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Well....I asked him, and really didn't a very good answer

> One more question regarding the bulbs. You mentioned you sell ultra
> high efficacy bulbs for the ECE headlamps. I'm assuming these are the
> 60/55W OSRAM Silverstar's mentioned on your site.

Yes.

> I'm just curious
> about the Narva bulbs. You have overwattaged bulbs for the Narva's.

True.

> Do you only sell these for specific aplications, is the quality the
> same/better/worse then the OSRAM's? I'm just looking for the best
> lights for my setup.

Narva and Osram are of the same quality.

Maybe I didn't well enough.

As for the reflectors....I just looked.....pretty sure they're plastic. Unless you're asking if they're metal coated? I saw a little cracking in the reflector finish at one point, so I would think they are plastic.

I did run higher wattage in the 9004's without any problems.

I'll probably just get the OSRAM's and see how they do.

The reflectors are probably about the same as in 92-94 US-spec cars... So, yeah, stick to stock wattage.

You ran high wattage bulbs, but on the crappy stock wiring. So there was such a huge voltage drop that the bulbs didn't actually burn hot enough to melt the lamps.

cool....I'll probably order everything tomorrow.

vrg3: the Osram Silverstars--how are they better than the sylvania xtravisions and how much better are they?

They're higher-efficacy, so they throw more light.

I can't quantify how much better they are. Maybe Daniel can.

From What I've heard, they are the same bulb as the Sylvania Silverstars, but without the blue tint.

Sylvania and Osram are actually the same company.....

IronM: Now that's really interesting information there (at least for me).

I got this reply back about the overwattage bulbs from Daniel.

Given the size of your headlamps, 100/90 would be the practical maximum to
avoid the risk of thermal cracking of the lenses. You also must be very
careful to aim the lamps correctly (not just get it in the ballpark) if
you're going to throw that much firepower around. Other than that, go for
it.

I'm going to ask him about the plastic reflector....I don't really want to nuke these lights.

IronMonkeyL255 - My understanding was that Xtravisions were the Sylvania-Silverstar-without-tint bulb... But that might be wrong.

I guess nobody knows except Osram Sylvania anyway.

Josh - Yeah, he may have been assuming the reflectors were metal...

Maybe they both are.......

I remember a big discussion on Nasioc a while ago about headlights and that fact got brought up.....

Osram Silverstars are higher-performing bulbs than Sylvania Xtravisions; they're definitely not the same bulb. In Europe the Xtravision is called the Osram Super.

There was actual intelligent discussion about lighting on NASIOC ? Do you have a link?

I was surprised, too.

I'll try to find it....

This is DS's comment about the reflectors.

I'm going to give it a try this weekend and see. I'm still not sure if it'll do anything to the reflector portion.....

"Depends what kind of plastic it is -- there's "plastic" (soda pop bottles
and many US headlamps) and then there's "plastic" (distributor caps and
other high-heat items).

Heat up a soldering iron and touch it to a spare surface on the back of
the reflector -- near a bracket or something. If it begins to soften, you
mustn't use overwattage bulbs."

So you gonna try it?

I know when I put a 100-watt bulb in a 92-94 headlamp that had the lens removed, it started to smoke after maybe 10 or 15 minutes.

Josh, if you'd like I can test this on a set of JDM lights (the whole soldering thing). I can't use them so i have no problem canabalizing them for the sake of research.

THAWA wrote:Josh, if you'd like I can test this on a set of JDM lights (the whole soldering thing). I can't use them so i have no problem canabalizing them for the sake of research.

you mean the soldering iron thing? Sure if you want to.

I got the kit last week. It actually came out of Houston.

Here's pics of all the stuff
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8 ... adlightkit

I wish the relay connectors were waterproof however.

Vikash, is there a special tool to install those clips, or will a normal crimping tool work?

Looks nice!

See how the best bulbs come in the boringest packages?

You can't really make relay sockets properly water-resistant because water-resistant connectors are made in pairs. One side has to house the o-ring and the other side has to have a seat for the o-ring. You might be able to come up with a water-resistant connector that fits a particular automotive relay, but there are enough differences between different relays that it wouldn't necessarily work on other relays.

If you just use some dielectric grease and periodically inspect the connection (i.e. treat it just like any other underhood electrical connection) you'll be fine. The terminals are large and if connected properly there's actually a gas-tight interface between the relay terminal and socket terminal.

You're supposed to use a multi-dozen-dollar crimping tool designed for these types of terminals. There are two crimps -- one for the insulation and one for the conductor. When properly done, the crimps double in on themselves, just like all the car's OEM terminals. I'm sure you know what I mean since you've played with OEM wiring.

That said, a pair of needle-nose pliers and a regular crimping tool have worked okay for me. I also soldered the joints for a little extra security. If you do the same, you should use very little solder, so you don't make the connection too rigid. What I did was actually tin the stripped end of the wire prior to crimping, dip the tinned end in a little bit of flux, crimp the joint, and then apply a little heat so the solder that was already on there flowed onto the terminal.

Are there H4 bulb sockets too? Or did I miss them in the pictures?

WTF.....you're right....there aren't H4 bulb sockets......looks like I'll be emailing Mr. Stern and asking what's up.

emailed him....he said it looks like the warehouse screwed up, and would get them sent out tomorrow.

well I got back from SC, and they apparently sent me another kit, not just the H4 connectors. I looked at it breifly, and there are some weird things that I guess are the connectors, but I haven't looked at the old lights yet to verify it. Nor have I checked to see if they charged me for another kit or not.

Ok, so forgive me, I am a complete ignoramous when it comes to wiring. I decided to do the brighter mod as you have so painstakingly explained in other posts. I have everything I need ie: 12g wire, H4 sockets, 2 relays, and 2 fuse holders with fuses. I have placement and concealment for the new wires all worked out the only problem is where do I tap into the stock wiring? I found the red "trunk" coming into the fuse box from the ignition, I think I sourced the wires coming out of the box to a greyish plug behind the battery, I also found the wiring running under the pass fender thru the firewall into the car. So where do I connect the stock wiring to the new relays? Im pretty confident of the rest of the project but I am confused about this and dont want to just start cutting and splicing without some expert confirmation. Thanks!

You can tap the stock headlight wiring right at the stock headlight sockets. There's no need to do any digging for wiring.

For the high-current +12v feed I recommend using a 1/4" ring terminal to attach to the alternator. You can feed your new wire in through the existing boot and include your ring terminal with the existing ones.

For the high-current ground I recommend attaching directly to the engine block. On each side of the engine, just behind the cam covers, there is an M8x1.25 threaded hole that works great for the purpose. Just get a couple of M8x1.25 bolts, two 8mm or 5/16" spring washers, and two 5/16" ring terminals.

Ok, but Im replacing my stock wiring. And unless Im mistakin, your diagram from an earlier page shows the stock wire from the cocpit controll going to the relay pins 85 and 86 with the thicker gauge wire continuing from pins 87 and 30 (30 to fused power and 87 to high low). What I am confused about is where to tap into the stock wiring for the relay. I see what your saying about doing it at the socket but remember from my other post that what led to this was the fact that my RH headlight is allways dim and the cause seems to be faulty common wiring (Red w/blue). Maby I missunderstood your proposed solution. I thought you were suggesting that I just completely rewire my headlights back to the where it comes into the engine bay?