GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

i wanted more light output from my low beams and almost bought those sylvania silverstar ultras after hearing so much good things about them (except for the short life)...but after researching for a while i decided to get HIR bulbs...and i must say i am really impressed. output is a lot brighter than stock and it's very very noticeable. color is slightly whiter than stock too, maybe because the light is more intense. before, with stock halogens, the fog lights would be brighter and more intense than the low beams since it's only aimed towards the front of the car. with HIR they are slightly brighter than the fogs. good thing about HIR's are they use the same amount of power as stock bulbs and don't create any extra heat. i would definitely recommend this for anyone who wants brighter light output.you can read more about HIR lights here...http://www.hirheadlights.com/

dont you find that some of these bulbs blind you or are at least hard on the eyes when they are comming the other way?

if it's aimed correctly it won't blind anyone. the HIR bulbs are brighter but the beam patter is still the same as stock so it won't blind anyone. sticking an aftermarket HID kit into headlights not meant for them, that's blinding and annoying.

oh its the HID sets sorry!

I wish they did have an HIR in 9003. I'm going to put the 9005 alternative in my truck. The modification of the bulb base is a simple matter.

Quote, originally posted by 13Vibe03 »Are you sure about the filament orientation? Is there a black cap on the end? If not, your statement is incorrent.These bulbs are only available as 9005 and 9006 which are single filament. Did you modify the bulb base so it fits into the headlight? Which bulb did you use?I wouldn't mind more light but not at the expense of losing my high beams.He has an '09 Vibe. The high's and low's are separate bulbs.

i used the 9012 HIR which is equivalent to the 9006. it has the blakck cap on the tip of the bulb...i had to modify the top tab and the base of the bulb as it's a lot thicker than stock. dremel comes in very handy. i spent an hour saturday sanding down the base but was getting nowhere and i ended up buying a dremel kit which then took 2-3 minutes to sand the base lol but yah i have a 2009 which has separate low and highs. for any 09's out there this can be a great mod.i'm retarded tho, i would have ordered these online or from a local john deere dealer but no dealer had any in stock and i was too impatient to wait. i ended up buying these from nissan (2004+ maxima uses these for their non-hid equiped vehicles) and costs me $47 each =/ i think it costs $20-$30 from john deere.

Quote, originally posted by lowincash »i wanted more light output from my low beams and almost bought those sylvania silverstar ultras after hearing so much good things about them (except for the short life)...but after researching for a while i decided to get HIR bulbs...and i must say i am really impressed. output is a lot brighter than stock and it's very very noticeable. color is slightly whiter than stock too, maybe because the light is more intense. before, with stock halogens, the fog lights would be brighter and more intense than the low beams since it's only aimed towards the front of the car. with HIR they are slightly brighter than the fogs. good thing about HIR's are they use the same amount of power as stock bulbs and don't create any extra heat. i would definitely recommend this for anyone who wants brighter light output.you can read more about HIR lights here...http://www.hirheadlights.com/Please tell me where to get them!!!! And which model to get for a 09 vibe?? 9005 or 9006??

you can get them from your local john deere dealer...they use these bulbs on their 9000 series tractors i think. the ones around me didn't have any in stock so i bought mine from nissan (2004+ maxima uses these as low beams for their non-hid models). but dealer is expensive...$80 bucks a bulb. i got it for $47 because the guy quoted me wrong on the phone so he just charged me that price. but if you get them from john deere or ebay it's like $20-$30'ish a bulb. i got the 9012 (9006) ones...you can get the 9011 (9005) it'll be a lot brighter but risk having more glare and heat. the 9012 has no extra heat and doesn't draw more power.btw here's a comparison pic i took last night...i have the HIR on my driver side and stock on the passenger side for comparison pics. as you can see the driver side is more white and the light is more intense.

actually i was checking the john deere website http://www.jdparts.com and the bulb price went up...it's $40'ish a bulb now =/ before they were less than 10 bucks a bulb but i guess they figured out that these were somehow becoming more popular and demand for them went up.but i found a site that still sells them for $22 bucks or so a bulb...http://store.candlepower.com/hirlighting.html

why did you have to sand off the black cap? Have you tested for draw on these to make sure they are indeed they aren't putting additional stress on the electrical system?

Quote, originally posted by jerzVibe09 »why did you have to sand off the black cap? Have you tested for draw on these to make sure they are indeed they aren't putting additional stress on the electrical system?He modified the mounting tabs, not the black part, that's just high temp paint that acts as a "mask" on the bulb, and not something to be sanded...

yah like submimewind said, i didn't sand off the cap on the tip of the bulbs...i only sanded the tab and the base of the bulb because it was too thick. i haven't actually tested to see if it uses more power but i think the bulbs says 55w on them.

Thanks for the post, I ordered them from Candlepower, hopefully they'll be here by Thanksgiving and I can post some results.

I ordered some HIR bulbs off e-bay. Just the low beams, because I have read that the light output difference between regular halogen low beams and HIR low beams is significantly higher than the difference between regular halogen high beams and HIR high beams.When I got the new low beams, I didn't do any "testing" per-se, just installed one of them, then eyeballed the difference on my garage door wall, and also looked directly at both of them, and tbh I couldn't tell that much of a difference (they were both pretty effin bright, the car is like 3 weeks old and comes equipped with halogen). But the HIRs seem to work fine on the road and I have no complaints.I don't use hi-beam that much at all. So I was considering switching them out for silverstar ultras i can get at the shop down the street instead of going with HIRs again.Anybody have any suggestions? Are silverstar ultras crap? I don't want it to look cool (I'd be blinding people with ricer HID's in a reflector if I wanted that) , I just want good visibility when I need it.

http://hirheadlights.com/I forgot who was the first here to mention using them...whelan? but I hear they are really nice! I think I will order then for my ms3's fog and high beams...

i think it was whelan's thread about the HIR's when i was researching them...he gave it a good review and i gave it a try and it was good lol but if anyone wants a set i have them for sale...posted it on the for sale place...i don't need these since i'm getting a hid's soon. and i am using stock low beams right now and i miss the brightness of the HIR's...it really does make a big difference =/