K1VRA

Are your automobile's headlights leaving you in the dark?

I recently discovered a technology in incandescent lighting called "Halogen Infrared Reflecting", or HIR for short.  It's not new, but it isn't well-known, either.  It was developed several years ago by GE.  They no longer are making automobile headlamps using this technology, but Toshiba does.  They are said to produce as much as 80% of the light output of those wicked-bright HID lamps, but with NO increase in power consumption!  They are a lot cheaper, too, roughly 5% of the cost of an HID upgrade kit, and with no retrofit hassles - they just plug in.

These lamps are made in both low-beam and high-beam types.  I have found that now I rarely need to use my high-beam lamps, especially around town - the low-beam HIRs are usually enough, but I do like having the extra light available when I need it.  Trust me - they are startlingly bright!  You really do have to see them to believe them.

Here's a quick little anecdote: a good friend of mine is a locomotive engineer.  One day we were chatting about stuff, and I brought up these HIR lamps.  He was curious to see them, but I thought, "He won't be impressed."  (If you've ever been "lit up" by a locomotive headlight, you'll know why.)  Anyway, I had the chance to show him one evening.  At the time, I had only installed the high beam lamps in my car, so first I turned on the low beam (9005-standard halogen) lights.  When I flicked on the 9011 HIR1s, he literally jumped back and said, "Oh sh*t!"  That's when I knew these things were truly bright.

Here are a few links to what other's have to say about HIR technology:

• Fine Motoring.com
• Compare HIR to regular halogen
• FoohBar.com
• i-Club.com
• North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club
• VolvoSpeed