Updating 7" round sealed beam headlights

svMike

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
17
I'm looking for help and expert opinion on headlight options for my project car. It is a 1972 Datsun 240Z that came stock with 7" round sealed beams. I am also replacing all vehicle wiring and adding relays where appropriate.

I started out thinking that an HID retrofit is the way to go and after a lot of reading, decided that is not for me.

I read about Hella's 90mm Bi-Xenon module (Hella product link), and according to Mr. Daniel Stern, it is the best-performing headlamp made by a very large margin. It sounds perfect, except that it does not come with provisions for a lens cover so it would look out of place on the Z. It is also quite expensive at ~$1500/pair.

Mr. Stern also suggested the Bi-Halogen version of the Hella (similar cons as Bi-Xenon version, except the price which is ~$650/pair), and the Cibie H4 at ~$160/pair.

Money is sort-of a factor, but at the same time I want to do this once and do it right. I live in Washington state on many unlit/sparsely lit roads. 30% of my driving is done at night.

What sort of lifetime can I expect from the Hella projector, ballast and bulbs?

How much better is the Bi-Xenon than the Bi-Halogen and the Cibie H4?

I have no experience driving with HID lights, but the pictures that I've seen show jarringly sharp cutoffs that must be super fun when driving twisty mountain roads.
 
Last edited:

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
Welcome to the board. The reason why a lens cover is not offered is because it would be illegal. US and Canadian regulations prohibit the installation of a cover, even a "clear" one, over a certified lamp while it is operating. That is because such covers tend to interfere with the safety performance of the lamp. Even new, directly-out-of-the-package "clear" covers tend to block a significant portion of the light. You can also get beam distortion (= extra glare and backscatter) as the cover ages and degrades. Most of them are plastic, and none that I know of have the surface treatments and hard coatings against UV and abrasion that are required for plastic headlamp lenses -- and even if they did, you can take a walk down any street and see how inadequate those requirements are, so just imagine the degree of deterioration for UNcoated plastic!

All that said, my memories of the early '70s Datsun Z-car era are a little foggy, but I do seem to remember there used to be glass covers available for the "sugar scoop" headlamp cutouts, contoured to match the hood/fender line. If you can still get those, that would seem to address your issue, wouldn't it? You would still suffer some light loss because of the steep horizontal rake angle of the cover, and you'd have to keep a careful eye on them to watch for condensation and dirt buildup, and yes, they'd still be illegal, please note I do not recommend getting these; you really should leave the headlamps uncovered, whichever headlamps you wind up with.

I agree with Stern's assessment; right now the 7" headlamp based around Hella's 90mm projector is definitely the best-performing 7" round headlamp available. Over the next couple of years we will see some LED units coming on the market that equal or beat that lamp, and those will have a more traditional lens/reflector appearance you may prefer, but for the time being the BiXenon is best-in-class, by a long shot.

Lifespan of the Hella projector/ballast can reasonably be expected to be several decades. Bulb, figure 10 years of normal nightly-driver service before you would want to replace it to restore full intensity.

To compare the BiXenon projector vs. any H4 is really not a fair comparison; the H4 system's technology and output is so very far behind the BiXenon that it's sort of like comparing a 1913 Model-T Ford to a Corvette: if you were in a horse and buggy before, then the Model-T feels like a great improvement. But it cannot hold a candle(!) to the Corvette.

That said, you should factor in how much night driving you're actually doing in this car before making a decision. If you don't drive a whole lot at night, and you're mostly in town, then you're probably best off putting in headlight relays and wisely-chosen bulbs in Cibie or other top-performing H4s. There aren't many others worth using...Koito makes an excellent one that is tough to get, and Marchals were the best ones ever made though they're no longer produced -- I would not use the Hella or Bosch lamps or any of the enormous number of non-legitimate brands out there.

But you mention twisty mountain roads; if that's what you're driving then it makes sense to spend the big bucks for the top-notch headlamps. One of the biggest advantages of a well-engineered Xenon system is much wider illumination than you get with halogen lamps, which is a big help on curves and twists.

