Modern Headlights

[blue440duster]

BLAH.....

I clicked the link which was a 2009 press release but didn't click on the catalog page to see if they were still offered! seems they only have the clear lens reflectors now rotest:

 

[slantsixdan]

Calling SlantSixDan...
I figure eventually a LED headlight will pop up that looks like an OEM muscle car era headlight(no clear lens)

Not gonna happen. It's all projectors and/or clear lenses. We're not going back to lens optics, and even if someone were to go after the collector-car market with a lens-optic LED headlamp, it still wouldn't look like a sealed beam, because the optical facets and prisms themselves would have to be very different (because the light source is very different). Also, such a headlamp would be much less efficient/much lower performing than a clear-lens headlamp.

work Better than said OEM bulb(better light pattern), wont have to splice a single wire(same plug) and no bucket mods either or empty your wallet to purchase a pair of them AND Get this......actually be DOT Legal.

Yup, several of those exist right now. See post № 11 of this thread.

with a few other LED bulbs in other areas such as taillights

Careful-careful-careful. Most (almost all) of what's on the market is junk, including the lens-shaped LED panels.

Clean the front park/turn and rear brake/tail/turn lamp lenses in hot soapy water. If the reflectors are at all dull or peeling, stuff wads of masking tape in the bulb holes (or remove the sockets if they're the removable type), clean the reflectors with alcohol, then spray them with readily available "chrome" spray paint, which is practically ideal for the task.

Then put these in the brake/tail lights and these in the reversing (back-up) lights. Do not substitute, get these specific ones! You'll need this turn signal flasher. There's not yet an acceptable (safe/effective) LED replacement for 1157NA for the front turn signals, but there will be before long. More details here.

 

[zkx14]

Got my Nighthawks
Didn't even open them and saw this. Both have bent terminals and this one is missing. There is a ball of solder stuck on the glass next to the pin. Doesn't look like the terminal ever got attached. Good thing Amazon has easy returns... Car is not on the road, so probably not installing till spring or later. Just glad I looked before stashing them away.

 

[Pawned]

Got my Nighthawks
Didn't even open them and saw this. Both have bent terminals and this one is missing. There is a ball of solder stuck on the glass next to the pin. Doesn't look like the terminal ever got attached. Good thing Amazon has easy returns... Car is not on the road, so probably not installing till spring or later. Just glad I looked before stashing them away.

I am willing to bet that the bulbs you got were the ones that I returned. Was the box for the bulb unglued?

The bulbs look to be returned to Amazon by someone that damaged the connectors and then returned them. Amazon in their questionable wisdom, did not look at the return, put it back on the shelf and then sent it out to the next sucker.

I ordered 3 bulbs and then returned 2 of them for this very reason. I bet you got them next.

I also found that the connectors break off the light very easily. I had to solder one connector back on to each of the bulbs I accepted.

 

[zkx14]

I am willing to bet that the bulbs you got were the ones that I returned. Was the box for the bulb unglued?

The bulbs look to be returned to Amazon by someone that damaged the connectors and then returned them. Amazon in their questionable wisdom, did not look at the return, put it back on the shelf and then sent it out to the next sucker.

I ordered 3 bulbs and then returned 2 of them for this very reason. I bet you got them next.

I also found that the connectors break off the light very easily. I had to solder one connector back on to each of the bulbs I accepted.

None of that would surprise me. The box for the one in my post is unglued. The other box has not been opened. It has the side terminals slightly bent and the center badly bent.
I hope the next two come from a different run...

 

[blue440duster]

Then put these in the brake/tail lights and these in the reversing (back-up) lights. Do not substitute, get these specific ones!

I saw that you suggested those style bulbs in another forum(after I already purchased others #-o)..... I am wondering how a bulb like that(270 degree beam angle)can have light coverage better than say....

these?(supposedly 360 degree beam angle) https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...5-smd-led-tower-bay15d-retrofit-rvb/2409/728/

It's probably obvious to someone in the lighting industry but not to my inquiring grey matter, Is it the angle of the led? brightness? all of the above? it seems as though the 2nd bulb has it covered better than the 1st but then again with age you learn things aren't always the what you think.

