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Blinded by the light; sealed beam upgrade
Topic Started: Sep 25 2015, 03:36 PM (1,742 Views)
Coche Blanco
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Completed?

imgur album for those reading impaired.
http://imgur.com/a/dYi5J


For starters, these are the parts you need:



The Hellas are the best balance of price, quality, and fitment available. Bosch and Cibie make better lenses but they cost about $80 each
The bulbs are the best you can buy without going over stock wattage.
The ceramic sockets linked can handle a higher wattage bulb without melting.


Consumables/tools you will need:

  • solder
  • soldering iron
  • wire strippers
  • heat shrink
  • screwdriver


If you choose to go the route of higher wattage bulbs, be warned: you will need to wire your headlights to use relays. I do not plan to cover how to build/install relays in this post.

You can do this with only a screwdriver if you buy this adapter but it is extremely expensive for what it is. If someone can find a cheaper one, please link me. The next few things are straight forward and simple, and all you'll need is a screwdriver and some snips. Begin by disconnecting the headlight socket and snipping it off leaving as much wire as possible on the car. After that is done, remove the black surround of the headlight and remove the four screws that hold the old light in.


Now, follow Sean's ridiculously good soldering instructions.

The OEM harness and the plugs I linked go together like this.
Posted Image

Once you do that you should be golden. Re install what you took off and enjoy your improved headlights.


Can you guess which side is which? This is with a basic 9003 bulb, not the nice ones I linked...when I get done with this project I will swap the bulbs for the even better Philips.

Posted Image

Comparison Photos:
Okay here are some comparison pics between the Hella lamps and the Autopal lamps. The images are intentionally underexposed in some shots to show the differences more clearly. The car with Autopals has relays installed while my car (the white one) does not. All exposures of the similar pictures are the same. I did this in an attempt to make the fairest comparison I could.

http://imgur.com/a/FPTHV
Posted Image

Driving impressions:

Holy crap this should have been my first modification! The road is evenly lit, and the beam reaches just far enough in front. My only complaint so far is when making sharp turn I can't see to my extreme left/right as well as I'd like. Turns that are so sharp that I look out the driver/passenger side door windows to see. With that said, I'm not sure how well the sealed beams did in the same circumstance so it may not be a fair complaint.

I would give this current setup an 8/10. The two things that could be improved are the left/right visibility, and I would like the high beams to be aimed a little lower. I will play around with the aiming for a few more days and see if I can fix that issue.


Using basic Sylvania bulbs and no relays.
Edited by Coche Blanco, Oct 8 2015, 07:21 PM.
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MR Bill
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:bigpop
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aaronvincent
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Mr Mojo Risin'

revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night...

Sorry Coche, had to :rocker
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Coche Blanco
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aaronvincent
Sep 25 2015, 05:46 PM
revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night...

Sorry Coche, had to :rocker
I'll allow it.
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Turbo Dan-O
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Obsessive Car Detailer

MR Bill
Sep 25 2015, 05:04 PM
:bigpop
:gp :popcorn
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Coche Blanco
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Did a little teaser pic in the first post. :deal
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Woodie
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That's going to be nice.

As you're cutting and soldering wires already, I'd certainly to the relay mod at the same time. The stock wiring doesn't stand up to stock headlamps over time, go ahead and get the power off the switch and wiring, and get far more power to your lights.
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Coche Blanco
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Bump! The socket swap is complete. In a few months I plan on getting some nice relays and doing a how to for building/installing those too. Let me know what you guys think.
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Coche Blanco
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added:

Okay here are some comparison pics between the Hella lamps and the Autopal lamps. The images are intentionally underexposed in some shots to show the differences more clearly. The car with Autopals has relays installed while my car (the white one) does not. All exposures of the similar pictures are the same. I did this in an attempt to make the fairest comparison I could.

http://imgur.com/a/FPTHV
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Hydrojim
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Coche Blanco
Sep 30 2015, 05:12 PM
added:

Okay here are some comparison pics between the Hella lamps and the Autopal lamps. The images are intentionally underexposed in some shots to show the differences more clearly. The car with Autopals has relays installed while my car (the white one) does not. All exposures of the similar pictures are the same. I did this in an attempt to make the fairest comparison I could.

http://imgur.com/a/FPTHV
More info on my setup for anyone interested:

Lights:
AutoPal H4
Bulbs:
Whatever came with the headlights. I should probably upgrade to something better. Since I have the relay kit installed, I could run higher wattage bulbs. I forget what the legal limits are.
Wiring Harness:
Harness
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Coche Blanco
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Hydrojim
Sep 30 2015, 07:16 PM
More info on my setup for anyone interested:
What is your opinion of these pictures are far as a comparison goes to what you saw in person?
Edited by Coche Blanco, Sep 30 2015, 09:22 PM.
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Hydrojim
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Seems about in line with what I saw in person. I think I should cleaned my lenses and we should have swapped bulbs to see if any difference were caused by that. But I think the differences are fairly negligible. We've reached about the max performance that you can get from a halogen bulb on a geo metro. The only better solution would be HID or a higher wattage bulb.
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