new headlights..

[Explorer4x4]

I guess I am just used to a vehicle that turns the headlights off after you turn it off, because I always leave the Range Rover's headlights on by accident. Well, I did it last night for the last time. I went out this morning to find that my headlights had melted apart. The first picture is what I had- these came off of eBay and I think i paid about $40 for them. They had the projector(fake) in the center and a LED halo. The second picture is what I found this morning. The halo had melted completely off both of them and dripped glue onto the projector...and one of them was cracked (the lenses are plastic). And lastly, what I replaced them with. These (3rd picture) came from Advance Auto and are made by APC. Granted they cost more at the store($40) than I could have gotten them for from the Bay, I can return these if something goes wrong I lose the fake projector and the halo, but I never used those things anyway. Just wanted to share my experience with everyone, and to say beware of cheap eBay goods.

[Funrover]

I have seen those lights before..... I want to make the switch......but will wait till I find some good replacements....thanks for the FYI!!

[daway]

i have seen them 2 on ebay. do they really work that good? i was thinking of buying them or the hella h4 the ones that r on Altantic Brit.and etc. does anyone know why the park'n lights stay on but the headlight turn off when u turn off the RRC engine? my dads '91 does that to.

[sven]

Nothin beats the Hella H4s!

[daway]

Originally Posted by sven

Nothin beats the Hella H4s!

so u think they are worth the $$$$? u do not need to re-wire anything? they can just plug in?

[Explorer4x4]

Originally Posted by daway

i have seen them 2 on ebay. do they really work that good? i was thinking of buying them or the hella h4 the ones that r on Altantic Brit.and etc. does anyone know why the park'n lights stay on but the headlight turn off when u turn off the RRC engine? my dads '91 does that to.

Comparing the difference in light output of these to a sealed beam light is kinda like comparing HID to halogens. These put out SO much more light than the original sealed beams. The first ones (eBay lights) were ok, but the projector blocked more than anything else. These APC ones are MUCH better. I plan on using these for a HID retrofit (Lexus BiXenon projector) some time soon- I am trying to figure how I am going to wire the solenoid right at this moment

My headlights (obviously) dont trun off when the ignition is off. And I wouldnt waste the money on the Hella versions when you can get so much cheaper- and they are basically the same thing.

[p76rangie]

I think you have already found out that just because headlights look similar does not make them the same. The quality of the reflector and lens makes a big difference in regard to the light output. Had Hella previously, but now run Cibie inserts. Cibie are far superior to anything else I have used in the past.

Ian

[Explorer4x4]

Originally Posted by p76rangie

I think you have already found out that just because headlights look similar does not make them the same. The quality of the reflector and lens makes a big difference in regard to the light output. Had Hella previously, but now run Cibie inserts. Cibie are far superior to anything else I have used in the past.

Ian

I didn't mention that I actually have the Hellas on my Jeep- I cant tell a difference in the light output between the RR and the Jeep- except for the fact the RR's multi reflector desidn gives more hot spots.

[Paul Grant]

I'll second that, Ian. I have Hellas in my Range Rover now but they don't hold a candle to the Cibie's I had on my last Rover. One of these days I'll get around to doing the swap. The only lights that were as good as the Cibie's were some Marchal's I had on a Porsche back in the '80's.

[appstatedisco]

I'm pretty sure you can just wire up a killswitch to your headlight fuse, just like what off-road lights have.

[Muddy Oval]

I concur that the real Hellas are far superior to the Chinese copies sold under various 'tuner' names. Cibie are the REAL shiznit, just harder to find. The science of making a good reflector isn't simple. Especially if trying to do an HID conversion, you'll need to make sure the longer capsule is properly spaced into the reflector since the 'bright part' of the capsule is in a different place compared to a halogen bulb.

[Explorer4x4]

Originally Posted by Muddy Oval

The science of making a good reflector isn't simple. Especially if trying to do an HID conversion, you'll need to make sure the longer capsule is properly spaced into the reflector since the 'bright part' of the capsule is in a different place compared to a halogen bulb.

I will be using a bixenon projector, so the original reflector design doesn't matter in my retrofit. But if I was using a H4 bulb kit, the capsule is in the exact place relative to the low beam filament of a halogen H4. I have 5500k HIDs on my Explorer

[daway]

when i was talk'n about the hella H4's i was talk'n about the ones that u can replace the bulb, not the sealed beams. on british pacific they had a conversion kit for H4 light bulbs. do u have to buy a conversion kit to put hella or any other H4's into RRC's? i have a 875cc battery in my '93 lwb. i thought that u could just plug them in.