Headlight Upgrades??

[Zoom This]

With the few miles that I have driven my car at night, I must say the headlight coverage and brightness on my SPF equipped with factory Sylvania Halogen sealed beam lamps isn't cutting it. I'm spoiled with the lights on my other cars.

I have Hella lamps with high wattage on my Miata and their performance is beyond expectations for low and high beam coverage. I am considering replacing my weak Sylvania lamps with an aftermarket brand. What works and what have any of you installed in your Cobra??

[Dan Semko]

Try the H4 Halogens 90/130's. I replaced the lights on our SPF and they are very bright now. Best buy is from J C Whitney.

[bnewell]

check out Cobra Valley

http://performanceunlimited.com/cobravalley/

the owner is also a Superformance owner (owns 2 of them)

hope this helps

Brian

[Jack21]

For lamps, get the European version of either Hella, or Cibie. I'm using Cibies.

Do NOT get the Hella Vision Plus, or you'll be calling them Vision Minus too.

For bulbs, you want the H-4 in slightly higher wattage than standard. Standard is 55w lo/ 60w hi. 80w lo/100w hi works better. Of all places, J.C. Whitney has the Xenon Blue H-4's. They really light up the night without torking off oncoming drivers.

And, install headlight guards. One measily rock is now an expensive fix.

[408cobra]

I upgraded my lights to Hella lenses and bulbs. One thing that is comonly overlooked is the wiring. You only start out with13 volts so if the wiring is thin you can get a significant voltage drop. Your light output significantly drops even when there is a minor voltage drop of 1 or 2 volts. Heavy guage wire and quality relays are important. I also wired my lights to run both highbeam and low beam when the high beams are on using a 25 cent diode available at radio shack. Talk about blinding.

[Zoom This]

408Cobra...tell me, how did you wire the lights for both beams to stay on when on high beam? My old '93 Ford Explorer did just that. Great for dark road night driving.

[Randy Rosenberg]

Check out http://www.suvlights.com/ for a wiring harness. I don't have one, yet , but it looks like it will fit the need for better wiring.

YMMV,
Randy R...

[Zoom This]

Thanks Randy. Sounds like the ticket. I called Superformance in Ohio and asked if the stock wiring is good for high wattage headlamps and they would not support adding high wattage headlights to the electrical system. They claim they have seen guys come to their service shop with smoked wiring and plugs. 'Don't know what wattage the unfortunate owner tried to fire up. I'm thinkin' that maybe 130 watts high beam is a little too much?? Doesn't seem unreasonable to me however. If you're at the Saturday breakfast maybe we can discuss further.

Bill

[408cobra]

You have two relays one for high beams and one for low beams you run a 1/2 watt diode between the turn on circuit for the high beam relay to the turn on side of the low beam relay. When the high beams are turmed on it supplies current to the relay for the low beams as well. When just the low beams are on the current only flows in one direction in a diode so the high beams remain off. Hope this helps it sound difficult but is actually pretty simple.

[TonyMadrid]

Will going to the 80w lo/100w hi bulbs require any upgrade to the wiring and fuse. If so what gauge wiring and what size fuse is recommended?

Tony

[Dan Semko]

I upgraded the SPF without changing the wiring without any problems. You will notice an interesting spike on your amp gauge when you hit the highs especially when the cooling fans are running but I left my brights on for 15 minutes and checked all the wires and the relay for heat changes. No problem.

[Alex Donghi]

I've noticed the same problem. You can out run the light real easy on the stock lamps. I have Lucas H-4 on my TR-6 with a set of running lights and you wonder where the nite went when you turn on those pupies. Anyway I ordered the off road H-4 from the Roadster Factory (a Triumph parts house in PA) but they were made in India. Kind of cheesy looking. Thanks for the JC Whitney tip.

[Alex Donghi]

By the way can you get Xenon bulbs for H4's???? Xenon (or is it Zenon) runs alot cooler. I use some Xenon instead of halogen in some cabinets and for the same light you can actually touch the bulb with out getting burned

[Dan Semko]

They also have the Xenon lamps in Whitney but if you have problems with specific sizes, check the leads on Cal Metal's thread about VW light bulbs for other sources. I know that AutoOptics carries them.

[Zoom This]

Originally posted by Dan Semko


I upgraded the SPF without changing the wiring without any problems. You will notice an interesting spike on your amp gauge when you hit the highs especially when the cooling fans are running but I left my brights on for 15 minutes and checked all the wires and the relay for heat changes. No problem.

Dan...when you say you upgraded, did you do the diode thing or just replace the low wattage Halogens with a higher wattage? If so, what wattage did you use and what headlamp?

[Dan Semko]

I just changed the bulbs and not the diode. The first set I tried were the Astra 12V 130/90W which were not as bright as the BioLight H4 12V 100/90W P43T.
They are the bright blue/white bulbs and provide more illumination than needed even in low range.

I think that if you change the diode you'd better be sure that you've upgraded your alternator to 100amp verses the normal 65. When your fans, lights and electric fuel pump are all working at the same time, it will really tax the system and heats the wires.

[Tongue Pirate]

Maybe I've asked this before(I can't remember...). The headlamps on some of the racers look like they've been painted or have covers over them. Which is it?

[Dwight]

JUST INSTALLED 80/100 XENON LAMPS IN MY HELLA LAMPS (55/60 W). I ADDED A RELAY FOR THE HIGH BEAM BECAUSE IT PULLS 16.1 AMPS. ALSO UPPED THE WIRE SIZE TO A FINE STRAND #10 AWG WIRE GOOD FOR 30 AMPS. LOW BEAM PULLS 8 AMPS SO I DON'T THINK I NEED A RELAY. MAYBE WRONG? WILL SEE! SWITCH IS RATED FOR 15 AMPS.

[badrich]

A previous thread pointed me to http://performancelimited.com where they have some impressive looking 1157 taillight conversions (to LED). They also have Crystalight high intensity headlamp housings. The clear Crystalight headlamp lens is DOT approved and utilizes an impact resistant tempered glass lens. They accept standard H-4 bulbs as well as their optional Lightening White (TM) bulbs. They say that "No extra heat is generated or amperage is drawn...making them safe for your OEM wired electrical system." Sounds great, but has anyone had experience with these headlamps or this company? Rich

[Dwight]

RICH,
THE LINK IS BAD, PLEASE LIST IT AGAIN.