I'm running 9005s now, and have been for years. SO much better than the original 9145s. The 9005s give more lateral illumination, so you can see more to the sides while driving, which is especially useful for making 90-degree turns on dark roads at night, something that I do often.
When I had the OEM 9145s in, I actually tried to use them in dense fog, and they were less than useful, so I went for the greater illumination route.
Also nice for late night driving on the mountainous interstates, where due to no cars and no lights I drove the whole way through the mountains with my brights on. (I-70 & I-68 through WV & MD)
Why not just run SilverStar 9145's?
Actually, I thought about going back to those in January 2011, but NO autoparts store around me stocks them. I tried Pep Boys, Autozones, and several Advanced Autos, to no avail. K&N oil filters are harder to find here too; most places only carry the Royal Purple filter, which lacks the wrench attachment.
Also, some people here mention difficulty getting the 9005 bulbs in, and even having to cut off a tab on the bulb holder, but I've had no issues, they go right in on my 2002 ST.
