Ultimate sealed beam light review

[matt1415]

For the past few months I've been searching for the best Halogen sealed beam headlamp for our cars. I'm aware of the H4 conversion kits but for the people like me still living in 500BC, this ones for you. Some of this will be a write up and some will have pictures to go along. I recently decided to do this review as my constant spending on headlamps felt unjustified. Here we go

GE NightHawk H6024NH

This is the first bulb I have purchased that actually uses a different light projector lense. All the sealed beams I have tested use very similar if not identical lenses. What I found with the nighthawk is that the light produced is more of a flood then a beam. It's really good for close range vision but as you aim the bulb a bit higher to get some distance in front of you things get a bit too dim for my liking. Non the less the high beam on this bulb is phenomenal. The low beam just doesn't get enough distance, I'm not sure what the wattages are on this bulb. The light color is closer to white then it is to the standard yellow, that I really liked especially as the bulb inside is not coated. The one downfall of this bulb is that the glass isn't very tough. I managed to crack one of the lenses after driving around for a week. Considering one of these bulbs cost $34 CAD to me. I was not very happy. In regards to the life expectancy I cannot say from experience. Everywhere I have read the nighthawks seem to last just as long as a regular sealed beam.

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[matt1415]

To be continued



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[matt1415]

Wagner BriteLite H6024BL

Very Brite indeed but didn't last long. I purchased the wagner's early on in hopes of finding a brighter factory looking sealed beam. Compared to a standard halogen sealed beam these are noticeably brighter. The wagner's projector lense is nothing special. I don't know if I can call it standard but it's the exact same design found on 99% of the other lamps you can purchase. Like I mentioned these did not last very long. The first one burnt out within a month of use and the second one was not too far after. Weird thing was the high beams still worked on both lamps, just not the low. One lamp had a micro fracture to the glass housing on the back upon removal and the other was untouched. I'm still not sure what caused these to fail like they did. These did give off really good lighting on both high and low beam it was just too bad they failed so early. Last thing to sum this one up, this is just a regular sealed beam housing. Pictures on eBay and Amazon show it as having like a plastic rear connector but that is not the case. Also you shouldn't be paying over $20 For one of these bulbs. I've seen alot of different prices out there.

[matt1415]

More on it's way

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[matt1415]

Sylvania Xtra vision H6024

My last purchase and by far the worst. Weirdly enough you can get these lamps made in China or the USA. It says on the box where they are from. The bulbs from the USA are labeled on the glass as Sylvania perfomace while the chinese are just Sylvania halogen. I've noticed on the USA lamps the terminals in the rear are only half soldered and glue is just splattered all across the rear of the lamp. Looks like something out of a horror film. On the other hand the chinese lamps must be soldered by machine as the terminals are much cleaner and nothing is exposed. Also the casting of the USA lens is really distorted compared to the chinese. Not what I was expecting for USA quality.

I never installed the USA lamps as I am extremely critical of every fine detail. I regret though not taking pictures of the lamps while I had them. The ones I did install were the chinese. For some reason the lip on the rear of these lamps is made wider creating a weak point throughout the whole lamp. The first lamp I installed cracked upon tightening the retainer. No problem I swapped it out. The second time around I got both lamps installed and while I was aiming one, the other decided it didn't like the housing and cracked for a second time. Oh what a beautiful sound. I cannot stress to you guys how gentle I was in tightening these lamps. The back of the Sylvania xtra vision is just not meant for our 944/924 housings. Notice the difference in width between the GE and the Sylvania.

On a more positive note these lamps have really nice reflectors in them. Normally the reflectors are more of a satin finish but on these it's like looking into a mirror. Color of the light is your standard yellow. For a cracked lamp these do apear to be a bit brighter than Sylvania's basic. Nothing I'd get too excited over though. The price point isn't that far off from the basics so if you can install without cracking them you might find yourself a decent lamp. Extra visions are $21 CAD every where I can find them. Basics are normally around $15. For everyone in the U.S. these prices are irrelevant. You get them much cheaper then I do lol.

[Jay H]

I'm using the Sylvania Xtravision lights Matt describes above. I replaced standard lamps with unknown age. The Xtravision lamps provide more output and slightly more white light than the basic lamps that were in my 924S upon purchase. It's a decent improvement in headlamps and IMO was worth the few extra bucks over a basic lamp.

[DannoXYZ]

Any before & after beamshots?

[Jay H]

I wish I did, but I don't have any before and after shots. Though, I will not buy the basic lamps ever again knowing the slightly more expensive XtraVision bulbs provide noticeably better output. My bulbs were Made in the US.

