I have looked around a bit but have not found any real options for replacing the stock dim 914 headlights with bulbs that are a real improvement. The halogens are out there but while they are an improvement, they can overwork the wiring. Before I go down the road of running wires and or relays I was wondering if there were any other options?

I have seen some HID kits but they all have external ballasts. I would like to find a HID light that had an internal ballast that fits in the stock headlight that does not require new wiring. Or at the minimum, a light with better output that would not overwork the wiring. The only brighter light I have found that is not $$$ is the Sylvania H6024 Silver Star.

Ideas?

I use Sylvania xtravison. and am happy with them. I run a fog pattern for the fog/driving light to spread a wide pattern around corners.

I am looking at these, but they aren't cheap...

LED headlights

Use the wireing circuit to contol a relay.

There are certainly a lot of options but non of them seemed to be what I want. I have a HID light for my bicycle that is as bright as any car light and it has an internal ballast. It is simple and clean. There doesn't seem to be a comparable drop in HID light that ism available. So I just went with the halogen bulbs. Better but not the greatest.

We put an HID kit on our F-150 which works pretty well. Got a H4 kit for the 914 but the bulb was too big and long and wouldn't clear the headlight cover itself and stuck back too far...
So going the 100W bulb and relay route. Wiring seems to be a hassle but will hopefully be worth it.

I have HIDs on my 914 and I LOVE THEM. I would never go back to stock unless I had an original car.

I used el cheapo housings off of Ebay and got my HID kit from a supplier. If you're interested, I'll find the details for you.

The only permanent modification was a little bit of cutting on the headlight bucket to allow the harness to fit correctly. It's a tight fit, but it works.

Yes, there are external ballasts, but those I fitted to the fenderwell with velcro. The wiring was pretty much plug and play and I could reverse the whole installation if needed.

Tell me more ... And pics ...

I'll do you one better - I'll take some GoPro video as well as some pics of the setup.

I'll try to get out for a night drive tomorrow. Unfortunately I don't have any before pics, so you'll just have to judge for yourself.

I'd love to see this too, the headlights in mine are woeful.
And i'm also used to HID's now, so it makes it seem worse than it peobably really is.....

Cheers

Dale

I'd love to see a HID kit that fits... the bulbs that came with my kit were WAY too long to fit...

I'd love to see how you controlled the beam pattern. HID's aren't made to slip into a H4 housing. Most of the kits have no upper cutoff point so they blind oncoming traffic.

Also, do you still have high beams?

Some of the HIDs are bi-Xeon which have the high low beams. Some of the others only have one setting.

I did not find a set up that was available that addresses all of the issues like beam pattern. Well there were some but the cost was out of this world.

I may get flamed for this but i found these to be a huge improvement over the sealed beams. Purchased through Ebay, some are better than others, look for the ones that have glass lens with metal housings.

H4 EURO STYLE HEADLIGHTS WITH CITY LIGHTS

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-H6024-6014-H4-EU...793&vxp=mtr

Geez, I found the Hella H4's, even with the 65/55 bulbs, so much better than sealed beams I've never even thought of going for anything else. That said...

It's a cool idea to use LED's just for the power savings. More light and immensely less power? No contest there for a non-concours car. But since my 993 alternator isn't working very hard yet, I'll wait for those to come down a bit.

Now, if we could come up with some kind of magical solution against rock damage for all of these lights I'd be excited.

The cheap ass improper install HID's that blind other drivers totally fucking piss me off

Just last night I had a guy behind me and I was so blinded I had turn my all my rear view mirrors.
I then let him pass and I totally lit his fucking ass up. I could tell he was annoyed as he was all over the road. He tried to speed up/slow down, I just stayed on his ass. He then took the next exit.

I don't care if you don't like this, cocksucker deserved it.

In case you didn't get the hint, illegally bright/incorrectly aimed headlights really piss me off.

And the same people are also busy sending a text about some totally trivial subject when they rear end you and total your car.

John

Aftermarket HID's are illegal and any cop with 1/2 a brain is going to know that
when he stops a 1970's era car with Serious lights. It is just giving them a reason
to stop you to look you over.
I run those HID's in my wife's Audi A4, but that car at least had HIDS's as an option
and I'll just say they are Factory Installed and play stupid.

Best thing for a 914 without drawing too much attention from the cops
is a set of HIGH WATT Halogens with the proper relays...
As in" Feed the main power right off the battery"
I run 100 watt low beams with 135 High beams on my motorcycle
and I don't overdrive them or blind oncoming traffic..

You.guys. with the tottaly woefull head lights.... Have you checked the voltage at the light? Have you cleaned all connections and splices in the harness up to the lights? Corrosion at these connections will cause a high resistance that will SAP the light output. Try cleaning it up and using a good sealbeam dot light and you might be surprised.

I can understand that argument for sure. There are a couple things that I considered before using them.

One, our cars are much lower than just about everything else out there. This means it's a lot less likely that light is being scattered as far as those big SUVs with HID lights, but it's also the reason why we're so blinded when they come up behind us - we're directly in the light path, whereas a higher car isn't as susceptible.

