4 hi low h4s?

[Dolomite]

Has anyone ran all 4 headlights as h4 hi lows on a 510? My assumption is to wire the inside plugs the same as the outside, with the low relay to all four. I searched but found no reference to this. Any help would be appreciated.

[thisismatt]

Haven't done it, but my initial assumption would be that you will cook the wiring and relay unless you upgrade everything.  Also, highs are aimed differently than lows (high beam alignment assumes no oncoming traffic, whereas lows assume oncoming traffic), so you are trading "more lights" for "bad alignment".

[Dolomite]

The plan is to fab a 2 relay harness and upgrade the hi to a hi low using hella housings, I don't see how alignment would change. I guess I'll just try it and find out. It's mainly the inner plug wiring I need to figure.

[wayno]

I see an issue once it is all done, if you run around with all 4 headlights on, people are going to complain, even if they are not blinded, all four headlights mean the brights are on, you will get nailed a lot by the brights of others coming at you.

Also you quite possibly could get a ticket, as you are not supposed to use your brights 100 percent of the time, and even if you explain what you did to the officer, you likely are still going to get the ticket.

[Dolomite]

You have a good point wayno, didn't think about ''the man''. I notice a 53 mgtd in your car list, my old man has a 52 he restored when I was a kid, lots of good memories in that car.

[datsunaholic]

It's actually against Federal vehicle standards to have more than 2 main beams (the Griswald Family Truckster notwithstanding).  You could theoretically convert the center pair into fog lights, but they'd still have to be separately switched, and require different bulbs with the foglight focus pattern.

[Laecaon]

Federal Law and State law are two different things, and most police pulling over for traffic violations are pulling over for state law.

 

In Oregon you are allowed 4 forward facing lights.

 

Burn up wiring? You should have seen the wiring on my 95 Saturn (running 55watt bulbs), made the wires on my 510 look HUGE(running 35watt sealed beams). Plus, when on high beams all 4 already light up (Federal law what? actually every car I have owned lights up 4 lights on highs...), and they all run off the same wire from the headlight relay. Low beams would act identically with identical power as the high beams, 4 on at the same time.

 

 

[datsunaholic]

I said main beams. High beams aren't main beams, though they can be combined with them.  You're only allowed 2 low beams.  It wasn't always the law- there were 3-headlight vehicles back in the 50s (some even with a steerable center beam). 

 

With quad headlight systems all 4 are on in High Beam mode, though the outer main beams will be on the lower wattage high beam filament (which is designed to aim higher in the Fresnel pattern in the lens).  Cars with flash-to-pass might even light up all 6 filaments simultaneously, though that's for momentary use and may overload the circuit if left on like that.  FMVSS 108 S 5.5.1 prohibits the high and low beam filaments being on simultaneously except for momentary use (flash).  That's filaments, not bulbs.

 

Note that a 510 uses a type "C" headlight system, which per the FMVSS 108 requires 2 type 1C1 lights and 2 type 2C1 lights.

 

The whole point of having separate bulbs is to change the aim point.  2-headlight systems do that by having 2 separate lens focus points in the light, with a 35W filament for the low beams aimed below sight level, and a 50W high beam filament aimed more generally higher.  A 4-headlight system's main beams also have 2 filaments with different aim points, but the filaments are both 35W, so the "high" beam side ends up looking dimmer (and compared to the inner high beam's 50W filament, it is).  The aim separation between high/low in the main beams isn't as pronounced, as the bulbs themselves are optimized for low-beam use, whereas the inner "high only" bulbs are optimized for high beam use.

[Laecaon]

Ok, what is the law that limits to 4 main beam? I can only find "minimum of 2." Truthfully have searched, but cannot see a limit. I do like knowing the law before I try and alter something.

 

My BMW having Bixenon HIDs, Halogen highs, and fog lights, could have a total of 6 forward lights on at a time, but activating either the HID highs or halogen high (flash to pass) disables fogs (I can program it otherwise). Also, I can only have either HID highs or flash to pass halogen (again I could program this differently in the car). Basically the car limits me to 4 forward lights on at a time.

[datzenmike]

Common sense and respect for others should rule here. I get trucks (mainly) with their regular headlights and some extra bright (not high beams) 'running or auxiliary) lights all the time, blinding me. People just don't give a shit about anyone but themselves these days. Best think I have seen are HIDs that shoot a very powerful light with a razor sharp cut off. I agree that even at 25-30 MPG you can easily out run your low beam headlights and are assuming there is nothing on the road ahead of you.

[MikeRL411]

Steerable headlights = Citroen. Center and two outlying headlights = Tucker Torpedo and converted Studebakers from the 50s. Maybe a 1949 Ford conversion?

 

Any other examples?

[MikeRL411]

55MPH at night is the fastest you can drive on High Beam, spot a man or deer sized object on the road in front of, take your foot off the gas , hit the brakes and stop before hitting whatever you just spotted. That's why most non restricted access roads are posted at 55MPH for nighttime driving.

