

| Subject: | Re: Headlight upgrade? |
| From: | Ralph Meyermann |
| Date: | Wed, 28 Jan 2015 08:22:57 -0600 |
Do they come with wiring instructions for relays? Velma 82 1.9L AAZ TD Westy On Jan 28, 2015 7:56 AM, "Michael McSwain" <michaelmcswain@gmail.com> wrote: > Wow! That's a lot of great information! I was imagining myself getting an > inspection from my local guy who doesn't seem to care about much of > anything. It's hard to imagine getting called out for the wrong kind of > lights. Sounds like e-code is the way to go. > On Jan 28, 2015 8:46 AM, "The Bus Depot" <vanagon@busdepot.com> wrote: > > > > Got an '84. Are the Hella lenses that Gowesty sells the only option > for a > > light > > > upgrade? Saw a suggestion for an E-Code housing but it seemed to be > only > > slightly > > > cheaper than the full gowesty setup and it comes with the risk of not > > being > > > completely legal. > > > > > > Seems like there would be something else out there for a little less > > money. Any > > > thoughts? Is this upgrade worth $200? > > > > > > The Hella Vision Plus headlights that GoWesty offers are "quasi" H4 > > headlights that cost more than actual H4 headlights and perform > > significantly worse. However, because they are not technically H4 > > headlights > > they have a DOT approval stamp on them, which no H4 headlight (E-code or > > not) can have. This makes them "street legal" whereas conventional H4 > > headlights must be sold "for offroad use only" due to a hole in the > > regulations that made true H4's street-legal pretty much everywhere else > in > > the world except for the U.S. (and here in the U.S., street legal on > > motorcycles but not on cars). How important is this? I will say that in > > twenty years I have never heard of anyone actually failing inspection or > > getting a ticket for using a quality set of H4's, but theoretically it > > could > > happen. If you want to eliminate any risk, you have two choices. One is > the > > Hella VisionPlus (which we sell for less than GoWesty does, incidentally > - > > http://www.busdepot.com/70477 ), and the other is the generic knockoffs > of > > the VisionPlus (also DOT stamped) that we offer for $39/pair - > > http://www.busdepot.com/nl911dot . They are not quite as good as the > > Hellas > > but come surprisingly close for half the price. > > > > If you're not concerned about the DOT labeling, you can get far better > > headlights for less money buying a good pair of actual H4 headlights. > > There > > are some really crappy H4's out there, but you can largely weed those out > > by > > insisting on E-code ones. Those meet strict European standards for > > performance, making them street-legal pretty much everywhere but the U.S. > > (where the aforementioned hole in the regulations resulted in them never > > getting approved). Even among E-code headlights there are still > variations > > in quality, but the overall standard is higher to begin with. We offer > > three > > versions of E-code headlights. The German Hellas are considered one of > the > > best you can get at any price, and we currently have them on factory > buyout > > for only $69 a pair: http://www.busdepot.com/0301600118 . This is by > > far > > the best $69 you will ever spend on your Vanagon. For those on a tighter > > budget we offer generic E-codes for $34/pair - > > http://www.busdepot.com/nl910ch4/ . While not quite up to Hella's > > standards, they are still a significant step above your stock headlights > > (or > > the Vision Plus for that matter). A third alternative is that we offer a > > version of the generic E-codes that adds European city-light bulbs as > well > > as normal headlight bulbs, for $44/pair - http://www.busdepot.com/hq6014 > . > > This additional lighting gives your Vanagon a very cool European look as > > well as increasing visibility. As an aside, both of the generic E-codes > > have > > a rounded profile like your sealed-beams do, whereas the Hellas (all of > > them) have a flatter profile. > > > > Your next decision is bulbs. 55/60 watt H4 bulbs will be noticeably > > brighter > > than your original headlights, without drawing any additional current, so > > they don't require any special wiring. Therefore, replacing your > > sealed-beam > > headlights with a pair of E-codes and these bulbs is a five minute > > plug-and-play upgrade, just like changing a light bulb. We have good > > German > > 55/60w bulbs for just $3.95 each - http://www.busdepot.com/78155 . If > you > > want an even more marked improvement, the next level up would be 90/100 > > watt > > bulbs and the requisite relays to make them work (as they do draw > > additional > > current). We have them bundled in a kit with the Hella E-codes - > > http://www.busdepot.com/visionkit1 - or you can buy the generic E-codes > > and > > the high-output bulbs and relay kit separately. (In that case you'd want > > http://www.busdepot.com/725543 bulbs and a http://www.busdepot.com/HRK1 > > relay kit.) That combination will also work with the "fake" H4's > mentioned > > in the first paragraph, by the way, but while it will improve them it > will > > not make them perform like actual E-codes. In all cases this is > reversible > > if you ever needed to do so; you can swap the original sealed-beam > > headlights back in about five minutes. > > > > All of this pertains to round-headlight Vanagons. '86-91 Vanagons can > > benefit from our VisionKit 2 ( http://www.busdepot.com/visionkit2 ) or > our > > South African grill kit ( http://www.busdepot.com/1495 ). > > > > Hope this is not too confusing! Let me know if any questions. > > > > Ron Salmon > > The Bus Depot, Inc. > > www.busdepot.com > > > > > > >
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