Headlamp Bulb Upgrade

sharkster · April 11, 2008

Hi Guys

i know this topic has been discussed before but i can't seem to trace it... so forgive me...

As some of you might or might not know, my stock headlights are shit to put it simply... i was on the verge of going in for an HID kit last week when i was told of a far cheaper option... upgrade my factory wiring and throw in 100W bulbs... so i picked an 100W H4 wiring harness and a pair of Narva 100W coated blubs from motorcade yesterday and thought of installing it today (it's a plug and play kit) only to find my car was already running 100W bulbs on what i believe is still the factory wiring... i've been running that way for a year and have had no electrical glitches...

my question is would upgrading the wiring greatly improve the performance (in terms of brightness) of the bulbs? dumb question i know but i just want to be sure... :unsure:

and to add to that, can reflectors be refinished with some sort of silver coating?

i'm on a mission to improve the visibility in my car and i won't rest till i do

Edited April 11, 2008 by sharkster

sharkster · May 20, 2008

aaahhh...i also hate those damn blue "coated" bulbs... if at all they reduce the light output and looks pretty darn cheap too...
on the driving lights thing...i'd guess the actual reflector and the lens itself has a huge role to play in terms of lighting power... maybe that why branded stuff are helluva lot more pricey over the normal ones you get in SL... I'm also eying a PIAA pair on the web but still didn't get one for a good price

machan the PIAA driving lights i've browsed through seem to cost more than HIDs!! anyways the supposed driving lights i have are more like aesthetic fogs and serve little or no purpose <_<

Ripper · May 21, 2008

machan the PIAA driving lights i've browsed through seem to cost more than HIDs!! anyways the supposed driving lights i have are more like aesthetic fogs and serve little or no purpose

true true, but i have lotsa patience in these things I've been watching PIAA driving lights on ebay for almost an year now waiting for a deal pretty sure i'll get it one of these days :lol:

Ripper · May 22, 2008

machan the PIAA driving lights i've browsed through seem to cost more than HIDs!! anyways the supposed driving lights i have are more like aesthetic fogs and serve little or no purpose

sharkster

what's the amperage of your battery machang?

mine died today and absolutely refused to fire up the motor. thanks to a neighbor, got a boost and drove 2 work

the battery had initially died at KP bodyshop cos the bloody thing was just sitting there for 2 weeks undergoing repairs...i got it charged by them before picking the car up. Yesterday i had to drive a bit with my head beams on(100w) i think that coupled with the stereo just drained the battery faster...

checked the voltage in the morning and it was a steady 12.4 :unsure: checked while the motor was running and it was 13.6v and after driving to work the battery is now at 12.75

anyways i think in order to cope with high wattage bulbs, ac and stereo i might have to upgrade to a high "capacity" battery. any ideas on how much i should go far....

thought if checking here first before heading out to a battery joint

Devinda_Z · May 22, 2008

sharkster
what's the amperage of your battery machang?

mine died today and absolutely refused to fire up the motor. thanks to a neighbor, got a boost and drove 2 work

the battery had initially died at KP bodyshop cos the bloody thing was just sitting there for 2 weeks undergoing repairs...i got it charged by them before picking the car up. Yesterday i had to drive a bit with my head beams on(100w) i think that coupled with the stereo just drained the battery faster...

checked the voltage in the morning and it was a steady 12.4 checked while the motor was running and it was 13.6v and after driving to work the battery is now at 12.75

anyways i think in order to cope with high wattage bulbs, ac and stereo i might have to upgrade to a high "capacity" battery. any ideas on how much i should go far....

thought if checking here first before heading out to a battery joint

a 70ah should be more than enough

you might be able to manage with less

Ripper · May 22, 2008

a 70ah should be more than enough
you might be able to manage with less

thanks mate

gotta check how much i'm running at the moment...

also need to invest in one of those home charger gadgets...

Devinda_Z · May 22, 2008

thanks mate
gotta check how much i'm running at the moment...

also need to invest in one of those home charger gadgets...

well it isn't a charger but i figure The Clarke Jumpstarter unit with spot light & air compressor ++ would be handy to have...

its available locally for around 20,000 - seems like a lot , but a fair investment i figure...

