100/80w Headlamp Bulbs ?

[Guest ickle]

i recently bought a 2b i believe has the vicky green wiring in it

 

i have a set of 100/80w h4 bulbs lying is it safe to fit these

will i need to change anything else ?

heavier wiring relay or fuse ??

 

any help regards stuart

[Guest The Modfather]

Why do you need 100/80's? I drive dark single track country lanes etc and my 60/55's are enough. Are your lights adjusted properly and do you have good reflectors inside the bowls? Sorry to ask but I think you'll get fed up with people flashing you to turn down the 80's, but you can't. You'll end up realigning your lights to stop the dazzle and be no better than properly alligned 60/55's. Just a bit of friendly advice remembering years ago fitting brighter bulbs only to throw them out due to the above.

 

I would imagine that you would need a larger relay and possibly heavier gauge wire and fuse, but someone will come along and tell you for sure.

 

Good luck if you do go ahead, as you know that these are illegal for road use. Any cop seeing the brightness will stop you, and you'll fail the MOT, unless you remove them before the test, but then isn't it all just a PITA?

[Guest chris brown]

100w headlamps are for off road only with 100's and side lights you are over the limit. As Daz says why would you want them? Correctly set headlamps with 65's fitted are very good on the few times you get to use main beam.

 

Sorry to be rather negative but welcome to the site anyway I hope we haven’t put you off as we are a good group of people really

[Guest pwlcarz]

I tried using them a few years ago on my road car.

 

Despite using a relay the wiring between the bulb connector and relay get very hot and melted.

 

Back to standard bulbs!

 

Be warned!

[megadodo]

From a technical viewpoint, as long as the crimps are well done, the fuses are suitable and the wiring is thick enough (most looms DONT)then it will work. But as the other posts have metioned it will create dazzle for other drivers as the headlight reflectors and lenses do not give a good enough cut off. I have seen some replacemnet headlights that use the more modern "focused" lenses as per BMW and other maunfacturers and they give a superb light spred which doesn't blind other road users (in most circumstances before someone comes back and say "what about inclines?). Just make sure all the connectors, bulb holder and relay terminals are all clean and that your bulb earths are in good order to make sure you existing set-up is working at its best!

[Guest mower man]

I use 100/80's ,if adjusted correctly with proper halogen lenses they are brilliant [excusethe pun ] not had any probs in 6/7 years BUT they are ILLEGAL Iknow this and happily use them ,whether you do or not is YOUR descision mowerman

[Guest AWhite]

Have you tried running a light directly from the battery. I've recently rewired mine because the Ford loom from my donor was a terrible way of wiring it and the power for the lights was going through too many switches and even using 100/80 lights as a test they weren't any brighter. In the end I added 2 new relays fed to give the lights a more direct feed and they are sooo much brighter now and actually mean I can see where I'm going.

 

By the way if you've got a mutlimeter I was getting about 8.5v at the lights with the old set up and about 12v now.

 

Andy

[Al Milton]

I used to run these on an old Mk2 Golf with front spotlights.

 

There were wired in with their own loom, powered through a separate relay that was switched via the headlight loom. (Relay was connected via a fusedirect to the battery). Must say they were excellent. Coming back along the A303 at daftdark o'clock to avoid the traffic, could see around quarter a mile ahead in almost 'daylight'.

 

Be careful with the heat generated from the 100/80w bulbs, they may be detrimental to the reflectors in the headlights.

 

To avoid this, for normal 'town' driving, replace the standard sidelight bulbs with 20w halogens, (switch them through a relay etc). These were plenty good enough around town and got me through at least 1 MOT I can remember. Mind you, this was over 10 years ago.

 

Didn't know they were illegal at the time officer, honest

 

Al

[Guest ickle]

cheers guys

 

my lights mayber bright enough not been out in the dark yet

just i have these bulbs lying about though i might aswell use them

i used to run them in my old nova golf and astra never had any issues

 

just wondered if the 2b electrics would be up to handling them

 

regards stuarty

[speedtripledan]

I run 55/60 twin halogens on mine and predictable have had to rewire the headlight feeds the dipped melted on the way back from a meet and as far as im aware not illegal ?? even thou i have 220w of dipped and 240 watts of main

[Guest The Modfather]

even thou i have 220w of dipped and 240 watts of main

 

Technically you don't have either. You have a combined 220/240 total output across 4 lamps, but each lamp only emits 60 watts max. 4 lamps will not make a 240 watt beam of light unless each bulb emits 240 watts. Therefore you only have a 60 watt beam of light, but 4 of them, still only 60 watts though, sorry!

[fry61]

But the luminous intensity (candela/sq.M ) will be 4 times brighter, otherwise why bother having more than one lamp.

[megadodo]

Watts is a measure of power usage , so if all four bulbs are on then the power consumption is 220 or 240 watts depending on dip or main. The amount of light emitted is a different measure entirely. Daz is right, in a way, because the beam penetration wont be any better ie. you wont see any further ahead than with just 2 55/60 watt lights, BUT the intensity of the light in within the range of the beam will be greater. That will be probably measured in lumens.

This is why its a farce about "you can't have more than a 55 watt bulb", it should be about measured intensity and whether or not the light spread is the correct shape! A good headlight design will make a 55 watt bulb work well (see modern BMW headlights) and why a poor design can make a 100wat bulb have a very poor spread.

[Guest The Modfather]

Yeah, that's exactly what I meant. The output is whatever a 60 watt bulb emits, measured in lumens or whatever candescent doo-dahs are measured in? Having 4 doesn't mean he has a 240 watt output. Yes due to having 4 lamps he may have a wider spread giving the impression of brighter lights, and the beam pattern may also project the beam more intensly, again giving the impression of brighter lights.

Stick 240 watt bulbs in and I'll let you have that one!

[Guest cerioli_83]

Hi,

 

Didn't read all of the comments... Sorry if someone's already said this kinda thing...

 

100/80's are off road and will put strain on everything in their circuit. I used to own classic mini's, one of the guys that lived close used the bulbs... We were driving, in convoy, he annoyed me that much i pulled over and moved him forward. About 20miles later he pulled over... His light switch had melted and lights turned off!!! We then looped the switch out and when we finished the drive and pulled wires apart, they were red hot!

 

Extreme brilliance bulbs from halfords, their own brand. Are usually 2 for 1 and awsome! I used them in one car and i've never gone back. Use them un every car i own. Reflective surfaces, signs, jackets more importantly... Cop cars and speed cameras glow. But illuminate the road in the same way.

 

Try a set and see what i mean.

 

Laters.