H4 Headlights Options

[Cal]

I'm considering updating my sealed beam headlights with period correct H4's. What's the maximum wattage bulb that can be installed without having to install relays? In the past I've installed H1's with 100/80 watt bulbs in my early SWB 911 and I needed to install relays. I'm not interested in LED lights.

[Root_Werks]

Does anyone have issues with LED's freezing up or allowing snow to build up? I tried to run LED's on our Jeep TJ once and was shocked how fast they built up frost and became useless. I swapped them out for Hella H4's (run those on my Bug and 914 as well).

Seems like you need some heat on the glass if you do any cold weather driving, right?

[bbrock]

Does anyone have issues with LED's freezing up or allowing snow to build up? I tried to run LED's on our Jeep TJ once and was shocked how fast they built up frost and became useless. I swapped them out for Hella H4's (run those on my Bug and 914 as well).

Seems like you need some heat on the glass if you do any cold weather driving, right?

If you are worried about snow buildup on your 914 headlights, then you have bigger huevos than me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)

I've said it before and will say it again. I'm not a fan of throwing LED bulbs into halogen housings unless you know what you are doing to make sure the beam pattern isn't changed. Too many dipshits on the road blinding oncoming traffic out there already.

[Superhawk996]

Too many dipshits on the road blinding oncoming traffic out there already.

A lot of them are new cars. Either running on high beams out of ignorance or auto dimming that doesn’t always dim properly.

Not just a LED problem.

You can’t fix stupid (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[bbrock]

Too many dipshits on the road blinding oncoming traffic out there already.

A lot of them are new cars. Either running on high beams out of ignorance or auto dimming that doesn’t always dim properly.

Not just a LED problem.

You can’t fix stupid (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

True, but a lot of them I've wanted to shoot out were obvious retrofits. LEDs don't emit light the same way as halogen and if they aren't tailored correctly to the housing, they can scatter light all over the place. There are retrofit LEDs that are well-engineered to match the halogen bulb they are intended to replace, but a lot of them are not. Just going by whatever bulbs are the brightest is not the way to do it. When I was looking for retrofit bulbs, I gave up and decided to just buy complete DOT LED units.

I agree that new cars can be a problem, especially some of the first to use LED. Seems like very recent cars have gotten it dialed in. We recently rented a BMW X3 on a trip to Colorado. Never drove a car I hated more. I cannot emphasize how much I hated that car. But one thing I was really impressed by were the headlights. Threw plenty of light on the road but had the most absolute and precisely located cutoff I've ever seen. Really nice.

I little off topic but yesterday I was sitting behind some bigass new pickup at a traffic light in my 914. There were two rear facing lights built into the rear bumper that are probably intended as work lights. This ass-fuck kept turning them on and of course, his bumper was about exactly eye level for me. So he blinded the shit out of me in broad daylight. There is no shortage of dickheads.