Definitely don't try to put together a cheap HID system by getting halogen lights and installing an "HID kit"; those are dangerous and illegal no matter what kit or what lamp you have in mind.

There is a fair amount of misunderstanding about low beam cutoffs. As long as the lamp is aimed correctly a low beam cutoff is generally beneficial (makes it easier to see in fog, snow, and rain), and the seeing range is not determined by whether the low beam has a sharp cutoff, a soft cutoff, or no cutoff at all. People who complain about a sharp cutoff aren't making up complaints; they really are seeing the cutoff on the road surface and they really can't see beyond it. But they couldn't see beyond the same distance (or less) with a non-cutoff low beam they were accustomed to -- the difference is that the cutoff is a very visual indication of where the driver's seeing range ends. That indication is not available with non-cutoff low beams. Most of us routinely drive faster than our low beams support, which is why we get edgy and uncomfortable when we can see how short our seeing distance really is (for example when curving left). The answer to that discomfort is to SLOW DOWN.

As for the BiHalogen: not as good as the BiXenon, better than a typical good-quality H4 setup. But it uses the short-lived H9 bulb, which means you would frequently be replacing the bulb. I don't recall how easy or hard it is to get access to the back of the headlamp on a Z-car to replace the bulb, but if you have to remove the lamp from its mount, you would have to re-aim the headlamps each and every time you replace the bulb (same goes for an H4, by the way). That would quickly grow to be a nuisance and a running expense.
 

TJJP77

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 6, 2007
Messages
37
If budget is a concern, go with the Cibie H4 lamps. While they certainly don't offer the performance of the Bi-Xenon projectors, they are a dramatic upgrade over the stock sealed beam on the car now (at least they seemed like a dramatic upgrade to me on my Jeep!). You might be able to get a cornering beam or drive beam auxiliary lamp to mount below the bumper to fill in to the sides to make up for where the H4 lacks...
 

Hamilton Felix

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 2, 2010
Messages
933
Location
Marblemount, WA, USA
Wow, this brings back memories! I still recall the 1972 240Z I had in 1977 - and still regret selling it because my girlfriend couldn't learn to drive it (replacing the girlfriend turned out to be a much wiser decision). My car didn't have covers, just standard 7 inch round headlights. And yes, I live in cloudy, soggy Western Washington.

Back then, I was just discovering Cibie and Marchal H4 headlights (7" Cibie on my pickup, later added 5-3/4 H1 high beams in separate buckets). If I'd kept the car I would have gone the Cibie H4 route at the time. I daydreamed a lot about long range driving lights, but didn't come up with anything at the time. I learned there was a 250 watt PAR 36 landing light or taxiing light that might serve, but it wouldn't really have been a road light. In addition to requiring a small auxiliary light, the shape of the car pretty much dictates mounting it too low for a driving light.

I will be interested to hear your solutions and how well they work. We have more options today. I hope you get the best possible headlights and manage to keep your car's appearance basically stock.;)
 

idleprocess

Flashaholic
Joined
Feb 29, 2004
Messages
7,197
Location
decamped
All that said, my memories of the early '70s Datsun Z-car era are a little foggy, but I do seem to remember there used to be glass covers available for the "sugar scoop" headlamp cutouts, contoured to match the hood/fender line. If you can still get those, that would seem to address your issue, wouldn't it? You would still suffer some light loss because of the steep horizontal rake angle of the cover, and you'd have to keep a careful eye on them to watch for condensation and dirt buildup, and yes, they'd still be illegal, please note I do not recommend getting these; you really should leave the headlamps uncovered, whichever headlamps you wind up with.
I remember seeing so many 240Z/280Z's with those covers (glass or otherwise) that I thought they were a factory option. When I was still seeing them on the roads with some frequency ~15 years ago, they were still phenomenally clean on the inside, making it seem unlikely to be aftermarket.
 

