H4666 update ?

[topdownlightson]

Short version: what should I put in my car that came with H4666 sealed beam headlights ?

Long version:
I'm resurrecting my old (now project) car for the summer - it came with H4666's in pop-ups. Way back in 2004 I replaced the sealed beams with Bosch housings and H4 bulbs and added relays and a harness.
The car's been passed around and sat for about 8 years, and now that it's come back to me and runs again I want to drive it with the top down this summer, so I want all the lights to work, but the Boschs seem to have some build up and nastyness on the inside of the lens.

I figure that there may be advances in headlights in the past 18 (?!) years. Given that I don't think that washing the inside of my headlights is going to work or be a good idea, and that if the front/lens side is nasty, the shiny part in the back probably is too, I think I want new lights.

Do I still want H4s in some kind of Bosch/Hella/Koito housing (which one?), or is there a better performing LED option ?

The car is a 1991 Mercury Capri - a terrible FWD Miata-ish car which rightfully did not catch on like the Miata did. (and yes, I looked into swapping in Miata 7" pop-ups, but they don't seem to fit).

 

[theastronaut]

I have a '92 base model Capri, not sure why everyone thinks they're terrible. It easily outhandles either of the two NA Miatas I've owned, is more comfortable, easier to get in and out of, way more practical with the large trunk that expands into the cabin with the rear seat folded, the soft top tucks away completely hidden in its own compartment, the optional steel hardtop passed rollover protection standards... they didn't catch on because the Miata beat them to market, Capris aren't exactly good looking, and everyone is brainwashed to believe that fwd can't handle as well as rwd, which is very true when people drive a fwd car like a rwd car.

There are legit LED 4x6 options from reputable lighting companies that make even the best halogen 4x6 headlights obsolete, but they cost more than a whole Capri is worth.

At the risk of being permabanned, I tried out a set of Amazon/Chinese 4x6 LED lights in my Capri and the low beam pattern is actually decent to see with, and non-blinding for oncoming traffic. They're aimed much too high in this pic, the car had been apart for paint, suspension, etc and this was the first quick test drive after reassembling it enough to test drive it in the high school parking lot beside our shop. The high beam pattern isn't the best for long distance but its not that bad either. I won't post a link since Amazon/eBay/chinese lights are understandably frowned upon, but they have made progress recently so they're not all the horrible lights they used to be. But for sure, don't just go buy random Amazon/eBay lights, nearly all of them are really bad.

 

[topdownlightson]

Nice Capri. I should paint mine eventually. The Capri definitely has more space and trunk than a Miata and my XR2 arguably has more HP, but I strongly disagree that it handles better than either of the Miata NB's I'm familiar with (except in the snow), and I used to autocross a Civic and a Saab - so I'm pretty sure I'm not "trying to drive it like a RWD" - not to mention the torque steer.

Which reputable LEDs do you think would fit ? The JW Speaker 8820 looks to me like it won't fit in the buckets without gutting them completely and building new ones, but I haven't actually removed a headlight and measured. The new Holley 4x6 LED seems to have hi/low, but I haven't seen any credible evaluation/reviews of them yet. Trucklite seems to be high or low beam, but not both in one. Likewise the JW 8800 EVO. It's entirely possible I'm missing something - which is why I'm asking here.

 

[-Virgil-]

I tried out a set of Amazon/Chinese 4x6 LED lights in my Capri and the low beam pattern is actually decent to see with, and non-blinding for oncoming traffic.

There's that old bugbear again: subjective impressions just really do not cut it on stuff like this. It's completely believable that you feel like you can see well with them...and completely beside the point, because how well we feel like we can see just isn't the same as how well we really can see. "non-blinding for oncoming traffic" is even somewhat less believable.

They're aimed much too high in this pic

Well, you said it; I'm just agreeing with you.

 

[-Virgil-]

Short version: what should I put in my car that came with H4666 sealed beam headlights ?

Well, if you liked the Bosch lamps, by all means give a try at cleaning them up. The worst that can happen is you wind up needing to buy new headlamps, but that's where you've stationed yourself right now, so...nothing to lose, right? Get a jug of distilled water, some Simple Green, some multisurface Windex or Glass Plus, and KC and the Sunshine Band's Greatest Hits. You're working in a sink for this.

Heat up a pint of the distilled water, so it's hot but not boiling hot. Add a good glug of Simple Green and a splash of the glass cleaner. Cover the bulb hole (might as well just put the bulb back in for that purpose). Put on "Shake Your Booty" and shake-shake-shake, shake-shake-shake, shake your headlamp good and hard to slosh the solution around in there. Keep going for a few minutes, then drain the headlamp. If the reflectors were dead, they will flow down the drain at this stage and you'll have confirmation you need new lamps. If not, refill with hot distilled water (plain this time), repeat the shake-shake-shake, and drain it again. Keep doing that until there's no more suds, then shake out as much of the remaining water as you can. The rest of it can be dried out with the aid of a hair dryer (slow) or putting the lamps on top of a hot air register or other heater (slow but you don't have to stand there holding the hair dryer) or put them in your oven, lens facing down, put the oven on Bake for about three or four minutes, then turn the oven off, double-check to make sure you turned it off, and leave it alone for an hour or two. Afterwards, examine the headlamps. Gunk gone from inside? Great, put in some good bulbs and you're good to go.

If you need new lamps:

Do I still want H4s in some kind of Bosch/Hella/Koito housing (which one?)

Bosch: no longer available.
Hella: available, not a good choice.
Koito: available, expensive.
Cibie: probably the best H4 ever made in this size. AFAIK Stern still has some.

is there a better performing LED option ?

Hard to get a worthwhile LED low and high beam in this size. There's that Morimoto/Holley Retrobright you already mentioned. I'm interested in getting hands and eyes on those, which will happen soon, but hasn't happened yet. There's a Grote item, their number 94401-5. Dimensions on Grote's site here. These are offshore items, and I wouldn't put them in the top tiers, but they're going to be way better than virtually all the no-name specials. Those are the only ones that occur to me offhand; maybe check with Stern and see what he recommends.

I looked into swapping in Miata 7" pop-ups, but they don't seem to fit

Which is funny, because (some) Miata owners go to great lengths to get rid of their 7" pop-ups!

 

[topdownlightson]

Well, if you liked the Bosch lamps, by all means give a try at cleaning them up.

Well, I liked them more than the ones it came with.

Thanks for the detailed response. I'll try giving them a wash - I was really hoping there was something dramatically better in this size. If the wash doesn't work out, it sounds like since the Grote is twice the price and not especially better my best plan is to hit up Daniel Stern for Cibie or Koito.

I like the cost of some water, simple green and windex over any of those other options though!

Which is funny, because (some) Miata owners go to great lengths to get rid of their 7" pop-ups!

Seems like there's better (or at least more) options in the 7" size at least.

 

[Mr. Merk]

Takes me back! I had a 92 Capri XR2. Fun to drive, but one of the worst purchases I've ever made. Young and dumb! Luckily I don't think I ever tampered with the lights on that car, but wish I could say the same for all the other 90-94 Ford products I had in those days.

 

[theastronaut]

Until the last few years they were terrible cars to maintain- parts prices were ridiculous. From what I understand one guy bought all of the remaining Capri parts from dealerships, started a buisiness, and has a monopoly on much of whats available new, and has set crazy high prices. Like $499 for a master cylinder, $399 for a caliper, $599 for one headlight popup motor (they never fail, just the grease inside gets hard and causes the contacts to not contact, cleaning fixes them). The cars weren't worth much more than $1000 in running/driving condition until recent inflation has bumped them up some, but most people chose to let them sit and rot instead of paying way too much for parts. Festiva guys have been buying them up for their engines over the past few years and have selling used parts back to the Capri community for reasonable prices, so that has helped spark some life back into cars that were previously left for dead due to high parts prices.