So What's the Easiest Solution for Brighter Headlights? (1 Viewer)

[LandCruiserPhil]

Replace with HIR lamps, best bang for your buck

Testing HIR Lamps - What I found

 

[DARKNESS]

I hate throwing a wrench into this,,, but,,, I just don't see a need for brighter headlamps.. I log over 130 thousand miles a year and there is nothing more irritating than those blinding headlights coming at you, or behind you.. They ought to be illegal for use on public roadways... The best upgrade, if you really need to see more, is a good set of 100 watt white fog beams aimed low and wide.. For off road? The options are endless for trail illumination... It's just my humble opinion, but the best upgrade for stock low beam lamps is to leave them stock...

I tend to agree with this. I had a Slee harness but noticed no difference so I removed it. My headlights were badly mis-aimed when I bought it and aiming them right made a big difference. I've considered HIR's but have not gone that route because I don't want to blind oncoming traffic. Honestly the stock lights are as good as anything else I've driven from that era. They're not HID's, but HID's are overkill IMO. I'd get your stock setup cleaned up and working properly and then see if you still have an issue. If it's still unacceptable Silverstars or HIR's are probably the cheapest way to increase output. I do plan to integrate a set of fog lights into my TJM bumper for really snowy days, but that's not really cheap or easy.

 

[ppc]

How much more power? It's a simple test, plug in the stock wires, test, plug in the aftermarket and test, publish the results. Every time we have tested, the factory system delivered more voltage, so have removed several aftermarket harnesses. The good part is they sell very quickly here, likely because old myths never die here?

May be someone more schooled on the subject like @george_tlc can provide can explain but from my perspective strictly measuring voltage is only part of the equation. Power (watts) is the voltage multiplied by the current. So if the current is higher, which a larger wire size would allow, may yield more power at a lower voltage. I would also like to know the specifics of how you measured voltage. Was it directly across the bulb which negates any other resistance in the circuit or just the positive to ground?

 

[tlin]

I also went down the HIR path last year and was immediately pleased with the noticeable results (use the correct low and high lamps, using the high lamps as low-beam replacements is plain rude to oncoming traffic and makes you look like nothing better than a hillbilly). I don't have anything useful to share concerning LEDs as I have no experience with them.

I also appreciate challenging whether an aftermarket harness yields measurable results....."facts are our friends" as our former CEO consistently reminded us. Until data supports the marketing, it's just marketing (Monster audio/video cables come to mind.....).

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Stock wiring
1000 RPM - engine cold
HIR lamp
Measurement at low beam socket passengers side
FLUKE 23 meter

Measurement at battery Low beams on

Keep in mind with ANY aftermarket relay harness you will see some voltage loss. Add in many more connections, additional relays, and the much higher chances of failure. I see no benefit in an aftermarket harness when factory wattage lamps are used on an 80 series.

 

[rubicondon53]

I also went down the HIR path last year and was immediately pleased with the noticeable results (use the correct low and high lamps, using the high lamps as low-beam replacements is plain rude to oncoming traffic and makes you look like nothing better than a hillbilly). I don't have anything useful to share concerning LEDs as I have no experience with them.

I also appreciate challenging whether an aftermarket harness yields measurable results....."facts are our friends" as our former CEO consistently reminded us. Until data supports the marketing, it's just marketing (Monster audio/video cables come to mind.....).

Ah,, to 90 % of all stereo audio equipment, monster cables are a waste... For those of us that enjoy state of the art audio, the monster cables make a huge difference...

 

[PDoyle]

Just saw silverstar lights sold at wallmart.
But, I have a new set of hir2 bulbs installed last week. The first set lasted from 2007 I think.
1 bulb went then the other a day later.
For the $ they are the best upgrade.

 

[hovers]

Monster cables aren't high end, they have a high end price. Try Tara labs or any number of other companies.


