Headlight Conversions.

I switched the ones in my new Dodge Ram to projectors by ANZO, was only 250 dollars for the pair. Plug and play, plus they have the halos for the DRL circuit. I have PIAA HID bulbs in now, this is my first HID set up and I love them! Not looking forward to replacing the bulbs anytime soon though, I got the PIAAs HIDs as a promo deal from my rep. They retail for over 350/a pair.

 

i asked for isolux chart for you link 2 days ago, minus whale get one for the piaa bulbs that provide 130w from 65w

have yet to see any side by side pics or data provided by users or companies for that matter, Idve thought theyd be proud of their product?

aerodynamics....and what modern cars use is inconsequential.

 

I was thinking of converting my system to 6 volt....

 

I'm REALLY enjoying this thread, and I think others are too. If anyone has disagreements... before it gets ugly.. PLEASE take them back channel.

Back on topic:

HID kits for non-projector lights are no good?

 

Go 24volt, then you can really put some crazy lights on there!!

 

I like Pablos idea of retro fitting in projectors but my concern would be making certain the alignment is exact. And sourcing out 'quality' units, I would be wary of anything I didnt pull out of an already existing assembly. Have you tried a Silverstar or Nighthawk yet?

 

I tried Silverstars twice. Only wanted to try them once, but one burned out...replaced...the other burned out...replaced. Not impressed with how long they lasted. Less than a year.

 

A trick to make your headlamps last longer is to always have them turned off at engine start and off, this includes the DRL cicuit(e-brake applied). Voltage spikes at these times are the hardest on halogens. Give yourself a last x-mas present and get some PIAA Night-Techs, ive seen the for sale for about 40buck a pair, i think youll like them.

 

Ill leave you with this, since an eye accident 35 years ago left me with sight in only one eye.

As I went through my driving life it became clear that at night I needed the best possible lighting in order to reduce fatige. Being a partsman allowed me access to every single lighting possiblity, pretty much at cost. Ive tried them all, literally every single one. Now saying that, all lighting boils down to perspective. I see it different from you, and vice versa. Some folks like a blue light better, others like a white.

Use what you like, but in your case, realize that you could do better without so much hassle.

 

OK, I gotta ask, exactly what is the difference in efficiency between reflective and refractive systems? Both still require a reflector; both still require a lens; and both lenses and reflectors have inherent inefficiencies that are essentially the same whether the optics are machined into the reflector (“reflective optics”) or into the lens (“refractive optics”). So what is the basis of your assertion that refractive optics don’t perform as well as reflective? I have tested countless reflector optics and refractive optics systems and found there to be little-to-no measureable difference between the two systems when using the same input voltage, the same bulb type, same reflector surface area, and same outer lens shape. It sounds like what you’re really saying is that ‘newer’ reflector optic systems that use ‘modern’ replaceable halogen bulbs are better than ‘older’ glass sealed beam optical systems with glass lenses that inherently contain a certain percentage of contamination (thereby affecting optical performance) and lower wattage bulbs that aren’t replaceable. If this is what you’re saying, then “yes” you are right that the newer systems are indeed better. However, it has almost nothing to do with the optical performance per-se. It has more to do with the quality of the molded lens, the molded reflector, the quality of the metallization on the reflector, the precision of the optical surface (be it in the lens or reflector), etc... Glass sealed beam lamps are notoriously poor quality and always have been. That’s because during the era in which they were designed they were still better than 80% of the lamps of the day. However, comparing them to lamps designed and cut with computers and manufactured using better optical grade materials is really apples and oranges. I have a number of HELLA and BOSCH HB2/H4 replaceable bulb sealed-beam type replacement lamps with beautifully clear glass lenses and precisely molded lens optics that outperform almost ALL of the so-called ‘diamond cut’ lamps on the market. So this is really not an issue of lens versus reflector optics. This is more a matter of quality and technology. If you disagree, please tell me why, and/or send me your iso-candela plots of the lamps you’re talking about (both high beam and low beam plots for each lamp) and let me see the scientific information before we get too far down the road with just our opinions.

Ok, I do...
1. What is a “PAR”? Are you talking about the abbreviation for “Parobolic Aluminized Reflector” as used in the US Federal Register?
2. What is a “specific industrial 'J'-rated test”?
3. What is a “co-efficient of utilization as it pertains to halogen lighting”?
4. What is “candela distribution”?
5. What is “lluminance-vs.-light working distance”?

These all sound like important lighting terms, but I’ve been in the transportation lighting industry for a long time and have never hear these terms used in this fashion. Please help me with definitions for each.

As a veteran of countless OEM headlamp and tail lamp development lighting projects over the course of the last 27 years, I’ll tell you unequivocally why no OEM uses sealed beams any more: STYLING! That’s right, as soon as the Federal Government approved “composite” lamps for use on Federally maintained roads in the US in 1983, each OEM started the transition to composite lamps. This is because now for the first time in decades automotive stylists could design lighting that was unique to each particular vehicle’s styling theme –further differentiating them from their competition. That’s it, nothing else. It wasn’t aerodynamics because the very first few passenger cars in the US with composite headlamps (1984 Lincoln Mark VII; 1986 Ford Mustang SVO; 1986 Pontiac Grand Am) all had fairly flat lens faces –contradicting the assertion that aerodynamics played anything other than an ancillary role in the process back then (the aerodynamic benefits of designing composite lamps came later on). In the end (or ‘beginning’ as it were), it was purely a matter of cosmetics! For more background on this subject, please read the WIKIPEDIA article on automotive headlamp development found here. Also, you can find a pretty go history of automotive lighting prepared and published by UMTRI (University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute) that outlines the basic history of automotive lighting in the US since the advent of motorized transportation. It can be found here (.pdf download).