I'd like to upgrade the lights in my 69... What's the recommended lamp, halogen? I don't want to have to rewire anything ... Just replace what's there and see better at night... Thanks

 

Nothing is going to perform its best without relaying the headlight harness... Sylvania silverstars are supposed to be pretty good. I have the regular sylvanias that are relayed and they are fairly bright. Aircraft landing lights in the highbeams... doesnt get too much brighter than that.

Relaying is recommended not just for preformance but safety as well

 

Keep in mind that higher wattage lights will draw more current.

Aircraft landing lights certainly do throw out an incredibly intense light beam, but I found I needed a higher output alternator to cope with the increased current draw.

 

You want a Sylvania H5006 for the low beams and a H5001 for the high beams

 

FWIW: if you are considering having the car judged and have the original T3s, you should hang on to them.

 

Thanks......I really didn't want to go over the top here....will give them a try

 

Not even sure what's there right now... But wouldn't surprise me if they are original... The low beams are about as good as a cheap flashlight

 

I have been running them for years with the stock alternator. They are great bulbs!

 

are the headlights grounded good??? If the ground or voltage is wrong, new light bulbs will not help. If the bulbs were original, they could be going bad. But I run the H5001 & H5006bulbs, much brighter than original, no wiring changes needed.

 

I am running the 5001 and 5006 headlamps in my '80, and I can see just fine at night. I really don't understand why anybody would need more light than the stock system with halogen lamps provides. But then, some people don't understand why we want more power than the stock engine provides, so, hey, to each his own, right?

Scott

 

Scott,

A good comparison of why people upgrade their lights is the current HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlights on many higher end cars today compared to a standard halogen light of the same design on the same car-both lights enable the driver to see the road but the HID is unparalleled in its ability to shine a purer white light over a broad section of the road with minimal "hot spots". Driving a car with HID's is MUCH less stressful on a human eye over a long period of time.

I upgraded my 2008 Chrysler 300 projector headlights to the HID system right after I bought the car and the difference in light output is incredible. I have been running Hella Euro Lead crystal lens headlights on my 78 since 1983 with 55/60 Watt low beams with a razor cutoff designed to NOT blind oncoming traffic and H1 100 watt high beams and it is truly portable daylight on the front of the car when all 4 lights are on.

The most important component of a headlight system is NOT the wattage but the glass lens quality along with a precision machined reflector along with the "color" of the light. A sealed beam headlight has yellow white light, halogens are less yellow, and HID can be much closer to pure white light. The cheap way out mentioned on the forum is the 100 watt aircraft landing light which is very basic in headlight design with a simple glass lens, basic reflector, and a yellowish white sealed beam filament which puts out a narrow beam with a lot of white light noise which is of no issue flying through the sky with no one else around which is the complete opposite of a Hella Euro or a Cibie high beam headlight for the road. 4 Euro Hellas are about $200 today versus about $100 in 1983 with the sealed halogens you mentioned I am guessing about $50? Like most things in life, you get what you pay for.Obviously, any light will work but there are dramatic differences in the quality of the light.

Hope that helps!

 

I found the link.

Want a bulb that will fit right in and be VERY bright? I have always used aircraft landing lamps. Standard bulbs are around 37,000 CP, have a curved lens and multiple triangle in the lens to diffuse the light. These bulbs and 200,000 Candle Power, have a flat lens and are clear glass. The same diameter so they fit right in the standard high beam holder and draw 7.81 amps. Try this link to see them:

http://www.donsbulbs.com/cgi-bin/r/b...ent%7C25h.html

 

I changed out my low beams in my 82, couldn't stand them to the Hellas and what a HUGE difference it made. Same wattage bulb it was the light pattern that is equally spread throughout the road. Try those you will love them.

 

Exactly my point about a quality lead crystal lens like a Hella versus a cheap glass lens with a basic reflector yellowish light output along with an unfocused beam scattering lumens everywhere!

 

I was wondering why commercial aircraft continue to use sealed beam landing lights when there are so many better alternatives out there and researched some commercial pilot forums and found this for those that still believe that 100 watt aircraft landing lights are the most up to date technology:

"Boeing and Airbus have only VERY recently begun to use HID on factory new aircraft. They are using 50 watt HID maximum so far.

The vast majority of large commercial aircraft still use incandescents. The Canadair CRJ-700 series commuter jets are the only ones using HID for a few years.

35 watt HID is equal to 200-250 watt incan. 50 watt HID is about equal to 450 watt incan. in terms of lumens. A 75 watt HID will outperform (lumens) a 600 watt incan with same reflector size.

Goodrich is the primary supplier at this point, we are working on that.

Aviation is very slow to move into new technology because of the time and cost involved to TSO the product and to change the "Type Certificate" in new manufacturing. Also STC's are time consuming and expensive as well for these aircraft. For airliners DO-160 testing which is very expensive and takes a lot of time would be required".

BTW-Commercial aircraft do NOT use the cheap 100 watt aircraft landing light typically installed in the high beam bucket of C3's but sealed beam lights of 450-600 watts each! 100 watt aircraft landing lights are used on private cessna type aircraft.

The ultimate light setup for a C3 would probably be 55/60 watt H4 halogens lows in a Hella/Cibie lead crystal lens and an HID 50 watt high beam in the same Hella/Cibie high beam lead Crystal lens. I am sticking with the Hellas and the 55/60 watt H4 lows and Hella H1 100 watt highs-I just don't drive enough at night where high beams are needed or useable with traffic.

Hope that helps!

 

vette427-sbc what size relays would you recommend and where would you place them in the circuit?
I also have very dim original headlights and will be updating to the 5001 and 5006.

 

This light looks like it doesn't draw any more power than a stock bulb, but it puts out 160,000 candlepower, and has a rated life of 100 hours. I think I may just give these a try.

http://www.lampline.com/h7635-ge-1328-p

Scott

 

Am I correct that with these bulbs, you do not have to change the wiring?

 

I have them in every thing with 4 headlits...there INSTANT DAYLITE

 

I also have the landing lights, instant near day light, but not sure if they are legal.