High-output H4 bulbs, suggestions?

[mastacox]

I've been thinking I want to get some brighter bulbs for my headlights from an '02 4Runner, so I did some searching around Summit racing and came up with these:

Hella H83140221 12V 130/100W Bulb

http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/large/hla-h83140221_w.jpg
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=HLA%2DH83140221&view=1&N=700+

I'm assuming that's 130W lowbeams, 100W hi beams. Is this basically the strongest H4 bulb you can get? No 130W/150W bulbs out there somewhere?

EDIT- I also found these 90/130W bulbs, which I may like better because they have stronger hi-beams which I'm most interested in.

http://static.summitracing.com/global/images/prod/large/hla-h83140011_w.jpg
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=HLA%2DH83140011&N=700+400152+4294922616+4294905986+115&autoview=sku

[4x4mike]

I'm not sure the headlight wiring would be able to handle that bulb. Maybe for a while but the wiring was designed for about half of that, not to mention the brightness might not be accepted by others. Driving around with 100w is a bit much.

[oly884]

I had those bulbs in my truck with an aftermarket wiring harness to get the full potential out of them. However, after time I noticed the beam pattern on my driver's side housing was changing a bit and I came to the conclusion that the extra heat started to deform the plastic housing.

I would not hesitate to get them again if I had a metal reflector, but with the extra heat they produce, I would be cautious since you have a plastic housing.

Also, I had never had any issues with people flashing me due to my lights being too bright. That is an issue of beam pattern and the stock toyota headlamp beam pattern cuts the light off sufficiently to not blind people. HID's are another story.

Plus, there seems to be enough idiots on the road today that drive at night with their high beams on all the time and seem not to care about others... until I show them my 55 watt HID lighforce lights... muahahahaha

[mastacox]

Cool, thanks for the input guys :thumbup:

[troyboy162]

hmm im pretty interested in this as well. i dont do much wheeling at night but the stock lights are pretty dim. have you found any bulbs that are less watts like say a 75/100?

[arjan]

In my prev. 4Runner I had bulbs with stock low beam (to keep the police of my back) and higher wattage (100W I think) high beams.

[CJM]

I honestly like adding offroad lights instead, no messing with anything besides mounting and wiring those up. Then you have extra light when you want it.

FWIW my T100 had whatever lights the old owner had, I put in some halogen sylvanias that claimed 30% more power and then I took some mothers aluminum mag polish and polished the outer lens and wow it made a difference.

[Elton]

theres also 55/100w bulbs if that dont work get a set of hella 700s with 100w bulbs are real nice

[4x4mike]

I honestly like adding offroad lights instead, no messing with anything besides mounting and wiring those up. Then you have extra light when you want it.


I have any idea. Do you have a roof rack? If so look into one of these (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1086685&postcount=1). It'll give you all the light you need and you could turn it off when you don't need it.

[arjan]

theres also 55/100w bulbs if that dont work get a set of hella 700s with 100w bulbs are real nice


That's what I used to have in my '91 4Runner. I had the Hella lights in it to support those lightbulbs.

[CJM]

I have any idea. Do you have a roof rack? If so look into one of these (http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1086685&postcount=1). It'll give you all the light you need and you could turn it off when you don't need it.



I think that would cause blindness..

[troyboy162]

for those of you that have run the 100w high beams, does that fill in the area right in front of the truck with light? or did you still feel the need to use the low beams while offroad? i cant decide between the 80/100 and the 55/100. 90/130 isnt totaly out of the question if the 130 can light up directly in front of the truck as good as stock low beams

[mastacox]

The power of the bulbs doesn't have any effect on the beam pattern. If you feel like you're not getting enough light right in front of you with the hi-beams on, you have three choices:


Switch between lo-beams and hi-beams as needed
Adjust your beam pattern down slightly so that you're lighting more ground close to you
Buy some fog/auxillary lights, that are turned on when your hi-beams are on

[troyboy162]

The power of the bulbs doesn't have any effect on the beam pattern. If you feel like you're not getting enough light right in front of you with the hi-beams on, you have three choices:


Switch between lo-beams and hi-beams as needed
Adjust your beam pattern down slightly so that you're lighting more ground close to you
Buy some fog/auxillary lights, that are turned on when your hi-beams are on



have you tryed them? i know the main portion of light is aimed but there is the light that floods out to the sides. im wondering if at 100w if the unfocused light is substantial down low on the trail.
you can see this with stock lights. on high there is still a certain percentage that iluminates the road directly in front of the truck. i may break down and buy some aux lights. just afraid they will get ripped off the rack or be in the way of radiator flow

[oly884]

