[Knightmare]

One thing I've become sure of after driving my 'Trep' around for about 8 months now is that the headlights suck. The brights are about as bright as I think daytime running lights should be.

My question is, what should I replace my crap bulbs with? How much money should I pay for various replacements. I always see upgrades for 1st Gens. on Ebay, and they claim to be quite a lot brighter, and need no re-wiring or anything. Are these products any good? I don't really want to spend much more than what they cost on Ebay, so I'm hoping these are quality products.

Hopefully there's an expert on here that knows a thing or two about headlights, 'cause I sure don't know much. Or at least someone who knows something. Thanks everyone for your input, it's much appreciated.

 

[JoeKD]

sigh..here we go again..

I always recommend PIAA bulbs but they are more expensive, there are a lot of Xenon bulbs out there for less but I cannot vouch for their performance

I have run PIAA bubls on my last two cars and the difference over OEM is incredible

 

[Warlord187]

Next on my shopping list...

PIAA Super White for my highs and lows and PIAA Ion Crystal for my fogs...

 

[Wutang15m]

I had the piaas super whites and i took them out why?you ask?

well they are better than OEM and are very good and bright. BUT there not the blue tint or white in them so i didnt like them
but if you want more light then go for them you wont regret it

 

[p3]

another strand on this.....i have APC Super White Xenon. they have a light blue tint and are very bright. dont know how long they last, ive only had them for about a month. I love them so far and they were only $25 for the pair.

 

[blkbute]

Im lookin at the APC lights. My buddy has them in his ride, no complaints from him at all. So I might hook those up in the next day or so. Question though if getting the Eurolights I do not need to do any wire upgrades do i?

 

[DCREPID'00]

lilred79 also posted some great advice pertaining to those "blue" lights-good info A MUST READ!!! also he suggested a mod to rewire the headlights with heavier guage wire and run with relays--this all make very good sense to me because you lose a lot of voltage to the headlights through poor wires-a search for that thread is worth your time(even if the 'search' thing on the site doesn't work)scrolling through the older posts will take you a while but still very worth the time-

 

[2002BlackRT]

The PIAA's are worth it, ask JoeKD. They are an improvement over OEM, and at the same time, you dont get the "ricey" look.

 

[Sk8-4ever]

Good bulbs here

 

[79lilred]

I believe this is the thread DCREPID is talking about (btw, THANKS for the kudos, Dcrepid!): http://www.dodgeintrepid.net/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=6&t=000319

I also highly recommend Daniel Stern's website for all kinds of auto lighting related info.

This past week, I saw some of the "new" hi-Xenon content bulbs at Wal-Mart for $9.95 each. I think they were GE and I believe they were marked 9007-HO. I'll probably be giving these a try.

But, the bottom line is, even with bulbs that produce higher lumins, we're still stuck with a crappy headlight pattern!

-steve

 

[Wutang15m]

Unless you get the thru HID KIT which is 500 dollars. But it will look like the ones on the bmw and Mercedes benz

 

[Djnrg]

Ya, I'm definitely gonna go HID in the summer. Soooo much better! Sooo much brighter. And easier on the eyes too!

 

[DCREPID'00]

is that HID Kit really an option? If so, for the 2nd gen as well? As far as I've heard from 79lilred and others that's the only way to properly get the 'blue' look(actally more violet) is the HIDs. Just think, for $500, you'd definately be the only trep out there with that upgrade. BTW, 79lilred, that info was very well placed and I don't think anyone took it for what it's worth(everyone is still interested in those blue lights!!!) GOTTA GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE-MAD PROPS TO YOU, FRIEND. I agree a brighter/whiter light is what we all want whether it be for the 1st or 2nd gens-hence the upgrades to pIAA and such -but blues are not the answer...I've seen the HID's on VWs and Volvos and Mercedes and the like but any american cars have it ???

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Originally posted by DCREPID'00:
is that HID Kit really an option? If so, for the 2nd gen as well?

You can probably get the HID's from a dealer from the new 300m special for the 2nd gen.

 

[Warlord187]

Originally posted by Intrepid99:
You can probably get the HID's from a dealer from the new 300m special for the 2nd gen.

That is true, but I don't feel like being ass raped.

[ January 17, 2002: Message edited by: Warlord187 ]

 

[79lilred]

A truly interesting thing to consider is the fact that our cars are (were) sold in Europe. The European headlight beam pattern standard is MUCH better than "DOT" and they use the most efficient bulb design - the H4 bulb.
The European lights throw out a flat patern with a very definitive upper cutoff (read LESS offensive to on-coming traffic) compared to the "DOT" spec that requires a "tunnel" beam pattern. I have the European H4 lights on my 72 that uses 4 round headlights and the difference is unbelievable.
But, like I said before, when I checked several years back, it was going to cost me $500+ to get some new out of Belgium. Even with the Chrysler part numbers, I could not get them through my Chrysler dealership where the parts mgr is a friend I play softball with. Now if I just knew someone IN Belguim that I could talk into doing some junkyarding..........

 

[Djnrg]

Hey DCREPID'00 , yes you can put HID lighting into our cars. You just need a conversion kit which is about $450 and up. www.midnightmoose.com has a kit for our cars (9007) and has some good info on it. The only problem is that, since HID lights don't use filaments, they only have 2 electrodes, or 1 arc in them. (On beam) Therefore, you cannot have a high/low beam thing happenning. (Thats why cars meant for HID lighting have 2 sets of lights, not 1 like ours...) But it really doesn't matter, since HID puts out about 300% more useable light anyways. I am getting a HID conversion kit in the summer. And I have auxiliary lights wired into relays connected to the high beams, so that they are only on with the highs. This would solve the problem of HID's not having high beams.

Like I said, I have a set of 4" auxiliary lights on the grille of my car, with 100W xenon bulbs in them. OH MY GOD, I can actually see at night now! They are sweet! I put xenons in the headlamps and they did dick all (did a bit to my fogs though). But if you want better light, I would suggest getting some auxiliary lights with very bright bulbs. And please, wire the relays into your high beams so you don't blind people when driving in town. Now, since the lights are only on with my highs, I am gonna get another set (55W) to stay on all the time, so I can see with the low beams on.