Letter regarding Headlights (long)

[Typrus]

From Daniel Stern Lighting. Awesome response, I'd say.

On Sun, 17 Dec 2006, Chris Goin wrote:

> > Hello.

Happy new Year!

> > I have a few questions for you. Sorry if they seem foolish or
> > whathaveyou

Nope, not at all.

> > I have 1984 and a 1987 Toyota Tercel 4wd Wagon's.

I remember those cars well. VERY capable on treacherous mountain roads!

> > The 1984 uses a sealed-beam H6054

Which is easily and very effectively upgradeable...

> > and the 87 uses a composite 9004 bulb setup.

...which is a complete dead end.

The 9004 system itself is optical trash. This was Ford's "Better Idea"
(remember that ad campaign?) for 1983, and the design priorities were
cosmetics (aero headlamps instead of sealed beams) and low production
cost. 9004 headlamps, even with the least-bad bulbs fed by proper wiring,
will always produce dim, poorly-focused, narrow beams with very little
light on the road surface and very high levels of upward stray light that
cause backdazzle in rain, fog, and snow.

There are no well-made overwattage 9004 bulbs, only poorly-made ones from
the 3rd world, with very sloppy filament placement. Tiny differences in
filament placement make huge differences in beam focus and performance,
see attached. The extra light some of these higher-wattage bulbs produce
is pretty much all wasted: Extra glare and flare light, no extra seeing
light. And, the stock wiring is inadequate for the extra current drawn by
these bulbs; using them throws a severe strain on the wiring and switches.
In most(!) cases you won't have a big spectacular fire or anything, but
you won't be doing your electrical system any favors, and the damage is
cumulative to the point of expensive failure. Overwattage 9004 bulbs are
NOT the way to better seeing.

If you are just trying to make the existing lamps somewhat less dim, you
can install a relay kit ($55 here) and the least-worst-available 9004
bulbs (presently GE Night Hawk 9004NH, available at Wal-Mart, or Philips
Vision Plus 9004VP).

> > I've seen HELLA's VisionPlus series and the Cibie as my
> > best options.

Take a look at
http://dastern.torque.net/Photometry/Isocomparo.html

These are isocandela diagrams for Cibie and Hella 7" round headlamp units,
very comparable to those two makers' large rectangular offerings.

If you're not familiar with isocandela diagrams, these will look like
random squiggles and lines. Think of it as a topographic or "contour" map
of the correctly-aimed beam pattern. Each differently-colored line
represents the threshold of a particular intensity level, with the color
legend located to the right of the isocandela diagram. The diagram is
plotted on a chart calibrated in degrees. Straight ahead is represented by
(0,0), that is, zero degrees up-down and zero degrees left-right.

To get a mental approximation of the units and amounts under discussion
here:

Parking lamp: About 60 to 100 candela
Front turn signal: About 500 candela
Glaring high-beam daytime running lamps (e.g. Saturn): 8000 candela

The parameters to pay attention to are the luminous flux (total amount of
light within the beam), the maximum intensity and its location within the
beam relative to the axial point (H,V) -- the less downward/rightward
offset, the longer the seeing distance -- stray light outside the beam
pattern and effective beam width (contained within the dark-turquoise 500
candela contour)

Things to notice about these two diagrams:

(1) The Cibie produces a much wider beam pattern than the Hella. The 1000
candela line of the Cibie's beam pattern extends from 25 degrees Left to
25 degrees right, while the 1000 candela line of the Hella extends from 18
degrees Left to 20 degrees Right. At a distance of 50 feet from the car,
this means the 1000 candela-and-brighter portion of the Hella's beam is
10.5 feet narrower than that of the Cibie. The 300 cd contour of the
Cibie's pattern is *far* wider, extending from 43 degrees Left to 50
degrees Right, compared to 26 Left to 25 Right for the Hella. This means
the overall useful width of the beam pattern at 25 feet from the car, as
perceived by the driver, will be 40.7 feet for the Cibie and 22.3 feet for
the Hella.

2) The total luminous flux (overall amount of light) within the beam
pattern is 695 lumens for the Cibie, 463 lumens for the Hella - the Cibie
is 50.1% more efficient. (the TLF data is listed as "Luminous Flux" in the
readings up above the isocandela diagram)

The high beams for these two lamps (isocandela diagrams not yet scanned
in) are very similar in overall performance and amount of light -- the
critical difference is that the Cibie's high beam hot spot is located
closer to (0,0) and closer to its low beam hot spot. The Hella's high beam
and low beam hot spots are separated by a fairly large vertical amount,
such that setting the lows where they belong results in most of the high
beam light going up in the trees, but pulling the high beams down so they
send light straight ahead puts the low beams 10 feet in front of the car.

