What is the best TJ headlight upgrade!
What is the best TJ headlight upgrade!
Here goes:
I am running Hella E-Code H4 housings with 100/80W bulbs (purchased on Amazon through the vendor Susquehanna Motorsports, best price I could find). They aren’t legal in the states, but I have never had a problem or gotten pulled over for them. I just swap them out for inspections to the factory sealed units I keep on a shelf in the garage; merely because I don’t want to risk failing my inspection due to the European spec headlight housings . I also upgraded my factory headlight wiring harness with a kit I purchased from Daniel Stern Lighting (http://www.danielsternlighting.com/p.../products.html). The kit was a LOT less expensive to buy from him and build myself than buy a pre-built upgraded harness. Plus I got to learn more and spend quality time with my Jeep in the garage in the process. If you go that route, it’s the RIK-2 kit form his website. He is a great guy to deal with, he was able to walk me through a lot of my questions and promptly responded to all my emails.
I read that even simply upgrading the harness would give the OEM sealed units much better light output. I didn’t do it with the OEM units, but did try it with the E-code housings and a few other bulb size variations. The pictures are at home, I’ll try & dig them up and post later if I remember….and if they are on my new computer.
I can't vouch for it being the “best”, but this works for me and I am blind at night or during the rain. They give extremely great visibility both high & low beam, you can’t even tell my fog lights are on when the low beams are on I will be ditching those once I get a front bumper put together for this pig. Also, before this upgrade I used the fog lights to supplement the weak factory headlights (modified the fogs by remove the light baffle from inside the housing for more light output to a ‘driving’ style light). I've never been flashed for them being too bright (the new headlights, or the modified fog lamps), not even during rainy days. In which I used to get flashed all the time with the OEM sealed beam units alone, without the fogs on.
Prices for my upgrade:
$92.22 for the E-Code housings & bulbs (Susquehanna Motorsports)
$59.12 for the RIK-2 harness kit (Daniel Stern Lighting)
Plus a few extra dollars in larger gauge wire from the autoparts store in order to complete the harness. Maybe spent around $20 for a few spools of wire that I didn’t have sitting around the garage… can’t remember…have my receipts at home on file at home. But again, that’s at home and I am at work…worker hard as you can see
I also got a lot of information from user name Slithering_Joe on Jeepforum.com. He provided me with sweet wiring diagrams (also noting what gauge wires to use where) to help build the harness.
ALTHOUGH, If I did it again I'd probably go HID like Jay (PAFirefighter49) did. Let’s see if he chimes in
ddmtuning.com i have these in my ZJ (BI-Xenon Hi and Lo) and in my moms Impala.. ABSOLUTELY NO COMPARISON to anythng youll see driving around here.. they are brighter than the HIDs in my dads Cadillac, and his are the Philips Osram HID Capsules.. the ones from ddmtuning are actual HID capsules, with ballasts, and completely plug and play, no mods need to be done at all... my mom doesnt even need the Hi beams anymore... the Impala was $35 shipped and for the ZJ it was $50 shipped.. only took 4 days to get here too... 1 tip, dont get the bi-xenon for the ZJ, they rly only werk on either hi or lo depending on how you put the capsules into the ZJ light buckets, the buckets flat out suck, thats why im working on mounting projectors in the housings
ill get vids up tonight showing the difference... i like them so much ill be getting a kit for my raptor 660 and my moms Saturn too..
edit: i dont care much for the ricer look of the purple, or yellow, they look ok but dont do shit for lightin the road more than 5 feet in front of ur truck.. i got the 5000K temp lights, they are WHITE, no tints of blue or purple.. youll see in the vids.. my fog lights are 100W bulbs and they look yellow now compared to the HIDs
Last edited by ZJ_5.2LIMITED; 09-30-2010 at 05:32 PM.
