Headlight Upgrade

Hey guys. Question for you...i wiuld like brighter headlights without a lightbar. Any option for a brighter stock rig? I like doing night rides through my woods, but even the brights give me about15 feet of light visibilty.

 

Make sure to add relays for any headlight upgrade. Even on a stock application, the relay will improve the light output.

 

Absolutely go with headlight replacements. The two top brands are Hella and Cibie'. The Autopal lights featured on eBay are reall inexpensive.
7" H6024 6014 H4 EURO CONVERSION HEADLIGHTS KIT
Factory sealed beams come from the 20s and are woefully out of date. Upgrade the wiring too.
Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply
Head light relay mod write up....WOW what a difference - JeepForum.com
The relays make the lights brighter, but they also protect the factory switches from the higher powered relplacement lights. There are lots of articles online about this.

 

The Halogen sealed beams are another option to replace the original incandescent bulbs. They will be much brighter than incandescent. (They still benefit from a wiring upgrade.)

Halogen sealed beams are basically a H4 bulb sealed in a disposable reflector. In years past, this was the only street-legal replacement light for incandescent sealed beams. I believed the mandate for a sealed refector was a hold-over from the horse and buggy days, when carriage lamps had a separate bulb (or gas flame) and reflector. Today, it seems wasteful to buy the whole unit and replace it complete when you can buy the bulb and reflector separately. You are no longer required to run "sealed beams" to be legal - the H4 headlamps can be purchased with DOT-compliant reflectors. Most people go with the technically-illegal E-code reflectors, which I believe cast more light to the right side of the road to see road signs better. Here is the Autopal with a DOT compliant reflector - 7" H6024 H4 DOT EURO CONVERSION HEADLIGHTS KIT - if this is what you want, you can get the same thing in Hella or the other more expensive brands.

 

Yup!!
I just put in the Sylvania Performance sealed beam headlights. They work very well.

 

I just ordered an H4 pigtail that also happens to work with the sealed beam halogens that I am running. The wire gauge cannot be more than 18/20 gauge. I though for sure it would be a bit heavier than that. This thread is fantastic and its what I have been looking to do here for a bit. anyone got any pics of the set up?

 

I've been eyeballing something like these:

2X H4 7 inch 80W LENS LED Headlight Halo Angle Eyes for Jeep Wrangler JK& Harley

These are pretty swell too:
7inch 75W Cree LED Headlight H4 H13 DRL HIGH LOW BEAM For JEEP JK Wrangler

 

I just installed IPF headlamp inserts and very powerful (80/100+?) H4 lights. These are, I think, illegal for street use, but I don't drive on the street at night. I'll try to dig up the receipt or packaging and post up better detail.

Bigger wire (AWG 12) AND relays are going in when I re-wire the Jeep next week.

 

You might want to check these out going that big. H4 Heavy Duty Wiring Harness | Plug & Play Headlight Wire Upgrade H4 Big bulbs produce a lot of heat that can melt a plastic connector, and these come with 14 gauge wire installed. Plenty heavy enough for any light, just cut off the male end and add 14 gauge wire to the relays. the 80/100 watt bulbswill smoke the factory switch in short order.

 

I converted to E-code 7" Cibie' replacement lights in my CJs first in 1973. BC was a Cibie' retailer, and I got a good price ... and they were very popular with the Baja racers. The 7" conversions are great - do that before you consider any auxiliary lights. Realize that you will be a menace to sports car drivers on the city streets. The cut-off is very sharp on the E-codes, and your lights are a lot higher than the drivers eyes in most sports cars.

It was amusing back then, because back then no one ran these on the street. Other drivers would flash their highs regularly at my low beams, then I'd flash my high beams back. Fortunately a LEO never flashed his highs at me.

 

Right, I'll be installing all my engine compartment stuff this week with fuses and relays for the high amp circuits. I will keep an eye on the actual lamp sockets, but expect no trouble.

 

I did the Hella conversion on my A1 and my '79 CJ5. This is a great mod and the housings are nice with flat glass lenses. I have the Autopals (I think) on my 240Z and they are not near as nice.

On my MB I got some Eurospec H4 housings and because I am running 12v on the 6v harness I went up a couple of bulb sizes (100/60 maybe?) and they totally rock.

 

I don't recall the actual brand of the H4 conversions I installed in my 3B, but they were made in France. That was in the mid 70's someplace and they are still working great. Think the bulbs are 100/130 watt.

 

Keep us posted on this, if you proceed. Could be a nice and inexpensive improvement.

 

This would be my concern....not only are they high, but very close together compared to most cars.
A lot of concentrated bright light right at eye level to a passenger car...

 

some of newer cars on road today . at night . I can't tell if it's a low beam staring at me in a intersection . or high beam . and I don't brother to flash lights to find out