Headlight upgrade

[Paul G]

I have seen kits to replace the original sealed beams with replaceable element type lamps. Some are Xenon bulb, some are "HID like", HID needs a seperate ballast to fire them. I dont htink you would get actual HID kits for $50.00.

Is there any improvement in brightness by using one of the Xenon upgrade kits that are available?

This stuff is on eBay all the time. I am leary of any product on eBay that is always up for bid. Maybe it's good? I dont know?

 

[Vettelt193]

I have wanted them myself, but am also leary of the ebay purchases....

 

[trrgod]

I bought a set of these headlights on Ebay. They have the blue tint bulbs. The kit was under $50.00. They work fine and are only slightly brighter. I plan to upgrade the bulbs to higher wattage.

 

[Eagle85C4]

My kit has the plastic headlights...with the interchangeable bulbs that are HID and there is no ballast...the wattage is 80 for low and 130 on high. Low is normally around 55-65 watts. It was very east to change and the difference is like night and day...I can finally see in intense white light instead of the dingy yellow. I would highly recommend the change to anyone. And I have a spare set if anyone wants one...

 

[JonM]

You can buy these at summitracing.com...about 130.00 total

 

[Eagle85C4]

They are selling on EBAY under the heading of corvette headlights. The diamond cut headlights with the HID or HIB bulbs for 54-59.00 for 84-96 Corvettes
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1871393328

 

[thetorch]

I have the kit that Summit sells, but I didn't purchase it from them. I would highly recommend this to anyone. It is a huge improvement over the stock headlights.

I don't know about the kit on ebay. The headlamp housings look very 'ricey'. I'd have to see them installed before I got them. The factory look and improved lighting from the Summit kit is the way to go.

 

[rrubel]

Let me point out that 80 and 130w bulbs are *not* HID - true HID only uses 35 watts for low beams, 45 for high and essentially works like a strobe flash for your camera (but recycling VERY quickly). You've got just "normal" superwhites (which I run in my Outback) at wattage high enough to get you a ticket... or melt your wiring harness. I found that if I ran my lows (80w) for extended periods of time then I would melt the connector to the bulb itself. Using highs (130) melted things even quicker. To get around that, I added an aftermarket wiring harness that connects between the battery, ground, sockets, and the switch. No more melty, though I've dropped back to 70/80 bulbs anyway. The 130's would also blow out in a matter of weeks.

Also, blue light is the absolute worst to see by at night. Pure white is best, but even having a little yellow provides contrast. See this web page <http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/info/>. The author currently sells lights but only started such when he was dissatisfied with what was currently available and the mis-information surrounding them.
[RICHR]

 

[VetteGarage]

I installed a set of Hella's from Summit last evening. I cannot believe how fast I got those lights! I ordered them on Monday late afternoon and the box had arrived Tuesday afternoon. Free shipping (just a handling charge). I think the total price was $90. I used the bulbs that came with the lenses. Should I consider replacing the bulbs with higher power ones? Are they street legal?
The weather has been crappy in southwestern PA for the last few day, so I have not had a chance to test the lights. I cannot wait till it dries up to try them out!

 

[rrubel]

Anything that is higher wattage than came with your car is not "street legal". Some municipalities will also ticket you for color changes. That said, they have to notice that there's a difference.

Of course, I know someone who got ticketed in a southern state with STOCK HID lights (Acura). Cop didn't care that the car came from the factory that way...

I've been running higher-than-stock wattage in my Outback for about five years with nary a external issue - no cops, no high-beam flashing (except when loaded down in back, and I would get flashed with my normal lights at that point).

You may see "For off-road use only" on higher-wattage bulbs... that's corporate CYA.