Wait...Wait...Here comes the cheesy joke......... "Enlighten us" :roll::roll:

Since you have suggested the 1157 red & the 1156 white that are safe/effective how about(since this is a Sticky) some of the other commonly used bulbs of the muscle car era like the 1895, 67, 1004 and the famous 194 that a lot of members would like to replace with LED's but are unsure whether or not they are falling for fancy/false advertising then maybe we may not pick your brain so much

BTW the info is much appreciated studying up on this subject makes me want to stay with the stock bulbs and sit in a chair in the corner mumbling to myself :tard:

These are a few of the ones I purchased after hours of going through list and list of bulbs for the highest lumens and degree of beam angle hoping to brighten my lights give a break to my alternator, NOS lenses and new wiring harnesses along the way is it to much to ask to have your cake and eat it too!?!
:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-tower-ba9s-retrofit-car/2077/#/attributes/16

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-5-smd-led-tower-ba9s-retrofit-car/2077/4725/

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...d-tower-ba15d-retrofit-car/512/#/attributes/1

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-led-tower-ba15s-retrofit/2622/#/attributes/1

 

[Cuprum-74]

Interesting, I have one headlight that is a Nighthawk. Which is pretty awsome.
However the other one is a Wagner. It seems to work fine with decent light output. I know the local NAPA sells them here. I think the Nighthawks are still a little better, but they're at least better than the garbage silverstars.
It's especially bad when you have 3 of them burn out in a year.
2 from the duster and one bulb from my motorcycle.

 

[slantsixdan]

I saw that you suggested those style bulbs in another forum(after I already purchased others #-o)..... I am wondering how a bulb like that(270 degree beam angle)can have light coverage better than say....these? [trinket vendor's link not quoted] (supposedly 360 degree beam angle)

The answer is easy: Philips is a legitimate company that put an enormous amount of money and a mountain of serious engineering skill, talent, and work into developing a product that actually works. That other outfit you linked is just one of many vendors of cheap trinkets from China with no actual engineering in them. They obtain the "360-degree output" by a simple yet powerful technique known as lying.

Since you have suggested the 1157 red & the 1156 white that are safe/effective how about(since this is a Sticky) some of the other commonly used bulbs of the muscle car era like the 1895, 67, 1004 and the famous 194 that a lot of members would like to replace with LED's

1895 isn't ripe yet -- but will be soon (easy workaround: install the later dash bulb sockets for the wedge-base bulbs and go to 194 below)

67 and 1004: No really good ones for awhile, if ever. The cheap ones that work OK...don't last. The cheap ones that last OK...don't work.

194 (also 168): This one. There are other good ones coming soon to market, in a variety of colors, but they're not here yet. (More dashboard lighting info here)

For later cars with a double-ended cylindrical ("festoon", "looks like a fuse") bulb that happens to be 39-44mm long in the dome light, this one is so freakin' good it's worth the hassle of buying from the UK.

studying up on this subject makes me want to stay with the stock bulbs and sit in a chair in the corner mumbling to myself

There's way more junk on the market than good stuff...and every bit of it is described in flowery language as the toppermost-of-the-poppermost upgrade, of course. Because money.

 

[davescuda]

following along
good info

 

[fratzog lover]

Took Dans advice. What a difference with the Nighthawks. Cant wait to get crackedbacks relay setup. Every bulb I tried before the Nighthawks was mediocre at best. I gave them away. This man knows his lights!!!

 

[zkx14]

Got my Nighthawks
Didn't even open them and saw this. Both have bent terminals and this one is missing. There is a ball of solder stuck on the glass next to the pin. Doesn't look like the terminal ever got attached. Good thing Amazon has easy returns... Car is not on the road, so probably not installing till spring or later. Just glad I looked before stashing them away.

Follow-up - got replacements from Amazon today. They look good this time. All terminals are straight and appear to be well soldered. The junk ones will be on their way to Kentucky tomorrow....

 

[slantsixdan]

I wonder who's gonna get the junk ones next

 

[RustyRatRod]

I wonder who's gonna get the junk ones next

They will keep circulatin around till everybody has a go.

Wait......that sounds like Lindsay Lohan.

 

[Pawned]

Amazon does not care, eventually someone they ship them to will fix them on their own and Amazon will be off the hook

 

[turbofreek]

i just want an nee design led headlight that is round like the original. dont have to look likr the glass original. id settle for a new srt challenger headlight if it fit, will it? i am blind as a bat and i want some seriously bright *** headlights. new age no more old yellow can see 200ft away hallogen that fail on a monthly basis.

with that said. any head light that is round that is of same size that can be mounted in the hole we have on a 67 dart??? i love the led ring around the new camaro and challenger headlights. would look awesome on my dart. any help out there to lewd me to the wonder land for this???

 

[slantsixdan]

i just want an nee design led headlight that is round like the original. dont have to look likr the glass original. i am blind as a bat and i want some seriously bright *** headlights. with that said. any head light that is round that is of same size that can be mounted in the hole we have on a 67 dart?

