I recently installed 80lows/100highs blue high intensity bulbs on my car. I really like the color but they are dimmer than the stock bulbs. I remember reading a post a while back about somone rewiring their lights for optimum voltage. If someone has done it or knows how please let me know.

 

When you go with a bulb that is in the blue color range, you lose out on light intensity. So your 80 watt bulb is probably performing like a 70 watt bulb. So while they look cool, they suck for driving and safety. You're better off getting bulbs that are ni the 4100K color range for the best lighting output.

Wiring. If you are going to run higher wattage bulbs, you need to change your wiring harness. You can find vendors who sell them. Personally I switched to the T84 (euro) headlamps that take H4 bulbs and got a kit that came with a new harness and PIAA 90/135 watt bulbs. Those bulbs are a white light and are bright!

I have finally changed those over to a CATZ H4 HID conversion kit (4300K) and couldn't be happier. They are _really_ bright and illuminate the road. The only problem is that they don't make the kit anymore since there's a ban on non OEM HID's

Good luck!
Chris

 

Click here to see instructions for how to wire up your fogs or low beams to come on with the brights.

You can make your own "high wattage" wiring harness for under $20. All you need is a relay (the one in the above link will work) and an in-line fuse. Connect it directly to the battery and your bulbs will get all the current they want.

Another option is replacing the stock fogs with PIAA 1100x driving lights, you won't be diasppointed.
:cheers:

 

I don't need the lights to come on together. I just want the lights to get all the power they can for optimum light. Does the 30A relay allow more power than the stock relay? If so can I just replace the relays for more power. Or is it a combination of the 30A relay with the 18ga wire. what limits the amount of power to the lights?


[Modified by CDVette2002, 11:56 PM 4/23/2004]

 

The stock wiring will give the higher wattage bulbs all the current that they want to pull, so the amount of current 'gain' that you will get from installing the relay and powering your lights through larger wiring coming directly from the battery is negligible. The reason the high current harnesses are recommended is to protect the stock switches/relays/connectors from overheating and failing due to the higher temperatures generated in the wiring due to the higher current draw. The harness won't supply any more 'power' to the new bulbs, it will just allow the stock wiring to last longer since it was designed with the lower wattage bulbs in mind.

As mentioned above, the brightness problem you are seeing is due to the color of the light coming out of the bulbs, not their power output. If you like the blue look of the bulbs then you'll have to get comfortable with the brightness, otherwise I'd suggest switching to a 'whiter' bulb.

As far as 'rewiring for optimum voltage' goes, the voltage is a constant. The resistance of the load being powered is what determines how much current is going to be drawn at a given voltage, and that resistance is a constant that just depends on the type of bulb you install. Think of it this way, fuses blow when wires are shorted together, that's because the resistance between the wires goes to almost nothing, which then causes current to spike as high as the power supply will let it, causing the fuse to blow when the current reaches the fuses maximum current rating, while all of this is happening the voltage is still going to stay at 12V.

The harness will have an almost unmeasurably lower overall resistance than the stock wiring, and you can put it in for that reason, but P=IxE and E=IxR aren't going to change just because you run the current through a slightly less restrictive setup.
:seeya