wake74 said:...... I polished them up with my obirtal and they came out great, but then faded again quickly. Is there a preferred coating?
That's been my experience with polishing the headlamps on the Priuii. Great results, but only lasts about 3-4 months. I'm going to give this product a try.
Datsun310Guy said:In reply to ddavidv :
I have a set of Hella's waiting for the right car. I bought 3 sets on clearance at Wally World and I had a guy drive 75 miles in an old Land Rover to buy 2 sets off my Craigslist ad.
Hah, that's exactly what I did for our E350. Headlights are typical hazy Ford pieces. I figured I'd throw the driving lights on for some extra light for the high beams. They aren't as good as a modern HID, but it is a big improvement over the factory stuff.
This was 10 years ago, but on my Ranger I just bought a set of replacement housings on ebay. They aren't spectacular, but they were better than original parts.
Caperix said:
Most will have a number of mounting options including a threaded shaft at the back to go through the bulb hole in the factory housing. This tends to make alignment fairly easy. I have used the morimoto mini h1's in a few applications. They are easy to mount & have good light output.
I went and watched a video of this last night... does seem that the mounting is more secure, but there is still an oven involved, epoxy, sealant, etc. Still seems a bit like an arts and crafts project :(
So, one thing I am very confused about:
I'm pretty sure most all cars built since like 1980 have relay switched headlights.
So why is building your own relay system helping here? I guess I can see that you might be creating new connections and the existing ones might be junky, but I guess I'd be really surprised if installing an "aftermarket" relay kit actually improves voltage at the bulb when on vs most any reasonably recent factory wiring harness.
rslifkin said:Personally, I've never had good luck with polishing housings and keeping them clear. It always turns into a "polish every few months" activity.
As I understand, when you polish off the outer layer of plastic that is the layer with the UV protection. I've had good luck across a handful of cars polishing the lenses, then applying Lamin-x film to act as the UV protection. Those headlights are doing well years later.
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:So, one thing I am very confused about:
I'm pretty sure most all cars built since like 1980 have relay switched headlights.
So why is building your own relay system helping here? I guess I can see that you might be creating new connections and the existing ones might be junky, but I guess I'd be really surprised if installing an "aftermarket" relay kit actually improves voltage at the bulb when on vs most any reasonably recent factory wiring harness.
It depends on the car. Some have good headlight wiring, some are marginal and you can get less voltage drop with bigger wiring. And if you're putting in higher wattage bulbs, the stock wiring is almost always inadequate and needs to be upgraded.
I'd love to see a before and after night pic of the harness upgrade. And some voltage under load numbers before and after.
rkammerer said:As I understand, when you polish off the outer layer of plastic that is the layer with the UV protection. I've had good luck across a handful of cars polishing the lenses, then applying Lamin-x film to act as the UV protection. Those headlights are doing well years later.
^This. Lamin-X has UV-protection, as well as protection against sandblasting and rock chips. I bought a big roll and cut pieces to fit all of my headlights, whether they're glass or plastic. I wet-sanded the cloudy lenses on my e39 back to perfectly clear 10 years ago and applied Lamin-X. Had to replace the film last year due to aging which was admittedly a chore, but didn't have to touch the still-perfect lenses underneath. Clear win (apropos pun).
For halogen sealed-beam replacements (since most of my stuff is old), I like Hella E-code with uprated bulbs. Check Rallylights.com. Don't understand why the US didn't get onboard with the clearly superior beam pattern. When I put a set of these on the motorhome (1987 Chevy chassis), voltage at bulb terminals went from 9.5 with stock wiring and bulbs, to 60mV below alternator voltage with relays and 320W of new H1/H4 on. It was the diffference between legitimately not being able to drive it at night, to comfortably cruising backroads at 70+ in the dead of night. No longer have to thrash to get places in the daytime.
mad_machine said:crap headlights on other people's cars makes my evening commute a nightmare. I get blinded by at least 5 cars a night running with their highbeams on. These people leave them on no matter how many or how often other cars flash them. It is the same cars every night. The worst part is, we have excellant street lighting here, it's not even dark.
It's enough to make you want to follow them home and rip out the wires that power the highs.
I recently bought a pair of cheap yellow lensed glasses that fit over my normal glasses. While they make me look like an old man (more so than already), they do wonders for cutting down headlight glare at twilight and at night. Just takes some getting used to seeing the green lights at stoplights being a different color.
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:So, one thing I am very confused about:
I'm pretty sure most all cars built since like 1980 have relay switched headlights.
So why is building your own relay system helping here? I guess I can see that you might be creating new connections and the existing ones might be junky, but I guess I'd be really surprised if installing an "aftermarket" relay kit actually improves voltage at the bulb when on vs most any reasonably recent factory wiring harness.
This seems like a really good question. I think I have electrical diagrams for my Mazda but definitely don't for the Toyota. Need to take a look at what I've got since I'm still in the analysis paralysis portion of this exercise.
The G35 had really terrible aftermarket headlight assemblies in it when I bought it. They threw a lot of light, but they threw it everywhere except down the road where it was needed.
Lots of research showed all the aftermarket assemblies are crap. They are designed for looks, not putting light where it's needed.
I ended up gutting the assemblies and installing Hella components in place of the poorly designed Chinese junk. The difference between an engineered lighting system and junk is literally night and day. Other than junking the stupid angel eyes, you almost can't tell they are modified until you turn them on.
Before you go the the trouble of adding relays, make sure you need them. Unplug a bulb and test voltage at the plug and compare it to battery. Then plug it in and compare it again. Unless you're seeing significant voltage drop, a relay won't help.
