Lights for dark rural winding country roads
- Thread starter Jampatrol
- Start date
stioc
Expedition Leader
I got these bulbs from CandlePower and the Xtreme Power bulbs made a very noticeable difference- I'm satisfied. I'm not sure if they throw the light further or wider but everything looks much brighter and not dim/yellowish like with the old bulbs. They throw a crisp white light without the annoying blue tint that the rice-rockets love to run.
Next up I need to clean the lense with the 3M lense cleaner but from my past experience the cloudiness comes back within a few months after the cleaning. Has anyone tried an adhesive lense protector film after sanding and polishing the headlights to keep them looking good for a while?
88Xj
Banned
on trucks/cars with plastic headilghts that haze & fog badly. Thing Explorer as that was the first car I did it to..I would polish/restore/wet sand them. Then apply a very light but 100% coverage coating of clear acrylic paint. I would end up with roughly 2 light coats..real lite spray & then go again. I always used Rustoleum brand but theres probably something else out there. Doesn't seem to effect the light output or anything. I've done this on a few cars headlights & the haziness hasn't returned since summer time. It usually last about 7 months of being crystal clear..around 8-9 they stay clear but turn a yellow-ish vs clear. At that point wipe em clean, wet sand lightly, new coating! 1 time a year is more than acceptable and takes but a few minutes.
stioc
Expedition Leader
Thanks 88xj, the Turtle Wax headlight restoration kit actually comes with an acrylic wipe that you rub to protect the lights after the restoration. I ended up using just the 'polishing compound' that came with the kit. The instructions said to use that first and if it doesn't work continue with the sanding. Well, luckily for me the polishing compound cleaned up the lights really well and took all of 2 mins on each side if that- as Bill Burke would say 'work smart not hard' 
I do like the LED lights especially because they consume so little power and will have to look into it more. The cost for good/bright LED setups is still a bit on the pricey side though they have come down significantly in the last year or two and the technology has gotten even better.
I do like the LED lights especially because they consume so little power and will have to look into it more. The cost for good/bright LED setups is still a bit on the pricey side though they have come down significantly in the last year or two and the technology has gotten even better.
88Xj
Banned
Thanks 88xj, the Turtle Wax headlight restoration kit actually comes with an acrylic wipe that you rub to protect the lights after the restoration. I ended up using just the 'polishing compound' that came with the kit. The instructions said to use that first and if it doesn't work continue with the sanding. Well, luckily for me the polishing compound cleaned up the lights really well and took all of 2 mins on each side if that- as Bill Burke would say 'work smart not hard'
I do like the LED lights especially because they consume so little power and will have to look into it more. The cost for good/bright LED setups is still a bit on the pricey side though they have come down significantly in the last year or two and the technology has gotten even better.
Check out my thread, I offer 40" single rows at 550. Wont ever cost more. Thats also resting on the bumper..if it were on the roof it would "appear" bright because it'd have more "useable" light. Being up higher allows the light to spread further out & further forward so it light up more giving you more "useable" light.
stioc
Expedition Leader
Finally got around to posting the pics:
Stock bulbs:
Philips XtremePower bulbs:
BTW, both pics were taken before cleaning the headlight lense with the lense restoration kit and were taken from the same distance, angle etc. I'm very please with the results and just wanted to thank Hilldweller and others for suggesting this simple and effective upgrade.
I also got two cheapy rear lights that use H3 (or H4?) bulbs but the output is dim. If I disconnect one light the output gets better so I'm thinking the cheap 16ga wiring is probably not adequate to run two 55W bulbs. I'll probably look to replace the bulbs with 35w or LED bubls in that form factor. It took a long while for me to wire them up cleanly so I'm hesitant to remove them altogether.
Stock bulbs:
Philips XtremePower bulbs:
BTW, both pics were taken before cleaning the headlight lense with the lense restoration kit and were taken from the same distance, angle etc. I'm very please with the results and just wanted to thank Hilldweller and others for suggesting this simple and effective upgrade.
I also got two cheapy rear lights that use H3 (or H4?) bulbs but the output is dim. If I disconnect one light the output gets better so I'm thinking the cheap 16ga wiring is probably not adequate to run two 55W bulbs. I'll probably look to replace the bulbs with 35w or LED bubls in that form factor. It took a long while for me to wire them up cleanly so I'm hesitant to remove them altogether.
Last edited:
88Xj
Banned
don't go down on the bulb wattage, go up with the wire gauge. Thicker wire gauge & a inline fuse will make them run correctly..10G would be best!