So a recent thread on LED taillights has got me wanting to switch to them myself, I had considered it before but the thread pushed me over the edge, lol. Now for the headlights, I found halogen headlights on Ecklers website and at 13 bucks each, I figure why not. Has anyone else switched to these? If so, how do they compare? My bulbs have not needed to be replaced, so I don't even know what type of bulb is in there now.

 

Hi,
I switched to the halogen low beam headlights, they are much brighter than the original T-3s.
Tom

 

I changed from the original incandesent to the halogen large round four bulb setup on my 72...About 15 bucks apiece at local parts house.
Icould not believe the difference. Many times better, I look forward to driving at night now.
David

 

Got a link?

 

Looking forward to the link and a better inexpensive headlight.

 

You can find them at your local parts store reasonably priced.
http://www.autozone.com/R,5339255/ve...ductDetail.htm

 

That came up as a high beam, was that intentional?

 

Zip told me that the Halogens were 3x as bright as the T3s. Daniel Stern says my Cibie CSRs are 3x as bright as the Halogens and have no backscatter (like having fog lights). It's all in the lenses and they still use H1 bulbs. When my high beams come in, I will do an extensive write-up on everything lighting (LEDs, Headlights, sidemarker blinking, DRLs, etc). Cibies are $111/lense. Let me know if you want info on anything.

 

I put in housings that let me put in the bulbs I wanted so I went with Silverstar Ultra Halogen headlights. The housings were also halo housings so I got that as a bonus. I actually got them off of Ebay, for a early '70's Charger and haven't seen them in a while.

They are larger in back so I did have to cut the headlight buckets a little but to get the backs of the housings to fit.

 

Damn DB. I knew you were good at electronics and wiring and what not, but WOW! Care to do a write up on that?

 

Thanks so much for the compliments. I'm sorry for the hijack...I'll explain quickly and get the thread back to topic.

See the housings hold headlight bulbs which can plug right into the factory wiring plugs. That part is easy. The housings have tiny purple bulbs in them called City Lights...but I do not like them so I snipped their wiring off and just left the bulbs. Hard to see unless you're right on on them. The halo wiring is easy, each halo has a a red and black wire.

Since the halos are not visible with the headlights on I needed a way to use them without the headlights on for shows and low light situations before the headlights are needed. This also meant I needed a way to get the headlights up and down without turning on any lights but the halos.

Essentially I removed the vacuum lines from the headlight switch and connected them to only the override switch. I now use JUST the override switch to raise and lower my headlights.

So, I use the override switch to raise the headlights and nothing else lights up. Since I have the halos wires to a rocker switch in my center console I can switch them on and off with a single switch when I want the halos on.

Then when it gets dark I can turn off the halos and turn on the headlights with the stock switch.

Overall it's a very popular mod at car shows and I get lots of compliments when using them in low light driving before I need the headlights.

 

DB, very nice! Are your bulbs H1s? Are those BMW halos? What lenses? I am going to put LEDs in for my city lights when my new bulbs come in and I have no idea how it will turn out.

 

I think they are H3 or H4...but they are Silverstar and are very bright white. The ones in the picture are actually the blue glass bulbs that came with the set. Wasn't happy with them...Silverstars are much brighter.

The halos are part of the housings and are just an after market company that made the housing which was the same size for lots of '70's cars that used the round headlights. I had a '71 Charger, which is why I bought those bulbs. I ended up using them for the Vette because they fit and then I sold the Charger.

 

You definitely get the wow factor with those!

But...why did you park next to a MUSTANG?!

 

They look great and looking to get me a set DB!! Got a ? for you. Can I just install them and wire up the halos to the parking lights and leave the light switch vacuum lines alone since I can use the override switch to bring up the light housings up and turn on the parking lights on without turning the headlights on?

 

It was actually the night time cruise in part of a HUGE car show at the Lake of the Ozarks every summer. Everyone cruises back in that night and awards and such are given and it's a break from the summer heat. Plus trick mods like lights and such become more 'showable'.

 

Yes you can do it that way. I did it with an internal switch so I could control the halos independently. See, if you have them wired to the parking light circuit then the halos will be on when you have the headlights on...and that's just wasting their lifetime. You cannot see them when the headlights are on. My switch allows me to turn them OFF when I have the headlights on. You can wire them to any source you like since they are independent of the headlight circuit out of the box.

 

Hey thanks for the tip DB I just ordered a set off of Ebay. Here is the link if anyone is interested

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/58-82...Q5fAccessories

 

Good point about the the lifetime of the halos! Does $75.00 plus $30.00 for shipping sound reasonable to you or should I look elsewhere?

 

I didn't pay that much back when I did it but the demand might have gone up and if they are the only ones selling that's the price they'll get.

Remember, the backs of the headlight buckets will have to be trimmed to accept the housing's larger butt.

Also, having the more powerful bulbs will mean that you might want to use dedicated relays powered from the alternator or starter and use the original power wires for trigger wires. I think the two lows and two highs are too much for the headlight switch to handle and it will either flicker on and off as it overheats or it'll fry the switch.

I have a wiring diagram if anyone is interested in wiring their headlights using relays for more power.