Can HIR1 (9011) bulbs be used on both low and high beams?

IamIronFrank

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 7, 2020
Messages
2
Hi there! New guy here!

I was literally 3 seconds away to commit the stupid decision to buy a drop-in (like you call them, although I don't get why lol) LED kit to replace my 9005/9006 OEM bulbs.

And I say stupid decision, now that I read a "bunch" of posts on this amazing forum regarding this retrofit option and the benefits of it.

I was just wondering, like the title says: Is it possible to install HIR1/9011 good quality bulbs on both low and high beams?

Any inputs and thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Thank you so much, and blessings to all this great community you guys have got here!

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk
 
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-Virgil-

Flashaholic
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Mar 26, 2004
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7,802
Welcome to the board! Good work listening to that little inside-voice that said "Psst, hold on a sec..." and turning back from the bad LED decision.

An HIR1 (9011) can be successfully and safely used in some cases where the low beam bulb is originally an HB3 (9005), but not where an HB4 (9006) is the original low beam bulb. In order to answer your question more helpfully than that, could you tell us what kind of a vehicle you've got? Make/model/year.
 

Alaric Darconville

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Joined
Sep 2, 2001
Messages
5,377
Location
Stillwater, America
Hi there! New guy here!
:welcome:

I was literally 3 seconds away to commit the stupid decision to buy a drop-in (like you call them, although I don't get why lol) LED kit to replace my 9005/9006 OEM bulbs.
Whew! You were wise to change your mind.

They're called "drop-ins" because the marketing suggests they just drop in and replace a particular bulb, no muss, no fuss, plug-and-play and all that. The reality is they just don't work correctly.

I was just wondering, like the title says: Is it possible to install HIR1/9011 good quality bulbs on both low and high beams?
You'd just said "to replace my 9005/9006 OEM bulbs", so on a vehicle that uses each the 9005 and 9006, you'll need to replace the 9006 with the HIR2/9012 (but not all vehicles using the 9006 for the low beam can safely be upgraded to the HIR2).

We'll definitely need your car's year, make, and model and possibly even the trim level (doesn't hurt to have that info).
 

IamIronFrank

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 7, 2020
Messages
2
Thank you both @-Virgil- and @Alaric Darconville for your help and swift response! Wow, one can easily tell this is a great community you guys have built here [emoji2]. I hope I learn a lot from you, so I can give back to the community in the future.

Yeah, silly me I didn't provide any info about my car. My 1995 Sedan Honda Accord 2.2L DX is my project car and would very much appreciate all the help coming from you guys.

I was a little bit confused for both of your comments regarding the replacement of the 9006 Bulb with the 9012 for the low beam, because according to @-Virgil- , the 9011 can only be used where the 9005 is originally the low beam, but then @Alaric Darconville said otherwise, that you can replace the 9006 with the 9012 for the low beam, meaning (or at least is my understanding, please bear with this newbie here) that the 9006 is always intended for low beam and not the 9005. I hope I'm getting this right. [emoji1694]
I hope that by giving you the car info, help me clarify things further. Yes I'm trying to clarify things on a headlights forum so I can see clearer when I'm driving at night lol [emoji1787].

Anyway, I did a little bit of research, and I even found some sort of "template" that tells me how to cut or file the bulbs bases in order to make them fit into the sockets. So, long story short, I'm heading to the store right now in hopes of getting a nice pair of 9011/9012 bulbs.

I'll keep you posted guys! And thank you one more time!

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
HIR2 (9012) is the HIR counterpart of HB4 (9006). These bulbs have a 22mm base diameter
HIR1 (9011) is the HIR counterpart of HB3 (9005). These bulbs have a 20mm base diameter.

There aren't many headlamps that use HB3 (9005) for low beam, but there are a few, and HIR1 (9011) is an effective/safe upgrade in some of those lamps.

To the matter at hand: for a '95 Accord, with real (Honda, not aftermarket) headlamps in excellent condition -- no lens haze/fog, no water in the lamps, no degraded reflector -- the HIR bulbs will be an effective and safe upgrade. Of course the lamps must be aimed correctly and the bulbs have to be chosen with care; they are not all alike. Skip the blue-glass "extra white" bulbs (Sylvania Silverstar, Philips Crystalvision, and a bunch of off-brand junk). The best HIR2 bulb right now is the Vosla +120 item. The best HIR1 presently is the Toshiba bulb. I buy both those bulbs from Dan Stern, but he's not the only source.

That template you're talking about is another piece of Stern's work, assuming you're talking about this one.
 
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