High beam upgrade from H11 to H9 bulbs

I have been reading how terrible the high beam H11 bulbs are in the i3, which i also noticed this on the extended test drive. Has anyone changed out the H11 bulbs for the H9? There's a couple physical differences between the H11 and H9 with a couple tabs that can easily be trimmed. There is a significant difference in light output between the two bulbs:

H11 55w @ 1350 lumen
H9 65w @ 2100 lumen

I had done this upgrade years ago on one of my cars that was using an H11 as the low beam. It definitely made a difference and a cheap upgrade for the price and the most light output for the money. There is plenty of info on h11 vs h9 upgrade if you google it. You can order a pair from amazon for a little over $20, but stick with non coated bulbs and brands like Sylvania, Osram or Phillips. I plan on doing this upgrade on my i3 when it finally gets here in the next week and a half :mrgreen:

I considered doing this since I drive rural roads on a regular basis. Please let us know how it goes and if it causes any issues.

FWIW, most people are getting about 250W/mile...so, adding a 20W additional load (10/bulb), you'd be cutting your range by about 10% on the battery if you were running with them for extended periods of time. The additional heat might be an issue for the housing, but that's harder to evaluate until something melts or distorts.

It is 250WH per mile. Using extra 20W for 12.5 hours will shorten the range by 1 mile. In other words- no noticeable change. I would be more concerned about the shape of the beam and the additional heat. Automotive wiring and headlights are often built with very little headroom and may melt when a higher power bulb is installed.

gt1 said:

It is 250WH per mile. Using extra 20W for 12.5 hours will shorten the range by 1 mile. In other words- no noticeable change. I would be more concerned about the shape of the beam and the additional heat. Automotive wiring and headlights are often built with very little headroom and may melt when a higher power bulb is installed.

Click to expand...

The additional 10w really shouldn't affect the wiring, especially since they're being used for high beams. If someone needs more light and really uses their high beams for an extended period there are LED kits that have even more light output and will run much cooler.

I know each car is different but i ran H9's on another car as low beams and nothing happened to the light fixture or the wiring in over 2 years. Anything more powerful could be a problem if they're constantly on and in a small housing. I have seen people run 85w bulbs in foglight housing that have melted but that's over doing it power wise and in such a small enclosure.

I will post some pics of the light pattern when i install them on my i3 in the next couple of weeks.

Some cars can handle 80W bulbs, other get damaged at the lower power levels. 10W is less than 20% above stock, it should work, but be careful, Also compare the filament positions. If they are different you are very likely to get a poorly focused beam, which will degrade the illumination.

<Deleted comment about the unsuitability of LED replacement bulbs because OP is not considering installing LED bulbs>

LED bulbs are illegal in US, but police doesn't care. OP wants to install an incandescent H9.
I agree that LED bulb "upgrades" do more harm than good, however Phillips came up with small LEDs that might be capable of forming an acceptable beam shape.

There are a few LED bulbs in various bulb configurations that are DOT approved, but not many.