Also, an easy thing to do that makes a huge difference is aiming the headlights. There are plenty of on line instructions on how to do it (in basic terms, put the car tight against a wall, make an X from tape on the intersections of the beams, back up 25 feet [exactly], then adjust headlights based on the X marks - again, read up more before doing this). You'd be surprised as to how screwed up headlights can get over the years on our old cars. My 924S's lamps were way off...

I'm waiting for LED's to drop a bit in price and that'll be the next upgrade for my headlights...

Many years ago I converted my 1984 911's headlights from sealed beams to the H-4 reflector and bulb setup. That was a significant improvement over the standard lamps that were in my 911 (again, with unknown age). Though, I think there have been some very noticeable improvements in sealed beam bulbs (which Matt is pointing out in this thread) that may negate the need for the H-4 setup.

Hopefully I'm not hi-jacking Matt's thread with all my banter...

[jcommin]

This is an interesting post. I'm the original owner on my 83 - I have the original sealed beams. I don't do allot of night driving but when I do, I recognize the lighting could be better - It is especially noticeable as lighting technology has changed over the years.

I looked at an H4 set up. I made a wiring harness and spec'd out what I would need. I never pulled the trigger on it - I'm kind of a purist - I didn't want to add the wiring.

After reading the responses here, this appears to be an option. Thanks to all who have responded.

[Jay H]

I could be very off base, but an H-4 setup should not pull any more current than a sealed beam setup IF the wattages are the same. One should not need a new wiring harness to switch to an H-4 setup. My 911 conversion just required swapping the sealed beam lamps with the H-4 setups and I have had zero issues in the 20 years I have been using H-4's in sugar scoop equipped 911's.

However, the LED 7" round lamps that are currently available may provide better output with a significantly reduced load on the wiring / electrical system.

[9FF]

Originally Posted by Jay H

I could be very off base, but an H-4 setup should not pull any more current than a sealed beam setup IF the wattages are the same. One should not need a new wiring harness to switch to an H-4 setup....

While that is absolutely correct I suspect that the degradation of the lighting in our cars has more to do with the wiring than the actual lights. You’d be better off with a new headlight harness using relays and better grounds, which prevent voltage drops due to long power runs, and more efficiently grounds the lights. Also, while LEDs do draw less current, they are more suseptible to damage if the wiring draws excessive current such as from a corroded ground. Something that is not sufficient to blow a fuse is likely to trash those LEDs pronto...plus I’m not too impressed by the light color and output style of LEDs and how that looks on older cars like ours. What looks right on a new car sometimes looks totally out of place on an 80’s classic, but that’s just my opinion.

Iirc the 944 stock lights were H4 and the sealed beam units were only fitted to satisfy US federal laws, so imo retrofitting H4’s would be “factory” if that’s a concern. Btw I run H4’s with updated (Iceshark) headlight harnesses on all my cars for a while now and have no complaints.

[Jay H]

Mike, Thank you for clarifying and correcting my post. I agree fully that there are a lot of factors in play on our old cars including the degradation of groundings points, wiring condition, etc. that 30 years of time, heat cycles, and miles does to an old car.

I too agree that the LED lighting industry has a ways to go...though we are seeing progress in these areas.

Great discussions!

[matt1415]

Ok guys I got the Philips crystal vision review comming up next. By far the best of all the lamps I've tried. Ps anyone else have issues with the lamps cracking?

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[matt1415]

Philips crystal vision h6024cv

This is the only lamp that hasn't cracked or failed on me yet. I have tried to replace these so many times but I always end up putting them back in. I believe these are 35w low and 55 high. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here as I no longer have the boxes. The bulbs are coated and produce a really nice white light color. The low beams are good but I sometimes feel the coated bulbs take away from the brightness. It's nice to have the modern light color but at the end of the day I think an uncoated bulb would have been better in these. Especially with the low beam only being 35w.

High beams on the crystal vision's though are amazing. Driving down an unilluminated road with forest on either side I can litterly see everything beyond the tree line and have no doubt about the road ahead. I truly believe you won't find a better high beam from any other sealed beam.

The build quality on these bulbs is extremely on point. Really nice bead of silicone around the lamp and no defects at all in the glass lense. The glass is as clear as day along with the reflectors inside. I'm not sure where these are made but who's ever doing it is doing it right. I know I've already mentioned this but out of all the lamps I have tested these are the absolute best you will find for our 924/944's.

Look forward to hearing more experiences from you guys. Thanks

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[IdahoDoug]

I am using the Koito h4s and am really impressed. I know this thread is discussing sealed beam options but if you live in a northern climate like I do, it is worth the atrocious price. Wide, uniform beam on low and you can upgrade bubs if you want more powerful lamp output. Hard to find, but Daniel Stern can find them if you give him some time. For a vintage sports car I value, it is worthwhile to help avoid deer at night.