I immediately saw the need for better headlights. HIR bulbs helped a lot. Adding a Slee harness reduced the minor fluctuations present on the factory wiring and enabled a more consistent quality light. Since a front end collision I've since gone to the Depo lights with IPF fat boys. MUCH cleaner light with a great cutoff vs the flood of the factory lights. If you want to research on the effects of relaying your headlights, please do. You'll see a consistent and measurable difference.

 

[rubicondon53]

Monster cables aren't high end, they have a high end price. Try Tara labs or any number of
I shall,, I'll be upgrading my Walshes in a couple of years with their rebuild kits and I'll look into different options.. Always up for audiophile advice

 

[blkprj80]

If you aim your headlights, they will not blind oncoming drivers.
I swapped to JD HIRs and they are great!
I did them one at a time, and matched the height on a garage door at 20'. I have mine adjusted so they light up the road very well, at a reasonable distance. If I want to throw light to watch for bambi's evil brother, high beams seem sufficient around here. I grew up in central KS, so I really understand your concern about seeing them, HalfK. My sister in KS has no good things to say about them other than they are cute when they are young.

 

[Tools R Us]

May be someone more schooled on the subject like @george_tlc can provide can explain but from my perspective strictly measuring voltage is only part of the equation. Power (watts) is the voltage multiplied by the current. So if the current is higher, which a larger wire size would allow, may yield more power at a lower voltage. I would also like to know the specifics of how you measured voltage. Was it directly across the bulb which negates any other resistance in the circuit or just the positive to ground?

Voltage measured at the bulb connector, then measured at the battery and compared. Amps measured close to the connector with an inductive probe. Believe it or not, this wasn't my first time using a meter, one of our previous projects:

 

[Dragos80]

How about these headlamps? They also sell them with or without lightbulbs.
http://www.tunersdepot.com/1991-toy...nar-halo-projector-headlights-black-4888.html

 

[4G63 POWER]

 

[half k cruiser]

@Tools R Us gross, I think your FJ just threw up !

 

[bsmart82]

Shennanigans! This is directly from the link you posted:

"it does not have a blacked-out tip, which means it should not be used in road going headlamp or fog lamp designs that don't have a bulb shield completely covering at least the top half of the front of the bulb"

The 9012 hir2 does not have a blacked out tip, but the 9011 hir1 should.

 

[Tools R Us]

... Adding a Slee harness reduced the minor fluctuations present on the factory wiring and enabled a more consistent quality light. ...

Please enlighten us on the "minor fluctuations" in the harness? Do you also notice harness fluctuations in the other more critical parts of the crappy factory harness, or is it confined to the headlights?

The failures we had (connector and relay) were why we started critically looking at the aftermarket harness. As part of the diagnoses, took the measurements and came to the conclusion that the aftermarket provided less power/performance/reliability, so took them out. Thought it was an isolated incident, so measured more of them and found the result to be consistent.

Like I said, they do have benefit on earlier rigs, so do run them in FJ40s, etc. The generic relays have been a reliability issue, so we replace them with genuine Bosch, solving that problem.

 

[Tools R Us]

@Tools R Us gross, I think your FJ just threw up !

That is a buddies rig, we just did a couple of mods to it.

 

[The Jayhawker]

When your 130k miles brings you through Kansas stop in and drive my rig in the dark. The low beams are terrible and a real safety concern. They are getting swapped out at the turn of the year. You probably just have really good vision !

I`m in Kansas. I wanna see `em!

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

Voltage measured at the bulb connector, then measured at the battery and compared. Amps measured close to the connector with an inductive probe. Believe it or not, this wasn't my first time using a meter, one of our previous projects:

you could also just use a regular volt meter and measure the voltage between the connector and the battery. a difference in potential is a difference in potential.

as for "genuine bosch" I am not surprised that there are poor quality relays out there, but there's no reason to overlook Tyco (aka TE Connectivity) Panasonic (aka Matsushita), Omron, Hella, or other legit makes

 

[TDavidson]

For fluctuations: I had a bad battery and noticed that when I turned on cruise control the lights dimmed. If I flicked on my high beams the cruise control dropped out.