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S1 Headlight Upgrades

zoomzoom

By zoomzoom,
in Four Door Family & Wagoneers

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zoomzoom Mentor

zoomzoom

Posted
Posted

Ive been thinking about upgrading the headlights and weighing up the pros and cons of a few options. So I wanted to gather some opinions on what successes people have had.

Option 1: staying halogen. (safest and legal)

What are the best globes out there for best light output? I think I have some of the narva +whatever ones in there. Put them in years ago.

Would there be any benefit in creating a new relay circuit so the headlights receive full battery voltage? (there may be a voltage drop through the existing wiring with more powerful lights - have not tested yet)

Option 2: HID conversion (fairly simple and inexpensive, not legal, more obviously defectable, more glare)

How is the light pattern with the stagea reflector housings? I would like more light, but don't want to be a flamin mongrel to other drivers. There is obviously a quality difference between kits, with differing bulb shields to reduce glare.

Option 3: high beam only upgrades. (custom fabrication, no guarantee of effective outcome)

Has anyone done anything useful with the inner foglights on the S1 headlights? For starters the, the headlight will have to be dismantled in order to remove the yellow filter. While there is a central cone of light coming out of them, there is a lot of light dispersion. However these would never be on when facing oncoming traffic, perhaps they could function as extra driving lights?

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KiwiRS4T Grand Master

KiwiRS4T

Posted
Posted

If the objective is better night vision then light bars won't do anything for you. I assume that headlamps are already supplied via a relay so that just leaves getting the best possible bulbs for your headlights and/or replacing the foglamps with driving lights.

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Duncan Grand Master

Duncan

Posted
Posted

Are you looking for high beam only? I recently went LED high beams in the Leaf, not sure what globe type the stag takes but you may be able to use the same or similar

http://www.banggood.com/H8-H9-H11-20W-Cree-XML-2-LED-SMD-Car-Fog-Headlight-Light-Bulb-Xenon-White-p-976889.html

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zoomzoom Mentor

zoomzoom

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Are you looking for high beam only? I recently went LED high beams in the Leaf, not sure what globe type the stag takes but you may be able to use the same or similar

http://www.banggood.com/H8-H9-H11-20W-Cree-XML-2-LED-SMD-Car-Fog-Headlight-Light-Bulb-Xenon-White-p-976889.html

I was just getting to option 4b - LED replacements for globes..... Just to clarify are you suggesting retrofitting H4 LEDs? Or putting LEDs in the foglight spot?

I was under the assumption that while LED headlights are going to be the easiest way to go, the light output is still similar to a halogen. Im sure high end ones are great.

zoomzoom Mentor

zoomzoom

Posted
  • Author
Posted

i always found my headlights to be fine. what exactly are the problems you're having?

i am using phillips white vision which are 4300k.

The high beams are OK (could always be better) but the low beams are a bit dim. I get a bit edgy in canberra when I have poor illumination of the roadside, too many kangaroo accidents around.

Trex Grand Master

Trex

Posted
Posted

The high beams are OK (could always be better) but the low beams are a bit dim. I get a bit edgy in canberra when I have poor illumination of the roadside, too many kangaroo accidents around.

im in the act too. you're more than welcome to check mine out before you spend money on something that may not need changing ;)

and with the foglight spot. i've seen a lot of guys use the standard h3c globes but with the orange lens in the headlight taken out.

zoomzoom Mentor

zoomzoom

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Id certainly love to check out your stagea sometime. In terms of lights though, I have found something. Maybe a doh moment. The bulbs I have in there at the moment are blue tinted osram ones. They are only 60/55w though.

There are now up to 130/100w bulbs available.

However, is it safe to run higher wattage without melting the housing?

Should I run a new relay with some heavy wiring to the battery?

  • 1 month later...
zoomzoom Mentor

zoomzoom

Posted
  • Author
Posted

sorry to bump this bk to the top.

ive fitted 35w H4 hid's and 24" led light bar this has made a very big diffrance in night time driving

I read enough about dual hi/lo beam h4 HID conversions to put me off the idea. How is the light pattern, glare, beam focus, etc?

I ended up sticking with halogens, though I made my own heavy duty wiring harness and Im using slightly higher wattage bulbs. Nothing crazy like 100+ watts though (which would probably ruin the housings). Results have been good - the low beam is much brighter, but has a very distinct cutoff

Big Ozone Newbie

Big Ozone

Posted
Posted

Light pattern with hid is better than using halogens. beam focus is very good and glare is a bit of a pain but all Ive done is turn the light units down a bit.

Hi beam is good get very good light coverage and you can pick up thing a lot better in the distance. Hi beam is even better with the 24" cree led light bar.

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