Bodywork, Paint, Interior, Trim, & Wiring

As the subject asks, does anyone have any sources or experience with high intensity replacement bulbs?

Daniel Stern Lighting has them. I use the highest wattage on both low and high beam (100/130 I think). The sharp cutoff on my lenses keeps the low beams from being blinding most of the time.

Jim

Thanks for that Jim.

Looks like DSL is the real deal. Never heard of him before but will definitely be talking to him soon.
It's pretty refreshing to find someone in the lighting industry that really knows their stuff and isn't trying to blow smoke up your behind.

Cheers
Fred

Just so you know, he used to have a lot more info on his site but has apparently aligned himself with Cibie and removed competing materials from the site. Which is a shame as there was info on the competing brands that made for an effective comparison tool. But, the internet has become a market economy so I guess it was to be expected.

Jim

I'm using the Trucklite LED lights and they are truly impressive. Look a little funky with the protruding lens, but really light up the road and are 100% legal. These are the ones I have.

[www.amazon.com]

Bill



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2016 06:57AM by Orange Alpine.

What does the beam pattern look like? Do you have a sharp cutoff at headlight height, and does the cutoff drop on the left side to avoid blinding oncoming motorists? Then on high beam does it light up the entire road? That's what good optics do for you, all the light goes below the cutofff line. Very very little above it.

I have done extensive investigations on the best headlights from bulbs, HID, Xenon, and LED. Below is a summary and the best in my opinion is the Vision X 7" round LED headlight that is DOT approved street legal and will blow the rest away.

Jaguar and many British classic headlights are the exactly the same headlight used in the Datsun 240Z's, Jeeps, and other cars so do not get fooled to use only OEM or Jaguar as there are many others way better. There are many HID headlights available from Motor Sport Auto and other Datsun Z car performance places for around $350 to $800 or as a complete kit with new headlamps, relays, etc. not just a bulb replacement.

Here are some options:
[www.headlightrevolution.com]
[www.amazon.com] ... B00GOYRITC
[www.blackdragonauto.com] ... px?Page=65
[www.thezstore.com]
[www.jwspeaker.com] ... olution-2/
[www.amazon.com] ... +headlight

In the days before LED and Xenon if you really want the best for lighting as a longtime Z owner, the CIBI or Hella headlamps make the best housing, glass, reflector base then people upgrade the bulb to a high quality HID with relays; this is way better than Jaguar or Lucas headlamps. I read about Hella's 90mm Bi-Xenon module (Hella product link), and according to Mr. Daniel Stern, it is the best-performing headlamp made by a very large margin. It is also quite expensive at ~$1500/pair.

Now that new technology is available I do not think changing bulbs is the way to go and that will not be DOT legal. My pick for what I think now is the currently best headlight is the Vision X LED 7" round and make sure to purchase the High Four relay that Vision X sells which enables the high and low to stay on during high beam mode. To me this provides incredible light that will also have the longevity of LED's and the low amp draw which to me is better than the old school ones. These to me provide better light than the JW Speaker which would be likely the number 2 choice. The other LED mentioned, the Trucklite is just average, on paper it puts out decent numbers but when you see the real world tests at places like Headlight Revolution you can see that the JW Speaker and the Vision X put that light to shame. It is still ok but not ideal, it is cheaper but you get what you pay for. These Vision X are DOT legal and the light quality, spread, and distance is the best. These are also much longer lasting than non LED saving you money in the long run. Yes they are a little pricey but when you opt for light upgrades from new cars it is often $1000 to $1500 so these are a good value.

These are still expensive but I think worth it. I recommend to go to Amazon and get it from
Rick Freeman
Accessory Partners LLC
7848 E. Redfield Road Suite 1
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
1(800)764-0926
[www.amazon.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2016 11:19PM by primaz.

Here are a couple of photos taken last fall. I screwed up (I think) and took them with the camera set on auto exposure, so you cannot see the difference in bright/ dim light output. But you can see the coverage is fantastic. The road is about 40 feet wide. These lights put out a lot of light. Road signs jump at you, sometimes causing dazzle problems, especially in rainy weather. They also put a significant amount of light up, illuminating overhead signs.

The lights are simply wired into the cars harness, no relays.

low beam


high beam


When on brights, both upper and lower beams are "on", so coverage is actually better on brights. The difference in lighted distance is much greater than the pics portray, a problem using the auto exposure setting.

The lens was set on a fairly wide angle, the car is only twenty feet or so from the intersection. Needless to say, we are thrilled with their performance.

Bill

{edit} We feel the performance of these lights on dim is on a par of the H 24's on bright, perhaps slightly better and are entirely adequate for nighttime driving at legal (or slightly higher) speed in Indiana. Low beam performance is very important to us, about 80% of our driving is on low beam. While it is true that "you get what you pay for" (sometimes), these lights are good enough we are not interested in paying more for better.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2016 09:10AM by Orange Alpine.

I would still argue that the difference that top LED providers Vision X and JW Speaker are well worth the $160 to $220 extra in light quality and drivability. To judge for yourself I recommend people make their decision by going to Headlight Revolution at
[www.headlightrevolution.com]

They have a standardized testing video they do for all headlights using the same testing procedures and they carry all of the top LED headlights. The best part of the video's are the last minute or two where they test it out on a real road at night. They put signs on that road every 10 yards out to 100 yards and you can then see for yourself in the exact same conditions the light really look. As I said when you look at all of the top 7 or so LED headlights the Vision X and the JW Speaker are way ahead of the rest and you can make your own choice; for me it was the Vision X. LED headlights will likely be your last headlight as these two brands have lifetime warranties so in those terms the price is not really big enough to deter any of them from being considered. The trucklite is sold individually for about $290 each or $589 for a pair and the Vision X you can get for about $740 for a pair. You will not be needing to deal with changing bulb expense, etc. as these are lifetime warranty and LED technology.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/14/2016 11:56AM by primaz.