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...rke-jump-starts

Edited May 22, 2008 by Devinda_Z

Ripper · May 22, 2008

The Clarke emergency kit with jumper , spot light , air compressor ++ is available locally for around 20,000 - seems like a lot , but worth the investment i figure...
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/...rke-jump-starts

you can say that again mate.

had to push the car out of the garage myself to get the boost and gravity took over and i lost control... had the driver's side door opened and the bloody thing knocked on a garage pillar bit more dented metal i have to fix

small dent on the top of the door but size doesn't matter when it comes to dents and scrapes <_<

I'm monitoring battery with my al cheapo chinese digi multimeter :lol: so far voltage is holding up... wondering what drained the damn thing in the first place

maliths · May 22, 2008

Has anyone tried these sites

www.powerbulbs.com

www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk

Both these sites say that they do free worldwide delivery

I have bought bulbs from them and they have been great fat delivery in the UK

sharkster · May 22, 2008

sharkster
what's the amperage of your battery machang?

mine died today and absolutely refused to fire up the motor. thanks to a neighbor, got a boost and drove 2 work

the battery had initially died at KP bodyshop cos the bloody thing was just sitting there for 2 weeks undergoing repairs...i got it charged by them before picking the car up. Yesterday i had to drive a bit with my head beams on(100w) i think that coupled with the stereo just drained the battery faster...

checked the voltage in the morning and it was a steady 12.4 checked while the motor was running and it was 13.6v and after driving to work the battery is now at 12.75

anyways i think in order to cope with high wattage bulbs, ac and stereo i might have to upgrade to a high "capacity" battery. any ideas on how much i should go far....

thought if checking here first before heading out to a battery joint

machan physics was my weakest subject but i'm using an NS70L which i believe is 65amps? it's a pretty hefty battery... batteries have shot up a fair amount in price these days so look out for the best deal you can get...

sharkster · May 22, 2008

Has anyone tried these sites
www.powerbulbs.com

www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk

Both these sites say that they do free worldwide delivery

I have bought bulbs from them and they have been great fat delivery in the UK

the deals on powerbulbs look tasty but there are too many to choose from!! i'm guessing sourcing the polargs or PIAAs from elsewhere might be a better investment from a lighting point of view at a higher cost...

maithri · May 22, 2008

Friends,

The battery does not run your electrics, it merely stores it and allows you to start the car. The Alternator generates the amps needed by all the equipment fitted your car as well as restoring the charge to the battery after start ups etc. The problems start when the battery's capacty to store deteriorates with time/abuse and the alternator does not support the demand. If you run a lot of power hungry devices like high output amplifire's lights, wipers ,cooling and air con fans etc etc at engine idle the output of the original alternator may not be sufficient that also will add to the battery's drain. If you fitted a lot of extra devices to your car without upgrading your charging system you will come to greif! So the lesson is if your car is standard the battery and the charging system will handle the load easily as some extra capacity is also available. If you seriously overloaded your power supply by adding stuff up-grade your charging system as well accordingly, and the next time you need a new battery buy a bigger one as well. If you havent done this switch off most of the fancy gear when at idle -specially at night when the lights are on as well.

Maithri.

Devinda_Z · May 23, 2008

machan physics was my weakest subject but i'm using an NS70L which i believe is 65amps? it's a pretty hefty battery... batteries have shot up a fair amount in price these days so look out for the best deal you can get...

apparently the global lead prices have been rather volotile as of late and is the main contributor to battery price hike

Your right about the NS70 - 65 ah - running the same

hmmm if your gonna gonna keep it for a long time , you may as well hunt down a Maintainance Free battery Ripper (this is all assuming your gonna have to change)

Exide's main outlet on Havelock Rd offers 750-900 for your old battery which is the best i came across...

ferrarif50 · May 23, 2008

Exide's main outlet on Havelock Rd offers 750-900 for your old battery which is the best i came across...

i got 1500 for my old 3K battery... but that was 90Amps

Edited May 23, 2008 by ferrarif50

Ripper · May 24, 2008

i got 1500 for my old 3K battery... but that was 90Amps

is that car battery or for an SUV or summin...sounds quite high capacity.

Sharkster

Thanks mate. heard about the price hike too. one fella in office just replaced his exide and it was 6-7k i think. not too sure about the capacity though.

Devinda

yep. i'm in full favor for sealed batteries after using em on my bike. pretty good stuff but if you let it discharge completely a few times that'll be the end of it. my bike battery is also dying due to non-usage and non-availability of a trickle charger. gotta buy one of those damn things to keep the battery in shape when we don't use our cars/bikes

Maithri

good info mate but the hitch is that most vehicles will be modified with add on stuff somewhere down the line and sadly upping the alternator capacity is a bit of a grey area... at least to me and most other folks i know

I've seen on the web that some cars retrofitted with twin alternators, and some online electrical equipment stores sells after market alternators/coils...at least that's what i'm planning on doing to m XR250

Apparently these high capacity coils have windings wit a heavier wire and more coil wire length also... so maybe it's possible to get a used alternator and get it re-wound to pt out more power????????

is there any other ways to up the charging system

ferrarif50 · May 24, 2008

is that car battery or for an SUV or summin...sounds quite high capacity.

sorry... thats a van battery

Ripper · May 28, 2008

well called batt mobile finally and got my ailing exide replaced...

went for slightly larger one... don't think i can go for anything bigger cos there's no more space there

gotta say i was pretty impressed with these exide batt mobile fellas...

