CX-5 headlight (lowbeam) upgrade: Halogen 9012 HIR bulbs

Hey everyone,

I've been doing lots of research on upgrade options for my stock halogen projector lowbeam headlights on my 2016 CX-5 (legal options, not aftermarket HID or LED), and I've come across the 9012 HIR halogen bulbs which are also rated at 55w yet they produce on average 800 more lumens than the stock H11 halogens. The problem is that these bulbs are only a replacement for the 9006 bulbs (with a minor tab modification). My idea is to buy some type of harness to be able to connect these 9012 bulbs to my H11 connectors in my car.

I really can't find any information about this online. Before people mention the H9 bulb replacement thing, I really don't want to change the wattage to 65 Watts (H9 is brighter but is rated at 65 Watts). It seems the 9012 HIR modification would be the best *legal* way to upgrade the brightness of my headlamps without wasting money on those useless silverstars, etc. which just burn out in a couple months.

Has anyone already tried this? Do you guys think this would work? Thanks for any help and/or information.


This link talks about the science behind HIR lights for those who are interested: http://hirheadlights.com



(I also posted this in the LED lighting thread by mistake so I'll try again here since it's not LED related)

I've had the silverstar ultras installed for a little over a year now and still going strong.

I changed my Outback to H9's. You have to cut the tabs off/narrower to get them to fit.

The extra 10 watts makes a huge difference in ability to see the road, especially when the deer are in rut.

It's an easy and cheap fix.

I've driven sealed beam tungsten headlights, halogen, HID and now LED.
I found the higher power halogens such as the Silverstars give a brighter light but do not necessarily project the beam further down the road. I don't think reflector headlamps have the required optics for enhanced performance, no matter how bright of a bulb you install.

35 watt HIDs in projector housings were a significant improvement over stock and aftermarket halogens but the LEDs (also projector) appear to have the best overall performance. I've not tried any of the 55W HIDs. I would avoid aftermarket HIDs or LEDs retrofitted into headlight assemblies not designed for them.

I'd follow what pipemajor has suggested. Projectors+HIDs are amazing, and once you've used them it's hard to go back.