Hella Headlight Housing Upgrade

RedComet13

Rock n Rolla
Mar 6, 2008
113
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0
San Antonio, TX
I had been waiting for a write-up on this mod when that Comprehensive Lighting thread came out. But Unfortunately (Probably due to work and research) It was never released. Im thinking along the lines of Hella Housings, PIAA bulbs, and Harnesses. But are there any other options with a Similar setup like this one? Im not looking to spend loads and loads on an HID system, Just something strong and reliable. (Correct me if Im Wrong) Im sure lots of people have done an H4 upgrade but there hasn't been much of it in the tech forums.
 

tlo86

Ninja Editor 'Since 05'
Jul 24, 2005
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Colorado
there is not much to it... the plug is the same and the hellas drop right in. still have my old HID setup sitting in my garage unused Lol and no supra to put it in.

not sure what an upgraded harness would achieve. unless you are replacing the same wires with mil spec (not a bad idea for wear) and make sure you have a good ground for the HID's
 

suprajosh

New Member
Nov 6, 2007
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anaheim CA
i dont understand why you would still want to upgrade further and get piaa bulbs... the bulbs that come in the hella H4 kit are significantly more powerful than stock and i would say that they are on par to piaa bulbs... my only recommendation would be to get HID... there is places out here (CA) that sell them for like 60 dollars, other than that the stock hella bulbs are bright enough
well... not like HID... but bright enough

-josh
 

KeithH

New Member
Mar 31, 2005
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Portland, OR
tlo86;1388902 said:
not sure what an upgraded harness would achieve.

REWIRE! DO IT!

So you think your headlights aren't quite up to par and want to improve them. Should you jump right out there and drop a LOAD of money on those SWEET HID lights? NO!

Do the Rewire first! http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

If that isn't enough then look to do a Hella ECode lens with a quality bulb (and by quality I do not mean anything you find on ebay with claims of HID like etc). Even a basic Sylvania bulb will ROCK in this setup.

You'll be amazed!
 

JDMMA70

Active Member
Dec 4, 2006
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Houston
I've heard that Cibie lamps put out better lighting than Hella's do I've yet to see the beam pattern of one but I may just buy a set and see how they look
 

RazoE

Boobs/Boost, my favorite
Jun 13, 2006
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www.cafepress.com
I have Hella E codes, with Sylvania Silverstar Night-Visions, and it's WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than stock..

my whole set up would cost less than $100 brand new..
 

bluepearl

New Member
Jul 21, 2005
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pa.
I have been running the Hella E-code setup for about five years now. No special bulbs for me. Just plain, clear upgraded hella bulbs. I did not do the wiring upgrade. When I checked voltage, there was only about 3 tenths differance. I know that may be hard to believe, but it is what it is. I might check that again someday. The lights work great and I would not want anything better. It's simply not needed. FWIW, I also did the relay mod on my chevy pickup and ford explorer. There was over 1.5 volt differance on those vehicles. It helped.
 

shaeff

Kurt is FTMFW x2!!!!
Staff member
Super Moderator
Mar 30, 2005
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KeithH;1388959 said:
REWIRE! DO IT!

So you think your headlights aren't quite up to par and want to improve them. Should you jump right out there and drop a LOAD of money on those SWEET HID lights? NO!

Do the Rewire first! http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

If that isn't enough then look to do a Hella ECode lens with a quality bulb (and by quality I do not mean anything you find on ebay with claims of HID like etc). Even a basic Sylvania bulb will ROCK in this setup.

You'll be amazed!
That's the same link I was going to provide. :) Well done! (and I agree 100%!)
JDMMA70;1389046 said:
I've heard that Cibie lamps put out better lighting than Hella's do I've yet to see the beam pattern of one but I may just buy a set and see how they look
You heard correctly. I believe it was Daniel Stern who did a comparison- the Cibie's are well worth the extra coin, simply judging by his findings.

Wills7MGTE;1389692 said:
I like the HID look but I did the Hella H4 housings with Sylvania H4 bulbs and they are wayyyy better than stock so I am ok with that I am not spending 200+ on a HID kit.
Please, never put HID's in reflector style housings that were designed for halogens. I don't give a crap what people say, the output is not as good as a good rewired halogen setup in the same housing. I've been there, done that, and learned from my mistake.

For an HID setup, you need to do a PROPER conversion using HID projectors designed for HID's!
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
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Fort Worth, TX
RedComet13;1388934 said:
72207 Hella Vision Plus
High-Performance Headlamp Upgrade

Thats an old PN i saw on another site But I think things may be a little different?

Vision Plus = DOT design = terrible beam pattern
 

Who

Supramania Contributor
shaeff;1389700 said:
T
Please, never put HID's in reflector style housings that were designed for halogens. I don't give a crap what people say, the output is not as good as a good rewired halogen setup in the same housing. I've been there, done that, and learned from my mistake.

For an HID setup, you need to do a PROPER conversion using HID projectors designed for HID's!

I remember reading a article about how much engineering or science is put into the modern day headlamps. The placement of the filament in the housing, the orientation of the filament, the reflective material and the shape of the headlamp itself all work together for the right light pattern and color. Daniel Stern Lighting mentions it as well.