Headlight bulb wattage

[giantsnation]

I know that the 2011s use the H11 bulb but I can't find any information on the wattage. I am planning on buying the PIAA H11 Xtreme White bulbs rated at 55watts.

[tripplec]

Go to a bulb website and look them up. But they're going to be 55 LB 65HB no more than that. I would NOT recommend going higher. Blowing the TIPM will wreck your day!!

[BlackNightling]

Yes, they are 55w for the headlight. Amazingly enough, the fog lights are also 55w H11's, but they are the long life versions, so they are not as bright and don't produce as much heat, which is bad for those little fog light housings.

I recently got 2 pairs of Silverstar H11's (regular, not ultra) and put them in. The light is whiter and brighter and so far haven't had any problems with the fog lights (not sure if the silverstar's run a little hotter than normal bulbs to get their look).

I would imagine that those PIAA's would be okay for the low beam, but I haven't had any experience with them as to heat output and if they would be okay for the fogs too.

[mowgli]

I have HID lights in my fog lights and the heat has not destroyed them yet so you're good to go with any any 55W bulbs (long life or not!).

[giantsnation]

Great, I'll be order these PIAAs in the very short future! Thanks

[giantsnation]

And I just called the company I have gotten HIDs from in the past and their kits are only 35W. So I'll be buying the 3000K H11 kit for the fog lights.

[tripplec]

Originally Posted by giantsnation

And I just called the company I have gotten HIDs from in the past and their kits are only 35W. So I'll be buying the 3000K H11 kit for the fog lights.

I hope you're wiring it so that the main power comes from a feed from the battery with the factory circuit merely turning on the HID power module. HID's have a very high surg starting current but drops off a lot once fired up and running. Factory wiring, switch and in this case TIPM will not survive the startup surges. This is a must for other vehicles as well but especially since lights are all powered through the Compass's TIPM, blow it and you're in for big bucks.

[mowgli]

Originally Posted by tripplec

I hope you're wiring it so that the main power comes from a feed from the battery with the factory circuit merely turning on the HID power module. HID's have a very high surg starting current but drops off a lot once fired up and running. Factory wiring, switch and in this case TIPM will not survive the startup surges. This is a must for other vehicles as well but especially since lights are all powered through the Compass's TIPM, blow it and you're in for big bucks.

HID's on my head lights are powered by a relay harness (they are 35W-55W too!) but my 35W fog HID's are wired directly to the factory harnesses without any problems for more than a year now.

[tripplec]

Originally Posted by mowgli

HID's on my head lights are powered by a relay harness (they are 35W-55W too!) but my 35W fog HID's are wired directly to the factory harnesses without any problems for more than a year now.

Ah, you're the first to do that mod if memory serves, I am not going back to look at ancient thread to very that point. Most HID use a relay harness and its certainly the safest way to install them. Good luck that its holding up, maybe its a more durable switch since its not on a timer or programmed delay like the headlights are. It would be a shame to blow the TIPM. I've had two replaced because they did not turn on the fog lights or was a long delay before coming on. Another two because of the dash temp not working so I am on #4 TIPM. I have amber/Yellow bulbs in mine exactly the same part and wattage of the OEM but if I doing HID I would look at the relay harness for them for safety if nothing else.

[giantsnation]

Slight change of plans. I've decided to save money. So I've ordered:

Nokya Yellow H11's for the fogs
Philips H11 CrystalVision Ultra Headlight Bulb (decided for the $$ to give these a shot)
PIAA 7440 Xtreme White Miniature Bulb (for the reverse lights - I've had these in every car I've owned)

Will take pictures when everything arrives and is installed!

[giantsnation]

WOW! I got everything installed and it really makes the Jeep look a lot better. Unfortunately, taking accurate pictures of lights is difficult so I'll just report my findings.

First, the Compass light bulbs for low beam and fog lights are super easy to install. Yellow fog lights are a nice touch. Not sure they do anything better or worse for vision but they look good.

Philips Crystalvision headlights - Good. Not as bright as I would have hoped but the color is perfectly white and much better than stock. For $25, you really can't beat these. FYI, built in Germany so I feel pretty good about quality.