> > I am worried about my wiring though.

That's a wise worry. Toyota has been installing too-thin headlamp wiring
for a very long time. Remember, the low beam wattage of the H6054 is 35w,
and this wiring tends to starve even that!

> > does utilize a relay however, it is a single relay. I have not looked if
> > it is a feedside or groundside system. The wiring appears to be 16
> > guage.

It's a ground-switched system with 18ga wiring.

> > On the 87, the back reflector always left much to be desired, but as of
> > recently it has completely corroded out and is not of much use. Its
> > wiring, other than plug, appears the same as the 84.

Yep, that is correct.

> > Are there any options for better replacements to the housing?

'84-style front end parts w/large rectangular E-code replacements! (don't
laugh, I've seen it done!) Searchable used auto parts clear across North
America at http://www.car-part.com

> > I'd rather not spend $250 for 2 inferior housings.

Very understandable, see above.

You might be able to find European-code housings in the OE shape/style for
the '87, but it'll mean doing some foreign-language web searching.

Shopping list I would propose for your '84 (and your '87 should you choose
to scrape the toy headlites off the '87 and put in real ones):

Relay package RIK-2T, $55
Headlamps, Cibie E-code replaceable-bulb, $61/ea
Bulbs, Osram 70/65w ultra high efficacy, $19/ea.

Can also make your brake and front / rear turn signal lamps 40% brighter
for $6.10/bulb, your reversing (backup) lamps 100% brighter for
$7.20/bulb, and your rear sidemarker lights 40% brighter for $3.98/bulb.

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[ARCHINSTL]

The 9004 system itself is optical trash. This was Ford's "Better Idea"
(remember that ad campaign?) for 1983, and the design priorities were
cosmetics (aero headlamps instead of sealed beams) and low production
cost. 9004 headlamps, even with the least-bad bulbs fed by proper wiring,
will always produce dim, poorly-focused, narrow beams with very little
light on the road surface and very high levels of upward stray light that
cause backdazzle in rain, fog, and snow.

VERY interesting quoted portion above. Wish I could have shown it to Mazda many years ago. My beloved and much-lamented '86 626 Hatchback had these types and the lights were not much better than my '60s Morris Minors - seriously. I even did some "offroad-only" bulbs and relays hooked to the battery, which were just a slight improvement. The '85 626s had 4 conventional sealies.
Of course, Mazda USA back then said the problem was my eyes....although the Service Manager at the Mazda store kinda did a "wink-wink" when I asked him about it (much like he did when I complained about the heater performance). That was a beautiful (with my mods ) and efficient car, but lighting and heating were abominable.
I KNEW this was the case, but was too ignorant to prove it.
Thanks.
Tom M.

[Typrus]

http://www.autoteile-scheinwerfer.de/(a ... 0538).html

Die rechte sheinwerfer fur der Toyota Tercel 4x4
The right headlight for the Toyota Tercel 4wd.

For an 85 I think I searched? Would be an E-code sealed-beam it appears...

God... I need to learn so much more German....

I really want those cleaner-looking composites... They aid aerodynamics and look better IMHO.

[waynehoc]

The 9004 system itself is optical trash. This was Ford's "Better Idea"
(remember that ad campaign?) for 1983, and the design priorities were
cosmetics (aero headlamps instead of sealed beams) and low production
cost. 9004 headlamps, even with the least-bad bulbs fed by proper wiring,
will always produce dim, poorly-focused, narrow beams with very little
light on the road surface and very high levels of upward stray light that
cause backdazzle in rain, fog, and snow.

Typrus, thanks for a great post, certainly has been my experience with the headlights on my '87 2WD wagon the last 14 years. Pathetic driving lights!

Gives me something to seriously think about.

Wayne

[Typrus]

I'm starting a correspondance with a gentleman in Germany for these-


Genuine E-Code's from Germany. Need to see how much he wants and whether he'll ship or not.

[Iain]

OMG I WANT THOSE!

[Mickey_D]

So, what do I have stock on my '86? They certainly can't be these "inferior" 9004's, because mine has an incredible amount of light hitting the road, even on low beam.

If they're the more preferred ones, it looks like I might be parting mine out sooner than I thought, so if any of you want my headlamp assemblies, speak up and I'll let you know when I'm starting to strip it down.

