Dad_Jokes
Member
Did this yesterday based on the instructions from the "other forum"<search Thunderbulb Upgrade>. Was actually super simple and did make a noticeable difference. I thought I took pics before, but I cant find them for compare so guess I'm already off to a 0 for 1 start on mod results. The original thread had lumen measures before and after showing that you'll nearly double your low beam lumens and get a 10-15% bump for your high beams. I didn't measure the lumens, but id believe it based on the naked eye results.
Nutshell version:
Low beams - swap the H11s to H9s(15w increase). This was the most difficult one, but definitely the most noticeable improvement. If you have a newer model 4th gen(i have an 18) you wont do anything to the actual bulb but will instead need to add a slot to your actual harness plug as the H9 has an addition tab/divider(stock only has a top, H9 has a top and bottom). First one i used a file to make a slot down the middle of the harness, on the second one i got smart and used my dremel to cut a slot in about 5 seconds. The original instructions mention needing to trim the metal tri tabs, but all you need to do is angle in the wider one first and the other 2 will twist right in. I promise it makes perfect sense once you look at the bulbs. Still took me all of 15 minutes to swap both bulbs. It seems some older 4th gens have the dual slot harness, if so this is even easier for you.
High Beams - Swap the 9005s for 9011s(5w increase). Super simple. You snip off about a 1/8" of plastic off the wider tab and it fits and plugs right in. Its plastic so i just used a pair of *****. Took a legit 5 minutes to do both.
Took me longer to get the grille and headlights out than to modify the bulbs and reinstall. Well worth an hour of time and ~$40 for a very noticeable improvement.
Nutshell version:
Low beams - swap the H11s to H9s(15w increase). This was the most difficult one, but definitely the most noticeable improvement. If you have a newer model 4th gen(i have an 18) you wont do anything to the actual bulb but will instead need to add a slot to your actual harness plug as the H9 has an addition tab/divider(stock only has a top, H9 has a top and bottom). First one i used a file to make a slot down the middle of the harness, on the second one i got smart and used my dremel to cut a slot in about 5 seconds. The original instructions mention needing to trim the metal tri tabs, but all you need to do is angle in the wider one first and the other 2 will twist right in. I promise it makes perfect sense once you look at the bulbs. Still took me all of 15 minutes to swap both bulbs. It seems some older 4th gens have the dual slot harness, if so this is even easier for you.
High Beams - Swap the 9005s for 9011s(5w increase). Super simple. You snip off about a 1/8" of plastic off the wider tab and it fits and plugs right in. Its plastic so i just used a pair of *****. Took a legit 5 minutes to do both.
Took me longer to get the grille and headlights out than to modify the bulbs and reinstall. Well worth an hour of time and ~$40 for a very noticeable improvement.