Need new head lights

[A930Rocket]

Thanks Mr Merk!

[A930Rocket]

I installed the J West wiring for the headlights and I thought as long as I was there, I would install a Toyota headlight, for grins. I installed one with the 60/55 bulb it came with and it’s about the same brightness as my Wagner halogen headlight….not very bright.

If I go with a 100/55 or 100/80 bulb, do I need heavier gauge wires* to the headlights from the relays*?

* Will the J West relays I just installed work or do I need heavier duty relays/gauge wiring? What size?


The Toyota headlights come with a wiring harness as well.

[famoroso]

Just say no to goofy looking headlights on air cooled 911s & 964s.

Just say no to LED bulb retrofits in Halogen housings.

Just say yes to headlight relays as their installation is a best practice on these cars.






For cars running sugar scoops, the Holley / Morimoto Classic White RetroBright LED headlights are the best solution that I've found. It's a modern engineered LED lighting solution, with a period correct look (especially the Classic White versions).


RetroBright LED Headlights https://share.google/B21xoBSlcJwjm8P2m







For those of you that want to run pavement melting wattage H1s or H4s in your '74 - '89, JWest offers a High Power Relay set.






For my ~5% nighttime driving use case, this traditional Euro H4 setup, with JWest standard relays and standard 55/60 watt bulbs is simple, elegant and gets the job done.

[WMichelsen]

Regarding headlight relays, is there any significant difference between the JWest and CarMagic offerings?

[darrin]

A930Rocket -- I didn't upgrade wiring (or h4 sockets) on mine, factory wiring has, to date, handled the higher wattage bulbs in my h4s just fine. I did, however, install the Jwest relay kit for the same reasons Mr. Merk referenced above

[A930Rocket]

Thanks, Darrin.

The car is 99% stock, so I’m probably going to reinstall the Wagner headlight.

[Mr. Merk]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

it’s about the same brightness as my Wagner halogen headlight….not very bright.

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

I’m probably going to reinstall the Wagner headlight.

People get hung up on "bright". The Koitos are a much better focused light, and I'd have to assume if measured would also have much greater candlepower, however you'd best be serviced with some of Stern's +250 bulbs.

[darrin]

Originally Posted by Mr. Merk

People get hung up on "bright". The Koitos are a much better focused light, and I'd have to assume if measured would also have much greater candlepower, however you'd best be serviced with some of Stern's +250 bulbs.

100% agree, the difference for me wasn't dazzling brightness, but a fundamentally better focus of the light produced. Check out the second to last picture at this link - https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/hella-7-halogen-h4-conversion-headlamp/ -- it's a comparison of the beam pattern/cutoff from sealed beams vs h4 halogens. With the H4s, all of my light is focused on/across the road ahead, while with sealed halogens the light is limited to smaller/discreet "blobs." Magic came for me once I followed H4 headlight aiming instructions -- switching to brighter bulbs didn't hurt.

[PeteKz]

If you want to keep the stock look, but get brighter light, better pattern, and lower wattage, the Holley Retrobright LED round "sealed beams" seem to be the best option. They are available in two color temps, 3000 and 5800. The 3000K ones have about the same color as halogens, if you like that. They look exactly like old school sealed beams.

If you're interested, go to Headlight Revolution to see their comparison of different LED headlights.

[A930Rocket]

I noticed the pattern difference on the garage wall. I’ve been waffling between the sealed beams and the Koitos. They don’t take long to swap out, so I might try different bulbs with them to see what the beam patterns and brightness look like.

Originally Posted by darrin

100% agree, the difference for me wasn't dazzling brightness, but a fundamentally better focus of the light produced. Check out the second to last picture at this link - https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/hella-7-halogen-h4-conversion-headlamp/ -- it's a comparison of the beam pattern/cutoff from sealed beams vs h4 halogens. With the H4s, all of my light is focused on/across the road ahead, while with sealed halogens the light is limited to smaller/discreet "blobs." Magic came for me once I followed H4 headlight aiming instructions -- switching to brighter bulbs didn't hurt.

[Mr. Merk]

Originally Posted by darrin

Magic came for me once I followed H4 headlight aiming instructions -- switching to brighter bulbs didn't hurt.

This!

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

They don’t take long to swap out, so I might try different bulbs with them to see what the beam patterns and brightness look like.

Bulbs https://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html

Aiming directions https://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/aim/aim.html

[TwoBluPorsches]

Originally Posted by famoroso

Just say no to goofy looking headlights on air cooled 911s & 964s.

Just say no to LED bulb retrofits in Halogen housings.

Just say yes to headlight relays as their installation is a best practice on these cars.

