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Beyond the advice already given about the top-of-line halogen bulbs or sealed beams, if your car does not have the headlights on relays from the factory (most Japanese do) putting the headlights on relays (the Bosch relay sold for hot-start problems in VW cars works well) can help a lot.
Worked a treat on my old Scirocco.
Going to a higher than stock wattage usually does not give that much better light, since the reflector needs to be different for the higher wattage.
I don't know if that logic is correct. The reflector shape dictates the shape of the beam but its effectively a fancy mirror. More light in, means more light out. A properly designed bulb should output more lumens at a higher wattage.
Well, technically you are right, Egg, I didn't make my point clearly. The shape of the reflector determines how far out in front of the vehicle the light shines.
So the higher wattage does not do much good. This has been what I have seen in practice anyway.
If someone wants to go to a higher wattage, usually it's a good idea to use relays, rather than just plug into the stock wires and hope for the best. Or at least look at the headlight wire size (frequently 12 or 14 gauge) and make sure you don't go past 20 or 15 amps draw, respectively.
Well, technically you are right, Egg, I didn't make my point clearly. The shape of the reflector determines how far out in front of the vehicle the light shines.
So the higher wattage does not do much good. This has been what I have seen in practice anyway.
If someone wants to go to a higher wattage, usually it's a good idea to use relays, rather than just plug into the stock wires and hope for the best. Or at least look at the headlight wire size (frequently 12 or 14 gauge) and make sure you don't go past 20 or 15 amps draw, respectively.
I guess it bears mentioning that PIAA has some rather costly bulbs that at least claim to put out more light per watt - as to how much better they are than the "garden variety" premium halogen bulbs, I can't say.
Also bears mentioning that it's (technically) illegal to go to a higher wattage than stock, but I have heard little about anyone getting ticketed for that.
Which bulbs would you recommend? I'm only looking to change the bulbs, don't want to spend time and money into installing a kit-and I don't want to blind other drivers either. I'm just looking for a nice clean light.
I wouldn't mind if they had a slight blue tint to them-but not illegal and not offensive to others.
I am going on 5 years now with HID's on my 1991 Ford Escort. The improvement in lighting up the road compared to the stock bulbs is huge! Contrary to what others say, I have been flashed a total of 2 times in those 5 years, and I have never been pulled over for them. Then again, I drive a car that is low to the ground. I would not recommend doing this on a pickup truck! Regardless, a good compromise for you would be LED bulbs. They are not quite as bright as HID's, but are still brighter than the brightest halogens. They basically last forever from what I have heard. They are also hi and low beams where as my HID's have only low beams. You also do not need a kit with ballasts like I have. They are a direct replacement. Here are the LED bulbs for my car to give you an idea. Just type in your light code with LED at the end to find yours. Hope this helps.
I am going on 5 years now with HID's on my 1991 Ford Escort. The improvement in lighting up the road compared to the stock bulbs is huge! Contrary to what others say, I have been flashed a total of 2 times in those 5 years, and I have never been pulled over for them. Then again, I drive a car that is low to the ground. I would not recommend doing this on a pickup truck! Regardless, a good compromise for you would be LED bulbs. They are not quite as bright as HID's, but are still brighter than the brightest halogens. They basically last forever from what I have heard. They are also hi and low beams where as my HID's have only low beams. You also do not need a kit with ballasts like I have. They are a direct replacement. Here are the LED bulbs for my car to give you an idea. Just type in your light code with LED at the end to find yours. Hope this helps.
There are no usable aftermarket low beam LED bulbs for vehicles. By usable, I specifically mean not good enough to outshine even halogens. I looked into this a few months back and couldn't find a single type that someone could recommend. The consensus is that they are not bright enough to be used at night.
There are no usable aftermarket low beam LED bulbs for vehicles. By usable, I specifically mean not good enough to outshine even halogens. I looked into this a few months back and couldn't find a single type that someone could recommend. The consensus is that they are not bright enough to be used at night.
I was not aware of that. I thought they were as bright as factory LED's. OP, please disregard my post.
I was not aware of that. I thought they were as bright as factory LED's. OP, please disregard my post.
Yeah, unless someone can prove me wrong (and I'd love that because I'm actually interested in LED lighting) I believe that the shape of existing halogen and hid housings along with the required bulb dimensions dictated by the housing do not allow for proper aftermarket LED setups.
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I thought they were as bright as factory LED's. OP, please disregard my post.