Hmmm. A website selling premium priced headlights "proves" their products are superior! Will wonders never cease?

Trucklites are 170 bucks each with free shipping from Amazon. So your $160 to $220 difference is really $289 to $340. I find trucklites to be more than adequate for my needs and at a good price. More accurately, I'm blown away with their performance. It is not always necessary to buy the very best available. Maybe if I was into driving 1 1/2 time the speed limit at night. But I don't do that even during the day.

The OP was wanting sources, which you provided, and experience, which I provided. So its all good.

Bill

Bill,

It's cool, the Trucklite is good for the price. For me I did not like the low beam spread as this is a reflector type design it has boxed rectangle spreads not very smooth. Also on high beam it does shoot out but only in the hot spot in the middle. For me that was ok but compared to the Vision X as an example at high beam with both high/low the light was way more clear with no hot spot as the entire roadway looks like it was under a baseball intensity lighting. I also felt that comparing a 3 year warranty versus a lifetime warranty made spending a bit more worth it for me. I think the Turcklite is a great value as Headlight Revolution does sell it and they only sell the top brands but when you see the Trucklite compared in the exact same conditions you can really see the difference. Again all of the brands sold there are far superior to any of the stock British headlights and your other old school bulb upgrades.

Did you get the current model phase 7 and if so did you get the one with the built in heater? The one with the heater is the model I listed the price for as that is typically bout 60 dollars more.

No idea what model I have. I suspect they are not the model phase 7 as I think the price has gone up slightly.

Bought them about a year ago because I'm having night time vision problems, especially with near field fill. Turns at unfamiliar and unlighted intersections are becoming very iffy and that is not a good thing, as we use the car for long trips and are quite often in unfamiliar territory.

Installed the Trucklites and the problem was solved. The low beam performance and landing light quality of the high beams was something I was hoping for, but realistically, did not expect. At least not to this level. I feel it is truly a new paradigm of lighting for these old cars.

I'm not extremely concerned about the life of the lights. Alpines are allergic to salted roads, as a result my car is a warm weather car, which means long daylight hours and the actual time running with headlights on is not all that great. Additionally, I feel that ten years is about all the time I have left for this kind of nonsense. So it should work out.

Bill

Thanks for all the info everyone. When used in our cars will the LED lights need the anti flicker harness? Not sure what this is all about?

Bill, did you have any issues with mounting your LED lights in the Alpine light buckdets?

No issues. They install exactly like a replacement sealed beam. No adaptors needed, just one set of lights.

No idea what the anti flicker stuff is all about, but it seems to be necessary only in late model Jeeps.

Bill

Only a few of the very new cars have issues with flicker, there will be no issues on your car even if you had swapped it with a modern V8 with computer brain, etc..

The anti flicker harness is necessary for newer vehicles with Can Buss systems Dale.
The system is constantly testing to "see" if the bulb is lit.
Essentially it briefly interrupts the power to test the bulb.
On an incandescent bulb the reaction time is slow enough that it goes unnoticed. On an led or Hid it results in a noticeable flicker due to the very quick reaction of these systems.
The "harness" is just a capacitor wired in parallel to cover up the power interruption.
So unless you charging system is really shitty you don't need one.
As time goes by and my bank of experience has grown. I have become more and more aware of the benefits of adequate illumination.
Meaning "if it ain't lit up like it's on fire, I won't see it".
Due to the above affliction I have done a lot of experimentation with a lot of different lighting schemes.
Right off the bat, as you age the colour of the light becomes more and more important.
I don't care that your 30 something eyes can't tell the difference between a 5000k bulb and a 8000k bulb.
Good for you!
Mine can absolutely tell the difference .
The problem is with definition. The higher colour lights make it harder for me to see shadows and judge distances.
I have the JW Speaker 7" lights on my TGB.
For short drives and impressing your friends they are great. The beam pattern, cutoff and penetration are excellent.
The problem is that when you have to go on an extended drive. The glare from signage and the concentration required to judge distance becomes very tiring.
This makes my favorite vehicle a chore to drive at night.
The best experience that I have had is with my shop truck.
It's a 2003 Range Rover HSE
I switched the low beams to a 90mm Hella projector set up with a stock Phillips 35w 4300k HID bulb driven by a 55w ballast.
Not exactly a bolt in but pretty easy in the custom built game.
High beams are the stock reflector style with a custom built HID bulb. I took a 6000k HID bulb cut it apart and mounted it essentially sideways so that the light kernel would more closely replicate the stock bulb.
After some careful focusing. In a word, it's Amazing!
The response time of the high beam is expectedly slow. But really its only 2-3 seconds from initial to full brightness.
Using two differing temp. bulbs gives me a fuller colour spectrum that works well for me.
I can go from, I can see everything, to Oh my god its daytime at will.
I absolutely think that Leds are the wave of the future.
But my experience says that they aren't there yet.
So that's my old school "prove it to me" attitude shining through.
Show me that it works and Im happy.
Give it to me on paper and I'll burn it.

Cheers
Fred

Cheers
Fred



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/18/2016 03:42PM by DiDueColpi.

Yep, with age comes the need for light & magnification. 8-}

As far as LEDs go, I like the "warm white" ones. Closer to the spectrum of natural sunlight. But for headlights, I bought some very good halogen ones many years ago and see no reason to change them. I don't recall who made them, they are an HCR lens (European) made in England with exceptional optics and 100/130 halogen bulbs.

Jim