Another Toshiba HIR bulb review

[schernov]

Finally got around to installing my low beam Toshiba HIR bulbs. Got them from the ebay guy. Shipped really quickly and he had good directions about cliping the tab to make them fit.

Installation was somewhat a pain in the ass. I have an 02 3.0.
Passenger side requires removal of windshield washer tank, which was ofcourse full....it never fails. After that - no problem. Twist one off, disconnect the harness, plug new one and twist back on.

Driver side was a bit more involved. You have to remove the air box (2 clips at MAF plus one nut on fender). But then there is a plastic cover that goes over the headlight from behind....that is technically part of the air box. It has two access doors to get to the lubs. The wire goes through a rubber grommet in those access doors. Basically, you have to wiggle the wire, the door and eventually the bulb to get it out....and then get it back in w/out touching the new new bulb.

I would recommend not to disconnect the harness untill you get the bulb out and to connect the harness before you intall the new bulb in the headlight.

Overall, I am pleased. Much brighter than stock Philips bulbs. Not as good as HID, but better. I think it is worth the money for the low beams.

[Nijapo]

I always wondered, what's the color like?

[schernov]

color is white with a bit hint of yellow. they dont look gheto Autozone blue thats for sure. Looks stock, just brighter.

[Ryan Mitchley]

I was looking for a cheap improvement, and ordered these. They're probably not as good as the Toshiba's, but they're definitely better than stock.

They threw in some bonus ultra-white 5W5's, which are now installed in the bumper parking lights.

[schernov]

I was looking for a cheap improvement, and ordered these. They're probably not as good as the Toshiba's, but they're definitely better than stock.

They threw in some bonus ultra-white 5W5's, which are now installed in the bumper parking lights.

Off the subject - but kind of tint do you have?

[bob3275]

I have both the low and high beam HIR's. The high beams are awesome!!

[Markl006]

Same here, I have Toshiba High and low beams from the ebay guy. He actually marked the part to cut off with some liquid paper, it was really easy to install in my m roady. No removing anything (I don't have the stock airbox)

I love 'em. noticeable difference.

[Ryan Mitchley]

Off the subject - but kind of tint do you have?

For an exact answer you'd unfortunately have to ask the previous owner.

It's polarised (strange interactions with polarised sunglasses) and looks darker at some angles than others. It also has smash-and-grab protection. Whoever did the job fitted it very well - it's superbly neat.

It makes the hot Cape Town summer slightly more tolerable, and also helps to ignore unwanted attention at traffic lights, when necessary

I haven't (yet!) been pulled over for a traffic violation. I think it's the maximum legally allowable tint (35%), but I still need to check on that...

The front windscreen is going to need work at some stage - there must be at least 4 medium chips, and a few smaller ones. I don't know if there's some reason the Coupe's windscreen is particularly vulnerable - most of my other cars have had very few problems with chips (I suppose there is a small matter of velocity!)

[schernov]

For an exact answer you'd unfortunately have to ask the previous owner.

It's polarised (strange interactions with polarised sunglasses) and looks darker at some angles than others. It also has smash-and-grab protection. Whoever did the job fitted it very well - it's superbly neat.

It makes the hot Cape Town summer slightly more tolerable, and also helps to ignore unwanted attention at traffic lights, when necessary

I haven't (yet!) been pulled over for a traffic violation. I think it's the maximum legally allowable tint (35%), but I still need to check on that...

The front windscreen is going to need work at some stage - there must be at least 4 medium chips, and a few smaller ones. I don't know if there's some reason the Coupe's windscreen is particularly vulnerable - most of my other cars have had very few problems with chips (I suppose there is a small matter of velocity!)

Nice tint. I like it. I live in Chicago and in the summer it does get pretty toasty here as well.... we also have a city ordinance that front windows can only have very light tint but rears can go as dar as you want. I might do the tint this summer, not too dark but dark enough. I have a bright red coupe.
After7.jpg

[jr1966]

HIRs makes the most difference in high beams even though it also makes a huge difference with low beams.

Since both my Zs are using HIDs now, I've since transferred both sets of HIRs to my Lexus 3GS. The ones for the low beams went into the fogs and the ones for high beams also went to the Lexus' high beams.

In that car, the high beams also made such a huge difference that it closely matched the factory low-beam HIDs not only in intensity but also in color. My Lexus came with 4500k HIDs from the factory. Therefore, I can say the HIRs are around 4000k in color.

Nice tint. I like it. I live in Chicago and in the summer it does get pretty toasty here as well.... we also have a city ordinance that front windows can only have very light tint but rears can go as dar as you want. I might do the tint this summer, not too dark but dark enough. I have a bright red coupe.
After7.jpg

Talking about tint, you could probably use something that I already have in some of my cars. It's a clear film that blocks both heat and UV and looks clear at night. The only thing is that when the sun directly hits the windshield, a very very light purple hue can be noticed but one can easily get used to it. My brother said it has a kind of polarizing effect. The clear film came from Japan and is quite expensive. During day time, it can darken the windshield a bit but gives the windshield a factory-tint look to it.

I have installed it in my Coupe, Jeep, Lexus, LR3, and E36. I'm still thinking about it for my Roadster.

So far, I only have a couple of pics of the clear film on the windshield of my Lexus. Here's a couple for you to look at. The top pic is with the clear film (can't say it's tinted because it is not a tinted color) and the bottom is without the clear film.





If you would like to see how it looks like in my Coupe, let me know and I would be glad to take some shots of it and post 'em in here.

[kostverloren]

Same here, I have Toshiba High and low beams from the ebay guy. He actually marked the part to cut off with some liquid paper, it was really easy to install in my m roady. No removing anything (I don't have the stock airbox)

I love 'em. noticeable difference.

+1

[amancuso]

I'm actually happy with the stock bulbs in my car. They seem to be OEM units but not very old.

[killeen_john]

One of my SilverStar low beam bulbs burned out so I decided to give these Toshiba HIR bulbs a try. The Ebay seller now charges $38.95 per bulb shipped on Ebay:

Toshiba HIR Bulbs on Ebay

and charges more if buying direct $36.95 per bulb plus $8.00 shipping:

http://www.hirheadlights.com

I was able to buy two Toshiba HIR 9012 bulbs shipped for $52.39 from CandlePower:

Toshiba HIR at CandlePower

The bulbs from CandlePower arrived quickly, but they are not marked for trimming like the Ebay bulbs. I used a piece of blue masking tape and a razor blade to create a template on the old bulb so that I can see where to trim the new bulbs. The trimming was actually pretty easy... I used a nail clipper to get the rough shape and a file to smooth out the edges.

Just want to pass along a good deal for anybody considering these bulbs.