The headlights are 55w unless they're some other configuration (not incandescent). 55w is only about 4A at 13v. That can be handled by 10 feet of 16 gauge wire.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:The headlights are 55w unless they're some other configuration (not incandescent).
Not necessarily. 9005, 9011, and H9 bulbs are 65 watts, for example. As is the high beam on a 9004 or 9007 bulb. Standard H4 or 9003/HB2 bulbs have a 60w high beam. Although I think that's the highest wattage factory installed halogen stuff out there.
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:So, one thing I am very confused about:
I'm pretty sure most all cars built since like 1980 have relay switched headlights.
So why is building your own relay system helping here? I guess I can see that you might be creating new connections and the existing ones might be junky, but I guess I'd be really surprised if installing an "aftermarket" relay kit actually improves voltage at the bulb when on vs most any reasonably recent factory wiring harness.
Some do, some don't. GM stuff didn't start using relays until around the 2000s, depending on the model. My GMT400s don't have relays, and even with a new stalk and headlight switch, I was getting 11.5 volts at the lights, with the engine running. Relays made a massive difference, and bonus nachos: it's easy to wire so that the lows stay on with the highs to give some extra light.
Another fun note - several old cars I've run across have thermal cutoffs in the headlight circuit. In one case, I was towing a trailer in the dark, in the rain, middle of nowhere, and learned at 70 mph that my slightly upgraded high beam bulbs would trip that breaker after ~10 minutes of on time. Pretty exciting to lose all forward lighting like that, and it took that happening a few times before I realized what was going on. So point being, if you start throwing better bulbs and such in, you may find some unexpected weak points.
My takeaway from this thread; most aftermarket headlight assemblies suck at directing light and have poor patterns. Projector refits are a better option for most vehicles.
My question: If aftermarket projector housings exists for a very common vehicle (gmt800), are they going to have the same poor light pattern as non-projector aftermarket housings? Or are the projector lights by design going to give a good pattern?
WillG80 said:My takeaway from this thread; most aftermarket headlight assemblies suck at directing light and have poor patterns. Projector refits are a better option for most vehicles.
My question: If aftermarket projector housings exists for a very common vehicle (gmt800), are they going to have the same poor light pattern as non-projector aftermarket housings? Or are the projector lights by design going to give a good pattern?
It depends on the quality of the projectors they use and what they do for high beams. Some may be ok, some may be crap. But if you're looking to retrofit good projectors, some of the aftermarket housings might be an easier starting point than an OE reflector housing.
In reply to WillG80 :
The Spec-D aftermarket G35 housings had projectors in them. They were terrible.
That is the main reason I went back with Hella products. I know they make good stuff. Their website shows exactly what the throw pattern of their lights will be. I also didn't want LEDs. I wanted very bright incandescent bulbs as they throw better quality light than LEDs do.
In reply to Toyman! :
Thanks - that's exactly the feedback I was looking for.
Aren't both of the OPs cars projectors already?
Pretty sure the highlanders do and I know at least my contemporary Mazda did.
I'd slap the brightest bulbs in there I could (if they are in fact projectors.) HIDs or even LEDs. But really the best bang for buck is a better halogen. I put H9s in my wife's Subaru (or was it H11s?) in replacement of the opposite mentioned and that was a huge improvement. Same pattern exactly but maybe 20% brighter. I've caught the beam in my mirror a few times when she was behind me and hit a bump and it's pretty dang bright.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
On some of them it is, You can see the inner lamps in the housing on.
spandak said:Aren't both of the OPs cars projectors already?
Pretty sure the highlanders do and I know at least my contemporary Mazda did.
I'd slap the brightest bulbs in there I could (if they are in fact projectors.) HIDs or even LEDs. But really the best bang for buck is a better halogen. I put H9s in my wife's Subaru (or was it H11s?) in replacement of the opposite mentioned and that was a huge improvement. Same pattern exactly but maybe 20% brighter. I've caught the beam in my mirror a few times when she was behind me and hit a bump and it's pretty dang bright.
They are indeed projectors- even the base highlander. I asked about this because they both absolutely suck at throwing light down the road and I found some suggestions online to "add relays".
At this point I think they probably have relays already so I guess the next step is replacement lamps (bulbs) and see what happens.
OHSCrifle said:spandak said:Aren't both of the OPs cars projectors already?
Pretty sure the highlanders do and I know at least my contemporary Mazda did.
I'd slap the brightest bulbs in there I could (if they are in fact projectors.) HIDs or even LEDs. But really the best bang for buck is a better halogen. I put H9s in my wife's Subaru (or was it H11s?) in replacement of the opposite mentioned and that was a huge improvement. Same pattern exactly but maybe 20% brighter. I've caught the beam in my mirror a few times when she was behind me and hit a bump and it's pretty dang bright.
They are indeed projectors- even the base highlander. I asked about this because they both absolutely suck at throwing light down the road and I found some suggestions online to "add relays".
At this point I think they probably have relays already so I guess the next step is replacement lamps (bulbs) and see what happens.
I'd be inclined to park each one in front of a wall (20 - 30 feet away) and take a picture of the light pattern both on low and high beam. Then you've got something to look at when comparing to the beam pattern of some of the well liked aftermarket projectors, etc. It should help you determine if the issue is just "not enough light" or if it's that the light isn't being put in a useful place (such as being wasted on a big bright splash in front of the car and not enough further away).
Some projectors have issues with the reflective bowls burning. This will cause very low light output. It maybe worth comparing it to another vehicle if possible to see if that is your issue.
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