Hilldweller

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 17, 2009
Messages
671
Location
Hog Waller, GA
I tested quite a bunch of 7" lights and the 90mm H9 projectors will do what you want.
Only problem is that they look like Madonna's erect nipples...

here's my shoot-out

It the nipple effect doesn't bother you, run'em. They work great.
The Cibie H4 works very well but doesn't really come all that close to the projectors.

My next choice after the 90mm projector would be the JW Speaker LEDs ---- but, there again, they're sorta weird looking for a vintage Z....

The Trucklite Phase 7 LEDs are nice and I like them for Jeeps. They look more like normal headlights and would be more "stealth".
But they do have some strange properties and I'm not sure I'd want them on a car that's going to be going quick.
 

svMike

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
17
Welcome to the board. The reason why a lens cover is not offered is because it would be illegal. US and Canadian regulations prohibit the installation of a cover, even a "clear" one, over a certified lamp while it is operating. That is because such covers tend to interfere with the safety performance of the lamp. Even new, directly-out-of-the-package "clear" covers tend to block a significant portion of the light. You can also get beam distortion (= extra glare and backscatter) as the cover ages and degrades. Most of them are plastic, and none that I know of have the surface treatments and hard coatings against UV and abrasion that are required for plastic headlamp lenses -- and even if they did, you can take a walk down any street and see how inadequate those requirements are, so just imagine the degree of deterioration for UNcoated plastic!

Thanks for the detailed answer! I've see what bad aftermarket plastic lenses look like after a few months, I'm not going to subject my Z to that :)
Oh, and safety mumble mumble :p

All that said, my memories of the early '70s Datsun Z-car era are a little foggy, but I do seem to remember there used to be glass covers available for the "sugar scoop" headlamp cutouts, contoured to match the hood/fender line. If you can still get those, that would seem to address your issue, wouldn't it? You would still suffer some light loss because of the steep horizontal rake angle of the cover, and you'd have to keep a careful eye on them to watch for condensation and dirt buildup, and yes, they'd still be illegal, please note I do not recommend getting these; you really should leave the headlamps uncovered, whichever headlamps you wind up with.

Yep, you are correct. Glass covers were available. They are ruinously expensive nowadays. Ebay shows a broken set for $900. Even if I could get them, I'd be afraid to mount them and crack them. I tend to be hard on my cars :)
Aftermarket plastic versions are available, but with the same drawbacks you mentioned above, unfortunately.

I agree with Stern's assessment; right now the 7" headlamp based around Hella's 90mm projector is definitely the best-performing 7" round headlamp available. Over the next couple of years we will see some LED units coming on the market that equal or beat that lamp, and those will have a more traditional lens/reflector appearance you may prefer, but for the time being the BiXenon is best-in-class, by a long shot. Lifespan of the Hella projector/ballast can reasonably be expected to be several decades. Bulb, figure 10 years of normal nightly-driver service before you would want to replace it to restore full intensity.

That's good to hear! I wouldn't mind buying something for the meanwhile, while waiting for the latest (and hopefully) greatest.

To compare the BiXenon projector vs. any H4 is really not a fair comparison; the H4 system's technology and output is so very far behind the BiXenon that it's sort of like comparing a 1913 Model-T Ford to a Corvette: if you were in a horse and buggy before, then the Model-T feels like a great improvement. But it cannot hold a candle(!) to the Corvette.

That said, you should factor in how much night driving you're actually doing in this car before making a decision. If you don't drive a whole lot at night, and you're mostly in town, then you're probably best off putting in headlight relays and wisely-chosen bulbs in Cibie or other top-performing H4s. There aren't many others worth using...Koito makes an excellent one that is tough to get, and Marchals were the best ones ever made though they're no longer produced -- I would not use the Hella or Bosch lamps or any of the enormous number of non-legitimate brands out there.

I drive quite a bit at night, sometimes out of necessity, sometimes for the pure joy of it.The Cibie's are starting to look better and better, especially in light of(ha) the fact that better aftermarket options may be coming in a couple of years. What would be a good bulb? Shouldn't I be using an HB2/9003 bulb? I have read here that Philips Xtreme Vision, Osram Night Breaker, Philips Xtreme Power and GE Night Hawk Platinum are good bulbs.

