Resolved 1GA Hella H4 Headlight Upgrade difference?

[Smitherines]

Hmm...How do projectors perform compared to Silverstars?

 

[kronus]

Alright. Take a look at your lights right now. Imagine them whiter, and maybe 3x as white. Those are Silverstars. Imagine them maybe a bit brighter, and now you've got Silverstar Ultras. Now go look at an S2000's headlights. Which one is better?

Enough sarcasm, projectors aren't what makes the difference. Yes they are better at putting the light where it should be on the road, but the real key is HID. hidplanet.com is a great place to start to learn about HID's. Obviously, .

 

[InfiniteGSX]

Projectors aren't lights, Silverstars are. Sorry Kronus, that statement is totaly wrong.

Smitherines, The difference is Silverstars are Bulbs, Projectors are headlight housings. There are Non HID Projector housings (mainly 9006, Lowbeam. And 9007, Highbeam). And there are HID Projectors, which is a D2S bulb.

Now, I belive what you mean is, what is the difference between Silverstars and HID's... Well, Silverstars are filliment bulbs, they have a color over the glass and some xenon gas inside. HID's are gas bulbs. They have... lets say a spark plug ... and some xenon gas. The time that takes more power, is the ignition of the HID bulbs, after they heat up... only minimal power is needed to keep the xenon gas burning. HIDPlanet should have a more detailed description of the two.

You can install HID's in anything you want, however if you install HID's inside of your stock housing, you will put off a huge glare into the eyes of oncomming drivers, because the beam patern is made for a Filliment bulb, not an HID bulb. Projectors work much better, even Non HID Projectors. They have an actual cutoff line that blocks the light from rising above a specific level. Stock 2GB Fog Lights are Projectors.

Here is a photo showing the differences between Reflector Housings and Projector Housings.

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Stock 2gb Headlight with 6000k 9006/D2S HID System up top. Icy Hot 100W H3 Projector on Bottom

Notice the cutoff line on the projectors, light doesn't rise above that level, to keep the light out of the eyes of oncomming traphic and keep the light on the road, where it belongs.

High beam Projectors do not come with a cutoff line, projecting the light everywhere!

 

[90gst_sean]

I'd like to note a few things I've learned over the two years since my original post about the H4 upgrade here in this thread.

I have had some trouble with my H4 Headlight mod and would like to point out a few of the major issues and hopefully save you all the head ache!

#1 Take your time and do it right. Being able to see is super important! You dont want your headlights (or one headlight, or your high/low beam lights) to quit on you. It's not a good thing.

#2 Diagram and lable your wires.

#3 When running new wires, some may be tempted to use heavy grade speaker wire. Don't. You may want to consider 16 to 12 gage extension cord wire from the hardware store. You can get it for cheep (100ft for $10), cut off the plugs, and it comes in all sorts of colors. There is three colored wires inside the braided protective outer covering and it is very resistant to abrasion, weather, and general wear & tear.

#4 Finding a H4 plug (the one at the back of the headlight) can be hard. Don't use the crap at the part store. Go to a Pull-a-Part and get an OEM headlight plug from a Toyota 4runner or something that had H4 headlights stock!! Avoid the headlight shorting out across the terminals and melting the hard plastic plug found at Autozone.

#5 Water is not your friend and so keep this in mind when placing your fuses and relays! Even if you try and seal up some enclosure, if it is near the ground and at the front of the car, it will get wet. Think this part thru.

#6 Don't trash the stock wires. You may choose to go back... or the next owner may choose to go back because your mod failed. Also, I recommend trying to use the stock locations to place your upgraded fuses and relays. This is the best place for them and will allow for you (or someone else) to find them if they fail... and they do!

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I'm about to re-due my setup... and do it right... again... for the third time.

I no longer have high beams and believe it's only a matter of time before the entire headlight system fails on me.