Headlight Conversions, Hal or HID - Who's done it? Options

[tracks914]

I'm looking for better lighting at night. Who has converted their old Sealed Beams for something better?
How much did it cost?
Can our alternators keep up with it?
Tx
Doug

[underthetire]

Halogens on mine. Work ok. For more light get the pilot driving light, they work very well.

[Bruce Hinds]

I did the halogens too and they add a lot. I also replace the fogs with driving lights. They're wired to the low beams and can easily be unplugged from the back of the fuse box and plugged into the high beams.

The purests don't like it and some say the lights are too low to be effective. I think the set up works really well even for 80-90 mph at night. I've used the Series 95 Cibie lights that state they have a 1 mile reflective range.

The lights are rectangular and I had to enlarge the RBBBs on my '75, but they fit fine on a '73 I had, I just had to cut some thing aluminum to fill in around the light where the grills were. Polished, the aluminum looked great and I really liked the look of the rectangular lights on the small bumpers.

If you're interested, I have a picture somewhere I can scan. PM me.
B

[johannes]

I changed for halogen.
It's not that expensive. I bought the lights for 90 Euros (130 $)+bulbs.
The improvement is visible. New clean reflectors also help alot. No problem with the alternator and the fuses.
It's a half an hour job (if you don't have any rusted scew)

See here
http://www.paragon-products.com/product_p/hella-70477kit.htm

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopca..._ELlite_pg1.htm

[Joe Owensby]

The simplest, although not the best, way is to use the GE Silverstar bulbs. A direct replacement. That is what I did, and I am satisfied. You will be surprised how much better they are than standard bulbs. If that isn't good enough, go with the previous recommendations. JoeO

[GeorgeRud]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) I also went with the GE bulbs, and the improvement was very noticable. I'm old enough to remember using the Cibie Z-Beams and other H4 type lights, but I think the new bulbs did just about as good a job as they did.

I also have the Pilot Driving lights for really late night, highway driving as my eyes are vintage enough to like lots of light and magnification in just about everything that I do!

[Chris Hamilton]

I did Xenon lamps for weight reduction. 35w Xenons seem to make the same amount of light as my 80w/100w halogens did.

(IMG:http://www.hamiltonracing.net/photos/newhood/CIMG0039crop2.jpg)

[CliffBraun]

I'm in the process of doing the same thing as Chris.Maybe I'll take some pics of the brackets and such while I do it. Let's hope I can get to the shop today.

[tod914]

The Hella euro lenses improve it abit too. Flat face on them. Got them from Performance Products.. can't recall the bulb update I did but worked well.

[smontanaro]

I have a burned out bulb. This thread couldn't have come at a better time. What better excuse than to upgrade while replacing??? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Where do I find the GE Silverstar bulbs? When I Google for them it looks like Silverstar is an OSRAM/Sylvania name and is for halogen bulbs, not sealed beam replacements. It seems GE's product is called Nighthawk, and is also an H4 bulb system. Anyone got a recommended vendor for these beasties?

Pelican sells a DOT-approved H4 light and recommends adding a relay (does that just replace the existing relay?). Is that really all that's necessary? If I do any sort of headlight upgrade I thought a wiring upgrade was also recommended. Also, what's the difference between their regular Hella H4 light and the DOT-approved Hella H4 light? The non-DOT-compliant light is several bucks cheaper and qualifies for free shipping, so it's attractive for a cheapish skate like me.

Thx,

Skip

[Mikey914]

I did the HID on my 944T, I like it ok, but the 914 that I got with the halogens and H4's is almost as effective and easier to deal with. I have had an intermitent problem with the HIDs where the contacts vibrate and it senses a fault and shuts down one. I have to take it apart and clean them every so often, enev though the connectors are supposed to be water tight.

Bang for the buck H4's

[blitZ]

I switched to the Hella sealed beam replacement. It's easy to install and if you stick to the 60/55 W bulbs, the stock wiring and alternator will work fine.

Hella light