But you mention twisty mountain roads; if that's what you're driving then it makes sense to spend the big bucks for the top-notch headlamps. One of the biggest advantages of a well-engineered Xenon system is much wider illumination than you get with halogen lamps, which is a big help on curves and twists. Definitely don't try to put together a cheap HID system by getting halogen lights and installing an "HID kit"; those are dangerous and illegal no matter what kit or what lamp you have in mind.

Illumination width is something I did not think about, very good point. HID kits, especially kits based on OEM projectors and ballasts were very appealing, until I read more about them and spoke to a shop owner specializing in HID retrofits. They did backflips trying to sell me Morimoto projectors and ballasts. It's also hard to take a business seriously when they sell HID glare as an upgrade...

There is a fair amount of misunderstanding about low beam cutoffs. As long as the lamp is aimed correctly a low beam cutoff is generally beneficial (makes it easier to see in fog, snow, and rain), and the seeing range is not determined by whether the low beam has a sharp cutoff, a soft cutoff, or no cutoff at all. People who complain about a sharp cutoff aren't making up complaints; they really are seeing the cutoff on the road surface and they really can't see beyond it. But they couldn't see beyond the same distance (or less) with a non-cutoff low beam they were accustomed to -- the difference is that the cutoff is a very visual indication of where the driver's seeing range ends. That indication is not available with non-cutoff low beams. Most of us routinely drive faster than our low beams support, which is why we get edgy and uncomfortable when we can see how short our seeing distance really is (for example when curving left). The answer to that discomfort is to SLOW DOWN.

I didn't think about it that way. Having never driven with HIDs, I've only seen HID cutoff images online and cringe a bit when I see the sharp define of see and no-see. What you say makes sense though.

As for the BiHalogen: not as good as the BiXenon, better than a typical good-quality H4 setup. But it uses the short-lived H9 bulb, which means you would frequently be replacing the bulb. I don't recall how easy or hard it is to get access to the back of the headlamp on a Z-car to replace the bulb, but if you have to remove the lamp from its mount, you would have to re-aim the headlamps each and every time you replace the bulb (same goes for an H4, by the way). That would quickly grow to be a nuisance and a running expense.

BiHalogen is off the list, if that is the case. At this point I'm left with two options: BiXenon and Cibie. I still have time to noodle through this since the Z is on jackstands. I'd rather have the best performing light AND have it look right on the car. My wallet is not as nervous now, since the Cibie is on even consideration with the BiXenon :D
 

svMike

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
17
If budget is a concern, go with the Cibie H4 lamps. While they certainly don't offer the performance of the Bi-Xenon projectors, they are a dramatic upgrade over the stock sealed beam on the car now (at least they seemed like a dramatic upgrade to me on my Jeep!). You might be able to get a cornering beam or drive beam auxiliary lamp to mount below the bumper to fill in to the sides to make up for where the H4 lacks...

Thanks for the advice! Cibie H4 certainly has a lot of fans here, and looking like with good reason.
I'm trying to keep the Z looking stock-ish, so I don't want to add more lights. That being said, since I never really considered it, I never thought about what it would look like.

Do cornering beam or drive beam auxiliary lamps come on when low beams come on? Don't know the correct term for what light does what, sorry. :shrug:
 

svMike

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
17
Wow, this brings back memories! I still recall the 1972 240Z I had in 1977 - and still regret selling it because my girlfriend couldn't learn to drive it (replacing the girlfriend turned out to be a much wiser decision). My car didn't have covers, just standard 7 inch round headlights. And yes, I live in cloudy, soggy Western Washington.

Back then, I was just discovering Cibie and Marchal H4 headlights (7" Cibie on my pickup, later added 5-3/4 H1 high beams in separate buckets). If I'd kept the car I would have gone the Cibie H4 route at the time. I daydreamed a lot about long range driving lights, but didn't come up with anything at the time. I learned there was a 250 watt PAR 36 landing light or taxiing light that might serve, but it wouldn't really have been a road light. In addition to requiring a small auxiliary light, the shape of the car pretty much dictates mounting it too low for a driving light.