One call and the buggers came to office...checked the battery and the charging system for free... and of course my battery was beyond rescue so had to get a new one... they brought the thing in... fixed it on...checked the charging system again when most of the electrics were running including the 100w headlights...

only downside is that at present they don't have sealed batteries

Car Maniac · May 31, 2008

4500K super white narvas...

Guys, I need a small advice. Im quite novice to the headlight bulb replacements. So please can anyone explain me what are these NARVA bulbs? Are they a special type of halogen bulbs or xenon bulbs? And what are the colours available in such called Narva bulbs? Because Im quite attracted to the bluish white head beams I see on some cars on the road. Can I get the same effect with a set of Narva bulbs? :rolleyes:

And btw why are some halogen bulbs named H3, H4? What that part stands for?

Thanks

Edited May 31, 2008 by Car Maniac

Twin Turbo · May 31, 2008

The bulb you're referring to is a brand by an automotive after market parts supplier.

Personally I have used the regular bulbs by the same guies and have been not satisfied.

In the quest for the best possible light with conventional halogen bulbs,I

1.upgraded the wiring

2.replaced the alternator with a high capacity unit

3.replaced the battery with higher capacity unit.(just for the hell of it when I replaced the old one )

4.replaced the lead lamps with good condition units as mine were faded.

5.And after much testing , settled for Koito 100/90W Halogen bulbs(in the blue and white box)

Impressed myself and my friends.;-)

Ripper · June 1, 2008

Guys, I need a small advice. Im quite novice to the headlight bulb replacements. So please can anyone explain me what are these NARVA bulbs? Are they a special type of halogen bulbs or xenon bulbs? And what are the colours available in such called Narva bulbs? Because Im quite attracted to the bluish white head beams I see on some cars on the road. Can I get the same effect with a set of Narva bulbs?
And btw why are some halogen bulbs named H3, H4? What that part stands for?

Thanks

Like TT has said...Narva is a brand like PIAA, Stanley etc... I'm also running 90/100W Narva's and their pretty good. It's a halogen bulb and they do come in various bulb types...which is the answer to your other question.

H3, H4, H7, 9006 etc etc are all different bulb types with different fitments settings also. Some are single filament where others are dual... Like an H3 bulb is single filament when the H4 is dual...

Halogens to my knowledge can't offer as vast color temp range like the Xenons so most of them are hovering around 4000k...this is the yellowish sorta light you see in most cars...

Xenons can go from 4oook+ to 8000k... the range starts from a yellowish light >bright white>light blue>blue>purple... as the kelvin number goes up the light's ability to penetrate into the distance goes down... Personally i'd stick to 4000k+ or a max of 6000k which is bright white with a light blue tint...

If you really like the blue/white tint lights...buy a set of PIAA's that gives you around 6000k color temperature....

they are pretty good but be prepared to pay a lot more

Car Maniac · June 1, 2008

Like TT has said...Narva is a brand like PIAA, Stanley etc... I'm also running 90/100W Narva's and their pretty good. It's a halogen bulb and they do come in various bulb types...which is the answer to your other question.
H3, H4, H7, 9006 etc etc are all different bulb types with different fitments settings also. Some are single filament where others are dual... Like an H3 bulb is single filament when the H4 is dual...

Halogens to my knowledge can't offer as vast color temp range like the Xenons so most of them are hovering around 4000k...this is the yellowish sorta light you see in most cars...

Xenons can go from 4oook+ to 8000k... the range starts from a yellowish light >bright white>light blue>blue>purple... as the kelvin number goes up the light's ability to penetrate into the distance goes down... Personally i'd stick to 4000k+ or a max of 6000k which is bright white with a light blue tint...

If you really like the blue/white tint lights...buy a set of PIAA's that gives you around 6000k color temperature....

they are pretty good but be prepared to pay a lot more

Both Twin Turbo and Ripper solved most of the head light bulb related doubts in my head. Thank you very much for both of you guys. :D :alc: