H4 Headlight Experiments

Mine are 100/80. I’ve ordered some 65/55 to experiment with.

 

The higher the wattage, the shorter they last. I've had good luck with 55/60's.

 

I have used halogen 100/80's with no problems, mostly in motorcycles. Perhaps buying a good brand is important?

But the housing and socket must be able to take the heat.

 

Don't tell anyone but I've been running 100/130 H4 bulbs in my 3B for 3 decades. One failure. I use the aluminum headlight buckets.

 

Enjoying lurking in this thread. Would relays be needed for these lights here? I'm not sure if I have any or not.

 

These are not legal in the USA. If you have an annual inspection, you won't pass.

I would use relays with any Halogen bulbs. Read my article Headlights Relays In Absurd Detail

LEDs (not the Hellas linked to) take less current and the switches would likely survive. But you still get a brightness advantage with relays.

 

timgur I'm confused what are not legal in the USA? The H4 Hella Headlight conversions I posted? Cause they sure are in Oregon. And they say ECE/SAE certified in the description. Now they might not be legal in your STATE but here in Oregon there is no annual inspection etc. I have reviewed Oregon law on Headlights and there is nothing about these 55-60watt H4 bulbs that would not compile with current law.

 

Hella E code lights are not 50 state legal in the USA. I believe the "E" is a European spec that has a different reflector and bulb focal distance. There are Hella 7" (and 5 3/4") lights that are US legal. Also, any bulbs with wattage higher than 55/65 (maybe 60?) are not legal either.
When I lived up in NC years ago, I couldn't pass a safety inspection with Euro spec lights. I had 7" Hellas (US spec) in my mom's BMW 2002 at the time, and there was no problem passing the State inspection.
Way back, I used to run a single 5 3/4" 100 w aircraft landing light (GE 4537) on one of my inner hi beams on my '77 Scirocco. I did melt the headlight switch on an all-night drive. After that, I started running relays with non-stock lighting.
-Donny

 

I agree with this 100%, word for word. Thanks for voicing this. I thought it was just me. All those light should be illegal. They may make nicer driving for the guy behind the wheel of that car but they make it horrible for every oncoming driver that guy meets or follows. I've actually turned my headlights off when being followed by one of these people and could still see pretty well. It was just a test and a bit of a message to the person that was following me.

Ok.......I'm out.

 

Look deeper. There are DOT compliance laws that Oregon follows (Federal that all states must follow). It doesn’t mean they are always enforced but Federal DOT is the law.

 

Yes you will. I have for 30 or 40 years of using them. No one is going to check your headlight wattage or brightness.

Even though they are brighter, good ones have excellent "cut-off" patterns and I've never once ever had any hint that they bothered another driver.

 

That, and the HID systems with the UV color spectrum that makes your eyeballs bleed.

Just as an aside, OEM military M38A1 headlights are 80 watt halogen sealed beams, IIRC.

 

I presume there's no easy way to check the bulb wattage. In the USA, aftermarket reflectors (including the lenses) should pass only if they say "DOT" on the glass. Even there, the inspector's (or LEO's) discretion matters, which should be outside your influence.

 

Might be a stupid question, but the Amazon description for the Hella ‎002395801 kit is 165mm which is about 6.5".
Any issue, or should I just order them?

 

Amazon listings are so confusing sometimes. My guess is that if you order the 165mm kit, you will receive two 7” housings and two bulbs. If you want to be safe, you can order two of the 178mm individual housings which, at $30 each, is actually a much better deal anyway. either way I think you’ll get the correct 7” housings, but at least Amazon has a good return policy.

here’s a link to the quadratec listing, which I’ve ordered before and I did receive 7” housings as their listing says. I’d say order from them, but they’re out of stock…

Hella 002395801 7" Round E-Code (ECE) H4 Conversion Headlight Kit

 

Suggest you order by the bulb type and regard not the listed diameter. Type 6014 or 6024.

 

I bought these empty Hella housings for mine:

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G76Q2W?th=1

Then I bought these brighter than standard bulbs separately:

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U1OLK86

I also bought these ceramic pigtails because the bulbs can get hot enough to melt the OE plastic connectors:

• Amazon.com: H4 Wiring Harness Headlight Socket 14AWG Heavy Duty Ceramic Headlight Plug For Car Truck Boat Marine Headlight Fog Light Retrofit - H4/9003(Pack of 2) : Automotive

Everything fits in the stock housing and they light up the road fantastic. You'll need relays, of course.