The ultimate headlight upgrade H4 (not LED or HID)

As a point of comparison, candlepower.com lists the Osram 70/65w at 2000/1350 lumen. The 85/80w are rated at 2400/1750 lumen, at 13.2v.

 

That looks great! I can't wait for mine to show up now.

 

So, just finished up this last night. I was in need of new housings so I opted for the tinted OEM housings from Camelback Toyota, which I installed last week. Light output and pattern was already a heck of lot better than the cheap aftermarket BHLM housings that I was replacing.

I installed the 85/80w Osram bulbs using the harness OP mentioned.

Light output now is damn near what I would call fantastic. Light is whiter and much more intense. I've yet to drive in a rural area, interested to see how the brights look.

If you have OEM housings that are in good shape, I'd recommend getting the harness and bulbs. For $150, it's quite an upgrade.

 

It is amazing how quality engineered headlights will produce significantly better light than cheap Chinese aftermarket lenses. I've purchased cheap aftermarket headlights before and they ended up in the trash as the beam pattern and light output was terrible compared to even worn hazed stock headlights.

 

I had mine professionally cleaned and they look brand new. I'll just have to keep them waxed. Also I was going to use the 85/80w bulbs but Daniel Stern recommended against it as it had a quicker burn out rate. But I like your idea of having extras handy as these have to be ordered and can't be found in local stores.

 

Yes that is definitely true, the 70/65w will out last the 85/80w.

With everything else being equal, higher wattage bulbs have shorter life spans, just the nature of the beast. However, the 85/80w still have reasonably good life for a high wattage bulb, especially when compared to other high wattage bulbs. That point is even called out on the ralleylights website. Mine usually last over a year and as you mention I keep a spare set on hand.

In my opinion, the 85/80w bulb offers the best balance between light output and bulb life, but it really comes down to preference. I'd rather have the nearly 30% more lumen output over the 70w bulb and have the inconvenience of having to change the bulbs every year+, than have less light output and have to change the bulb every couple years. But I'm also not into running 100w bulbs that I'd likely be changing every 3 months.

Even with the 70w bulbs and harness you will get a noticeable improvement over stock, so you really cannot go wrong either way. You can basically look at it like customizing the mod for performance or longevity.

 

I'm looking into this since my hid retrofit project has failed.

 

I run H4 100/80 (can't find them any more) I my 97 (E spec lamps) took them out put them in my 11 one finely burned out after about 10 years just plug and play nothing caught fire and they worked fine the other one is still burning. By the way max legal is 65/55 does not matter blue or other wise.

 

Got my harness in the mail finally! Can't wait to install it. Hopefully I can get to it today.

 

Great info. I definitely prefer the durability of this mod versus other options. After all that's what these trucks are supposed to be right?

 

Looking back, I would have ordered the whole harness already built. It was kind of a pain especially since it didn't come with instructions. But I did learn some things so that's always good!

 

Did you get it installed? Have you had a chance to try them out yet?

I did see the build your own harness kit, for the price difference and time I agree it is just easier to get the assembled unit. Although fully understanding how things work by building them yourself is a great thing to learn.

 

I haven't yet. The weather has been less than cooperative. I don't have access to the garage at the moment. Hopefully in the next couple of days.

 

I get mine on Thursday. I will likely put them in that evening. I will write up about it and add some pics too.

 

Thanks Crashnburn80 for doing all the leg work for this upgrade. I completed it last week and am really impressed. I was concerned about the heat output before doing this mod. The first night I drove for 2 hrs and the housings were warm like you'd expect but not even close to being hot. I have not been flashed either.

Before


After


Low beams


High beams

 

OP, I'd like to know also. I definitely would like to have more light, but don't want to damage the lens housing. Btw, I'm not too far from you, being over in Duvall. Maybe we could do a quick meet sometime and I could check out your light mod.

 

The lenses remain cool to the touch. I've ordered an IR non-contact temp gun to give actual temp numbers in the next day or two.

I'm always happy to meet and talk trucks if you're ever on the eastside.

 

I don't get my bulbs and harness until Thursday, but I'd thought I'd at least get started on the baseline (control) of the lens temperature. Even though this is not the internal temperature of the bulb as it connects to the housing of the light, the outer lens will provide us some consistency. Many who have done this upgrade have reported no burning, melting, or deformation of any kind, so it seems the heat is within the boundaries of the headlight housing.

The baseline and subsequent test with Osram 85W and relayed harness will consist of the headlight being on for 30 minutes prior to testing. The truck was running, but not driven, so no cooling from the air passing the light. I took 5 readings, 30 seconds apart from each other.

Of the 5 readings, they averaged 107.2 degrees, (This is just a pic of one of the readings) Deviation was no more than +- 2 degrees. The lens was easily comfortable to the touch.



For other reference, there was a mild rain (really in Seattle?) and the outside temperature was 46 degrees. Hopefully I can get identical conditions on Thursday evening.


More to come....

 

Good post. I was curious how much the reading varied if done from an angle on the lens, as I am unsure if the temp reported by the IR is that of the lens surface, or the reflector inside the lens. If that makes sense. Also if you could get one of the back of the housing as a control point that would be great.

 

The back of the housing from the front or the back? Never mind, I will do both! I will get you the readings tomorrow.

I was trying to get the angle so it would hit the outer lens of the headlight at the hotspot of the light. If I was off and I saw the red laser pointer hitting the inside reflector, the temperature was actually lower, by 10-15 degrees.