Hella replacable bulb housings with 90/100 watt bulbs. Sylvania has some nice selctions that are lower so I am still debating but going from 55/60 watt to 90 with upgraded housings are going to be terriffic for me! I can't wait for them to be installed and test them out!

Sounds good! It should really lite up the road for ya ;)

C4 headlights use relays for the lows and highs right? C3s didn't and we experience problems when we install higher power bulb.

I did some extensive research on this subject not long ago. I found reports that the Hella 6054 housings have reflectors that make the spread between the high beam and the low beam too great for a car with low head lights like the Corvette. It was reported that when the low beams were aimed properly that the high beams were up off the road into the trees. Consequently, if the high beams were optimized, the low beams hit the road too close to the car and were unsatisfactory. There is a well recognized authority and seller of after market lights, Danial Stern. Go to his site and check out what he has to say before you make a $200.+ mistake. He was willing to answer questions even though I didn't buy from him. BTW, the only reason I didn't buy was because I decided to take a less expensive route. If I had spent the money, it would have been with him. If you decide not to go whole hog, ask before you buy the replacement "SilverStar" sealed beams by Sylvania.


Durango Boy,
There are no relays for the head light illumination on a C4. The relays are only for the motors that flip up the lights. Adding relays are a good idea with any lighting up grade.

RACE ON!!!

Yeah in a C3 the power for the headlights goes through the dimmer and through the switch itself. The stock lights all work fine but with higher power lights the switch itself turns into a thermal switch. It overloads, the lights shut off, the rheostat cools off, and the lights turn back on. This cycle keeps up every few seconds if the brights are used in conjunction with the lows. The rheostat simply cannot take the extra power the higher power bulbs draw. This is also a serious hazard because the switch now becomes a fire hazard. Picture a light bulb filament.

The fix is simple. Two relays, one for highs and one for lows. Powered from the starter lug, and switched by the original high and low power wires. The lighting improves with this upgrade alone, paired with higher powered bulbs it's even better AND safe.

Here's a diagram for the relay wiring for both high and low for a C3. This can be adapted for C4s I assume with some simple changes.

[IMG]http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m242/durango_boy/HeadlightRelayWiringDiagram.jpg[/IMG]

I have upgraded headlights - the only change was a slightly bigger amp fuse and I regrounded the parking lights on their own circuit.

Matthew

I have the Hella upgrade... and CFI is right. I never really thought about it, but the brights do point to space.

Quote:
According to the research I did, you don't have that problem with the Cibie reflectors.



Quote:The rheostat is a variable resistor that when the head light switch knob is rotated, controls the brightness of the IP lights. The cycling of the head lights you refer to is the blowing and resetting of the circuit breaker built into the head light switch.

That is a great schematic for the head light relays. There is a chart on Daniel Stern's site showing the reduction in light output from various light sources based on the voltage drop that can exist in stock wiring harnesses. He recommends adding relays even to stock head lights. However, as I was reminded by an authority on illumination, it takes a significant difference in the amount of light to be noticeable in practical use. Food for thought, information, in order to make an informed decision.

RACE ON!!!

I will check into the Cibie. Thanks! I will say this, the Hella lights were better than the sealed beams I had. I will more than likely put them on the Jeep and check out these Cibie's for my Vette.

The real goal would be them new fangled lights with the ballasts and such... Xenon, IIRC.

The trick with those is the housing. You cannot just put those bulbs into a conventional halogen fixture. The bulbs require different reflective properties.

Yes! And if you don't want to throw your money away it takes big bucks, too.

RACE ON!!!

I just installed the Sylvania "silver star" headlights. They are rated at 55w as opposed to the 35w rating of the standard halogens. I am happy with them. The high beams are, well, high. I seldom get to use high beam so it doesn't matter. I can see at night now. CFI-EFI, is there something I should know about these lights that I don't? Previously, I was driving with my high beams on, adjusted way down but wasn't comfortable with that.

Quote:Initially, I was wooed by the Silver Star advertising, also. I'm not sure if it was from his web site or from correspondence between us, but Daniel Stern has disassembled the Silver Stars and conducted tests. The results he reported were quite damning. He advised me that if I wasn't going to spend the money for the good stuff, to avoid the Silver Stars and buy GE Night Hawks. He doesn't sell either, but he directed me to Amazon where I could buy them for the same price as the Sylvania's. If you are interested in his report on the Silver Stars and don't see them on his site, let me know and I'll see if I can find the correspondence between us.

RACE ON!!!

My experience is that the Silverstars will get you a brighter lowbeam, but they burnout faster.

I won't buy them again, especially for a motorcycle.


I added relays for low and high beam on my bike to boost voltage and will be adding a better light as soon as I figure out which one to use.

If you are going to spend the money for the good stuff, check out Daniel Stern and his various offerings. His report on the Silver Stars revealed a poorly designed reflector. I don't recall any comments on bulb life or shock resistance.

RACE ON!!!