headlight options

[Pjackb]

What are folks using to upgrade your headlights? I have four no two of which are the same and am planning to just buy new. i would like to get something that is a little brighter and covers more distance. The unmatched pair i have in now are very weak.

I have tried most headlight options so I can give what I believe unbiased opinion.
If your wiring is in good shape and you want to stay original get GE sealed beam hey are surprisingly bright for OEM sealed beam and will give plenty of light for most situations


When I restored the car I wanted better lighting for the country roads I use often and as other have said Vintagecarleds are an excellent choice I have their VC3500 with Classic lens option in 2 of my cars
I prefer the classic Lens as it looks like a Cibie lens



On my White Roadster I Have H4 style lenses retrofited with LED bulbs instaled by the previous owner , I'm not crazy about the lenss but they perform as good as my Vintagecarleds but cost about half the price, so when it was time to do my 510 I did the same but with a nicer lens




Finally here's a good comparaison between LED and OEM (yup my stock one needed re aiming lol)

Low beam


High Beam


Position lights

[Pjackb]

From what I’ve read, putting leds in older style reflector housing will give more light but will not be properly focused.

Shannon

Thanks Shannon, I wondered about that, but then read this below on this thread.

viewtopic.php?p=303965#p303965

Most of the LED headlight manufacturers have gone to making their bulbs such that the diodes emit from the same location as the standard filaments! I noticed this when I bought some cheap-o LEDs for my motorcycle and thought it was neat that we've finally reached the point where you can upgrade the light output, power draw and lifetime without blinding everyone.

Maybe there is hope.

Thanks,
Peter

Quality of the LED bulbs have changed a lot and the quality ones have addressed most of the issues with over diffusion and you can buy LED friendly lens

[iloveredmeat]

I have tried most headlight options so I can give what I believe unbiased opinion.

Thanks Jacques.
Great info as always. Yours and Jrusso07 photos show clearly how much an upgrade improves the lighting.

An upgrade is now a ‘requirement’ for me.

But back to my initial and probably stupid question: can I somehow put led lights in my OEM Toshiba Lenses?

Thanks again, your cars look amazing!

[Pjackb]

can I somehow put led lights in my OEM Toshiba Lenses?

No you cannot and even if somehow you found a way to do it it would be just a big blurb of light that would blind everyone
you need new lenses H4 style with a more focused beam pattern to be able to use LEDs

You will need 2 of these
https://www.amazon.com/IPCW-CWC-7006-Pl ... B001OMEPEU

I like these bulbs for them
https://sealight-led.com/x1-h4-9003-hb2-led-bulbs.html

I’ve not tried these specific ones one the roadster yet just the 510 so I don’t know if you will need to modify the bucket like with the VC3500 but it’s no big deal

Thanks again, your cars look amazing!

Thank you

[RBMann]

can I somehow put led lights in my OEM Toshiba Lenses?

No you cannot and even if somehow you found a way to do it it would be just a big blurb of light that would blind everyone
you need new lenses H4 style with a more focused beam pattern to be able to use LEDs

You will need 2 of these
https://www.amazon.com/IPCW-CWC-7006-Pl ... B001OMEPEU

I like these bulbs for them
https://sealight-led.com/x1-h4-9003-hb2-led-bulbs.html

I’ve not tried these specific ones one the roadster yet just the 510 so I don’t know if you will need to modify the bucket like with the VC3500 but it’s no big deal

Thanks again, your cars look amazing!

Thank you

The Amazon lens you linked appears to have right hand drive patterns in the lens. After buying two sets with that beam cutoff which lights up all the signs on the left side of the road while blinding oncoming drivers, I made sure to get lens that said 'DOT' on them since I live in the USA. I am not an expert on this subject just my experience with three set of lens.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/HLA-002395301

Screenshot 2023-05-15 at 11.20.39 AM.jpg

[Oncle-phil]

I swapped out the two non-matching sealed beam headlights with these:
https://myhellalights.com/product/visio ... -headlamp/
No issues; plug and play.

-jt

I've been watching to replace my sealed bulb but i'm a bit confused between the reference of Hella

I found this
https://www.amazon.com/HELLA-002395801- ... r=8-1&th=1

it is the right part number but it says it is 165mm
the 178mm (7") is a different part number.

As i am in France i don't want to mess this up as shipping and tax double the price on everything!

Thank you for your help

[70-1600]

I purchased part number 002395301.