[Typrus]

You have the sealed-beam units. Compared to the inferior 9004, they are amazing. But E-Code's kick far more arse. Better beam pattern. Easiest swap for a sealed-beam unit is a Cibie Conversion Kit. Replaces the sealed beam unit with a composite-style system. Meaning the bulb itself is replaceable.

[Gasoline Fumes]

The Hella vs. Cibie comparison is interesting. I have both in the 4"x6" (or 165mm) size for my Metro. Both found very cheap on eBay. The Hellas are new E-codes, not VisionPlus. The Cibies are used and slightly sand pitted.

My test with identical new bulbs:

That's one lamp at a time, not a pair.
Camera was in manual mode, so the light differences between the pics should be fairly accurate.

Canon PowerShot A510
Tv (Shutter Speed) 4
Av (Aperture Value) 8.0
ISO Speed 50

The Hellas put out more low and high beam light. The Cibies have a sharper pattern, but less light (could be age). The Cibies I have also have built-in "city lamps" which may or may not hurt light output.

You can't really lose either way. E-codes are awesome. I have the Tercel-sized E-codes on an '83 GMC pickup with 80/100 bulbs, the light output is amazing. One's a Koito from a Toyota and the other is a Depo from a Suzuki. Souvenirs from my trip to Finland.

[golden_glory]

I found some projecter insrets/conversions for my sealed beam units(6054?) and run H3 bulbs. Or which ever halogen bulb is the dual filiment straight bulb(ya know, not the angled ones). The light out put is awesome, no relays are needed and I no longer have to take the grille apart to swap bulbs, just unplug from the back and pop in the new ones. I'll post pics soon. I just need to blur the plates in the pic.... There is zero areo advantage but then.... the car is a box. I got them in trade to use in the Celica took them out b/c I still had to pull them out to access the bulbs due to the pop-up design. Plus I drive the tercel more Anyway they look the ones in the link below but the inside reflector part isn't the diamond back.
http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/rectangle.html

[hberdan]

So, if I read this information from Stern correctly, it sounds like I could replace those lame 9004 units in my 87 with the sealed-beam light array in my (spare parts only) 1986 wagon? By simply changing the plug-ins for the headlights?
Of course that also means changing out the entire grill unit, reflectors, etc., but that looks very simple.

The 83-86 sealed beam units are definitely much brighter than the 9004s.

Has anyone tried this?

I think it's really grooovy and neat-o to upgrade to Euro lights, but I don't think I want to spend the time doing lots of relay wiring and Euro-$$ converting, not to mention the costs involved are beyond what I want to spend when the 86 is just sitting there as a parts source.

[Typrus]

Yes. It can be done. The wiring is essentially the same for the sealed and the 9004, behind the plugs. That wouldn't be too hard to do right.

I really think rewiring is the way to go... Relays wouldn't hurt either.

[ARCHINSTL]

Am I understanding this correctly (I also checked the Stern site - very informative)?
OK to giggle at my electrical naivete.
I replaced the headlamps on my '86 with regular Sylvania Halogen XtraVision, which were a vast improvement over the SleazeMart NoNames.
Can there be yet an improvement using relays and heavier gauge wires to get the juice directly (technical terms) from the battery? If an improvement, this does not seem to be a big deal cost-wise and can be assembled from parts store components. I did this on the "off-road" bulbs in the previous post about the 626's lighting at the suggestion of the vendor, but since I'm clueless about volts and things, I dunno if I was taken or not.

I think something else that will be a definite improvement in the light cast will be when I replace the struts and front springs to raise the front end to OE; I measured the height from the ground and Goldie is something like 1 1/2"+ too low at the control arm pivot...
Tom M.

[Typrus]

Same for height. I just re-aimed them to compensate.

Yes. Heavier gauge wiring will not only kick out some better lightning, but extend bulb life. Just like a bulb not designed for a dimmer put in a household fixture using a dimmer-knob/dial/slider, the bulb life will be shortened, sometimes significantly.

I really want to see some before/afters of someone doing this mod. It might end up being me though. lol. I just need money for more colors of wiring. Stuck with just red 14 gauge right now. Want to go get several spools of 10 or 12. I dunno... If I can find striped wiring, that'll be a lot better.
Makes life alot easier when your wires are not all red. Heh.

[Jts]

a high resistance wire will cause a voltage drop with respect to the bulb, which means the output wattage decreases, which theoretically increases bulb life, actually.