Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 14:09:48 -0400
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject: Re: Headlights
In-Reply-To: <58A94276-AD13-4ECE-A3AD-A30EB16D06DD@yahoo.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> > 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
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