I am looking to upgrade my headlights without doing the HID conversion. I put in Silverstars in my old WJ and was only mildly satisfied. In this forum and others, I ran across danielsternlighting so I thought I'd run the question by him. Here is the email thread:
>
> Mr. Stern,
>
>
>
> What would you recommend for an upgrade to a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
> The vehicle is primarily driven in the city but I do also use it for
> hunting, camping, and driving to the lake cabin. I would like to
> replace lows, highs, and fogs.
>
The fogs are useless; leave them turned off and forget they exist. Even good fog lamps, which are relatively rare, are of very limited use to most drivers. Fog lamps should be turned OFF most of the time. They are meant to be used in foggy (or rainy/snowy) weather to help the driver see the edges of the road close to the car so s/he can safely make progress through foul weather at very low speeds. That is _all_ these lamps are designed, intended, and able to do -- and most of the ones available as factory or optional equipment or in the aftermarket aren't even capable of doing that. Leaving the fog lamps on at all times does not improve lighting safety performance, though many people do so in the mistaken belief that they can see better this way at normal road speeds in dry weather. See http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/fog_lamps/fog_lamps.html
for more information, and while I tend to stay off the internet forums myself, there's a good thread (with a link to good, valid data in post
#4) at http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=260292 .
Your best upgrade path is to replace your existing 9006/HB4 (low beam) bulbs with 9012 (HIR2) bulbs.
Short version:
The new Philips 9012 is a substantial upgrade in beam focus, luminance, and lifespan over the older Toshiba 9012. Get it at http://www.hirheadlights.com .
Long version:
The new bulbs are not some tinted or overwattage item. They are a newer, higher-efficacy design (Efficacy is the amount of light out versus the amount of electricity in, expressed as lumens per watt).
Here's the comparison of these bulbs to standard and high-performance 9005 and 9006 bulbs. A "+50" would be a Philips Vision Plus or GE Night Hawk. A "+80" would be a Philips Xtreme Power.:
Low beam stock: 9006, 12.8V, 55W, 1000 lumens, 875 hours
Low beam compare: 9006+50, 12.8V, 55W, 1090 lumens, 300 hours Low beam
compare: 9006+80, 12.8V, 55W, 1120 lumens, 275 hours
Low beam new: HIR2, 12.8V, 55W, 1875 lumens, 875 hours (Toshiba) or
1400 hours (new Philips)
So, compared to standard bulbs, you're looking at 88 percent more light from the low beams. The beam pattern will not change, but there will be considerably more light within the beam pattern.
Of course, your headlamps _must_ be aimed carefully and correctly (and with a normal load in the back of the vehicle) per http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html with any bulbs, but especially with these high-output bulbs. Make sure the headlamps are in as-new condition. If the lenses are yellowed or clouded or fogged, polish and recoat them with this (and only this) kit:
http://www.doublehornproducts.com/product.php?productid=8&cat=1&page=1
These bulbs are expensive as bulbs go, but they are very cost-effective compared to a tarted-up 9005 or 9006 with blue colored glass (PIAA and Sylvania Silverstar come to mind) that doesn't produce more light and has a very short lifespan.
If you want to upgrade the high beams, go to your local Chevrolet dealer (or www.gmpartsdirect.com for a better price)and pick up two part number 15094219. That is a Philips 9011 bulb -- you can also get it from the vendor linked above. They are not some tinted or overwattage version of 9005, but share the identical filament geometry and base architecture as well as the same power consumption.
Here's the comparison:
stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hours
new: 9011, 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 320 hours
The 9011 bulbs have a double-wide top ear on the plastic bulb base, this is to comply with the law requiring different bulbs to have different bases.
The extra-wide plastic top ear is easily trimmed or filed to make the bulb fit your headlamp's bulb receptacle. Once that's done, they go directly into the headlamp, and the existing sockets snap on. Please see http://dastern.torque.net/Mods/HIRmod.html for details.
Best DS
>
> Mr. Stern,
>
>
>
> What would you recommend for an upgrade to a 2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee?
> The vehicle is primarily driven in the city but I do also use it for
> hunting, camping, and driving to the lake cabin. I would like to
> replace lows, highs, and fogs.
>
The fogs are useless; leave them turned off and forget they exist. Even good fog lamps, which are relatively rare, are of very limited use to most drivers. Fog lamps should be turned OFF most of the time. They are meant to be used in foggy (or rainy/snowy) weather to help the driver see the edges of the road close to the car so s/he can safely make progress through foul weather at very low speeds. That is _all_ these lamps are designed, intended, and able to do -- and most of the ones available as factory or optional equipment or in the aftermarket aren't even capable of doing that. Leaving the fog lamps on at all times does not improve lighting safety performance, though many people do so in the mistaken belief that they can see better this way at normal road speeds in dry weather. See http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/lights/fog_lamps/fog_lamps.html
for more information, and while I tend to stay off the internet forums myself, there's a good thread (with a link to good, valid data in post
#4) at http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=260292 .
Your best upgrade path is to replace your existing 9006/HB4 (low beam) bulbs with 9012 (HIR2) bulbs.
Short version:
The new Philips 9012 is a substantial upgrade in beam focus, luminance, and lifespan over the older Toshiba 9012. Get it at http://www.hirheadlights.com .
Long version:
The new bulbs are not some tinted or overwattage item. They are a newer, higher-efficacy design (Efficacy is the amount of light out versus the amount of electricity in, expressed as lumens per watt).
Here's the comparison of these bulbs to standard and high-performance 9005 and 9006 bulbs. A "+50" would be a Philips Vision Plus or GE Night Hawk. A "+80" would be a Philips Xtreme Power.:
Low beam stock: 9006, 12.8V, 55W, 1000 lumens, 875 hours
Low beam compare: 9006+50, 12.8V, 55W, 1090 lumens, 300 hours Low beam
compare: 9006+80, 12.8V, 55W, 1120 lumens, 275 hours
Low beam new: HIR2, 12.8V, 55W, 1875 lumens, 875 hours (Toshiba) or
1400 hours (new Philips)
So, compared to standard bulbs, you're looking at 88 percent more light from the low beams. The beam pattern will not change, but there will be considerably more light within the beam pattern.
Of course, your headlamps _must_ be aimed carefully and correctly (and with a normal load in the back of the vehicle) per http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html with any bulbs, but especially with these high-output bulbs. Make sure the headlamps are in as-new condition. If the lenses are yellowed or clouded or fogged, polish and recoat them with this (and only this) kit:
http://www.doublehornproducts.com/product.php?productid=8&cat=1&page=1
These bulbs are expensive as bulbs go, but they are very cost-effective compared to a tarted-up 9005 or 9006 with blue colored glass (PIAA and Sylvania Silverstar come to mind) that doesn't produce more light and has a very short lifespan.
If you want to upgrade the high beams, go to your local Chevrolet dealer (or www.gmpartsdirect.com for a better price)and pick up two part number 15094219. That is a Philips 9011 bulb -- you can also get it from the vendor linked above. They are not some tinted or overwattage version of 9005, but share the identical filament geometry and base architecture as well as the same power consumption.
Here's the comparison:
stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hours
new: 9011, 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 320 hours
The 9011 bulbs have a double-wide top ear on the plastic bulb base, this is to comply with the law requiring different bulbs to have different bases.
The extra-wide plastic top ear is easily trimmed or filed to make the bulb fit your headlamp's bulb receptacle. Once that's done, they go directly into the headlamp, and the existing sockets snap on. Please see http://dastern.torque.net/Mods/HIRmod.html for details.
Best DS