PIAA Xtreme White reverse bulbs - Excellent as always. These are dramatically better than stock. One cool thing was that I realized in the process of installation (also pretty easy) that the rear turn signal was the same bulb. So, I used the OE clear reverse bulb for the turn signal and got rid of that nasty looking orange turn signal.

[tripplec]

Originally Posted by giantsnation

WOW! I got everything installed and it really makes the Jeep look a lot better. Unfortunately, taking accurate pictures of lights is difficult so I'll just report my findings.

First, the Compass light bulbs for low beam and fog lights are super easy to install. Yellow fog lights are a nice touch. Not sure they do anything better or worse for vision but they look good.

Philips Crystalvision headlights - Good. Not as bright as I would have hoped but the color is perfectly white and much better than stock. For $25, you really can't beat these. FYI, built in Germany so I feel pretty good about quality.

PIAA Xtreme White reverse bulbs - Excellent as always. These are dramatically better than stock. One cool thing was that I realized in the process of installation (also pretty easy) that the rear turn signal was the same bulb. So, I used the OE clear reverse bulb for the turn signal and got rid of that nasty looking orange turn signal.

I put Yellow Fog lights in almost 2 years ago. They light up the road quite well especially in foul weather. More light is reflected back then with white light and in rain/fog its easier to see. Enjoy them, as for the tail signal light. White is rarely used anymore. A winking yellow light is fare more noticable than white and red next. I look at it from a safety persective. I don't want someone running into the back of me because of lights. I busy cities and highways white disappears in a sea of white headlights which are much brighter as well. At least yellow stands out and even a very bright red flashing.

I haven't seen the desire to update the headlights as I find them quite bright and occasionally get someone flashing at me on some highways. If GE comes out with a Nighthawk Platimum for them I may concider since I have them on my bigger Jeep and work very well. But at $60 for the pair of them I am in no hurry.

[giantsnation]

Originally Posted by tripplec

A winking yellow light is far more noticable than white and red next. I look at it from a safety persective. I don't want someone running into the back of me because of lights. I busy cities and highways white disappears in a sea of white headlights which are much brighter as well. At least yellow stands out and even a very bright red flashing.

From a safety perspective, don't forget the 2011s have LED taillights so the brake lights are extremely bright. If you can't see these LEDs, you're blind and shouldn't be driving.

[tripplec]

Originally Posted by giantsnation

From a safety perspective, don't forget the 2011s have LED taillights so the brake lights are extremely bright. If you can't see these LEDs, you're blind and shouldn't be driving.

Most factory LED installation are bright and should be and I don't believe use a single bulb but some array of LED's to get the intensity as well as the difference in levels necessary. Many aftermarket solutions don't achieve this with a 3157 bulb to LED swap.

However, my point was with regards to the signal light where a individual bulb is used as is used as in my 2009, that being yellow. I don't recall what the 2011's have but assume they were yellow as well originally.

[zackman]

Originally Posted by giantsnation

Slight change of plans. I've decided to save money. So I've ordered:

Nokya Yellow H11's for the fogs
Philips H11 CrystalVision Ultra Headlight Bulb (decided for the $$ to give these a shot)
PIAA 7440 Xtreme White Miniature Bulb (for the reverse lights - I've had these in every car I've owned)

Will take pictures when everything arrives and is installed!

WOAH WOAH WOAH BE CAREFULL I have been there done that DON'T go over your wattage. i was sold the wrong bulbs and if i'm not mistaken they were nokya for the fogs! they worked for 2 weeks then i realized one fog was all brown. the bulb got so hot and melted the housing. both of my foglights are ruined. AND going back to what tripplec stated be cautious with headlights i think my tipim is blown i'm still getting current to my headlight but very small ammount. all because i used cheap 6000km h13 bulbs. BE CAREFULL you have been ADVISED!

[giantsnation]

Zackmann there may be a difference in models here. When I pulled the factory fog light bulbs they were 12v 55w. The Nokya's are also 12v 55w. If its the same, I should not have a problem. Just to be safe I did add a heavy duty wire harness. Plus, the housing on the 2011s is different.

[giantsnation]

Also, the same goes to the headlight bulbs. Same wattage means I should be safe. I confirmed on the Phillips ones that they too were 12v 55w.