Re: [T3] Speaking of headlights...a relay upgrade?

[Per Lindgren <lindgre@online.no>]

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Dave Hall wrote:

> > Would be true to say, that if we are upgrading to H4's, and don't want to
> > change the relay system, that we should choose the 55/60 watt bulbs?
>
> The wiring is good for a bit more than the stock rating, so 55/60W would be
> no problem.  I'm not a very keen advocate of high power lamps - you can
> generally make things a lot better by ensuring all the wiring, connectors
> and bulb-holders are in good clean condition, including the earth wires.
> You can even run a separate thick (fused) wire to feed direct from the
> battery.
I agree to this. In my experience, the higher wattage bulbs doesnt give 
that much more light, but they run a lot warmer, which affects the 
chrome in the old headlights. I have a lot of old lights where the 
chrome is bad, and new reflectors are expensive.

> There's something to be said for additional 'spotlights' run separately with
> their own relays and switches, aimed to improve lighting and aimed so they
> don't dazzle or switched by the main or dipped beam relay as needed.<snip>I'm sure Toby, Per, Brian etc
> will have more useful input to supply on this topic!
Well, as both Toby and Brian has/had stock lights, I guess I will chime 
in here.

On my car, I have a set of Hella Micro FF fog lights for improved low 
beam. They are installed under the front bumper, and are one of the most 
advanced fog lights on the market. In addition to having the lights 
there, I have wired them directly to the "X" position on the ignition 
(via a relay, of course) because daytime lights are mandatory in Norway 
(and some other countries in Europe). This way I wont forget to turn on 
the lights. I do have a switch as well, so I can turn them off if I want to.

> Cheap tinted bulbs are generally considered the least satisfactory, and
> would have to run at a higher wattage to make up for some of the light
> absorbed by the tinting.
Cheap tinted bulbs are bad, but good tinted bulbs from manuacturers like 
Philips or GE actually gives a whiter light. I have not tested these in 
my type 3, but in other cars, both my own and on the cars we drive at 
work (we work night-time, so good light is essential). The blue coating 
filters out different colors, which makes the light whiter. The cheaper 
bulbs arent compensated with different gas micture, so they turn out 
weaker than regular "white" bulbs.

One thing that comes to mind about bulbs is... I used to run some cheap 
H4 bulbs from the FLAPS in my 73. They cost like $2 each. The light was 
a bit yellow, and the cutoff was blurry. One day I bought a pair of 
"Philips H4 Premium +50%" and the light output was more than I expected. 
The light was brighter, the output was fuller and more even, and the 
cutoff line was really sharp. Still these lights were regular 60/55 watts.

The reason that bulbs such as these are better than standard halogen is 
that the gas mixture is tweaked and the bulbs are made to run on a 
little bit lower voltage than the regular 14-15 volts of the standard 
bulbs. This makes them brighter, but unfortenately have a shorter life span.

PerL
73 Variant L (with good light)


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