My 9005 to 9006 conversion
 

Hey all. I was reading up on some stuff about fitting a 9005 bulb into the 9006 bulb without modifying the headlight housing.

I actually went ahead and bought Sylvania Cool Blue 9005 bulbs and fitted them to use with the 9006 spot with the elliptical lens in our low beam projectors.

I figured it is safe to use since the standard 9006 is 55w and the 9005 is 65w. It seems a lot safer than using offroad bulbs that require 100 watts since its only a difference of 10 watts.

I can't wait to experiment with them tonight. 1700 lumens of low beam driving should be very nice as long as I can aim it properly without blinding other drivers. It would truly be as close to HID as possible since HID is 3200 Lumens. I'll report back tonight as soon as it gets dark enough to test.

http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Upgrade/More_light.htm

Heres the link where I saw the idea.

*Update* It's soooo much brighter! I have it aimed properly so that I don't get highbeamed. Such a big improvement with much more light output! I'll post back on reliability.

Re: My 9005 to 9006 conversion
 

Actually, we have circular lens. :)

Re: Re: My 9005 to 9006 conversion
 

Oops.

It really is a big improvement though worth trying. It was the best 18 bucks I've ever spent so far. The road is just lit up so much better now.

Thanks man! I am SO doing this! :)

- Rob

Ditto. Now I just gotta find some 9005 bulbs I like.

Cool Blues. They're great man. Cheap, brighter than regular bulbs, and they look nice.

Try em out, you won't be dissapointed.

- Rob

Looks like the self-appointed "official BS detector" slipped up. We discussed those bulbs before (either here on on the old site).

http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/bulbs/blue/good/good.html

It's a real shame that somebody chased Trevor away.

Phil.

Actually, I'm the one who posted the lighting link originally and pointed out the deficiencies in blue-shift lighting.

Interesting, how the merry-go-round turns... ;) Nice crack about Trevor by the way, very subtle. :rolleyes:

One would think, but no.

Cool blues do not have a 'blue coating' on the bulb. They're... EVER so slightly blue looking, but they basically look like normal bulbs. The packaging they come in is blue though. Anyway, I installed them, and I can honestly say they are BRIGHTER than stock. I can see farther and better with them compared to the regular bulbs that were in my car previously.

So yes, while I agree that 'HID wannabe" bulbs are lame, and are awful to drive with, cool blues are GREAT. They're 50 state legal, if that give you an indication of how 'not blue' they are.

- Rob

Did anyone else try the mod yet? I'm very happy with the mod and I think its worth doing for many. All it takes is a dremel and like 20 minutes worth of time.

My wife won't let me... she says my headlights work fine right now. ARGH. She said I can do it when one of my bulbs burns out. I figure if I wait about 2 weeks and then burn one out, she won't suspect anything.

- Rob

spray some water on the bulb and turn it on. Turn it off and then spray more water when it is hot. I till crack :)

Great not to have a wife. The only person I have to listen to is me :)

Andivic had an alternative mod to the headlight bulbs. He simply sanded the shield off of the tip of the 9006 bulb. He said doing that alone gave him a lot more light.

(If you remember, he is the member who also had his own HID project and grafted the outback bumper with the large round fog lights to the front bumper of the SVX) Check his locker.