I will be interested to hear your solutions and how well they work. We have more options today. I hope you get the best possible headlights and manage to keep your car's appearance basically stock.;)

Hi Hamilton, my Z is a '72 as well. And brown. :) I had/have 7" Wagner sealed beams. They are very good at wasting electricity, bad at everything else.

TJJP77 also suggested auxiliary lights. Definitely something to consider if I can find a way to make it inconspicous enough. I will be adding an airdam to improve aero so that may help...
 

svMike

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
17
I remember seeing so many 240Z/280Z's with those covers (glass or otherwise) that I thought they were a factory option. When I was still seeing them on the roads with some frequency ~15 years ago, they were still phenomenally clean on the inside, making it seem unlikely to be aftermarket.

Yes, the glass headlight covers were a factory option. I have no idea how common that option was, but given the number of Z's sold in those years, you'd think the'd be all over the place nowadays. Sadly, they are not. Too expensive to buy now, nevermind hoard. :broke:

And yes, I would hoard them. :devil:
 

svMike

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
17
I tested quite a bunch of 7" lights and the 90mm H9 projectors will do what you want.
Only problem is that they look like Madonna's erect nipples...

here's my shoot-out

It the nipple effect doesn't bother you, run'em. They work great.
The Cibie H4 works very well but doesn't really come all that close to the projectors.

My next choice after the 90mm projector would be the JW Speaker LEDs ---- but, there again, they're sorta weird looking for a vintage Z....

The Trucklite Phase 7 LEDs are nice and I like them for Jeeps. They look more like normal headlights and would be more "stealth".
But they do have some strange properties and I'm not sure I'd want them on a car that's going to be going quick.


Thanks for the shoot-out info, will be catching up on that today.

The appearance of the 90mm lights in both BiHalogen and BiXenon are what's stopping me. It is a lot of money, it should work well and look great - halfway there with the 90mm :)

I saw pictures of the JW Speaker 8700 and 8700 Evolution yesterday, I can't quite see what they'd look like on a Z, and I don't know how well they would perform vs Cibie H4 or the Hella BiXenon module.

Never heard of the Trucklite Phase 7. I'll have to look into those. What strange properties do you mean?
 
Last edited:

TJJP77

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 6, 2007
Messages
37
Thanks for the advice! Cibie H4 certainly has a lot of fans here, and looking like with good reason.
I'm trying to keep the Z looking stock-ish, so I don't want to add more lights. That being said, since I never really considered it, I never thought about what it would look like.

Do cornering beam or drive beam auxiliary lamps come on when low beams come on? Don't know the correct term for what light does what, sorry. :shrug:

The Cibies would definitely look stock-ish to most, only a few discriminating folks would recognize them and know what they are.

The cornering or drive beams can come on however you want them to - it's all in the wiring. My personal preference is to wire them up on their own independent switch since my primary usage is off road at low speeds and I want to be able to turn on any lights I want any time I want.

As far as the projector housings that fit into the 7" form factor, Sylvania made the Xe7 with a chrome "filler" ring that bridged the diameter between the projector itself and the rest of the lamp housing. It looks less odd than ones with a black filler piece which really draws attention and may detract from the vehicle styling. I want to say that the Xe7s are discontinued now...
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
The Cibies would definitely look stock-ish to most, only a few discriminating folks would recognize them and know what they are.

I agree. They have a convex lens contour like the sealed beams, and only someone looking very closely at the optical facets in the lens -- and knowing what they were looking for -- would discern that they were anything other than original equipment.

The cornering or drive beams can come on however you want them to

Whoah, no! There are specific requirements for their hookup to provide safe and legal operation. "Driving lamp" is a very poorly understood term. It has one (and only one) correct definition: auxiliary high beam[/i]. They are never to be used in traffic, or with low beams, or by themselves. Only with the vehicle's main high beams, and therefore only in situations (empty dark roads or off the road) where high beam headlamps are OK to use. This is a matter not only of law but of safety.

