H4 Headlamp Conversion

[darrylalp]

I'm about to order these headlamps http://classicgarage.com/534h4neolhea.html . What bulb/wattage should I get for maximum brightness while keeping stock wiring. Would these be too much? http://classicgarage.com/h4clearhalwo.html Any tips would be appreciated as I still have the original sealed beams and would like to do an H4 conversion.

[Mike W.]

You can get away with 80/100s, but you better have your headlights adjusted correctly. Maybe even a little low. You can even order the headlights with the high wattage bulbs from them, you may have to email and ask, but I've done it. High wattage burn out sooner, get some spares.

Classic Garage is great to deal with, I'm a repeat customer.

[tn535i]

My son found the Hella brand H4 and H1 lenses a bit cheaper elswhere and put them on our e28 then found another deal on low beams only which are on the e30 now. They are nice but CG is probably the easiest source for the full 'kit' if you don't want to go searching around for lenses and bulbs separately. He also tried a couple of the 'better' rated std wattage bulbs now, maybe Osram Nightbreaker in one and Phillips in the other, and even at the 55w the upgrade in lighting is amazing.

Should you be concerned that the 80/100 watt is a little too much for the original fuse box and wires? I'd like to know if others can chime in?

[BuzzBomb]

Aim for the whites of their eyes, I say.

[ElGuappo]

I am a fan of the Classic Garage flat face, no bulb shield H4 lenses.
Their bulbs are junk though, as cheap as it gets.
I have run 80w lows without issue on the stock wiring.

[wkohler]

Do a search for threads about melted fuseboxes. There are many, and they all have to do with high wattage headlamps.

Uhhh, just about everything is fuses 14 and 17.

I run Sylvania Silverstars in my cars.

[jdualan]

http://classicgarage.com/53hehekit.html

ive been running this complete package w/ bulbs for 2 years now...plug in play in 20 minutes.......no issues

[tn535i]

My son has really studied all this and I need to correct what I said. No Osram bulbs in any of our cars (yet), they are Phillips X-treme Vision or X-treme Power. The X-treme Power was even a nice upgrade in my old M6 ellipsoid lenses. X-treme Vision has the highest efficacy ratings at +100.

The deal with efficacy of the bulb is as important as the rated power consumption. Some of the better bulbs make more light per watt used and I'm guessing the 80/100 bulbs have a lesser quality filament meaning they make less light per watt. Maybe a little more light overall but not much more for the extra power over a high quality 55/60 bulb. Daniel Stern lighting is a good resource for a lot of info related to this and another bulb my son was interested in trying was an Osram Rallye 70/65 +50.

Whatever you do you will like it over sealed beams and then some. But remember: Most H4/H1 are not DOT approved except CIBIE' and any low beem over ~55w also not DOT approved.

[Mike W.]

I am a fan of the Classic Garage flat face, no bulb shield H4 lenses.
Their bulbs are junk though, as cheap as it gets.
I have run 80w lows without issue on the stock wiring.

I too have run 80W lows without any problems on stock wiring. I have had no issues with their bulbs either. But any of the high wattage seem to be short lived.

[darrylalp]

Thanks guys! I think I'll stick with the 60/55w bulbs and go from there. Just drove in the dark pouring rain, wipers full blast and hardly any street lamps on the road . Ugh, not a good feeling! Any upgrade would be better than these sealed beams.

[Mike W.]

Thanks guys! I think I'll stick with the 60/55w bulbs and go from there. Just drove in the dark pouring rain, wipers full blast and hardly any street lamps on the road . Ugh, not a good feeling! Any upgrade would be better than these sealed beams.

Pouring rain in the dark will do that. For that fogs almost seem to do better. 55/100s are an option too if you just want to really light it up on high beams and not worry too much about the lows. Again, talk to them, it's probably only a couple of dollar upgrade if you do it at time of purchase.

[jimoreno]

I have the OSRAM Night Breakers in my Euro lights and I love them!

[shagrath]

That's a great price (but then I saw why, they are not Hella). There are no wiring conversions to deal with. Just plug and play. The H1 highs include a wire to help adapt them to your connector. It's a simple conversion with no wire modification needed. I love my H4/H1 setup. I will not go back to sealed beams (except for safety inspection, as the Hella's do not have "DOT" written on the glass )

See my sig pic.

[Mike W.]

That's a great price (but then I saw why, they are not Hella). There are no wiring conversions to deal with. Just plug and play. The H1 highs include a wire to help adapt them to your connector. It's a simple conversion with no wire modification needed. I love my H4/H1 setup. I will not go back to sealed beams (except for safety inspection, as the Hella's do not have "DOT" written on the glass )

See my sig pic.

I think they're every bit as good as Hellas. Even if they weren't a fraction of the price. Interestingly the way they prefer to do it is to use one filament of an H4 bulb for the highs, that way you don't need an adapter to use the standard connector. Seemed strange until I thought about it then it made perfect sense.

[Bimmerguy2002]

I will not go back to sealed beams (except for safety inspection, as the Hella's do not have "DOT" written on the glass )

See my sig pic.

neither do my 450w aircraft lamps

i run narva 130/100w in the H4s. Its quite fun blasting down a canyon with 1000+ watts of light at your disposal.

[Mike W.]

I will not go back to sealed beams (except for safety inspection, as the Hella's do not have "DOT" written on the glass )

See my sig pic.

neither do my 450w aircraft lamps

i run narva 130/100w in the H4s. Its quite fun blasting down a canyon with 1000+ watts of light at your disposal.

And with your alternator howling louder than your exhaust???

[darrylalp]

Does anybody have any experience with these bulbs? HELLA HLA-H83140171 http://www.amazon.com/HELLA-HLA-H831401 ... roduct_top

[shagrath]

They're bright.

[demetk]

Does anybody have any experience with these bulbs? HELLA HLA-H83140171 http://www.amazon.com/HELLA-HLA-H831401 ... roduct_top

They work very nicely.

[lswoboda]

I just purchased a four lamp set (5.75" H4s and H1s) from Classic Garage, and I'm very happy.

I haven't installed them yet, but the service was outstanding and the shipping was very fast. I asked for the stock H4s to switched out for H4s with city lights and they took care of it without any issues.

I'd recommend them without reservation!

Cheers.