Head Light upgrade

Electronic systems, stereo and Holden iQ, wiring, it all goes here....
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bluethunder
Posts: 165
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:43 pm

Head Light upgrade

Post by bluethunder »

Anyone have a suggestion for a major head light upgrade that would give both high and low beams a brighter
look? Also can we us LED bulbs in multiple areas on the car?? Thanks
xcidmigs
Posts: 783
Joined: Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:12 pm
Location: SE PA

Re: Head Light upgrade

Post by xcidmigs »

you specified a "brighter look" as opposed to asking about actually seeing better/brighter light output so I will throw my 2cents in. Opinions vary greatly on the topic so take it at that.
My own experience has been that a factory projector type headlight is hard to beat as its designed, perhaps with a true LED bulb in the correct color which should not exceed 6k but even then there are issues with the caprice low beam headlight itself that I could not get around such as they are using a capped end piece and to correctly mount a balast for such would mean that you need to drill a hole some place and or mount the balast inside the headlight itself. I didn't want to remove the actual lights from the car and couldn't find room to do this and still keep everything inside the capped area. I ended up using a standard Halogen bulb of the H9 style which if you read the tech info here

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/sho ... -H11-bulbs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

is a slightly brighter and whiter version which just plugs right in and uses only 10W more power meaning there is no concern about wiring getting overheated etc. On the high beam bulbs I have left everything factory because the factory design is non projector and a HID etc that is much brighter is not designed for that type of lens and will not help you really see any better plus I would be unhappy with the non matching colors and don't feel like there is any issue with light output on brights as I have it setup now which combine the 2 different halogen bulbs when on.

Rest of the car you can use LED bulbs that fit without issues except for the single tail light/brake bulb which is wired in a non standard GM manner and I found out the hard way doesn't use normally listed LED bulbs, found out the hard way when smoke started coming out of my trunk!
CrashTestDummy
Posts: 2300
Joined: Sat Feb 07, 2015 2:31 pm
Location: Pearland, Texas

Re: Head Light upgrade

Post by CrashTestDummy »

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=882&hilit=opt7

I am still quite pleased with the Opt7s I installed in the car, but have see comparisons of several LED headlights, and it looks like Supernova v.3 headlights are a bit brighter. I may pick up a set of those and compare.
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
2012 Caprice 9C1
1992 B4C 1LE Camaro
2018 Tahoe PPV (her car)
1995 DGGM Impala SS
1985 Firebird - 310 LS1 C Prepared autocross car.
1980 Bluebird Wanderlodge
And some others
Do YOU have my SPID?
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