The power of the bulbs doesn't have any effect on the beam pattern. If you feel like you're not getting enough light right in front of you with the hi-beams on, you have three choices:


Switch between lo-beams and hi-beams as needed
Adjust your beam pattern down slightly so that you're lighting more ground close to you
Buy some fog/auxillary lights, that are turned on when your hi-beams are on



have you tryed them? i know the main portion of light is aimed but there is the light that floods out to the sides. im wondering if at 100w if the unfocused light is substantial down low on the trail.
you can see this with stock lights. on high there is still a certain percentage that iluminates the road directly in front of the truck. i may break down and buy some aux lights. just afraid they will get ripped off the rack or be in the way of radiator flow


100w still projects the lights out, you don't get much spill in front of the truck if your highbeams are on. I had 100/130's and even at 130 watts, there really isn't a TON of usable light directly in front of the vehicle.

As for aux lights, they are a great option for what you're looking for. They won't block radiator flow (just take a look at the front of my truck).

[mastacox]

have you tryed them? i know the main portion of light is aimed but there is the light that floods out to the sides. im wondering if at 100w if the unfocused light is substantial down low on the trail.

Well, in theory a brighter bulb will have a bit more light bouncing around down in front of the truck. But at the same time the light out in front of you has gotten brighter, so it will still seem relatively dim... so I dunno what the overall effect would end up being.



i may break down and buy some aux lights. just afraid they will get ripped off the rack or be in the way of radiator flow


You can buy a set of driving lights that look like fog lights for about $15 at Wal-Mart, and mount them low on your bumper. No radiator flow blockage, no more dark spots, and cheap. Win!

[troyboy162]

i know pictures of lighting can be decieving but here are some pictures of 80w lows and 100w high beams from yotatech

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh251/Belize_Off_Road/LowBeams.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh251/Belize_Off_Road/HighBeams.jpg

same users picture of his fog lights....this looks about right so maybe his other pics arnt exagerated

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh251/Belize_Off_Road/FogLights.jpg

[Mossyrocks]

I agree with not messing around with higher wattage bulbs in the headlights. Just get you some fogs down low and driving lights up on the bumper.

I currently have hella ff50 fog lights under my bumper and hella black magics with 130w bulbs up top.

Buuuuuuuuuut, the blacks are being swapped this week... for some compact celis rallye 3000s with 55w digital hids... :D

[mastacox]

Well, I basically went against all of your recommendations and took them to heart at the same time. I went ahead and bought the 90/130W H4 bulbs for the headlights, and while I was at it got some auxillary lighting too. The new bulbs are somewhat brighter than stock, but not a lot more so IMO (definitely not twice as bright, I could be wiring limited). Still running stock fuses so I figure if they end up pulling too much juice I'll just end up blowing a fuse (however I've been running them for 2 nights now with no problems). We will see how my housings hold up :tapedshut: What can I say, I'm a hooligan.

My fog lights were not working as I wanted, so I decided to replace them with a set of driving lights from Wal-Mart that cost $15. They were PIAA fog lights so the darn reflector/bulb assembly was just too expensive to replace. Anyway I kept all the PIAA wiring, just changed the lights to these little oval-shaped driving lights. They have a nice wide beam pattern, and are pretty darn bright for the price. They use 55W H3 bulbs...

... and while I was at it I bought a set of Hella 500's from Amazon for a smokin' deal. Added in a set of 130W H3 bulbs and had everything shipped 2nd day air, so they made it in time. Now I've also been advised in the past not to use 130W bulbs in Hella 500's because they will cause the reflectors to overheat and exprode, but with my last set of Hella 500's I ran 130W bulbs for as long as I owned them with no ill effects, so what's a guy to do except go with what works for him.

Your results may vary, I'm not saying you should do any of what I'm doing, I'm just telling you what I decided I was comfortable with myself. For under $70 for everything, it's hard to beat. On to the pics!

Low-beams:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/Tranny%20Temp%20Gauge/IMG_5204.jpg

Hi-Beams:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/Tranny%20Temp%20Gauge/IMG_5205.jpg

Hi-Beams with Aux Lights on:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/Tranny%20Temp%20Gauge/IMG_5206.jpg
You can see the Hella's have a spot beam in the middle, while the cheapo Wal-Mart lights are pointed out to the side for lighting a bit of the side of the road. Overall, I'm happy with the outcome and very happy with the price. We'll see how things work out in the dunes this weekend.

View from the front to see how things are situated:
http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l70/mastacox/Tranny%20Temp%20Gauge/IMG_5209.jpg

[troyboy162]

looks nice! ive got 80/100w on the way. ill try to post up pictures as well