HELLA 9012LL 12V 55W Long Life/HIR2 Bulb, Each SKU: 211730841

Halogen Infra Red: Back around 2003 a new technology for headlamp bulbs emerged. Developed by General Electric specifically for the Dodge Viper and similar vehicles with large engines and small headlamps, it was soon discovered that a minor modification would allow their use in place of the ubiquitous 9005 and 9006 bulbs.

HIR stands for Halogen-IR. An IR (infrared) coating is placed on the inside of the globe. This multiple layer coating not only absorbs UV but also re-directs IR (heat) back onto the filament. By re-directing the IR back to the filament, the lamp produces more light for the same amount of energy and the amount of heat generated by the lamp is reduced when compared to standard Halogen products. The improvement was real but at a considerable price increase.

High beam stock: 9005, 65W, 1700 lumens vs 9011/HIR1, 65W, 2530 lumens
Low beam stock: 9006, 55W, 1000 lumens vs 9012/HIR2, 55W, 1875 lumens

Hella no longer sells the original, bulbous style Halogen Infra Red Bulbs. They have developed a tube shaped bulb that is much less expensive to manufacture, that new style applies to this bulb.

Features:

The manufacturers give two numbers: B3 and Tc. B3 indicates the minimum number of hours 97 percent of the lamps will last. After this time elapses, the frequency of failure starts to increase. By the time the Tc value is reached, 63 percent of the lamps have likely failed. Sorry if it sounds so complicated, but it is not that simple for all kinds of things do to tolerances.