarily because it uses any particular technology (such as HIR) to produce its light. Philips took the quick 'n' easy way
out on this one. The bulb isn't bad, but it's not an HIR bulb.

Here are the figures to ponder:

9005's light output spec is 1700 lumens, +/- 12% at 12.8v, maximum 70 watts.
9011's light output spec is 2300 lumens, +/- 15% at 12.8v, maximum 70 watts.

So, the allowable range for 9005 is 1496 to 1904 lumens, while the allowable range for 9011 is 1955 to 2645. (Remember that the nominal wattage is just that -- actual wattage is specified in the regulation. All legal 9005s and 9011s are "65 watt" nominal and are actually allowed to draw up to 70w). It's easy to see how by just selecting the highest-wattage 9005 filaments and overdriving them a little, Philips is able to put together their 9011 bulb. It'll produce the low end of allowable lighting, consume at the high end of allowable wattage and life will be very short, but it'll be a legal 9011. There are no gold stars on any Federal refrigerator for bulbs that are better than they have to be; there are just two kinds: legal and illegal. And even then, illegal bulbs are all over the place, even from reputable manufacturers. The DOT practically never checks.

[DallasToyo]

Love the Depos. I do wonder how 4300K would look in them.

[LynchburgCSI]

^ They'd glare like hell.

[Mister_Perkins]

hey DallasToyo.. i got a Q for U

Off Topic:

Do you know if your allowed to have an aftermarket intake installed on a pre-obdII camry in Texas? Im movin to houston and just curious if I should hang onto my stock intake