[RICHR]

 

[thetorch]

Let me point out that 80 and 130w bulbs are *not* HID - true HID only uses 35 watts for low beams, 45 for high and essentially works like a strobe flash for your camera (but recycling VERY quickly). You've got just "normal" superwhites (which I run in my Outback) at wattage high enough to get you a ticket... or melt your wiring harness. I found that if I ran my lows (80w) for extended periods of time then I would melt the connector to the bulb itself. Using highs (130) melted things even quicker. To get around that, I added an aftermarket wiring harness that connects between the battery, ground, sockets, and the switch. No more melty, though I've dropped back to 70/80 bulbs anyway. The 130's would also blow out in a matter of weeks.

Also, blue light is the absolute worst to see by at night. Pure white is best, but even having a little yellow provides contrast. See this web page <http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/info/>. The author currently sells lights but only started such when he was dissatisfied with what was currently available and the mis-information surrounding them.
[RICHR]

I know the lights I have are not HID. I am happy with the Superwhites. I installed my bulbs over a year ago and have not had a problem since. I changed the bulbs after a month or so, but just because I wanted the PIAA Superwhite bulbs instead. The PIAA's don't have the blue tint to them that the APC has.

I have read the information on the website referenced above. My personal perception and opinion is that the PIAA superwhites do allow ME to see much better than the stock headlights.

 

[Eagle85C4]

Sounds like somebody got a bad set...cause I have installed the ebay set over a year ago and have not had one problem...with bulbs and or melted wiring. And this is on my daily driver, the lights get used every day.

 

[rrubel]

Eagle, every car and application is different... for me, the higher-wattage bulbs generated too much heat for the setup of my car. Heat will kill bulbs faster than anything other than oil from your fingers (which causes hot spots, so it's still heat...).

Notice that aftermarket suppliers for the C5 Vette that make HID replacements have fans in the light housings to keep things cool.

Incidently, with the higher-wattage harness I had no more melting problems, though still had too much heat from the bulbs. I use my lows 24/7 as DRLs so they truly are on constantly.
[RICHR]

 

[Paul G]

Are these bulbs direct plug ins to the factory plug thats on the back of my sealed beams?

 

[thetorch]

The bulbs will plug into your stock harness.

 

[Eagle85C4]

Rich...
Just curious...what is the amp rating on the alternator for an 86? Is it the same as the 85 with the 120 amp?

 

[rrubel]

There were three different alternators for 86... I think 85, 105, and 120. What the differences were and why you got one over another I have no idea (except that most likely rear-defroster-equipped cars had the higher rating).

At least these three are offered as OEM rebuilt replacements for 86 when I do a parts search at the various catalog houses.

[RICHR]

 

[Paul G]

See this web page <http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/info/>.

rrubel that is a great article. In short I guess what it is saying is the Blue tint bulbs are a scam. Actually the Blue detracts from the amount of light they put out. Xenon gas was originaly intended for true HID (high intensity discharge) lighting which requires a ballast as I thought. The confusion comes in when manufacturers use the term HID and Xenon interchangably when the shouldnt. Xenon gas has been found to enhance the output of regular halogen lamps. This does not mean Xenon enhanced Halogen lamps are HID. Hid is a totaly different type of lamp that uses Xenon gas. Great article. I think I am going to buy a set of glass lamps and put my own superwhite H4 bulbs in them.

 

[rrubel]

I've used both Xenon superwhites and Krypton/Quartz superwhites. The Krypton/Quartz last much longer but aren't quite as "white" in their light output. They do run cooler, though, and the quartz/glass is more able to take the heat (ever had a high-wattage bulb explode on you? Not fun cleaning the glass out).

Now that I know about these replacement shells for the Vette, I believe that'll be my next mod. The stock lights are junk.
[RICHR]

 

[Eagle85C4]

From what I have been able to gather, if you have a Z-51...you got the higher amp alternator. Which is what I have. And I am running the higher wattage headlight bulbs as well as 55 watt fog lights...And run both at the same time with no ill effect.
Also if you are going to change....do yourself a favor...get the plastic headlight housings. So far I have had to spend 100.00 for new gears on both motors for the headlights, and had to replace a motor for 280.00. The plastic weighs so much less then the glass and actually extends the life of the motor and gears.
Just my .02¢