jbrown7815

iTrader: (1)

So this: http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=350

+

http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/DD...ast-35W-or-55W

All I need?





Thanks

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Yep. Osram Hyper 85w bulbs, also from rallylights, and the Hella e-code housings. MUCH more light than stock, and much more light actually on the road, and not scattered all over the place like with DOT, US spec junk housings/lenses.

Not sure on the HID's, never run them before. Not even sure if a good HID kit could put out the kind of light a good setup with 100W halogen bulbs could.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

If the OP doesn't mind, I will try and document my harness build and give as much helpful info as I can and post it up here, in hope of maybe being useful. My camera hasn't gotten much use lately anyway.

Build on!

jbrown7815

iTrader: (1)

I think HID should beat them. My stock HID's on my Audi are full of WIN. White light makes such a difference.

hotspoons

@NA6C-Guy - feel free! I'll snap some pictures at a point to show off this install.

@Jbrown, I have two cars with factory hid's in the stable - an '07 STi and my girlfriend's '07 g35 sedan. The miata with said lighting upgrades has notably better lighting than both. Granted, it isn't attention getting or bling, but I have no qualms saying I prefer night driving in the miata over the others, because of superior, usable lighting.

hotspoons

Also, jbrown - you *do not* want to use xenon/hid's in an h4 fixture. It is the lighting equivalent of duct taping a mustang driveline to a civic - yes, it will make light, but it will be in optics specifically designed for the output of an h4 lamp, not an arc. You can get 7" hid's, but a genuine, well engineered set up with proper optics is very expensive, and all you gain is whiter light that looks cool, while subjectively the performance of a high end h4 setup will give you a better end experience. Trust me, this was my first thought when I did the lighting upgrades on my 944 turbo years ago, but research and common sense prevailed, hence me repeating the same setup after owning cars with factory hid's for said reasons. You don't want to be that jackass in the ford f150 blinding oncoming traffic with glaring '9000k' hid filaments in the wrong optics, do you? Now, hid reverse lamps I can get behind.

hotspoons

you're right that adding additional / better grounds will make a big difference on a stock harness. If you have big wires going into the circuit fed off of a power source, then you get very big gains, but only if you complete the circuit with a solid ground. It is like putting a big turbo on with a 1 and 1/4" exhaust otherwise. Better grounds by themselves would definitely make a difference.

jbrown7815

iTrader: (1)

Alright thanks hotspoons. Will go with halogen.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Sorry, pictures and documentation are just not happening. I've been up for about 26 hours, and have been working on my lights since about 6am, it's now 3pm. Took me a lot more time than it did Spoons, I work slow. Not my favorite project, by far. I have it looking pretty OEM, with loom in the important areas. Only thing I couldn't really hide were the main lines from the alternator.

Everything works but the relay blocks are giving me trouble. A few of the damn ends won't stay snapped in the block and slide out. I also got a little solder or something in a few of them, because the relays won't fully seat. Everything works though. I may try shooting the block full of hot glue where the wires won't vibrate loose going down the road. Night trials will come tonight or in the morning after I get my 10 hours of sleep. That heat and lack of sleep kicked my ***.

PS, first impression in the daylight, which is poor indication, is that they aren't really much brighter with the same 85w bulbs I was running before. I held off on the 100w bulbs for now. If I don't see much change I will be quite a bit annoyed with this project, since I lost OEM simplicity and 100% reliability, and now have aftermarket stuff I installed, and wires shaking loose and ****.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

Never mind... HOLY ****! Even with the same bulbs, the change is HUGE. I'll get some pictures later when I take it out to test and aim them. I can't even imagine them with the 100w bulbs in them. Almost think 100w would be overkill for a street vehicle. I don't think there are many if any cars on the road from the factory with lighting this good. Bright and well aimed. I can stand in front of the car and not get blinded with glare, but squat down a bit and your eyes burn.

Here is a picture of the light. This is low beam, and the camera was set up a bit improperly and is a bit dark, so it's actually a good bit brighter than this. Hand held shooting in the dark is tough on ISO200 with a 1/10 shutter.



Going through a construction zone with high beams on is almost blinding to me because of all of the reflective tape on the cones/drums. After a more thorough test I would say wiring alone increased my light output by 30%-40%. I will install the 100W bulbs tomorrow, along with the fog/driving light bulb and try again. Absolutely no way a deer will sneak out in my path now.

NA6C-Guy

iTrader: (1)

I'm bringing it back for a second. Hey Spoons, do you run boots on your headlights? I recall my Hellas coming with boots, but where they ran off to I have no idea. Just noticed they were missing, so no doubt I lost them one of the previous times installing bulbs. I just blew my first 85/80 the other night leaving work, but it's OK since they already had over a year of use on them before the wire job. The bulb itself was busted, but the filaments looked in one piece. I'm thinking the lack of boot let this horrible night time humidity get into the light and maybe a drop of water condensed and dripped and hit the hot bulb and shattered it? Can you even run the rubber boot with 100W lights without melting them? Either way, the 85/80 came out and the 100/90 went in. I could tell just by sight in the day that the 90 is a tiny bit brighter than the 80, but I can also feel more heat, which I don't suppose is a real issue. Can't wait for tonight so I can try them out. Carrying my set of stock wattage Night Breakers in the trunk from now on as spares. Only takes a screwdriver and a few minutes to swap them out.

I may invest in a set of Cibies since I hear they have a slightly better pattern than the Hella, and I can get some boots back, since the insides of mine are a bit fogged and dirty. I guess I could cure that if I wanted to.