Auxilary headlamp idea.

[jeepj667]

I have a 2000 Isuzu Trooper that uses 9004 bulbs. The low beams are pitiful. I was thinking of getting some par 56 housings and putting some GE Nighthawk sealed beam bulbs in them. Eventually I might upgrade them to Cibie conversion lenses. They are just too expensive right now.

Will the sealed beams be a worthwhile upgrade? I will be switching these separately off thier own switch.

 

[-Virgil-]

I guess it would give you some extra light, but you'd wind up with two pairs of bad headlamps on the vehicle instead of one pair of bad headlamps. It's not that the GE Night Hawk 7" round (PAR56) headlamp H6024NH is a good one, it's not. It's that it's the least-godawful of a very sorry lot of generally available 7" round sealed beams.

If you were to change your plan to find and use a housing for the large rectangular (200 mm x 142 mm) sealed beam, and use the GE Night Hawk H6054NH, that would get you a much better result. The H6054NH is enormously better than the H6024NH, and you would still preserve your option to go to Cibies (etc.) later on. I'm not sure where you could get a housing for the large rectangular lamps, though...maybe snowplow lights? Whatever housing you pick, see to it they've got a sturdy enough mounting system to let you set and maintain a proper aim setting.

UPDATE May 2020: The Night Hawks are no longer worth buying; they are useless garbage now, just like all other sealed beams on the market; see here )

Also put relays and GE Night Hawk Platinum 9004NHP bulbs in your stock headlamps, and make sure they're in like-new condition (lens degradation?), etc.