Hey dude I'm assuming you're running quads.

FYI: silverstar ultra's are a sham. The regular silverstars aren't too bad because they aren't heavily tinted to filter out yellow light. Phillips Xtreme Vision are one of the best bulbs on the market.

If you really wanna supercharge those quads you can do an H9 swap for the H11 in the low beam. This will yield about 2100 lumens from 1250, so almost double the light output. Because the low beam has a glarecap this shouldn't cause glare to other road users. I haven't actually tried this swap myself but theoretically it'll work. The stock circuit is rated for 15amps so even with the extra 10W you're no where near the limit.

For the highbeam you can run 9011's in place of the 9005's so that'll bring you from 1700 to 2300 lumens.

For the H9's just get regular phillips bulbs. They don't make any special lines for H9, but the upgrade on it's own will be whiter and way brighter. Life is shorter on the h9 compared to the H11 but that's about the only downside. But since you're just buying regular H9's they're cheap

For 9011's just get phillips(Or wagner...) as well.

You will need to trim the tabs a bit with nail clippers but this will take you about 5 mins.

Just google H11 to H9 swap.

For the 9005 to 9011

Should be pretty obvious when you take your 9005 out of the highbeam and hold it up to the 9011 what needs doing same with the h9 vs the h11.

You'll notice this upgrade big time lol

 

Hey dude I'm assuming you're running quads.

FYI: silverstar ultra's are a sham. The regular silverstars aren't too bad because they aren't heavily tinted to filter out yellow light. Phillips Xtreme Vision are one of the best bulbs on the market.

If you really wanna supercharge those quads you can do an H9 swap for the H11 in the low beam. This will yield about 2100 lumens from 1250, so almost double the light output. Because the low beam has a glarecap this shouldn't cause glare to other road users. I haven't actually tried this swap myself but theoretically it'll work. The stock circuit is rated for 15amps so even with the extra 10W you're no where near the limit.

For the highbeam you can run 9011's in place of the 9005's so that'll bring you from 1700 to 2300 lumens.

For the H9's just get regular phillips bulbs. They don't make any special lines for H9, but the upgrade on it's own will be whiter and way brighter. Life is shorter on the h9 compared to the H11 but that's about the only downside. But since you're just buying regular H9's they're cheap

For 9011's just get phillips(Or wagner...) as well.

You will need to trim the tabs a bit with nail clippers but this will take you about 5 mins.

Just google H11 to H9 swap.

For the 9005 to 9011

Should be pretty obvious when you take your 9005 out of the highbeam and hold it up to the 9011 what needs doing same with the h9 vs the h11.

You'll notice this upgrade big time lol

Thanks for sending me here from the other thread:smileup:

You mentioned that there is no concern about the electrical draw going from H9s to H11s; if I were to do that and also swap my brights from 9005s to 9011s would there be any cause for concern over the amount of draw?

This is a much cheaper alternative to the HIDs I had been looking at, I like the look of the stock quad assemblies but just wish they were a bit brighter. The high beams are fine, though I don't want them dimmer than my lows so I'll probably do both mods; I won't worry about the fogs. I don't want the cost of HIDs or the shenanigans of mounting ballasts and stuff.

You also mentioned that doing the low beam mod would yield 400 more lumens over the stock high beams. Is this going to make me an LED (Light Emitting Douchebag) like the guys who put LEDs (bulbs in this context) in stock halogen reflector housings? I don't want to blind people, I just want to see better at night and when its wet, and I would also prefer not to get citations.:shy2:

Also what about heat? Is there any cause for concern about melting the housings or anything? I know that on the quads when you flick on the brights the lows stay on too.

I realize these are probably pretty simple and basic questions for you since you seem to know a lot about lighting and electrical stuff, however it is all pretty new for me, so your help is much appreciated.

 

Thanks kelaog!
Yes, I've got the Quads. That's good info. I'm going to take a look at this and might make that switch. Seems simple enough and net me some brighter lights.

Yep I just changed to SilverStars in the past....


Any suggestions for the fogs???

 

the 9005 to 9011 highbeam one speaking from experience was stupid simple...Nail trimmers

I haven't done an h11 to h9 swap myself but googling pictures it looks easy. You won't beat the lightout put of either of these upgrades not by a long shot with any drop in bulb replacement .


You got the verticals or horizontals?

 

THorse, good questions and I am now seriously considering this too, since I also found other options like LEDs, HIDs, etc unattractive for cost, complexity, reliability, and safety reasons like you.

 

Feel free to keep the q's coming.

Friends don't let friends use LED's glued on a stick.

 

Can i tape them on a stick instead? LED's... on a stteeeeeeck.

I will use electrical tape and everything

 

Kelaog I'm about the do this and I'm looking at H9 bulbs. I'm finding the standard Halogen and also a couple of "white" or "extreme white" bulbs from PIAA in the H9. Should I steer clear of those as well?
Part number
PIA19165

Am I over analyzing this? LOL!!

 

Get standard halogens. "Extreme white" are marketing performance not actual performance.

Just get a regular phillips h9 .

razor blade will work well for trimming. especially if you heat it up any with a lighter for example. I'd love to hear how your results are.

