I was looking into the C5 general sticky and found this thread on using a 9005 bulb instead of a 9006.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1036571

The Silverstar 9006 low beams I was using are rated at 1000 lumens of output and the 9005s Silverstars that I bought are rated at 1700 lumens. So there is a total of 1400 additional lumens in output.

The mod needed to fit these bulbs in the standard socket is to break off or file the 2 ridges in the bottom of the bulb housing and to slightly file off the top 1 of the 3 tangs so it will twist in the stock housing. I didn't have a file small enough so all I needed to do was to take a small flathead screwdriver and pry it on the ridges and slowly snap them off from front to back. They then slid right in the harness connector. The 2nd thing is to cut part of the top tang, look at your stock bulb to see what needs to be done to make it fit and use a dremel or a hacksaw.

I have to say that the difference in output is VERY significant. Before, I was using stock 9006s and PIAA 1100X driving lamps. With that setup the PIAA's were brighter than the headlights. Now I can't even tell that I have the PIAAs on when I have the headlights up.

I initally adjusted the housings very low because I didn't know if it would be blinding other drivers. I took it out and got NO flashes from anyone but the beams ended up being too low. I came home and adjusted the beams up another inch or 2 on the wall in my garage and when I took it out I could seen much further down the road.

I have no idea if the lifespan will be reduced by using these bulbs as primary lighting, but for a fraction of the price for a HID setup, this is a cheap and easy to do setup.

I am now much more pleased with the lighting the car puts out. I was thinking of getting one of those HID retrofit kits from one of our forum vendors, but with this mod I will keep the money for something else.

9006 silverstars are rated at 55 watts and the 9005s are 65. Does anyone think that this would cause a problem with the stock wiring?
I wouldn't think ten watts is too excessive to cause an issue.

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...ne/default.htm

 

Bumpity bump bump for more infos

Great find

 

Not to rain on your parade ...
Just remember that the higher output may produce heat ranges that the OEM reflector is not designed to sustain ... be careful with your wiring as well. It may not happen right away, but prolonged use might

Glad you're happy with the results though

 

This sounds like a pretty decent idea........ drawbacks anyone ??

 

Well I didn't come up with this mod myself, as I found it from the posts I mentioned before. It seems to have worked for others and I am just reporting my results.

If I do run into any problems or issues I'll post a follow-up.

 

I'm going to give it a try also.

 

You might want to try a set of T-84 Eurospec headlamps. They have real optical glass lenses and silvered metal reflectors, and use H4 Halogen bulbs. The biggest advantage is that the light is carefully formed into a beam pattern that keeps light out of the eyes of oncoming drivers, and down on the road in front of you. The stock plastic lenses have terrible beam forming, just like all regular DOT headlamps, with a LOT of light being sprayed all over and causing blinding glare to oncoming drivers, and also with poor side illumination. Certainly brighter bulbs will help you see the road a bit better, but you aint seen nutten yet. T-84s and medium wattage H4s put out more total light, and in a better useful and safer pattern than ultra expensive custom HID projector systems like the C5R style kits. I bought mine from www.cibieusa.com, where the resident lighting guy is a fellow C5 driver and VERY experienced with all lighting options. He has the best prices I could find for the T-84s, much less than the discount GM parts connections!!! He gets them from GM in Europe, and bypasses a lot of profit taking by US GM Corporate as they import and disribute the parts to various GM outlets over here. I really love my T-84 headlights, and consider the crappy plastic headlights to be the weakest part of the C5.

 

ttt. anyone have any input regarding this question?

btw, still no problems with the mod and still impressed.

 

I have a 95 Supra, and I have been doing this for about 3 years and never had any problems. I just use a Dremel drill to file down the two tabs. I haven't done it to the vette yet, but that is only because I have only had it for about a month. I definitely plan on doing this in the future.

 

Can you say... Vehicle Fire!!!

Be careful!

 

10 watts is just under 1 amp additional current draw. (current = watts /volts). 10W/12V = 5/6 amp.
Shouldn't be a problem - good luck.

 

You should have no problem with the wiring.....both bulb are powered from same fuse, same size wire guage, and both are enclose in one plastic enclosure. Now if you double the wattage going to ex: over 80 watts then it's a different ballgame. Just my .02

 

I'm looking at a 9005 and 9006 side-by-side.

The 9006 has a yellow gasket, and the fitting looks to be a bit bigger than the 9005 with an orange gaskets.

Colors aside, what effect does putting a bulb in a hole that's too big have on headlight aim and weatherproofing?

Also, the 9005 does not have the leading on the tip, which I assume cuts down on glare coming right off the head of the bulb.

Not that I won't try the mod, but there are differences.

F

 

Yeah I forgot to mention the gaskets. There is mention of this in one of the posts in the link here:

http://thebritebox.com/fogzilla.mod.html

I just took the orange gasket off the original bulb and put it over the 9005. Not a perfect fit but it's not loose either.

 

here is another resource to find a little more of this mod.

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

 

you could also just by a 9005 headlight connector and cut the factory wires splicing in the new connector
they are only 3 bucks at the most

 

I have the factory Euro headlights with a HD harness and 100/100 bulbs. I can burn down trees with the highbeams. Here are some links.:
http://www.c5forum.com/diy/eurolights.php and http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...hlight=dummies and http://www.pfyc.com/store/merchant.m...ode=VTLIGHTING