99 WJ 4.7, 545RFE, 247 - BB on 30s
95 ZJ 5.2, 46RH, 249 - BB on 32" BFG MT
02 WJ 4.7HO, 545RFE, 247 - stock but breaks the tires loose on the 1-2 shift
Thanks for the info guys,think I 'm gping to try and stay legal on the lights! Anyone out there have RoundEyes replacement headlights?
here are the links, and while they may or may not be legal, i say 2 things: drive passed a ricer civic at night, and 2 i have driven by law enforcement everytime i go to work midnight shift, ill either drive 51-70 or go thru smithton, and have never had a prob with either vehicle. its all about the installation of the capsule..
Impala
ZJ
i wont go back to halogens, hids last longer and only use about 3 volts to ignite, when i turn the stereo up, every time the subs hit you can see every light dim except the HIDs. this entire kit is cheaper than a pair of Sylvania Super Ultra Extra this that n the other from walmart
99 WJ 4.7, 545RFE, 247 - BB on 30s
95 ZJ 5.2, 46RH, 249 - BB on 32" BFG MT
02 WJ 4.7HO, 545RFE, 247 - stock but breaks the tires loose on the 1-2 shift
I run 55w 5000k HIDs very similar to those on DDM Tuning's website. Essentially the same thing, but they're the upper model Apexcone lights. They are quite amazing.
Originally Posted by [B]skeebs[/B]
[I]there should be specific criteria people must meet in order to purchase a jeep
[/I][QUOTE=mangotango;227621]^^^Gettin' laid in the shower and you're complaining about the water? Really?
That's like having someone give you a million bucks and complaining about the color of the check.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=dan58;233662]The ugly as hell police says illegal.[/QUOTE]
I think BAD GNR has them.Originally Posted by Benefred
Even if you go with a H4 housing, I'd upgrade the harness. I ran a standard 60/55W H4 in the E-Code housing for a while before I built the new harness and yeah, the light output was better than stock, but not by much IMO.
I'd seriously listen to these other guys and go one of their routes rather than H4, it's cheaper in most cases to get better light output that way, plus they'll last longer. I didn't do enough research on HID options before I started buying parts & pieces over the past few years to get my headlights where they are now. And as you can see, my end cost was probably double what these guys paid.....
I doubt an HID install would be illegal or give you any issues during vehicles inspections, as long as you adjust the housings appropriately before you hit the street I would assume you're golden.
When buying from there, do I need to purchase the wireing, error eliminator, or the adapter cables?
"If guns don't kill people, people kill people, does that mean toasters don't toast toast, toast toasts toast?"
i didnt. the wiring on the ZJ isnt half bad, and like i said, HID ballasts only need 3 volts or so to ignite... the only thing is, my hi beam indicator doesnt come on on the jeep, but thats cause you only use 1 headlight plug.. i used the passenger side plug only, cause its in front of the batt.. and the Impala tells me when i have lamps out on the driver info center and havent had any issues with it..
99 WJ 4.7, 545RFE, 247 - BB on 30s
95 ZJ 5.2, 46RH, 249 - BB on 32" BFG MT
02 WJ 4.7HO, 545RFE, 247 - stock but breaks the tires loose on the 1-2 shift
Mine came with 2 ballasts, and all the wiring, including harnesses that plug into the stock headlight wiring (both sides)...I have no problem with my high beam indicator.
Originally Posted by [B]skeebs[/B]
[I]there should be specific criteria people must meet in order to purchase a jeep
[/I][QUOTE=mangotango;227621]^^^Gettin' laid in the shower and you're complaining about the water? Really?
That's like having someone give you a million bucks and complaining about the color of the check.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=dan58;233662]The ugly as hell police says illegal.[/QUOTE]
thats what this kit came with but it has an extra harness to control the electromagnet inside the capsules to trigger them for the hi beams, mine worked for about a month for about a month, then one day i realized after flickin the beams at some asshat for beamin me, that it didnt come on.. i just figured it was the Jeeps way of tellin me that i had a headlight out cause the HIDs couldnt meet the resistance of the module. kinda like if you use the wrong taillights, the idiot box says rear lamp failure..