 

I bought the H9s the other day and did the swap this Sunday. Haven't been able to take the truck on an extended trip yet but from what I can tell in the yard it's a definite improvement.

Note, they are different from the 9006 conversion where you have to sand down an external tab, which is what I was expecting when I started to do the project. I tried using something to sand it down but that was quite difficult. In the end, I found the best way to modify the bulbs was to take a small chisel (narrowest one I had) and chisel out the tab internal to the plug. I made sure it was good and sharp first and made sure the bulb was supported before I started chiseling but it came apart nice and easy after that.

 

After a couple evenings with them I can fully support this upgrade, the lights are a huge improvement. High beams only change the distribution of light, the low beams have the same strength. Big improvement.

 

Lots of great info here, thanks guys. This is next on my list. Not too much left for "phase one" while this is my daily driver for the next 5+ years!

 

After that does it become a project truck?

 

And probably get a 911 to drive to work / DD, always wanted one of those. Gotta make a lot of coin for that and the truck mods though!

 

THorse, Monster Jam is on TV right now, you know in the spirit of "project trucks"

Fox Sports 1, 219 on DirecTV

 

All I get here are weird game shows in a language I can neither read nor understand, :shy2: thanks though.

IDK if I would do bedliner all over, maybe just to the bumper line, YMMV.

And not to incline you to spend even more (though if you can get a Porsche I don't really feel bad about it), but I was looking around last night and happened to find front driveshafts with a double cardan at the t case end instead of the CV joint we have stock...Just so that's out there now.

 

I can't afford one now with two other payments but one goes bye bye in 2.5 years and then mine in six. Funny after I posted the post last night my wife was saying she wants a Tahoe since her friend got one. Grrrrrr

I will be open to any and all phase 2 suggestions.

 

i love where this convo is/was going guys, but can someone link the high/low h9s for a '13 slt?

thanks,

 

What? I don't understand what you're asking.

If you have quad housings then your highs and lows are different bulbs (h11/h9 for low and 9005/9011 for high). If you have duals then you only have an H13 and you're SOL for this upgrade.

For projectors <2016 you have a 9012 in the lowbeam, and a 9005/9011 for hte highbeam. 9011 being the upgrade for the 9005 in all cases.

For projectors >2016 then you have 9005's in the low and high which you can and should change to 9011's.

 

i guess this "If you have quad housings then your highs and lows are different bulbs (h11/h9 for low and 9005/9011 for high)." is what i needed. i don't have projectors.

the h9 for low and 9011 for high are the suggested upgrades, correct?

thanks,

 

I think you've got it!:smileup:

 

i work on some seriously complicated crap everyday at work, you'd think i could comprehend this stuff but i'm out of my element. thank you for your patience!

 

I've seen something on this site about it, but I can't find it now so hopefully one of you know. Do you know what bulb is needed to make the backup lights brighter?

 

saw this one a few weeks ago...bookmarked since they're across town from me...

http://www.downsouthkustomstx.com/shop-dsk-1/#!/09+-Ram-LED-Reverse/p/46186965/category=12892039

the way the site reads, these may only be good with factory LEDs so nevermind. i'm sure kealog will set this straight!

 

To be honest I don't know much about putting LED's anywhere else in the truck. IMO other than interior or backup lighting I don't see much benefit. Simply due to quality reasons I would think you'll end up changing them more often than you would the factory halogen ones.

And LED's in the headlights is bad all around for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

I think the backup light is a 921. There is an LED sticky on the forum which lists all the bulb types for our truck. As long as the LED has some sort of resistor (current limiting device) it should work fine.

 

I have diode dynamics in my 14 and they get the job done

 

got my 9011's in the mail today.
Philips, standard, 2 stars out of 5, 65 W, 3000K, middle of the line beam performance.

Please tell me I got the right ones :4-dontknow:

 

Objectively middle of the road, or compared to the stock ones?

 

Is there a brighter backup bulb that isn't led or is led the way to go for a brighter backup light?

 

Oh I thought you were talking about actual performance that you had observed. The box isn't going to compare 9011s to 9012s

 

Got my H9s in the mail today...doing the swap tonight. Will try to take before/after pics and post Monday...

 

Sounds like a need to get some H9's...any link to purchase the good Philips ones?

Nevermind, found them.

 

well...here you go. h9 on the passenger side, h11 on the driver's. kind of a pain to remove the tabs...nail clippers didn't fit, so i used an exacto and a dremel to remove material. no need to trim the large metal tab to fit it into the socket. all in all about a 45min job. haven't done any night driving to speak of, but happy i did it.

 

Do you have a pic of an object they're shining at?

 

So other than the inside tap, they bolted right in?

 

Perfect, thank you...!!!

 

sure thing...and if you don't have one, i'd recommend getting a clip puller from your local autoparts. for ~$10, it's worth its weight in gold. you'll have six for the radiator/fan cover and two for the access ports in the fender liners. the push-type used in the fender liners are a little more stout so a screwdriver would work but the christmas tree ones used for the radiator/fan cover are very delicate. other than that, a 10mm socket w/small extension will be all you need.

Good luck