Yes, listed and linked in post № 11 of this thread.

i love the led ring around the new camaro and challenger headlights

There are no legitimate 7" round LED headlamps to fit your Dart that have a full round LED ring like that, but if you've got the cash you can have a cool upper-half-of-ring white LED "eyebrow".

 

[Mattax]

In 2004, at Dan's recommendation, I installed P3496 bulbs in place of the hard to get 1034 for the '67 Barracuda's tail/brake/turn lamps. For the front I've stayed with the hard to find, but correct looking opaque yellow coated 1034A. I've been pretty happy with this combo and seemed to work fine with the flasher control. (Pretty happy defined as generally looking period correct while providing correct light in front and slightly brighter rear lights. The latter being important for being 'seen' in built up areas where almost all the other vehicles are now using brighter lights than 30+ years ago.)

 

[slantsixdan]

It's grown harder to get good quality 3496s, and they've become stupid-expensive. Much (much) better: Put these in the brake/tail lights and these in the reversing (back-up) lights. You will need to swap in this turn signal flasher (2-prong like original, direct swap). Note there's a mountain of garbage on the market, too, so insist on only these specific bulbs (more info here). There's not yet a good(!) LED retrofit for 1034 or 1157 in the amber front park/turn lights. Soon, but not quite yet.

 

[Mattax]

It's grown harder to get good quality 3496s, and they've become stupid-expensive.

Be interested in what there is.

There's not yet a good(!) LED retrofit for 1034 or 1157 in the amber front park/turn lights. Soon, but not quite yet.

Do you mean that they will actually look correct during the day through the clear lens of the housing?

 

[slantsixdan]

Be interested in what there is.

…eh? I don't understand the question.

Do you mean that they will actually look correct during the day through the clear lens of the housing?

I mean they will actually work effectively and safely; to me that's more important than cosmetics. They will completely "disappear" during the day when the lamp isn't lit -- the park/turn lamps with colourless lenses will look colourless until they light up amber.

 

[tnts72]

I will be market for a headlight upgrade soon, just wading through the posts trying to find a general consensus...:violent1:

 

[dano]

Dan,

Do you have any knowledge about the new "Laser" type lights being used by Audi and BMW (and possibly others)?

 

[ken5124]

I went with the Grote LED. Have not driven much at night as winter has set in, but i like the low amp draw and the brightness on the road is VERY good

helped that I got one for free , as they are expensive. At least now I can drive at low rpm's and in idle and not be as hard on the electrical system as I was with by Bosch Halogen's

 

[Mattax]

I was asking if you or anyone you knew still had any good ones, even expensive ones.

Second part. That's fine. But one of the reason's I have my '67 is the look. Way back when I bought a box of opaque 1034A from you just to be sure my front markers are yellow in the day. So I'm not running out of those in the forseeable future. Everyone has to balance the safety questions for themselves. I've made certain changes but not others. Personal choice - plenty of things about my vehicles that are less safe in some manner or another to the cars of of the current decade.

…eh? I don't understand the question.

I mean they will actually work effectively and safely; to me that's more important than cosmetics. They will completely "disappear" during the day when the lamp isn't lit -- the park/turn lamps with colourless lenses will look colourless until they light up amber.

 

[Mattax]

I will be market for a headlight upgrade soon, just wading through the posts trying to find a general consensus...:violent1:

Is this :violent1: because there are more comments on what is inneffective, poor quality or both? It's not that hard, Dan covers it in Post 11, but I'll sum it up here and add some comments on the H4s.

Your choices are:
H4 lamp assembly & bulbs
- these draw approximately the same wattage as stock but are more sensitive to low voltage
- its still a very good idea to install a relay system because headlight wiring, A-bodies in particular, was marginal to begin with.
- they have a strong horizontal cutoff which is very helpful in reducing glare and reflection in fog and rain.
- they've been in use since the 60s, and one version is even DOT marked, although it won't fool any concours points judge (unless you're claiming your car was a rally car*) but it will satisfy state inspectors if you happen to live in a state that cares (NJ was one of the few). * For an historic rally car done period correct, the DOT marked ones are wrong anyway.

BiXenons
- Expensive
- Draw less than stock, so no relays really needed

LED
- Not nearly as expensive BiXenons
- US Made options that are decent quality
- Low current draw, so no relays really needed

You can be sure that if Dan recommended a particular brand and model, it will have a lighting pattern that will put light where you (the driver) need it, without blinding others on the road (if aimed properly).