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General Buick Tech / Re: Caspers Headlight Brightener
« on: October 25 2011, 06:47:11 PM »Okay, I almost got it!
First, you need a pair of H4 housings. From my past experience, and my reading, a quality E code housing provides a lot better light cut off than do the DOT housings. They are not legal by DOT standards, but, there should be no problem in using them. I had Cibies a few years ago and they were very flat across the top but angled up to the right which made street signs show up at long distance. It is important to be sure the housings are made for cars driven on the right hand side of the road or the light will be thrown up to the left which ain't good.
There are a lot of housings on the market...some are plastic, cheap, and don't have nearly as good beam patterns as the better ones. The Autopal have a very good reputation for a lower price. They appear to be copies of the Hella housings and may even be made in a Hella plant. They have metal backs and glass fronts so they should have greater life and more strength than the really cheap ones.
Hella housings are also available at much better prices than they were a few years ago. I gave one link earlier that doesn't seem too bad and they should be a little better than the AutoPals, but, if the price is not pretty close, it might be a better deal to go Autopal.
There seems to be at least two lenses available. One looks more like our lights, and the other is more clear and is referred to as diamond crystal cut. Most things I google says they don't look right on older cars and probably don't work quite as well as the conventional look.
Then there comes bulbs. Bulbs come in a bunch of color temps. If you are trying for the best vision, then a color temp between 4300 and 5000 probably gives the most usable light. As the color temp goes higher, the light becomes bluer. Up to 6000 is probably fine and does not give that ricer blue look to oncoming traffic. 5000-6000 probably makes the white lines on the road pop out a bit better. 4300 to 5000 more closely resemble sunlight with regard to color accuracy.
Then we have 35 and 55 watt power bulbs. Most seem to think that the 35w bulb is plenty adequate. In theory, the 35w bulb should work with factory wiring. BUT if the wiring is low and has some voltage drop, then the ballasts will initiall pull power at start up and it will shorten the life of the ballast. So, a relay to trigger the ballasts is a good idea.
Next, we have single beam and dual beam lights. I see many are like JD and just use a single beam in the high/low because the light is so good. It may be that given the H4 reflector design that this is the best way to fly, but, I am not conclusive on that point.
Then to cut off the light, we need the anti glare shields made to work with the H4 housing and the H4 hid bulbs. Otherwise we will be soon on the side of the road discussing the issue with a Trooper.
Finally, we need the ballasts and, I think, a relay to light the bulbs up.
For the first time, I am seeing a lot of positive comments on the visibility provided by these lights without obstructing the vision of oncoming traffic and a reasonable price to match.
I hardly ever can leave high beams on for more than ten seconds without meeting a car even out here in boon docks so I need to find out more about them.
