Date: Wed, 28 Jan 2015 08:34:10 -0600
Reply-To: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Headlight upgrade?
In-Reply-To: <CAAj276z6eHcW_DkyHbd_ie7pNrQaKaJrkYTwb1RO+79Vaho3eA@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
No, none I have seen. But the headlight relay kits from Jay Brown and
others do, that's all you need.
Jim
On Wed, Jan 28, 2015 at 8:22 AM, Ralph Meyermann <ralphmeyermann@gmail.com>
wrote:
> 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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