Headlight upgrade-you gotta do this

[Jeff Miller]

I've been running European lights on my cars and coaches since ~
1978, have never had anyone question the legality regardless of the
fact that they are not DOT approved.

The easy way to not get in trouble is to keep them adjusted well, and
if you're running over-legal-max wattage bulbs, keep them dimmed
unless you're on open/empty road. The "look-at-me-blue" junk is
annoying and no more effective, but might attract attention (or at
least should) of your Highway Patrol however.

The difference in lighting is very substantial, there is a reason
that the antique US lighting is not legal in Europe, their standard
kept up with technology when we made the sealed-beam our standard.

The down-side of a European light in my experience is the very sharp
cutoff not sending much stray light upward, so overhead signs are
difficult to read. Takes some getting used to. They are far superior
also in fog/snow/heavy-rain with less stray light to cause glare.

European lights I recommend are the Cibie and Hella brands, normally
referred to as European Conversion Lights and sold by many parts
stores in sizes to replace all sealed-beam sizes (round and
rectangular) and will plug in / mount where your original sealed-
beams were with no changes other than aiming them properly.

I don't recommend going over the standard/legal H-4 / H-1 55watt
bulb, the high-beam becomes unuseable in any traffic at all, just
overkill.

- Jeff Miller
in Holland, MI


--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Jack & Donna Smith"
wrote:
>
> Wow, Scott: Those look very good...Don't know if they would fit in
my
> 1973 coach though.
> I wonder what those Boys with the Big Shiney Badges would say about
> these??
> Jack Smith
> 1973FC31
> SoCal
>
> --- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "Scott Forman"
<sforman@r...>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hello all,
> >
> > Today, I did a serious upgrade of my FC headlights. I HIGHLY
> > recommend that all you FC owners (or at least those of you with
round
> > headlights) do some or all of this upgrade.
> >
> > First, I bought some Xenon headlight units to replace the old
sealed
> > beams. I got mine here:
> >
> > http://store.racinglab.com/rodicutsebeh.html
> >
> > These are a direct plug-n-play replacement for your old sealed
beams.
> >
> > I then installed headlamp relays as outlined by Mr. Burliss in
> > the 'Files' section of this site ("Headlight Modification"). I
got
> > the relay units here:
> >
> > http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stor...t/Product?
> > storeId=10101&Pr=p_Product.CATENTRY_ID%
> > 3A2001333&productId=2001333&langId=-1&catalogId=10102
> >
> > My headlights are now brighter than those on my new Chevy
> > truck...they really light up the road in bright, white light. I
> > cannot describe what a huge improvement this is over my old
sealed-
> > beams. I am not that great with wiring, and I was able to do the
> > whole conversion in a couple of hours...someone who really knows
what
> > they are doing could knock this out in no time flat. Just adding
the
> > relay to regular sealed-beams would be a huge improvement, too.
> >
> > Happy new year to all.
> >
> > Scott Forman
> > "Tiger Pride"
> > 82 FC35RB
> > Memphis
> >
>