For cars running sugar scoops, the Holley / Morimoto Classic White RetroBright LED headlights are the best solution that I've found. It's a modern engineered LED lighting solution, with a period correct look (especially the Classic White versions).


RetroBright LED Headlights https://share.google/B21xoBSlcJwjm8P2m

I agree with Famoroso and only offer an alternative to the retrobright, if you’re looking for sealed beam replacement with LED technology.

When I was at SEMA 2 weeks ago I saw a replacement for 7” sealed beam that was LED and had a nice cutoff, good brightness below the centerline / cutoff line and didn’t seem to have a crazy hot spot.
Not sure I’d say that it was great on high beam, but low was impressive. A bit less cost than the retrobright.

The lens is glass, the only thing that gives it a different look from a sealed beam is at the very center of the lens, about 1 inch diameter circle, the inside is not fluted

https://www.banginheadlights.com/collections/7-headlights/products/traditional-7-inch-led-headlight

As a tease, they said the plan to make a 911/964 H5 / H4 replacement in the future. We’ll see if that ever happens.

I don’t plan to go back to sugar scoops from my H1s, but if I did have scoops I’d consider the bangin’ lights or the Toyota housings with high performance halogen H4 lamps. (Relays are a must for anything but the LED tech)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[A930Rocket]

OK, I installed both Koito housings with Sylvania 60/50 bulbs and so far I’m liking them. I don’t do much driving at night, so I’ll see how it goes, and then decide if I want to go try the Daniel Stern bulbs.

One thing I noticed, is that when I push my high beam lever forward, I can rest in a position where both high beams and low beams are working. If I push a little more, the high beams come on. I don’t know if that presents a problem with fuses/wiring/etc. I might be replacing my low/high beam live soon

[PeteKz]

If you have both the high and low beams on at the same time with incandescent bulbs, that's a lot of current. I would avoid that until you have LEDs installed.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by famoroso

Just say no to goofy looking headlights on air cooled 911s & 964s.

I just want good light at night.



Concurs points be damned.

[Mr. Merk]

No offense intended, what you have appears to be an inexpensive knock off of questionable quality of what was at one time the best 7" light that money could buy, JW Speaker 8700 EVO2

Originally Posted by HarryD

I just want good light at night.

If that's the case, last I knew, the Phillips 7" LED light was superior to the JW Speaker

But this still stands as a good or even great light at night that doesn't upset the design of the car:

Originally Posted by Mr. Merk

The Toyota Part number for the Koitos is 81110-60P70

You can literally go to your local Toyota dealer and order these for around $20/kit. Insanely low hanging fruit.

Daniel Stern can hook you up with the best performing bulbs money can buy. https://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html



These Jwest relays are easy to install https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/JWST911HLPR.htm?pn=JWST-911-HLPR&srsltid=AfmBOooDA3YZ_oFARSaumXO0DagIUOruF2hJHGHxK2 3kulQOCb--fUh7

These Jwest relays are better
https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/JWST911HPRELAY.htm?pn=JWST-911-HPRELAY&bc=c&q=jwst-911

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by Mr. Merk

No offense intended, what you have appears to be an inexpensive knock off of questionable quality of what was at one time the best 7" light that money could buy, JW Speaker 8700 EVO2



If that's the case, last I knew, the Phillips 7" LED light was superior to the JW Speaker

But this still stands as a good or even great light at night that doesn't upset the design of the car:

Thanks for your thoughts, The light from my current units is better than both the original DOT Sealed beams and Hella H4 units they replaced.

[Mr. Merk]

Originally Posted by HarryD

Thanks for your thoughts, The light from my current units is better than both the original DOT Sealed beams and Hella H4 units they replaced.

I believe that. There are no sealed beam headlights with decent output. The Hellas are not a quality lamp either.

The Koitos are really the way to go. Cibie made a decent 7" H4 but they are obsolete and not as good as the Koitos anyway.

[HarryD]

Originally Posted by Mr. Merk

I believe that. There are no sealed beam headlights with decent output. The Hellas are not a quality lamp either.

The Koitos are really the way to go. Cibie made a decent 7" H4 but they are obsolete and not as good as the Koitos anyway.

Interesting.

FWIW. The Hella H4 e code headlamps I installed in place of the DOT sealed beams was a vast improvement at the time it was done.

[Mr. Merk]

Originally Posted by HarryD

Interesting.

FWIW. The Hella H4 e code headlamps I installed in place of the DOT sealed beams was a vast improvement at the time it was done.

For sure. The sealed beams are pretty miserable. The pricepoint of the Hellas is pretty attractive, until you see what the Genuine Toyota kit costs in comparison.