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11 Posts
For: models with halogen high beams and halogen reverse lights. Mine happens to be a 2018 2.0T Sport.
The upgrades I made are based on older lighting technology (see: halogen infrared (HIR), not LED), but met my objective of more usable light at a reasonable cost...
Reverse/Backup Lights
Great information, and lots of quantitative data, on the subject can be found over at Tacoma World and Tacoma World #2. The bottom line is a GY6.35 HIR bulbs emit over 3x the lumens of the stock halogens while maintaining the halogen style bulb (so proper reflection in the housing). It also produced over 3x the light output when compared to a "1,000 lumen LED" (Bulbbeats/Flashwolves).
I picked up two Osram (Sylvania) 35W GY6.35 HIR bulbs from Amazon for ~$23 shipped. It's as simple as popping four clips off the the trunk lid liner, unclipping the pigtail connector, removing the socket from the housing, removing the stock halogen bulb, but then is the only additional step that requires a little bit more effort. You need to take a small flathead screwdriver to bend the socket prongs closer together, as pictured:
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Once that is done simply insert the new bulbs in the socket and reconnect everything. Here is a photo from behind the vehicle using the same camera settings without any post-processing:
![5504]()
![5505]()
View from the backup camera shows much less noise & much more illumination:
![5506]()
Verdict: the improvement is drastic and very noticeable. $23 very well spent.
High Beams
Sticking with the HIR trend I decided to upgrade the high beam bulbs using an old trick - taking a 9011 HIR bulb and modifying it to fit in our 9005 high beam sockets. I had a buddy who did this with great success on a ~2015 Civic Si. Unlike the reverse bulbs, I do not have user data on the actual light output. Instead, Daniel Stern suggests a standard halogen 9005 puts out 1700 lumens while an HIR 9011 puts out 2300 lumens, or roughly 35% more light output, all while maintaining a standard halogen style bulb (so proper reflection in the housing). The color is similar to stock - changing it was not important to me.
I picked up two Philips 9011 bulbs from Rock Auto for ~$38 shipped. I used a 10" extra fine hack saw and file to trim the top tab on the 9011 bulbs, like so:
![5507]()
Here is both 9011 bulbs, one with the modified tab and the other with the factory tab:
![5508]()
The light output is marginally better; there is a noticeable upgrade in terms of both distance and dispersion. Sadly the before and after photos I took did not capture the change very well given the downward slope of my property and nothing really in the foreground.
Verdict: the improvement is worthwhile. $38 well spent.
Overall
Swapping out both sets of bulbs, including making modifications to the sockets and bulbs, took less than one hour. I'm very happy with the results especially when accounting for the cost and time spent. For $61 they are nice little safety additions to the Accord.
-ace
The upgrades I made are based on older lighting technology (see: halogen infrared (HIR), not LED), but met my objective of more usable light at a reasonable cost...
Reverse/Backup Lights
Great information, and lots of quantitative data, on the subject can be found over at Tacoma World and Tacoma World #2. The bottom line is a GY6.35 HIR bulbs emit over 3x the lumens of the stock halogens while maintaining the halogen style bulb (so proper reflection in the housing). It also produced over 3x the light output when compared to a "1,000 lumen LED" (Bulbbeats/Flashwolves).
I picked up two Osram (Sylvania) 35W GY6.35 HIR bulbs from Amazon for ~$23 shipped. It's as simple as popping four clips off the the trunk lid liner, unclipping the pigtail connector, removing the socket from the housing, removing the stock halogen bulb, but then is the only additional step that requires a little bit more effort. You need to take a small flathead screwdriver to bend the socket prongs closer together, as pictured:
Once that is done simply insert the new bulbs in the socket and reconnect everything. Here is a photo from behind the vehicle using the same camera settings without any post-processing:
View from the backup camera shows much less noise & much more illumination:
Verdict: the improvement is drastic and very noticeable. $23 very well spent.
High Beams
Sticking with the HIR trend I decided to upgrade the high beam bulbs using an old trick - taking a 9011 HIR bulb and modifying it to fit in our 9005 high beam sockets. I had a buddy who did this with great success on a ~2015 Civic Si. Unlike the reverse bulbs, I do not have user data on the actual light output. Instead, Daniel Stern suggests a standard halogen 9005 puts out 1700 lumens while an HIR 9011 puts out 2300 lumens, or roughly 35% more light output, all while maintaining a standard halogen style bulb (so proper reflection in the housing). The color is similar to stock - changing it was not important to me.
I picked up two Philips 9011 bulbs from Rock Auto for ~$38 shipped. I used a 10" extra fine hack saw and file to trim the top tab on the 9011 bulbs, like so:
Here is both 9011 bulbs, one with the modified tab and the other with the factory tab:
The light output is marginally better; there is a noticeable upgrade in terms of both distance and dispersion. Sadly the before and after photos I took did not capture the change very well given the downward slope of my property and nothing really in the foreground.
Verdict: the improvement is worthwhile. $38 well spent.
Overall
Swapping out both sets of bulbs, including making modifications to the sockets and bulbs, took less than one hour. I'm very happy with the results especially when accounting for the cost and time spent. For $61 they are nice little safety additions to the Accord.
-ace
