Craig,

I have a self-confessed and recently realized headlight fetish. I have tried many e-code headlights as a result. I can tell you that Cibie 7'' e-codes are the best.  See Daniel Stern lighting website. Cry once, they say. 

Chris.

Wysłane z iPhone'a

Dnia Aug 31, 2014 o godz. 14:59 Craig Cowan <phishman068@GMAIL.COM> napisał(a):

> Does anyone happen to have a spare set of round 80-85 headlight buckets they could sell me for use on my current syncro project?
> I want both my syncros to match. : )
> 
> I really love the look of my rounds and have actually been sufficiently happy with the performance of sealed beam bulbs on my rounds with a relay upgrade in place, but I do intend to order some h4s to sweeten things up on both busses. 
> 
> -craig
> 
> On Aug 31, 2014, at 2:09 PM, The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM> wrote:
> 
>>>> Hi folks, I'm looking for advice on headlights. Mine are dangerously dim
>> at night,
>>> can I just put in new higher power bulbs or do I need to install a whole
>> kit including
>>> new wiring? I have a '91 Vanagon.
>> 
>> 
>> As long as you are using decent bulbs now (not cheapo Chinese ones of
>> questionable quality/performance), switching to different bulbs of the same
>> wattage (even if billed as "high efficiency," etc.) is likely to make only a
>> marginal difference. Bulbs using similar technology will not have huge
>> differences in output given the same input. So a significant improvement
>> will require a higher wattage bulb, which calls for a relay. This makes our
>> '86-91 VisionKit -  http://www.busdepot.com/visionkit2 - the cheapest and
>> easiest upgrade worth bothering with if you have an '86-91. It includes
>> high-output bulbs (100 watt for the inners, 80/100 for the outers) plus the
>> necessary relays, fuses, wiring, and instructions. Part of the improvement
>> is the bulbs themselves, and part of it is that you are "renewing" your
>> wiring and simplifying the signal path.  Your old wiring and connectors
>> probably have enough corrosion, etc. that your headlights are not even
>> performing as well as they originally did (as marginal as that was to begin
>> with), so this kills two birds with one stone.
>> 
>> '80-85 Vanagon owners have an easier path, because your Vanagon can accept
>> true E-code H4 headlights as a direct swap.  For various reasons (none of
>> which include safety or performance), the United States never approved the
>> H4 standard for car use, only for motorcycle use, so while those headlights
>> are the de facto standard in Europe and Canada, we here in the States got
>> crappy sealed beam headlights instead.  All it takes to upgrade to the far
>> superior European standard is to buy a pair of Hella E-code headlights for
>> $69 - http://www.busdepot.com/0301600118  - plus an inexpensive pair of
>> German 55/60 watt bulbs (which require no relays), and swap them out for
>> your old sealed-beams. Just by switching to these European spec Hellas, you
>> will notice a dramatic improvement in lighting even without adding a relay
>> kit and higher output bulbs; using higher-output bulbs and a relay kit will
>> improve it even more. (Our '80-85 VisionKit -
>> http://www.busdepot.com/visionkit1 - includes the same Hellas plus
>> high-output bulbs and relays.)  Required disclaimer: Since H4's are not U.S.
>> DOT approved, they must always be sold in the U.S. as "for off-road only,"
>> and technically I suppose a car could fail inspection of someone inspected
>> the headlights and couldn't find a DOT approval stamp (not that I've ever
>> heard of that actually happening).  If the DOT stamp is important to you,
>> there is a lower-performance cousin of the H4 called an HB2 which gets the
>> DOT stamp, but is nowhere near as good. Sometimes these are advertised as H4
>> headlights but they are not; if anyone claims they have H4's that are "DOT
>> approved," you can bet they actually use HB2's since no H4 is DOT approved
>> for cars. The Hellas that GoWesty includes in their '80-85 headlight upgrade
>> kit are HB2's, not H4's. We offer them as well -
>> http://www.busdepot.com/70477 - for those who want them, but while better
>> than stock sealed beams they are a definite step below the real Hella H4's.
>> 
>> Back to '86-91 ... you can buy an '80-85 grill and then and use the Hella
>> H4's noted above (with or without relays and higher-output bulbs), but you
>> will need more than just the grill itself. You will also need '80-85
>> headlight buckets, which you may be able to find used or else we sell new,
>> as well as an emblem to fit the older grill. That will run you about
>> $200-$300 including emblem, etc., depending on whether you go with new or
>> used buckets. Plus the cost of the Hella headlights or the '80-85 VisionKit
>> noted above.
>> 
>> Both '80-85 and '86-91 owners can upgrade further by switching to the South
>> African 4-round-headlight setup.  This gives you all of the above benefits
>> plus a set of inner driving lights, and is pretty much considered the best
>> headlight upgrade you can do. This version - http://www.busdepot.com/1495 -
>> includes the Hella H4's, and if you do not want to bother with relays it is
>> all you need if you have an '80-85. If you have an '86-91 you'll still need
>> to get new or used '80-85 headlight buckets (as mentioned above).  If you
>> want to upgrade to higher-output bulbs and relays as well, for an '86-91
>> you'd simply add the '86-91 VisionKit in the first paragraph.  For an '80-85
>> you'd buy this South African grill kit instead -
>> http://www.busdepot.com/1495A - which lacks the H4's, and then the '80-85
>> VisionKit in the second paragraph, which adds the H4's, relays, and
>> high-output bulbs.
>> 
>> Hopefully this is more helpful than confusing. :-)  Let me know if not.
>> 
>> Ron Salmon
>> The Bus Depot, Inc.
>> www.busdepot.com