99 WJ 4.7, 545RFE, 247 - BB on 30s
95 ZJ 5.2, 46RH, 249 - BB on 32" BFG MT
02 WJ 4.7HO, 545RFE, 247 - stock but breaks the tires loose on the 1-2 shift
Never had that problem...
Originally Posted by [B]skeebs[/B]
[I]there should be specific criteria people must meet in order to purchase a jeep
[/I][QUOTE=mangotango;227621]^^^Gettin' laid in the shower and you're complaining about the water? Really?
That's like having someone give you a million bucks and complaining about the color of the check.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=dan58;233662]The ugly as hell police says illegal.[/QUOTE]
i always tell myslef to go put the ultra stars or w/e back in to see if it returns but i never get the chance and when i do i just dont want to.. i just figured it was the systems design of telling me i had a headlight out.. kinda like the turn signals blinkin fast when you put 1156 instead of 1295s in the fronts... lol
99 WJ 4.7, 545RFE, 247 - BB on 30s
95 ZJ 5.2, 46RH, 249 - BB on 32" BFG MT
02 WJ 4.7HO, 545RFE, 247 - stock but breaks the tires loose on the 1-2 shift
I've had the roundeyes installed for almost two years now. The standard kit uses H4 60/55 bulbs, which is same as stock but they're a lot brighter, no need to worry about wiring upgrade. The bulbs are replaceable, so you don't need to replace the lens, and you can easily go with brigher bulbs although at that point you need to think about the wiring harness. And the lens isn't glass, it's a lexan type material, so they take a lot more of a beating.
Again, they're much brighter than stock, I think it's partially due to the shape of the lense, it's a lot more efficient. Took about 1/2 hour to replace both lights. Let me know if you have any other questions.
It's about to get all kinds of stupid up in here!
OK, here's a stupid question! Where do I purchase a plastic headlight lens?
Last edited by thdrhntr; 10-08-2010 at 10:10 PM.
Just start searching via Google, Amazon, etc. You'll come across the best deal with some research.
My only worry about the Roundeyes (or any other aftermarket 'plastic' housing; is having them yellow over like cataracts after a few more years of use, which you won't have to be concerened about with glass housings.
Guess my the other option would be the e-code housings?
Time to do some research, Thanks
It's a valid concern, but after two years, mine are still just as clear as the day I installed them.
It's about to get all kinds of stupid up in here!
Don't forget about the IPF housings. Very good beam pattern, sharp cutoff. Running PIAA Intense white bulbs with homemade upgraded harness.
Ian
I heart bumpsteer...
1993 YJ, My Jeep's as tall as I am
Like I said, I have the E-code Hella housings and I get a chubber when I turn my lights on at night. Not even a need for supplemental lights like fogs. Even on rainy foggy nights my existing fogs are useless becasue my headlight seem to be set up pretty well.
They have such a sweet beam pattern to light up the right side of the road and road signs, very sharp horizon cut off so there isn't a lot of wasted light like US DOT housings do, and I never get flashed or aggravate drivers in front of me or oncoming traffic.
Whatever route you go, just make sure you adjust them properly before you hit the street.
I have been running the IPF H4's in my YJ for close to 4 yrs. They have not discolored at all. The reflector design is way more efficient than the factory sealed beams, and the cutoff is damn sharp. I didn't upgrade the harness yet, but even with high watt bulbs from PIAA they show a huge improvement over stock with out being overly obnoxious as some of the HID kits can be. Effective yet livable. As I have said many times before on this and other forums, the H4 upgrade is bar none the best mod I have done on my jeep.
92, 4.0, AW4, SOA, 8.8, D30, 37's, etc etc
92, 2.5, 30, 8.8, 4.88, Locked, Winch, 15x8, 35's, 3.5" (RIP)
"Send lawyers, guns, and money. The shit has hit the fan" - Warren Zevon
Everytime someone installs a Super35 kit, an angel looses its wings. Do you want that on your shoulders every time you get in the jeep? Why, I think not...
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
