Night driving, I am blind and lame Options

[ewdysar]

If your car has the original sealed beams, the first easy upgrade is the H4's available from all the usual suppliers. The DOT versions are 55/60, install in minutes and are compatable with the original wiring. I did this, the lights are noticably brighter.

Once these headlights are installed, you can upgrade to 100w highbeams, though you should install relays to take the extra load off of the regular wiring. There are previous posts concerning the specific details for that upgrade.

If your car has fog or driving lights already, you can buy brighter versions, once again, high wattage bulbs should have relays to protect your wiring. One of the vendors on this board has a wiring kit to make your extra lights more helpful, daytime flash, ignore hi/lo setting etc. If I had the extra lights, I'd add that too.

Eric

[mudfoot76]

PO of my car did the H4 upgrade as well as Pilots. The pilot lights rock.

PO also tinted the rear window, which is very nice for when you are sitting in traffic in front of any of the larger SUVs. Even a flippy mirror doesn't help much if that Lexus Land Cruiser w/Xenons is on your bumper.

[Toast]

I hate those fucking blue headlights. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/mad.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/finger.gif)

[Root_Werks]

www.camp914.com

Craig has a really great kit for the piliot lights. I think they are only like $40-50 too? Well worth it.

[double-a]

QUOTE (ewdysar @ Mar 25 2005, 11:50 AM)

Once these headlights are installed, you can upgrade to 100w highbeams, though you should install relays to take the extra load off of the regular wiring. There are previous posts concerning the specific details for that upgrade.

i'd like to find some help on this too. i wasn't able to find documentation or anything about how to do it. i just purchased and installed some euro h4 lights from a guy in canada, with 100w bulbs. right now i'm running them with the stock wiring.

i also purchased a "high-capacity" relay from pelican, but i can't figure out where to plug it in. where's the headlight relay located? is there one? the relay from pp has four connections on it, and they're spades, not like the round ones on the standard 914 round relay. i may need a different base to plug it into i guess.

~a

[SGB]

there is no place alraedy made for that relay. The idea is that you run a new, thick (like 10 gage) wire from the battery to the relay so that when the relay is energized then it completes the circuit between that new 12v source and the headights. The trigger for the relay is from the existing headlight + lead. The original wiring runs the power from the HL switch, through the ignition, to the lights. That big load from 100w bulbs will overheat the contacts in the ignition switch and cause it to fail. It can be pretty challenging getting that 10 gage wire through to the front, but it provides more juice to the lights too.

[double-a]

i'm sure that makes a lot of sense to you, but most times, i need a picture before i can figure it out (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) i'm not much of an electrician, especially with 12v.

i'll probably just leave it as-is until i figure it all out. hopefully i don't melt anything.

~a