Headlight upgrades

banjopicker66 · Post by **banjopicker66** » March 15, 2011, 1:22 pm

I am trying to make the safety and other upgrades to make my Slick a useful towing and daily driver truck.
Headlights: I currently have halogen sealed beam, the type where the bulb cannot be changed, you must change the whole thing.
Is it worth the extra money to change over to the more modern type with replaceable bulbs?
The light bulbs would have to accept the original style plugs.
If so, what do you recommend? I think I can get this type at Advance Auto or similar parts store cheaper than from LMC.
By the way, I will install the power upgrade harness for the lights. My current halogens make the headlight circuit breaker go on and off already. Once I install it, I can use any other type light without stressing the original harnesses.

jkimbrel65 · Post by **jkimbrel65** » March 15, 2011, 1:51 pm

I have the sealed beam lights and the relay upgrade and have better lights than most new cars.I think you would be happy with just the wiring and relay upgrade.Bought LMCs kit back 08 think it was $29.95

Mike

rwhistles · Post by **rwhistles** » March 15, 2011, 2:00 pm

I picked up a set of procomp H4 conversions for 39 bucks at an auto show and swap meet. they are the plastic version not aluminum houseing but at the price I thought I would just try them and see if I liked them. I dont think they are any whiter than regular halogen seald beams but they sure do light up the road better. I think I might go to the hid if I can get a heat range just a little whiter than H4s.I dont want those blinding pure whites though.check evilbay out 86.35 shipped per set.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... MEWAX%3AIT

charliemccraney · Post by **charliemccraney** » March 15, 2011, 2:31 pm

The Sylvania silverstar sealed beams are a good improvement. An H4 upgrade probably will be the best choice because the bulb options are limitless. I have not seen any side by side to compare firsthand but on paper, many H4s are brighter. Piaa make H4 bulbs which approach HID brightness. With any of these higher power bulbs, a relay should be considered.

turtle1056 · Post by **turtle1056** » March 15, 2011, 3:56 pm

I have both in slicks, one has the removable bulb, the other the sealed beam type

I can tell you that currently the sealed beam type throws better light

DV65CustomCab · Post by **DV65CustomCab** » March 15, 2011, 6:30 pm

You get what you pay for. H4 european made headlamps (Bosch, Hella, Cibie, Carello) 55-80w will provide a vast improvement. Cheapo catalog headlamps are a complete crap shoot. The euro lamps have engineered beam patterns to provide improved illumination while not blinding oncoming traffic on low beam. It is recommended they be used with relays due to the current draw. I have used these for years on vintage imported cars with great success (and if you can use them on an Italian car without melting the wiring, you know they are good!).

Do not get sucked into the belief that more watts (100) will make the light better. It's not true. If anyone wants 100w H4 bulbs I think I still have some in my tool cabinet.

I've heard good things about the Silver Stars but have not used them. Most any of the "xenon" kits you see out there are cheap garbage.

kstones63 · Post by **kstones63** » March 15, 2011, 7:17 pm

This is what I am thinking about putting in my truck.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/7-RED-DO ... ccessories

These are probably the cheap crap that DV65customcab is talking about.
Does anybody have any experience with these? I saw them at a lot of venders at GoodGuys. If they are too bad I will look for something different. I liked the look of the tri bar with the red dot. I will use relays with them.

Kevin

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » March 15, 2011, 8:43 pm

I like the one's similar to those with the turn signal in the bottom.

64low-n-slow · Post by **64low-n-slow** » March 15, 2011, 9:53 pm

I upgraded to relays several months ago and did not notice a significant difference in the beams. Most recently I decided to try the Trucklight sealed beams from NAPA. They are a halogen bulb in a sealed beam polycarbonate housing. Low beam is similar to the bulbs I took out. Hi beam .....OMG are they bright! Very happy with the decision, not cheap.

Curious if anybody else has had similar results.

banjopicker66 · Post by **banjopicker66** » March 16, 2011, 8:07 am

Based on everything you all have said, I think I will stick with the glass sealed beam halogens. I don't need uber bright, I think, so these should be bright enough.
I do not like the plastic lenses as they get nasty after a few years.

charliemccraney · Post by **charliemccraney** » March 16, 2011, 8:18 am

64low-n-slow wrote:I upgraded to relays several months ago and did not notice a significant difference in the beams.
Curious if anybody else has had similar results.

Well, I don't have relays and I have people flashing their lights, as if mine are too bright quite regularly. I think, if the wiring is in good shape, a relay isn't absolutely necessary but they will ensure that the lights get the power they need and take a lot of load off of the headlight switch and they do future proof the headlight system because most any bulb you choose will have the juice it needs. I will be installing relays when I upgrade to H4s.
Switching to an alternator helps a lot, too, particularly at idle. Some alternators can provide more juice at idle than the stock generator could produce at it's peak. So, you now have enough power that the lights don't go dim at a stop.

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » March 16, 2011, 9:34 am

wired mine so i can run high and low beam at the same time.
standard sealed beam halogens.

the odd colored headlights on some vehicles are very irritating to my eyes .

Alan Mclennan · Post by **Alan Mclennan** » March 17, 2011, 12:18 am

ICEMAN6166 wrote:the odd colored headlights on some vehicles are very irritating to my eyes .

Me too!, I hate the bum`s!!!

qwertyd10n · Post by **qwertyd10n** » March 17, 2011, 9:36 am

I'm thinking about an H4 conversion for my truck. Here's a link to a good site on the Bosch light assemblies that are available:

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/BoschH4.html

And then here is a link to a site that offers a set of the Bosch headlights for $45:

http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=0301600118

Looks like a pretty good deal to me.

Cheers,
Dion

My1stSlick · Post by **My1stSlick** » March 17, 2011, 2:37 pm

I have these headlights, and the heavy duty wiring harness with relays. I've done this kind of thing to other vehicles in the past and have always had great results.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fb/full.aspx?page=59

Moose · Post by **Moose** » March 17, 2011, 2:59 pm

ICEMAN6166 wrote:the odd colored headlights on some vehicles are very irritating to my eyes .

Those would be the guys with the 10,000K & up HID's. I can't stand them either. I used 6000K hid's on my 92 and they're plenty bright for what I need.

Not blinding either I might add!

charliemccraney · Post by **charliemccraney** » March 17, 2011, 3:14 pm

I wonder if those ultra bright lights are even any better. I really doubt it. Our eyes are tuned to see well in day light which is a color temperature of about 6000 kelvin. So my bet is that anything below that and we don't see all that we are able to see and it's the same for anything above that. It would be interesting if there are any studies on it.

I know I can't see anything in front of me when a car equipped with those ultra bright lights is coming from the opposite direction.

The round headlight also puts us at a disadvantage. My Firebird has sealed beams, too but they are rectangular and light up the road much better.

banjopicker66 · Post by **banjopicker66** » March 17, 2011, 6:39 pm

I bought halogen sealed beams today, Autozone at $12 each. I figure I can add the H4 type later.
I also wired in the relays today. The setup from LMC is a bit shorter than I would prefer, but I made it work and look good. Ran the harness across the front of the core support rather than behind it.
Also, to ensure the ammeter gauge registers power draw and charge correctly, I connected the relay power source wires into the ammeter circuit.

Sarg · Post by **Sarg** » March 18, 2011, 11:22 pm

Just got a set of these tonight:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... &viewitem=

I will let you know how they are.

Alan Mclennan · Post by **Alan Mclennan** » March 18, 2011, 11:27 pm

Sarg, are they the blue coloured lights?, if so!, can you tell us if they are adjustable or do they just shine in all directions no matter what!