"Cornering beam" is an unofficial term some manufacturers use to denote specific types of driving beam. It means a wide, flood-type distribution of light (like "pencil beam" means a tight, narrow, spot-type distribution of light). The important thing to understand is that these are all "driving beams", i.e., high beams. They must be wired so as to be operable only when the vehicle's main high beam headlamps are lit, and so as to extinguish when the driver changes from high beam to low beam even if the driver doesn't touch the driving lamp switch. An independent "use 'em whenever I want" switch is not legal or safe.

Note this "cornering beam" type of driving lamp is not the same as "cornering lamps", which are lamps shining a relatively small amount of light sideways during turn signal operation to help the driver see curves and corners while turning or changing lanes. Cornering lamps, because they are used in traffic, have a light distribution that sharply controls glare to other drivers.


As far as the projector housings that fit into the 7" form factor, Sylvania made the Xe7 with a chrome "filler" ring that bridged the diameter between the projector itself and the rest of the lamp housing. It looks less odd than ones with a black filler piece which really draws attention and may detract from the vehicle styling. I want to say that the Xe7s are discontinued now...

The XE7 is gone, yes. The black trim bezel of the Hella unit is easily removed for painting or chroming.
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
The appearance of the 90mm lights in both BiHalogen and BiXenon are what's stopping me. It is a lot of money, it should work well and look great - halfway there with the 90mm :)

Personal opinion, I think they'd look fine if you were to either paint the trim bezels body color, or chrome them (which is not as hard or expensive as it might sound, see here.

I saw pictures of the JW Speaker 8700 and 8700 Evolution yesterday, I can't quite see what they'd look like on a Z

Same as they look like off a Z...but surrounded by a Z! :)

I don't know how well they would perform vs Cibie H4 or the Hella BiXenon module.

The Speaker LED lamp's performance is above an H4 (any H4) but below the Hella BiXenon.

Never heard of the Trucklite Phase 7. I'll have to look into those. What strange properties do you mean?

What strikes me as strangest about the Truck-Lite LED lamp is two things: Despite being a very recently-released lamp, it is designed to conform to the old sealed-beam photometric specification rather than the newer, higher-performance VOA specification. So with the Truck-Lite you get (objectively measured and subjectively appearing) pretty much the same distribution of light as from a sealed beam, only the light is much more of a bluish-white than the brownish-white color from the sealed beams. The Speaker LEDs are all designed to the newer standard. Also, the Truck-Lite LED lamp is made with a plastic lens. Truck-Lite says they are using a very durable plastic, but that's the same claim made for years now by every maker of aero composite headlamps for heavy-duty applications, and none of them hold up in the long run. I just can't reconcile an expensive light source with infinite lifespan (LEDs) behind a plastic lens that will degrade. That goes for the Speaker 8700 Evolution, too; the non-Evolution model had a hard (durable) glass lens but they have switched to plastic. :-(

As I said before, there are some excellent 7" round LED headlamps currently in development. The options are going to open up (and prices probably come down). 2017 will certainly be a better year to buy 7" round LED headlamps than 2013 is.
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
Glass covers were available. They are ruinously expensive nowadays.

That's unfortunate. :-(

I drive quite a bit at night, sometimes out of necessity, sometimes for the pure joy of it.

Then it makes sense to get rid of the sealed beams, if nothing else.

What would be a good bulb?

That depends on whether and how you upgrade the headlamp system wiring (relays, etc.)

Shouldn't I be using an HB2/9003 bulb?

You can, but what makes you say you "should"?

I have read here that Philips Xtreme Vision, Osram Night Breaker, Philips Xtreme Power and GE Night Hawk Platinum are good bulbs.

Yes, those are all good regulation-wattage bulbs (60/55w nominal at 12v). Of those, the Philips Xtreme Vision is the top pick, followed by the Xtreme Power.

