More yet on F50 headlights

[StarPD]

Silver 2k2 was kind enough to provide a number of links for headlamp suppliers in another thread. One was for "Daniel Stern Lighting" at: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/home.html

I found his site particularly educational and informative. I E-mailed him regarding brighter high beams for my F50 (2005 Q45).

Here is his response:

<<On Wed, 14 Mar 2007, StarPD wrote:

> I have a 2005 Infiniti Q45. I want to extend the range of the high beams> for fast night driving on extremely no/low traffic roads.

Replace the existing 9005 bulbs with 9011. The new bulbs are not sometinted or overwattage version of 9005, but rather employ a relatively newtechnology called HIR, Halogen Infrared. The mechanical dimensions of thebulb are all virtually identical to the 9005, but the bulb glass isspherical instead of tubular, with the sphere centered around thefilament. There is a "Durable IR Reflective" coating on the sphericalglass. Infrared = heat, so the coating causes heat to be reflected back tothe filament at the center of the sphere. This causes the filament tobecome much hotter (producing more light) than it can by passingelectricity through it, *without* the shorter life or greater heatproduction that comes with overwattage bulbs (to say nothing ofoverwattage bulbs' incompatibility with stock wiring.)

Here's the comparison:

stock: 9005, 12.8V, 65W, 1700 lumens, 320 hourscompare: 9005+50, 12.8V, 55W, 1830 lumens, 175 hoursnew: HIR1, 12.8V, 65W, 2530 lumens, 320 hours

These bulbs are spendy - $27/ea - but their cost is worth considering incontext: Any number of companies will charge you more than this for atarted-up 9005 with blue colored glass (PIAA and Sylvania Silverstar cometo mind) that doesn't produce more light and has a very short lifespan.

The HIR bulbs have a double-wide top ear on the plastic bulb base, this isto comply with the law requiring different bulbs to have different bases.The extra-wide plastic top ear is easily trimmed or filed to make the bulbfit your headlamp's bulb receptacle. Once that's done, they go directlyinto the headlamp, and the existing sockets snap on.

Parking lamps and front sidemarkers can be made 60% brighter for greater conspicuity and safety for $3.98/bulb (type 2886x)

Shipping will be approximately $6.

There is also a zero-dollar easy modification you can make to the frontsidemarker light wiring so that the front sidemarker lights also act asside turn signal flashers, seehttp://www.danielsternlighting....html Thisis a LARGE safety improvement, as your turn signals become visiblelaterally instead of just front- or rear-on!

ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS

Please indicate:

The quantity of each item you wishThe type of shipping you wish(UPS trackable ground shipping is standard; all UPS service levels areavailable)The address to which you want the items shipped (if different from billingaddress)Whether the UPS driver has permission to leave the parcel at your doorstepif you are not available to accept it in person.

You may voicemail or fax your order toll-free on 1-866-861-8668. Pleasenote this is a recorded orderline only. If you wish to speak to me in person, please use 416-766-2327.

Orders may also be sent via e-mail to: [email protected]

We accept Visa and Mastercard. Orders are processed securely.

Whatever method you use, the following information is required in order toprocess a credit card order:

Card typeCard numberExpiry dateCVV code (last group of 3 or 4 digits on back of card)Your name as it appears on the cardBilling addressPhone number

Please don't forget to include a note (such as a printout of our e-mail) stating exactly which items you are ordering, and where you wish themsent.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,

DS >>

I intend to buy these lamps from him, and will pay my dealer to install them, even though $130 per side is a little pricey. It's a lousy job, and I don't want to spend an entire afternoon trying to get all the involved components aligned correctly after dismantling the related front body components.

I hope this helps anyone else that wants to improve the lighting on their F50, as I believe that most of the other suppliers only want to sell stuff that may or may not be truly effective. There's a lot of misleading info on lights on the 'net, and many sellers who don't really understand the basics of lighting.

Note, I have no connection with DSL except as a prospective customer, but I have learned over many years to be able to read between the lines, and to know when someone knows his stuff or not. I think this guy does.

[Jesda]

Nice find! I like how the guy emphasizes proper wiring.

[StarPD]

Nice find! I like how the guy emphasizes proper wiring.

Yes.As I mentioned, we can thank Silver 2k2 for it.

[silver2k2]

Happy to hear you found a solution, be sure and post a review once you have the lights installed.

This would be usefull for G50 guys as it employs the 9005 for the high beam
Modified by silver2k2 at 4:39 PM 3/18/2007

[StarPD]

Happy to hear you found a solution, be sure and post a review once you have the lights installed.

This would be usefull for G50 guys as it employs the 9005 for the high beam

Modified by silver2k2 at 4:39 PM 3/18/2007

Will do.

For financial reasons, I have to wait a month or two to actually have them installed, (@ $130 per side) but I intend to get the bulbs in a few weeks.

Thanks again for the valuable lead. I appreciate it. Hopefully others can benefit from this info too.

[marksport]

I can't seem to find any HIR bulbs that will fit the factory Q45 H1 high beam socket. You will need to grind out some of the headlight to fit the bulb and make some sort of fastening clips.

[StarPD]

I can't seem to find any HIR bulbs that will fit the factory Q45 H1 high beam socket. You will need to grind out some of the headlight to fit the bulb and make some sort of fastening clips.

You do have to grind off a small part of one tab, the top one, leaving it 8 mm wide. Remove the material from the right side of the top tab from 12:30 to one oclock looking at the bulb from the rear. No special clips are needed. Outside of grinding off that little bit on one side of the tab, nothing else is needed. Daniel Stern will send you a diagram if you buy the bulbs from him. Remember to not touch the glass with your fingers. Doing so will kill the bulb i short order.

[Q451990]

Remember to not touch the glass with your fingers. Doing so will kill the bulb i short order.

Always a good thing to remember! My very first "looks like HID" upgrade bulbs for the Q came packaged in styrofoam tubes.... a small piece of the styrofoam got caught behind the bulb, between it and the socket. Took about 10 minutes for it to explode trashing that headlight housing!

Honestly, I think you should take on the bulb replacement DIY if you have the time. My experience with anything body related is that no one is as careful with your stuff as you are...

Heath

[StarPD]

Always a good thing to remember! My very first "looks like HID" upgrade bulbs for the Q came packaged in styrofoam tubes.... a small piece of the styrofoam got caught behind the bulb, between it and the socket. Took about 10 minutes for it to explode trashing that headlight housing!

Honestly, I think you should take on the bulb replacement DIY if you have the time. My experience with anything body related is that no one is as careful with your stuff as you are...

Heath

No doubt you're right, but I'm too old and don't have the energy or the ambition to tackle the hassle of removing the many body parts required to change bulbs on an F50. I'll just have to pay the dealer and ask the service supervisor, who I know, to make sure the tech doesn't touch the glass on the new bulbs.