[Dolomite]

Mike, like you, I've had the same problem with others lows blinding me. I live in a rural area with many narrow roads and canyons. When there's some big assed truck or Euro with poorly aimed hids, my lows aren't enough to see the road in front of me, so I figure four lows will be more safety for me. I'll obviously aim them correctly and wont be using hid. If I get a ticket, I'll just unplug the low lead on the inner.

[banzai510(hainz)]

just get a h4 harness for the better lowbeams.55/60

 

if really bad get a 4 headalmp harness so you can run 80 or 100 watt inners and use a 55/60 outters. They also make a 80/100watt outers but a 5.75 can really only shine so much due to the size as when on low your only shining on half the housing as it relects on the back of it then thows out the light.

 

 

I just added some Hella 550 on my Bumbers and I can see way out there( i have stock high beams& 2 lamp H4 harness running 55/60)

[wayno]

I only have drove the 53 MGTD once on the freeway, almost ended up in the ditch, I always wondered why them guys always drive so slow on the freeway, after that I knew why.

You have a good point wayno, didn't think about ''the man''. I notice a 53 mgtd in your car list, my old man has a 52 he restored when I was a kid, lots of good memories in that car.

[JoeCool]

Common sense and respect for others should rule here. I get trucks (mainly) with their regular headlights and some extra bright (not high beams) 'running or auxiliary) lights all the time, blinding me. People just don't give a shit about anyone but themselves these days. Best think I have seen are HIDs that shoot a very powerful light with a razor sharp cut off. I agree that even at 25-30 MPG you can easily out run your low beam headlights and are assuming there is nothing on the road ahead of you.

 

 

Mike, like you, I've had the same problem with others lows blinding me. I live in a rural area with many narrow roads and canyons. When there's some big assed truck or Euro with poorly aimed HIDs, my lows aren't enough to see the road in front of me, so I figure four lows will be more safety for me. I'll obviously aim them correctly and wont be using hid. If I get a ticket, I'll just unplug the low lead on the inner.

 

THIS is why I want to rig up my current high beams to some damn 1,000,000 candlepower halogen spot lights or something, just to blind assholes back. Those damn super bright HID lights are ILLEGAL, but the stupid police don't enforce the law on them. I despise them. Getting accidentally blinded by someone with high beams is bad enough, those HID setups are like high beams times ten.

 

I run slightly brighter GE Nighthawk low beams now, and some off-brand high beams that came on the truck, I never use high beams, low is bright enough.

[datzenmike]

Trouble is if you blind him he can't turn then down anyway.

[JoeCool]

Can't turn down those damned illegal HID bulbs, that is why they are assholes and I don't mind blinding them!

 

 

As for the original poster, if you just want brighter light and better vision try the GE Nighthawk headlights, they are awesome. Forget about Slvania Silverstar, they suck. No brighter, just blue tint, and they don't last, about a third of what normal bulbs last.

 

http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=RESULTPAGE&CATEGORY=Lamps&CHANNEL=Commercial&FILTER=FT0010:Automotive_Standard+headlamp_Headlamp-Low+beam+only&BREADCRUMB=Automotive^Headlamp-Low+beam+only&APPLICATIONNAME=Automotive_Standard+headlamp_Headlamp-Low+beam+only&RESULT=Yes

[Laecaon]

HIDs are not illegal. My car came stock with them. They are illegal if placed in non HID housings, which is every reflector housing ever (except I think one of the prius models ran HIDs with reflector housings).

 

And if you mean these GE nighthawks, then yes you really do want these! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQX2BT8/?tag=pf_rd_m-utf8_lt1-20

[Nuclear Water Boy]

HIDs are not illegal. My car came stock with them. They are illegal if placed in non HID housings, which is every reflector housing ever (except I think one of the prius models ran HIDs with reflector housings).

 

And if you mean these GE nighthawks, then yes you really do want these! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQX2BT8/?tag=pf_rd_m-utf8_lt1-20

At $293 for them you could get a new harness, H4 headlights with 35/55w bulbs. I have these in my 510 and they are plenty bright. You could even get the 55/100w bulbs. Replacing those GE's vs. an H4 bulb is a no brainer price wise if you asked me.

[Laecaon]

I fully agree. But if you have seen those LED GE Nighthawks in person, you would understand how awesome they are. They are brighter than any Halogen light I have seen. They are pointed correctly. Too bad they only come in 7 inch, and not 5.75 inch.

 

And you dont replace the GEs... They would probably last a very long time. Like HID bulbs tend to last 5 years plus, LEDs last longer.

 

But yes, some ebay h4 conversions like I suggested above, are pretty hard to beat for the price.

 

Then again, I have non of the above on my 510.

[wayno]

$600.00 for a couple headlights, I waste money all the time on my Datsuns, but them are expensive headlights, but it would be cool to have a set for my 66 Datsun 520. :)

[Dolomite]

For 6 bills those lights better come with a warm cup of milk and a blowjob. I think I'll go with the Hella h4s and good wiring. I read the whole California code on headlights, 4 lows isn't prohibited, I'll carry a copy of the headlight code in my glove box just in case.

[JoeCool]

No, wasn't talking about those overpriced things, I was referring to THESE:

 

[bilzbobaggins]

handing a cop the code in question and question his authority....never worked in my favor