When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
As everyone knows the stock headlights in the C5 are just not good. I am using an LED in the low beams and just do not like them. I have tried other high output lights in the stock housings and was just not impressed. Now i am thinkimg about the Radioflyer setup and want to know a few things.
How hard is the install on the Radioflyer lights?
Is there anything else i will need to purchase with them?
Of course for you guys thst have them any thing you can add that I have forgotten would be appreciated.
I got the LED standard headlight bulbs from Vette-lights. I think they’re about $100. I found them to be significantly brighter than stock and have no issue seeing distant objects.
hell on the interstate at night my headlights light up all the reflective info signs for everybody else from like 2-300 yards away.
i no longer use my high beams at all because they’re a significant reduction in overall brightness.
I have the Radio Flyer ACA lights in my 03. Without a doubt the best investment I have made with my Corvette. I live in a very rural area, lots of wildlife, so the stock headlights were essentially useless.
I can see now and there is no glare for oncoming drivers. Took my mechanic about 1.5 hours to put them in but I think I could have done them myself in a few more.
I have the Radio Flyer ACA lights in my 03. Without a doubt the best investment I have made with my Corvette. I live in a very rural area, lots of wildlife, so the stock headlights were essentially useless.
I can see now and there is no glare for oncoming drivers. Took my mechanic about 1.5 hours to put them in but I think I could have done them myself in a few more.
You won't be disappointed.
Thanks for that i also live in a rural area and need to see better at night. I assume you got the bi-zenon setup?
If you just want more light you can probably go to a much brighter LED bulb. The previous owner of my car installed LED low beams and fog lights and they are excellent. I don't use my high beams anymore because the low beams work much better. With that said the Radioflyer Bi Xenons are probably well worth the price they are going for. I am planning on ordering a set in the next few weeks.
I work mostly nights and I like the idea of a useable/adjustable high beam. Most aftermarket lights have useless high beams.
Last edited by NCVette1; Jun 27, 2018 at 07:00 PM.
i no longer use my high beams at all because they’re a significant reduction in overall brightness.
Honestly I would consider that a recommendation against those lights. Low beams should be crisp and bright, and high beams should light up the world.
Originally Posted by Black 03 Z06
I have the Radio Flyer ACA lights in my 03. Without a doubt the best investment I have made with my Corvette. I live in a very rural area, lots of wildlife, so the stock headlights were essentially useless.
I can see now and there is no glare for oncoming drivers. Took my mechanic about 1.5 hours to put them in but I think I could have done them myself in a few more.
You won't be disappointed.
Another rural dweller here, and I installed Radioflyer's lights a couple weeks ago. I upgrade the lights in all my cars, and usually go for euro E-Code lights, preferably Cibies. Well with the C5 that wasn't an option, and the euros are sinfully expensive. Radioflyer's aren't cheap, but going by recommendations everywhere, I decided they were worth it. And I was right. HUGE improvement, low beams are sharp and crisp with a nice long throw, and the high beams turn night into day, helping me see all the deer around here. It took me about 3 hours all in, which included installing LEDs in the factory fogs, and I really took my time being careful. Not that difficult a job really. Highly recommend them.
Honestly I would consider that a recommendation against those lights. Low beams should be crisp and bright, and high beams should light up the world.
Another rural dweller here, and I installed Radioflyer's lights a couple weeks ago. I upgrade the lights in all my cars, and usually go for euro E-Code lights, preferably Cibies. Well with the C5 that wasn't an option, and the euros are sinfully expensive. Radioflyer's aren't cheap, but going by recommendations everywhere, I decided they were worth it. And I was right. HUGE improvement, low beams are sharp and crisp with a nice long throw, and the high beams turn night into day, helping me see all the deer around here. It took me about 3 hours all in, which included installing LEDs in the factory fogs, and I really took my time being careful. Not that difficult a job really. Highly recommend them.
The brights still do exactly what they did originally, provide plenty of light to see, but blind people driving in front of you making it to where you can’t use them.
the led lights I bought provide a large bright white light which gives me good distance visibility and road sign illumination unlike any headlight I’ve ever seen.
high beams are a crutch, in my eyes they exist as separate bulb only to supplement the cheap low power standard headlights most car makers use.
most higher end cars these days use LEDs or projectors (or both) providing a similar bright white light to what I now have.
Imo it’s great not to have to lean on high beams to see anymore, those stock bulbs are terrible, and aftermarket housings are overpriced and honestly pretty cheesy looking to me.