The main reason why I converted them was because this car will see some night racing in Chumpcar. I try not to drive it at night on the street either because I too hate being blinded by HID d-bags. That being said, I have them aimed low and I have never been flashed by oncoming traffic, so I do not believe them to be blinding people in front of me.

I do have the bi-Xenon lights, with both high and low beams.

This is the kit I have on the car currently, with 6000k crystal white bulbs (I think). Forget the blue bulbs - the more blue, the less effective they are.

http://www.light-pros.com/g5-slim-hid-kit-...-new-low-price/

I think these are the housings I used:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-H6024-Open-Beam-...406&vxp=mtr

I've ran the 90 or 100 watt sylvania sealed beams for 30 plus years. Great light and never a problem with voltage.

With a 37 year old car, the first electrical step should always be cleaning the connections. I don't even bother to put my multi meter away any more! I have chased down wires in my car and found splices held together with wire nuts of all things.

I did do the checks first and ordered new sealed beams first. I think the ones in my car must be at least 20 years old. But if there had been an direct replacement, internally ballasted HID light available that was proper for the car, it would have been nice to have. Like I say if you don't ask you may miss something.

Plus one. All good, no problems, never been flashed by oncoming traffic, and they do throw the light!

Like I mentioned... Do what you want, BUT it certainly will be the one night
you have had a couple of beers or a few glasses of wine and are driving home,
minding your own business when a cop notices you.
You will be doing nothing wrong, but he will notice the lights and decide to stop
you just because you gave him a reason. You are toast. and it doesn't matter
if you have used those lights for a week, month or years.. End result will be the same.
Your choice, your gamble....

Using that same logic you shouldn't be driving any kind of sports car anyway, you should stick to minivans. Just using the logic.

You make no sense.... Drive what you like... BUT if you do something stupid like
draw the attention of the cops by modifying the car with something very noticeable, like lights that didn't exist when it was manufactured.. You bring it on yourself.
You give them "Reasonable Cause" to stop you if nothing else
Do you not know of anyone stopped because they had a tail light or brake light out..
Just because the cop was curious ??? If not, go for it...

Just an FYI on my blinded from behind by HID rant... I wasn't driving my 914...I was driving my wife's SUV.

Your point is that if you draw attention to yourself you may end up talking with a nice policeman. My point is that ANY distinctive car, including your nice little old dimly illuminated sportscar, will attract attention, nighttime, daytime, any time, just by being distinctive. So using your logic, that you shouldn't call call attention to yourself, you shouldn't be driving it anyway. And further, the only "safe" thing to drive is from the category of minivans, preferably beige.

Or, alternatively, don't drink and drive.



Yeah, can't argue, I'd be wishing and hoping that human waste would pull over and want to discuss it, too. Him and most of those loud Harleys, how do they get away with that? And those ancient V8 pickups in need of a tuneup, spewing so much unburnt gas that your eyes water.... nitwits on their phones, and a long list of others. In fact sometimes it worries me that I'm going to end up a crotchety old man, like Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino. Thankfully it's possible to adjust those lights, if you're even a little bit considerate.

Was it another SUV with HIDs? I guess it's probably safe to assume it wasn't a 914 I guess any SUV with them is pretty much broadcasting that light everywhere.

On that note, why is it that so many big truck/SUV owners feel the need to pull DIRECTLY behind cars at stop lights? Even when I'm in my Mustang I'm constantly blinded by my mirrors, even with traditional lights. Not accusing anyone here, just something that I've noticed when I drive.

again, you make no sense.. Draw attention to yourself by being
OBVIOUSLY illegal
and you deserve what you get.
No argument here... just reality... I'm done with this..

It seems simple enough, ANY way you draw attention to yourself, if it's a sportscar, a pink wig, a yellow car, HID lights, loud exhaust, burned out tail light, dim original tungsten sealed beams, loud stereo, for whatever reason to whatever degree, you're increasing your chances of talking with a policemen. So take the risk and drive what you want, or don't take the risk and drive something anonymous. Seems logical, that doesn't make sense?

HID's are awesome at throwing light..but I'm one of those people that is so absolutely annoyed with people behind me driving with HID's aimed poorly, that I will absolutely not buy them..

I currently have sealed beam el' cheapo kragen headlights, and my pilot foglights are brighter...

I'm ordering these next week once finals are over, because once school is out, I'm going to driving WAY more at night. I genuinely think these, properly aimed are the best legal option for our cars, as long as you run the wire directly from the battery, and run relays.
H4 housings
And these bulbs

No, the asshat was driving a mid/compact sedan...a honda or hyundai, something like that. No excuse.

I think someone is overly paranoid...

Could someone enlighten me on the concept of "running wires to the battery and using relays"? The existing headlights already have relays so I am a little confused as to the way this would be done and what relays would be needed.

What's wrong with these?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-Round-Halogen-Se...940&vxp=mtr

The HID blinding problem is due to improper housings. All legal HID lights have a shield built into the lens to prevent upward light. This is why a new BMW or Mercedes does not blind you. HID's installed into an H4 lens cannot prevent upward light AND the length of the HID bulb does not line up in the reflector properly. Most HID lamps are longer and you loose the parabolic effect of the reflector.

