I guess I probably won’t matter anyway...my guy isn’t strict, or I’ll just swap them out if needed.
Last edited:
Brighter Headlights for FJ60??? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter nymbert
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
I guess I probably won’t matter anyway...my guy isn’t strict, or I’ll just swap them out if needed.
According to DS the cibies and also the Koito housing with the H4 will not need a wiring harness upgrade. You can pretty much plug n play. However he did state that if you did upgrade the harness you would get a better light product. He said it would be noticeable but nothing like 50% more light or anything. For now I plan on installing the Koitos on the stock harness and then upgrade the harness this spring when its not freezing outside. Im only trusting his word on the lights which I think is solid. He is an engineer after all and specializes in automobile lighting. Who knows guess we will see.
CuCruiser
SILVER Star
gregnash
Anal Retentive Analyst
Awesome! Glad to know that they are legit.
Your battery sits by its self at 12.6v. When charging it ranges from around 13v to 14.4v. Your bulbs are rated at 12v. So if you can reduce the resistance between the battery and the lights you will get a brighter bulb since it will actually have 13-14v passing through it. Bigger wires in the harness also cut resistance and then heat. The stock harness with a high wattage bulb will get hot and run the risk of burning up.
I’m not going to say what I do for a living but I have a solid 25 years playing with lights and other auto electronics in hobby land. (43yo)
Your battery sits by its self at 12.6v. When charging it ranges from around 13v to 14.4v. Your bulbs are rated at 12v. So if you can reduce the resistance between the battery and the lights you will get a brighter bulb since it will actually have 13-14v passing through it. Bigger wires in the harness also cut resistance and then heat. The stock harness with a high wattage bulb will get hot and run the risk of burning up.
I’m not going to say what I do for a living but I have a solid 25 years playing with lights and other auto electronics in hobby land. (43yo)
Like I said I am only going off the word of Daniel Stern. I spoke with him on the phone for about 30 minutes. I am by far no expert. I am just taking the information as he spells it out. Hopefully I will not have any issues. I do however plan on upgrading the harness just not right away.
ntsqd
technerd
The run-around was basically Stern asking me what I was going to be doing with the lights and what they were going on. Something he had no business asking or knowing. Oddly, I got the same run-around from Susquehanna Motorsports (rallylights.com) at about the same time.
Also at about the same time period I came across Stern on a automotive forum and while he had a wealth of information I took an intense dislike to his "do it my way (because it is the ONLY correct way) or don't do it at all" attitude. He has alienated a fair number of folks on that forum and even run off some NuuB's posting like that. I have no intent of supporting or enabling him to continue to do that.
There is no such thing as "DOT Approved", Fed DOT does not approve anything. They publish standards for automotive equipment and it is all on the supplier to prove that they make all of their parts in conformance with the standard(s) that apply to said parts. It is only when there is a question that arises due to a crash or something similar that the vendor gets audited to check that their parts are still in conformance to the applicable standard(s).
Now if you say "TUV Approved", then you're saying something because the German TUV actually tests and approves or disapproves everything. Even more to the U.S. benefit, they mostly use the same standards published by the Fed DOT.
With a fluted lens the reflector is important, but what drives the light pattern is the lens. With a clear, unfluted lens, then the reflector is what drives the light pattern. As I am who suggested those lights form amazon I have a set of them. They're as real as I can tell them to be and they are a very nice light pattern to drive with. I run 55/100's in all of my H4's so that I have a legal low beam. There are many reasons why I don't worry about having a legal high beam. HID fanboy conversions that are poorly made or aimed is just one of them.
Your battery sits by its self at 12.6v. When charging it ranges from around 13v to 14.4v. Your bulbs are rated at 12v. So if you can reduce the resistance between the battery and the lights you will get a brighter bulb since it will actually have 13-14v passing through it. Bigger wires in the harness also cut resistance and then heat. The stock harness with a high wattage bulb will get hot and run the risk of burning up.
I’m not going to say what I do for a living but I have a solid 25 years playing with lights and other auto electronics in hobby land. (43yo)
When I am ready to upgrade what harness do you run or like? That will be probably next.
I just make my own. But there are several references in this thread to existing harness suppliers that should be fine for H4's.
But in general I like to replace all of my battery cables with either 2 or 4 gage welding cable....including the cables off the back of the alternator and to the starter. Also ground the engine to the chassis and battery. Using good connectors and heat shrink to seal things up and then convert to marine style battery terminals which make hooking up the battery easier. I usually buy the cable from Airgas because they have reasonable prices and various lengths on the shelf. Plus they sell a nice simple crimping tool for the bigger connectors and often have the connectors as well.