While i did not buy my leds from vettelights i did notice they throw too much light up high illuminating the signs on the side of the road at quite a distance. I cannot see how they would not blind oncoming traffic and that is why i am looking at options. But if your lights work for you that is great. I had bi-zenon lights in my Grand Cherokee and they were great so am looking to do something like that in the Vette.
The brights still do exactly what they did originally, provide plenty of light to see, but blind people driving in front of you making it to where you can’t use them.
the led lights I bought provide a large bright white light which gives me good distance visibility and road sign illumination unlike any headlight I’ve ever seen.
high beams are a crutch, in my eyes they exist as separate bulb only to supplement the cheap low power standard headlights most car makers use.
most higher end cars these days use LEDs or projectors (or both) providing a similar bright white light to what I now have.
Imo it’s great not to have to lean on high beams to see anymore, those stock bulbs are terrible, and aftermarket housings are overpriced and honestly pretty cheesy looking to me.
What you are describing are what headlight experts would call excessive glare. You should not be lighting up signs 200 feet away without high beams on. Your headlights should be illuminating the ground at most 200 feet away, and nothing above it. High beams do have a purpose, and that is long distance lighting in the event there are no street lights or other vehicles.
Edit: DOT code says 2" drop for every 25 feet. Given our headlights are maybe 24" off the ground, that's a maximum illumination distance of 300 feet. And that's to the ground, let alone anything above ground level.
Are you guys using the "4 high" or whatever its called where your lows stay on when you switch on the highs? That sounds amazing alone on back country roads.
Those look great but have me wondering what the difference between those and the ones i see on the big auction site are.
The big auction site uses halogen projectors without bi-xenon function. That means the projector portion cannot function as high beams, and the projectors aren't built to use HIDs and thus cannot distribute HID light properly. Radioflyer retrofits with proper HID projectors that have bi-xenon function.
Originally Posted by NCVette1
Are you guys using the "4 high" or whatever its called where your lows stay on when you switch on the highs? That sounds amazing alone on back country roads.
I use a custom 4 high setup with bi-xenon projectors. I have 55 watt HIDs with 65 watt HIR bulbs, which means I can send 240 watts of high beam light down the road. Most of the high beam light actually comes from the projectors, but I can tell what the HIRs contribute.
Are you guys using the "4 high" or whatever its called where your lows stay on when you switch on the highs? That sounds amazing alone on back country roads.
Yes the Radioflyer kit includes a 4-high harness which installs in the fuse box and enables all 4 lights to operate in high beam mode. The result is spectacular, and when living in rural dark areas, really necessary.
Are you guys using the "4 high" or whatever its called where your lows stay on when you switch on the highs? That sounds amazing alone on back country roads.
I use the "high four" upgrade on my LED's....also use four high beam LED's (not two high and two low beam) AND use the latest generation led's (they have four firing surfaces and not two).
What you are describing are what headlight experts would call excessive glare. You should not be lighting up signs 200 feet away without high beams on. Your headlights should be illuminating the ground at most 200 feet away, and nothing above it. High beams do have a purpose, and that is long distance lighting in the event there are no street lights or other vehicles.
Edit: DOT code says 2" drop for every 25 feet. Given our headlights are maybe 24" off the ground, that's a maximum illumination distance of 300 feet. And that's to the ground, let alone anything above ground level.
they do drop, and create a large normal area of vision on the ground in about the same pattern as the original lights. My friends who’ve had me behind them after I specifically asked if my lights were annoying or caused glare reported no annoyances with them.
The road sign illumination I think is more due to the color of the light (white vs crappy dingy yellow). All of my friends/family who’ve seen my lights say they wish their headlights worked as well as well as mine. Hell one of my friends with an LS Camero has bought 3 sets of lights trying to find something comparable... were starting to think the fixtures are incapable of producing similar results lol.
im extremely satisfied with them is the general point I simply wanted to express, after diligence and ensuring the aim wasn’t obnoxious I found them to be a great option. hey different strokes for different folks!
im extremely satisfied with them is the general point I simply wanted to express, after diligence and ensuring the aim wasn’t obnoxious I found them to be a great option. hey different strokes for different folks!
So you would recommend these over the radioflyer setup?
While i did not buy my leds from vettelights i did notice they throw too much light up high illuminating the signs on the side of the road at quite a distance. I cannot see how they would not blind oncoming traffic and that is why i am looking at options. But if your lights work for you that is great. I had bi-zenon lights in my Grand Cherokee and they were great so am looking to do something like that in the Vette.
If your lights are lighting up road signs, and blinding oncoming drivers, you need to adjust them so the light is lower.
Make sure before adjusting, you use some sort of penetrating oil on the gold adjusting rods before trying to turn them.
If these break, finding replacements is near impossible.
Looking at headlight options