HID kits, especially kits based on OEM projectors and ballasts were very appealing, until I read more about them

Yuck...glad you dropped that idea. Hope you ran across this article.

spoke to a shop owner specializing in HID retrofits. They did backflips trying to sell me Morimoto projectors and ballasts.

Junk! And illegal!

It's also hard to take a business seriously when they sell HID glare as an upgrade...

But...don't you want to look COOL????

I didn't think about it that way. Having never driven with HIDs, I've only seen HID cutoff images online

It is not the case that sharp cutoffs are necessarily a characteristic of HID low beams. Both HID and halogen low beams (and LEDs, too) can have a sharp cutoff, a soft cutoff, or none.

Another H4 lamp you might want to consider is the difficult-to-get Koito item. Koito was the original-equipment supplier to Nissan (both for replaceable-bulb headlamps in markets where those were used, and for sealed-beam headlamps in markets where those were used), and the Koito H4 7" lamp is an excellent performer. I would rank its beam focus above the Cibie.
 

TJJP77

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 6, 2007
Messages
37
An independent "use 'em whenever I want" switch is not legal or safe.

Is it safe to assume that doesn't apply to lights that are used exclusively offroad and kept covered whenever on-road? (i.e. my Jeep and pending project)

Back to the OP's situation...does Hella make a Bi-Xenon projector fitted to a 7" round housing similar to the now defunct Xe7? I wasn't aware that they did...still way out of my price range no doubt...
 

-Virgil-

Flashaholic
Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
7,802
Is it safe to assume that doesn't apply to lights that are used exclusively offroad and kept covered whenever on-road?

It's less of a safety issue in that case, but I have seen a lot of melted/burned covers over the years (switch inadvertently left on with lamps covered). Anyhow, my "Whoah, no way!" reaction was in the context of the Z-car in question, which I think is mostly an on-road vehicle. :)

Yes, there are 7" round lamp retrofits based on the Hella 90mm BiHalogen and BiXenon projectors. Conceptually the same as the XE7 but without the XE7's unnecessary bulk. The XE7 used a side-mounted ballast and a D1S bulb with its bulky ignitor box; the Hella BiXenon uses D2S and a remote ballast, thus minimizing or eliminating the need for headlamp mount cup modification. Most headlamp mount cups would not accept the XE7 without extensive modification.
 

Hamilton Felix

Enlightened
Joined
Jan 2, 2010
Messages
933
Location
Marblemount, WA, USA
That Z sounds like a fun car. Mine was white with dealer installed A/C. Sure miss it. The 240Z has very small frontal area, not much space to mount auxiliary lights. JW Speaker makes a very expensive LED fog that is PAR36 size. Bosch Compact 100 driving or fog lights are a little bigger than that, but not much.
Even if you find compact and powerful aux light to mount, your only available location is too low for driving lights. For that reason, I'm going to vote for headlights with as much long range function as possible.
 

Hilldweller

Enlightened
Joined
Dec 17, 2009
Messages
671
Location
Hog Waller, GA
.....Never heard of the Trucklite Phase 7. I'll have to look into those. What strange properties do you mean?
The spread of light is very wide, similar to the Cibie Z-Beams but the color is odd and the LEDs themselves draw a pair of "X" patterns off in the distance. Some people don't mind them (me) but some people get target-fixated on them.
Link to page in test

I think the JW Speakers would work better for your application ----- but, for actual performance at speed, I'd want the Hella 90mm. That's just me talkin...

I had a '77 Z btw. Loved that car.
 

svMike

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Jan 17, 2013
Messages
17
Back to the OP's situation...does Hella make a Bi-Xenon projector fitted to a 7" round housing similar to the now defunct Xe7? I wasn't aware that they did...still way out of my price range no doubt...

Yep, this is the Hella product page on the 90mm BiXenon module.
I think the kit Mr. Stern mentioned is this, being sold by Susqehana Motorsports. $1400. I had come here to ask if it is worth it.
 
Top