Alto headlights - upgrade/conversion ?

[Arctic Alto]

Hi all,

One of my headlights just blew, so i thought it might be a good time to convert to something better.

Just after some opinions on what fits and whats good without being too expensive.

i measured them, they are 7.5" x 5.0"

Here's a pic



Thanks

Craig

[Tez]

Hi Craig.
They sound (and look!) like they are the standard "7-inch" rectangular headlights - as are found in MB's and several more modern vehicles. (i.e. still fairly readily available).

If yours are still the "ye olde" sealed beam type, they can be directly swapped out and replaced by Quartz Halogen capable replacements with a marked improvement in output for a very modest outlay in $$$.

If you want to get a little more exotic, you can spend some more $$$ and get dichromatic inserts (the type that give a 'bluish' beam) which apparently are much better again.

When I got my MB I changed the sealed beams out for quartz inserts and are quite happy with that... Didn't cost me much, and for the amount of night driving I do, I can't really justify the added cost of going to the dichromatics.

If you want to ensure you're getting good output from whatever lights you have or fit, spend 5 minutes to make sure all the contacts are SHINEY clean as you fit it all back up, and for added oonph, you could pop a second high-current (fused) relay switched by the low-beam wire to drive through large guage wire directly from the battery to the globes themselves... That can make a huge difference in cars with older wiring looms.

Cheers

[Arctic Alto]

Thanks Tez,

Yep, still the old sealed type.

Here are some i found, are these the ones you where talking about ?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Townace-Lite ... 032wt_1135

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TOYOTA-HILUX ... 253wt_1177

I like the crystal type better, but the other ones are cheaper

[Tez]

Yep. Either set will go straight in...
Make sure if you're buying off e-bay that the globes ARE included...

[Brayden]

The best semi sealed housings have glass lenses and a reflector cup (Hella/Trifa). Most of the shit on eBay is plastic with no cup, which gives crap light projection.

[Arctic Alto]

Is this the kinda thing you mean brayden ?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Prism-Headli ... 106wt_1135

Altough, it doesnt say if it glass or plastic.

Can you recommend where to go instead of ebay ?

[mowog]

ask the seller if it is glass or plastic and includes bulbs

[Husky]

Mine are the Narva brand(glass) good quality and the plus 50 globes. Work very well!

[Arctic Alto]

ask the seller if it is glass or plastic and includes bulbs

I asked the seller, said it is glass. Incl globes

Kit Includes:-

2 x 200mm x 142mm Rectangle ? H4 Semi Sealed Headlamp Inserts
2 x 12 volt H4 100/80W Super Blue - Bright Halogen Bulbs
2 x LED Park Lamp Globes
2 x Rubber Dust Covers

But 1 thing i've noticed is some have different globes, what do people recommend ? is the higher the better ?

[Husky]

Personally i wouldn't go with the higher wattage globes unless you run new wiring via a relay as the wiring will struggle to carry the higher current and could potentially be a safety issue. Not to mention more load on the battery and alternator. The plus 50 55/60w H4 globes are awesome especially on High beam.

[cozza]

i went to autobarn and paid $40 per light for a hilux light they are the same size i did go bigger wattage bulbs and cooked the wireing after about 15 mins of driveing so rewire and runs hell better now i can actually see when driveing the mb instead of haveing to put the old kero lantern out front aswell lol