brighter than stock needed

[skeeterbug]

just wondering if there is an option other than stock head, tail, and side marker lights out there? the stock ones in my '71 just dont cut it anymore at night. hids, leds anything please.

[Longhorn Man]

First thing, unbolt the headlight ground wire from the core support and sand it to clean metal, do the same on the wire.
If not bright enough, then go to any parts store and get sylvania silver star seald beam lamps. They seem brighter than new cars.
If that still isn't enough, then follow this link http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=345919 in that list, there's a link in there for headlight relay upgrade.

side markers, if you want more light output, then a 168 bulb will help, but the lenses are holding you back. a smooth style van marker lenses bolt right on. They can be found on mid 80's to mid 90's GM vans.

[Andy4639]

I replaced the headlights with the tri bars along with the relay setup and it made a world of differance.




I did these with the side markers. Bought off e-bay. They are diamond cut reflectors with smooth lenses.

[Stocker]

I'll second the relay mod, no matter what else you do.... and for more serious headlamp output, consider top brand-name E-codes, you won't regret it.

[skeeterbug]

thanks for all the help guys, i think i will look into the relay upgrade first, see how that works and go from there

[Longhorn Man]

Honestly, the silver stars without relays, put out more than normal sealed beams, with relays.
The relay is a good idea though for other reasons, reduces the amps flowing through your 40 year old switch, high beam switch, and a mile of wires.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

The relay is a good idea though for other reasons, reduces the amps flowing through your 40 year old switch, high beam switch, and a mile of wires.

Can't recall my exact readings, but voltage at the lamps went up by 1 to 1.5 volts by adding relays -- and that's enough for a significant gain in light output.


Edit: the following is from Daniel Sterns excellent web site...

In many cases, the thin factory wires are inadequate even for the stock headlamp equipment. Headlamp bulb light output is severely compromised with decreased voltage. The drop in light output is not linear, it is exponential with the power 3.4. For example, let's consider a 9006 low beam bulb rated 1000 lumens at 12.8 Volts and plug in different voltages:

10.5V : 510 lumens
11.0V : 597 lumens
11.5V : 695 lumens
12.0V : 803 lumens
12.5V : 923 lumens
12.8V : 1000 lumens ←Rated output voltage
13.0V : 1054 lumens
13.5V : 1198 lumens
14.0V : 1356 lumens ←Rated life voltage
14.5V : 1528 lumens

[skeeterbug]

ok i got the relays and started hooking everthing up before i left work, now am i doing something wrong or just confused? i was going by the headlight relay install thread, then i saw the tx firefighter pics of his relay install. I have two lg(high beam) wires on one relay, two lt(low beam) wires on the other. the ground and pos wires are not done yet but no worries there. my question is why in the pic was there three green wires to one relay and three tan wires to the other, was this for a different application or am i doing mine incorrectly?

[Longhorn Man]

the third one is the wire coming from the dimmer switch... the trigger wire. It should go to the 86 terminal

[ChevLoRay]

In keeping with this thread, has anyone used the new LED headlights that I have seen on Speed Channel from time-to-time?

[Longhorn Man]

i think when the link was posted for the leadlamps, everyone said the cost was insane.