Halogen lamps put out 3500K (Kelvin). This is the closest to the color of sunlight and will give you the best light reflection at night. Most cheap HID kits are 5000K or 6000K, which give you a whitish blue color. These may look brighter than 3500K but actually give you less reflection. As you go up in Kelvin, the light turns to blue and purple. This give really crappy reflection and only an idiot would install these. AND there are many idiots. If you want absolutely the best reflection you would need a yellow lamp. The problem with yellow (think street lamp) is the absence of color. All is washed out to shades of yellow. However, this gives the maximum reflection.

With that said... I do have HID's. In a correct parabolic. shielded lens. At least for the low beams. My high beams are an HID flood lamp. Before I put the correct lens in place, I blinded everyone at WCR Tahoe. In addition, the traffic signals around my house work from cameras mounted above. My HID lights would blind the camera at night and the signal would never change in my favor.


Bottom line... Do not install HID's in a lens not designed for them. You may think it's cool but you will always blind the oncoming driver. It is not courteous you your fellow man on the road AND it is illegal.


Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

As promised, here's video. Sorry its a little loud and shaky. Somehow I've already lost my mount for my GoPro.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxEegIVOBLs

George. It looks like those are aimed well and give off great light.

Yeah... but I'm not pleased with the video quality. The Hero 3 should do a lot better than that, even at night. I'll have to find out what the settings on the camera are, or if I encoded the video differently. Hopefully you guys get a picture of what they look like though. Like I said, I have yet to have anyone flash their brights at me.

The video's good enough to see the sharp cut-off, and I can't see how that could be a problem for anyone. Maybe there's some scatter you could see if you shined the lights straight into a wall?

I have old and tired eyes, cataract surgery in both, and am pretty sensitive to flare from oncoming lights. I had a friend drive my car toward me at night as though it was oncoming traffic, just to see. I could tell the lights were bright and a different color, but there was no particular problem with glare. That's not scientific, I know, and if they were badly adjusted I'd want to shoot back at them, but these weren't bad at all. I'd rather have some nice compact projector beams, but until that's viable these seem fine. And with my tired old eyes they're really helpful at night.

I don't drive mine at night...

So George,
your solution looks like the one to use?
how is it working out for you.
I would love to have more light from my 74 2.0l the light are just too dim.
I will drive with them at night. but I want/need to see.

are you happy with this solution? is this just a direct replace and install without any issues?

thanx so much.

ps: I would also love to have an android radio with gps any tips? I guess the slide out is the issue?????

Most of the "improved bulbs" (whiter, bluer, etc.) are snake oil. Sylvania and others got in trouble a while back for false advertising.

As noted, many of the aftermarket HID's are poorly designed, will blind other drivers, may fry your wires, and do not properly aim light.

Best aftermarket option that actually work are the street legal LED headlamps like the GE NightHawks, Sylvania Zevo's, or TruckLites. These make a huge difference but they are not cheap. I avoid driving the 914 at night but would get these if I did.

Surprised no one mentioned LED:

Truck Light On Amazon


Edit: spoke too soon

The 914 headlight wires run all of the power for the headlights through the headlight switch and the high beam relay. Adding high power lights makes the electrical load for them exceed the design specs of the headlight switch and high beam relay. So the arcing causes premature failure of the switches.

Adding relays up at the lights means that the factory headlight circuit only handles the small load of the relay coil, and takes the load of the bigger lights and puts it into a bosch relay that can handle the load, is easy to replace, and readily available at any FLAPS.

Take a look at this:

J West 911 headlight relay kit.

You can use this for a 914, but you have to run a new power lead from the battery to the front of the car. If you do this, make sure to add a 30 amp fuse and the proper gauge wire to the circuit. I did this on my car, and I used a pair of relays on both sides up front by the headlights, and two power feed circuits. The extra circuits were added when I built the harness up, so they are in the harness rather than added on, but it works the same.

Doing this allows you to run the biggest halogen bulb offered without burning anything out in your harness. I think this is a very good idea, even if you are running standard headlights, if only to improve longevity of the headlight switch and high beam relay.

Admittedly, when I sent that reply a couple years ago, I did not fully understand how HIDs are designed to work. The bulbs, ballasts, wiring, etc is simple enough, but the bulbs need to mounted inside projectors which focus light better than the Ebay H4-style housings. Then, then housings are cut and the projectors are mounted and sealed into them. It took me a ton of work, and right about that time, the first of the LED lights started coming out. If I were to do it again, I would have gone the LED route, as Amphicar suggested (GE Knighthawks, etc).

You can see the pictures of the lights here, plus the modifications I needed to make to the light covers (I had to make fiberglass versions with "bubbles" to make room for the back of the projectors).

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...1596&st=320

Here is the only video I have that shows the light put off by them, which is very good. But again, using the aftermarket LED lights out there is probably the best solution. And, given the lesser power demand of LEDs, I don't believe they require an additional relay.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlTXGqoECuM