Good replacement headlights? Options

[SKL1]

Restoring my '73 914 2.0 to park next to my original (and my first car) '71 914 and want to seriously upgrade the headlights. The car will spend most of its life in Arizona where it is VERY dark at night as street lights are few and far between.
I've gotten spoiled by the great HID or halogen lights in various Audis, BMW's and even my VW GLI.
Anyone know of a good BRIGHT aftermarket light that will fit the original sockets??
I've got Cibie lights in the '71 and they are only marginal.

TIA

[Tom_T]

Try the Hella, Bosch, etc. 7" diam. H4's with uprated 80/100 watt bulbs (you may have to buy the bigger watt bulbs separately or in addition to the 55/60), & the High Power Relay Kits sold by various vendors.

PP/Automotion, AA, Pelican & the usual suspects carry them, BusDepot.com had some, perhaps TC'sGarage.com, Sierra Madre Collection, etc. & maybe GPR & other member vendors on here may too. Bulb/Housing wise it should be the same standard 7" diam. set-up works for 911/912 or any car of the era.

I did the similar upgrade on my 88 Westy (rectangular housings there though) with the GoWesty kit & it made a huge difference! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

PS - the Euro 914s could be had with those H4s as an option, but US-DOT hadn't yet approved them nor any halogen headlights, so it should be a fair-game upgrade for them.

[ArtechnikA]

Anyone know of a good BRIGHT aftermarket light that will fit the original sockets??
I've got Cibie lights in the '71 and they are only marginal.

Bosch, Hella, or Cibie housings.
Get some relays - you'll need them.
Then get some quality 100/130 H4's.

or go to my favorite HID supplier: UltraBrightLights and get some McCulloch HID Hi-Lo's and be done with it.
Actually - I have a used set from my old Subie if you're interested - make you a deal... They were actually useful, unlike some of the HID-Lo/Halogen-High setups I've used.

If you're (borderline illegally) using HID conversions, the responsible thing to do is make sure you have 'em aimed low and right to minimise blinding oncoming traffic..

[mepstein]

Busdepot.com has good prices and a very good write up on the H4's.

[a914622]

I upgraded my vanagon with the Hellas H4 and thought it was great.THEN I put in the Cibies. Way better light patteren. They are a little more but money well spent!!

Add relays and some 80/100 you wont out run your lights


jcl

[ArtechnikA]

While there is a little more 'stuff' to try to package (ballasts and such - about the size of a pack of cigarettes) for those of you marginal on amps, a good 'performance' halogen bulb draws 80W per side - ~12.5A total - on low beam. (Probably a good thing they were never designed to run with both on at once...) A HID draws 35W per side - about 5.5A total.

[SKL1]

In looking at the McCullough ( had a McCullough gokart engine way back in the 60's!) H4 kit, I assume you already have the headlight units (like Cibie or Hella) and this kit just replaces the bulbs?? Hope the standard 914 alternator has enough juice to power the little transformer...

[partwerks]

Can a person just put in the bulbs in the lights that I currently have?

http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=725543

Would I need to add a relay, and if so, where does it get put in at?

[ArtechnikA]

In looking at the McCullough ( had a McCullough gokart engine way back in the 60's!)

different spelling, different company...

Hope the standard 914 alternator has enough juice to power the little transformer...

Regular sealed beams are 55W - HID's are 35W. Not for nothing are they used in electric cars !

[matthepcat]

http://www.tlg-store.com/product_p/hid-xp6024.htm

[lagunero]

What is the condition of the reflective backing? Big factor.

[KaptKaos]

What is the condition of the reflective backing? Big factor.

Who are you and what have you done with Alberto?? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)

[ArtechnikA]

Can a person just put in the bulbs in the lights that I currently have?

http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=725543

Would I need to add a relay, and if so, where does it get put in at?

If you have H4 headlights, yes, you can uprate to a higher wattage bulb. Relays are a good idea even with the stock lights, so yes, you''ll need them if you try to run way more watts,

Articles abound on headlights relays, and there are pre-done setups.
They aren't even a little magic. A relay is just an electrically-actuated switch.

'Basically' the original headlight circuit just connects to the relay's coil to work the switch. Then you replace that wiring the to light with thicker wires from the relay contacts and your BIG +12 wire from the battery.

And that is the challenge in a 914 - running an 8-ga or so wire from the battery to the trunk area to wire into the relays. Figure out how you will do that safely, and then the relays is a piece of cake.

[partwerks]

By looking, how can I tell if I have H4's or not? I'm guessing I don't, as I have dismal lighting.

My battery is in the front trunk.

[ArtechnikA]

By looking, how can I tell if I have H4's or not?

Sometimes, there are clues...



If the connector plugs directly into the back of the glass envelope - you have plain ol' sealed beams, circa 1950. Halogen replacements (e.g. SilverStar) will give you a Big improvement at minimal cost and hassle.

For 'more' you'll need something like an H4 - which are plentiful from all the various manufacturers. If you are thinking about going HID some day, something like a Cibie Z-Beam will give you a good non-dazzling pattern. 'Euro' lights tend to have very low-directed low-beams and high-beams that go _everywhere_ because the European environment is either dense city traffic or unlighted wide-open wilderness. (Northern NV was like this, and my 'Euro' Hella's were a good match...)

Sidenote - I once spent big money for a set of Marchall flat-front H4's and they were great - for a while. Due to the inverted position when stowed and the condensation ingested when the lights cooled stowed, it took only one winter for the reflectors to corrode totally non-reflective - and there was no easy way to get them out to be refinished. Had to toss 'em...

[lagunero]

Due to the inverted position when stowed and the condensation ingested when the lights cooled stowed, it took only one winter for the reflectors to corrode totally non-reflective - and there was no easy way to get them out to be refinished.

Yup.

Hi Joe!

[partwerks]

I must have the old style as I don't see H4 stamped on it and the gizmo on the inside looks like it is made of metal as best I can see. It has 2D1 stamped on the glass.

I wonder how much better this would be as compared to what I currently have and I would venture to guess I have to get the glass part of the H4 to go along with the bulbs as they go in from the back??

http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=78155

[ArtechnikA]

Yes - you're going to need H4 headlights.
The good news is - they'll almost always come with at least one bulb set - but you must read the fine print. Some places try to lowball the price and sell them with no bulb - and then when you complain, use weasel-speak like "we couldn't know if you wanted a 6V or a 12V application..." Just read the ads really carefully before concluding you're getting a deal. They should clearly state whether you are or are not getting bulbs.

If your headlight has 3 bumps in the exterior glass, it is an almost certainty it's a sealed-beam -- they're for the automatic headlight adjusting machines to index. Hx lights use other means to aim, and have no external bumps.

Before jumping headlong into the H4 abysss, you might try something like a pair of Silverstar. They're not expensive and they are a hugs improvement over original.

[ewdysar]

Obviously, I'm a little slow. I looked at each one of the links in this thread and I have no idea what would work with my stock 914 headlight setup. Can anybody here walk a headlight novice through the basics?

[ewdysar]

http://www.tlg-store.com/product_p/hid-xp6024.htm

Would these headlights fit in a 914 housing? Or would they stick out too far and foul up the folding parts?