I have not rewired my lights yet but I need to look at the stock headlight relay and see what it is rated for. However I will likely just use the stock relay as is and then wire its outputs to a separate set of relays for Low and high beam..with appropriate wiring and new connectors. I by a lot of wire from Waytek. I also have a contact in Poland who I know of that makes reproduction wiring harnesses for old Honda motorcycles....with correct wiring colors, connectors, etc....and will add updates if needed. If I send him a headlight harness and discuss upgrades he could be a potential source for a stock looking harness.
Last edited:
The run-around was basically Stern asking me what I was going to be doing with the lights and what they were going on. Something he had no business asking or knowing. Oddly, I got the same run-around from Susquehanna Motorsports (rallylights.com) at about the same time.
Also at about the same time period I came across Stern on a automotive forum and while he had a wealth of information I took an intense dislike to his "do it my way (because it is the ONLY correct way) or don't do it at all" attitude. He has alienated a fair number of folks on that forum and even run off some NuuB's posting like that. I have no intent of supporting or enabling him to continue to do that.
I've been to the Susquehanna store in PA and I've dealt with them online and I've never been very impressed with their prices or service. In the early days of and before the internet really took off they were sort of the source to go to for all sorts of lights....unfortunately they never really changed their business model to stay competitive...unless something has changed in the last year or so.....i find them to be a very expensive source for lights.
There is no such thing as "DOT Approved", Fed DOT does not approve anything. They publish standards for automotive equipment and it is all on the supplier to prove that they make all of their parts in conformance with the standard(s) that apply to said parts. It is only when there is a question that arises due to a crash or something similar that the vendor gets audited to check that their parts are still in conformance to the applicable standard(s).
Now if you say "TUV Approved", then you're saying something because the German TUV actually tests and approves or disapproves everything. Even more to the U.S. benefit, they mostly use the same standards published by the Fed DOT.
My bad...I was thinking of some of the other rating systems out there and went down the wrong road with DOT.
Also at about the same time period I came across Stern on a automotive forum and while he had a wealth of information I took an intense dislike to his "do it my way (because it is the ONLY correct way) or don't do it at all" attitude. He has alienated a fair number of folks on that forum and even run off some NuuB's posting like that. I have no intent of supporting or enabling him to continue to do that.
I've been to the Susquehanna store in PA and I've dealt with them online and I've never been very impressed with their prices or service. In the early days of and before the internet really took off they were sort of the source to go to for all sorts of lights....unfortunately they never really changed their business model to stay competitive...unless something has changed in the last year or so.....i find them to be a very expensive source for lights.
There is no such thing as "DOT Approved", Fed DOT does not approve anything. They publish standards for automotive equipment and it is all on the supplier to prove that they make all of their parts in conformance with the standard(s) that apply to said parts. It is only when there is a question that arises due to a crash or something similar that the vendor gets audited to check that their parts are still in conformance to the applicable standard(s).
Now if you say "TUV Approved", then you're saying something because the German TUV actually tests and approves or disapproves everything. Even more to the U.S. benefit, they mostly use the same standards published by the Fed DOT.
My bad...I was thinking of some of the other rating systems out there and went down the wrong road with DOT.
ntsqd
technerd
It so frequent to see vendors marketing their wares as "DOT Approved" that it is easy to assume that the DOT does test these things. When I see "DOT Approved" in some vendors marketing it tells me that they really don't know what they're talking about.
Given that I got essentially the same run-around from two different vendors, who AFAIK, are not even in the same State makes me wonder of the Feds were pressuring them.
Given that I got essentially the same run-around from two different vendors, who AFAIK, are not even in the same State makes me wonder of the Feds were pressuring them.
Thanks for the info. Ive already rewired a lot of stuff in the engine bay including new airgas 2 awg battery cables and a dual battery setup. plus many other low voltage things.
HI, So the 82440s Cibies work fine in the fj60 with no fit problem ? Thanks, Mike
yessir
Thanks, I want glass housings. Mike
ntsqd
technerd
LHD or RHD?I'd really like a set of these IPF lights but they are only offered for LHD traffic pattern.
Moss Motors carries original Lucas PL700's for LHD:
156-898 PL700 Tripod Headlamp Set | Moss Motors
mattressking
10 digits to freedom
So I’m almost wrapped up with H4s...waiting on a couple parts to show up. This is a super nice kit especially for the price. I’m excited to see light output.
