headlights? for a car?

ZippyDan · #1 10-23-2006, 11:36 PM

do we have a forum for that? with all the modding thats done here, id think there be lots of people putting crazy bulbs where we need and use light probably more than anywhere else... our vehicles.

Fenris · #2 10-23-2006, 11:50 PM

You can only only go so bright before it gets to be dangerous and illegal. It's really easy to blind oncoming traffic.

benighted · #3 10-24-2006, 12:20 AM

Sylvania XtraVision are supposed to be 30% brighter. Silverstars are XtraVisions with a blue coating to make them appear whiter.

Other than that you can get HID retrofits as long as you make sure there wont be too much glare for oncoming traffic.

ZippyDan · #4 10-24-2006, 12:58 AM

yes there are issues of legalities and safety but even with those restraints I'm sure cpfers could find plenty to talk about like the whiteness of the light, the output and throw, the power used (how long till you run your battery dead!) the best bang for the buck. no luxeon headlights? also there would be plenty of lights to talk about in a secondary lighting capacity like fog lights or offroad lights that aren't bound by road rules

Flummo · #5 10-24-2006, 06:28 AM

There are many things to talk about when it comes to cars headlights, such as choice of lamps, voltage drop in the wiring, how to aim the lights, E-code vs. DOT and so on... I think there is enough for a separate part of the forum dedicated for car lights.

Pumaman · #6 10-24-2006, 09:30 AM

I love my xenon headlights! worth the price.

scott.cr · #7 10-24-2006, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by benighted

Other than that you can get HID retrofits as long as you make sure there wont be too much glare for oncoming traffic.

I had HID retrofits on my 1991 Civic. They were CRAZY bright, actually, too bright! On white concrete California freeways I'd actually go snowblind due to the glare.

The beam pattern was super sloppy... it seemed obvious to me at the time (even before I installed the HIDs) that incandescent headlamp housings wouldn't work well with HIDs, but I wanted to try it anyway. Aside from the cool factor of having HIDs in a clapped-out old car, I think the $ would have been better spent elsewhere.

Here's an old (but still relevant) article on blue-tint headlamps:
http://www.overboost.com/story.asp?id=102

Same site has something on HID retrofits (it's a mouseover):
http://www.overboost.com/images/328/comparison.asp

Ken_McE · #8 10-24-2006, 05:12 PM

> no luxeon headlights?

No LED head or foglights yet. People take the occasional swing at it. Companies will claim to have them, but you can't buy one. LED car lighting tends to show up in the LED section. Headlights show up more in general lighting.

Whitelitee · #9 10-24-2006, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott.cr

I had HID retrofits on my 1991 Civic. They were CRAZY bright, actually, too bright! On white concrete California freeways I'd actually go snowblind due to the glare.

The beam pattern was super sloppy... it seemed obvious to me at the time (even before I installed the HIDs) that incandescent headlamp housings wouldn't work well with HIDs, but I wanted to try it anyway. Aside from the cool factor of having HIDs in a clapped-out old car, I think the $ would have been better spent elsewhere.

Here's an old (but still relevant) article on blue-tint headlamps:
http://www.overboost.com/story.asp?id=102

Same site has something on HID retrofits (it's a mouseover):
http://www.overboost.com/images/328/comparison.asp

Thoese wouldnt be considerd retrofits. When you do a retrofit you use projectors from say, a new acura TL, and inhouse the projector into your halogen light housing. hidplanet.com will link you to the hid forums for all your car lighting needs.

ZippyDan · #10 10-26-2006, 03:09 PM

so what are the opinions on xenon/hid headlights vs halogens like the silverstars? I was taking to a guy at autozone (chuckle?) and he was telling me the silverstars last 6 - 8 months, the xenons are cheaper, brighter and last a lot longer. how important is upgrading the reflector when going xenon? if its a big pain to go from halogen to xe with minimal gain then yawn

Diesel_Bomber · #11 10-26-2006, 07:39 PM

Please, please, please do all the appropriate research. Remember that you yourself are another driver and do your best not to blind others.

A 35w hid capsule produces nearly three times the lumens of a standard 55w halogen bulb. Simply placing one into a housing meant for an incandescent would be disasterous. You MUST change the housing as well. Silverstars have been discussed on this forum before, a search will reveal many opinions.

Good luck, and please find a safe solution.

Diesel_Bomber · #12 10-26-2006, 07:47 PM

On the second Overboost page (try this one more time) see the fence on the left side of the picture? Notice how much farther up the fence the light from the hid kit goes, compared to the light from the stock bulbs. Right into the eyes of the person driving the other car that's mentioned.

Flummo · #13 10-27-2006, 05:25 AM

Since Overboost seems to be located in California I assume the headlights on that picture are the american DOT-type, correct? (Looks that way anyway.) In my opinion those don't belong on the roads in the first place, as they seem to send the light everywhere but on the road... With european E-code headlights that should not be a problem as long as the lamp sits correctly in them, the sharp cutoff should keep most light on the ground instead of on the oncoming traffic or low flying birds.

I have a 50cc moped with a ordinary incan 45W headlight, great light compared to most other mopeds (after a bit of rewiring

) and by far enough for the legal top speed 30kph (20mph). My bike just happens to be tuned and I like to drive on dark twisty roads, and at 80-85kph 45W incan just isn't enough. Changing to a higher watt lamp isn't an option, the generator can just barely supply the 45W lamp now, so the only reasonably simple way for me to get good light is getting 35W HID. The taillight will be replaced by LEDs to save a couple of watts too, to make sure the HID will keep working on low revs when the generator gives little power.

rudbwoy69camaro · #14 10-27-2006, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whitelitee

Thoese wouldnt be considerd retrofits. When you do a retrofit you use projectors from say, a new acura TL, and inhouse the projector into your halogen light housing. hidplanet.com will link you to the hid forums for all your car lighting needs.

That IS the place to be and to research.

Diesel_Bomber · #15 10-27-2006, 10:51 AM

Amen, Flummo! E-codes are indeed the best. I buy sealed beam conversions at http://www.danielsternlighting.com

Mr. Stern charges a bit more than other retailers, but both before and after a purchase you get access to his incredible amount of automotive lighting knowledge. I happily pay more.

Zot · #16 10-28-2006, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ken_McE

> no luxeon headlights?

No LED head or foglights yet. People take the occasional swing at it. Companies will claim to have them, but you can't buy one. LED car lighting tends to show up in the LED section. Headlights show up more in general lighting.

Have you read about this?
New 2007 model cars that use LED headlights!

Car headlight bulbs on the way out

Ken_McE · #17 10-28-2006, 06:24 PM

>New 2007 model cars that use LED headlights!
>Car headlight bulbs on the way out[/QUOTE]

Err, if you stop by http://www.monstersandcritics.com/ the home page for the reference, you'll notice that this article, which reads like a lightly warmed over press release, is in a site that specializes in the personal affairs of celebrities??

Tell you what, see if Audi will sell you one.

soapy · #18 10-29-2006, 10:14 AM

Ford's new concept 4WD car, the X-Max, has LED headlights (as well as all the other lights) but it isn't known if they will carry on to put these into the production model. This is sourced from an article in a 4x4 trade mag.