Headlight swap?
- Thread starter B1gflip
- Start date
Video tutorials:
This brand has great reviews:
or if you don't need RGB:
This brand has great reviews:
or if you don't need RGB:
I did these because I didn't want all that ricer bling...
Amazon Linky
Another option is a H4 replacement housing and some decent halogen bulbs. I have those in several vehicles.
If you stay with Halogen bulbs a relay upgrade helps them quite a bit, then the (majority of) current no longer flows thru the headlight switch.
Amazon Linky
Another option is a H4 replacement housing and some decent halogen bulbs. I have those in several vehicles.
If you stay with Halogen bulbs a relay upgrade helps them quite a bit, then the (majority of) current no longer flows thru the headlight switch.
Thanks I think I’ll go with the flashy ones. I’m an 80s kid. I want all my vehicles to have the knight rider swooshing red light haha.
How do you like them?
We were leaving for a camping trip at about 10pm, got everyone loaded in and fired up the GMC only to discover it only had one working headlight. I like to drive at night, but would prefer two headlights, in case the single one decides to quit on me at 70 mph, that might not be too fun.
No problem, I thought. I'll just head over to my nearby 24 hour regional Autozone warehouse/store. They have _everything_. Surely they will have the super common 7" round headlight, after all it was used in probably 90 percent of the automobiles made in the USA once upon a time. NOPE. I ended up having to 'borrow' one from my '56 chevy in the middle of the night so that we could continue on our trip. After that, I sourced a few new ones to have on hand just in case.
We were leaving for a camping trip at about 10pm, got everyone loaded in and fired up the GMC only to discover it only had one working headlight. I like to drive at night, but would prefer two headlights, in case the single one decides to quit on me at 70 mph, that might not be too fun.
No problem, I thought. I'll just head over to my nearby 24 hour regional Autozone warehouse/store. They have _everything_. Surely they will have the super common 7" round headlight, after all it was used in probably 90 percent of the automobiles made in the USA once upon a time. NOPE. I ended up having to 'borrow' one from my '56 chevy in the middle of the night so that we could continue on our trip. After that, I sourced a few new ones to have on hand just in case.
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Haven't been out of the shop with them yet, but they put up a decent pattern on the wall. Definately brighter than halogens.
I believe it's the Japanese version of a Hella H4 conversion.
No experience with those but I have done many Hella conversions, big improvement over sealed beam halogen.
Direct swap for anything w/ 7" round headlights.
No experience with those but I have done many Hella conversions, big improvement over sealed beam halogen.
Direct swap for anything w/ 7" round headlights.
I did these headlights (no fog lights in my kit)
They do have 1 big led inside a projector, which makes the beam much sharper than having a headlight with multiple leds. The white surrounding leds I've used as a DRL, did not use the yellow ones for the turn signal.
Paid $150 back in the day....
They do have 1 big led inside a projector, which makes the beam much sharper than having a headlight with multiple leds. The white surrounding leds I've used as a DRL, did not use the yellow ones for the turn signal.
Paid $150 back in the day....
I saw this thread from 2021 and bought the same kit, but have yet to install them. Seemed pretty decent.
www.gmcmotorhome.org
1978 Royale Update and Restoration
Added some new headlights today. I can't stand sealed beams... There is so much better technology available today. First off, I wanted to do LED. However, I can't stand the look of most of them, and aftermarket designs generally perform as bad as they look. That leaves me with trying to...
www.gmcmotorhome.org
These are the ones I'm looking at. They are ADR (Australian Design Rule) approved which I guess is like your DOT approval.
www.stedi.com.au
I don't know anyone with them so I guess I'm taking a risk trying them.
STEDI 7 Inch Iris Chrome LED Headlight Pair
STEDI 7 inch IRIS LED Headlight Kit - ADR Approved. Fits a large variety of Jeep CJ, Wrangler, Land Rover Defender, Toyota Landcruiser 75 Series (requires additional CANBUS), Nissan GQ Patrol, Mercedes Benz G Wagon & Kenworth Truck Models.
www.stedi.com.au
I don't know anyone with them so I guess I'm taking a risk trying them.
Over the years the best results I've seen are Hella lenses manufactured to European standards. US headlight requirements were innovative in 1940 and then fell behind. Germany removed speed limits from sections of the Autobahn while the US had a 55mph/89kph national speed limit for two decades. This affected lighting as Germany set minimum lighting requirements while the US DOT had maximum luminosity limits.
ECE codes are split by countries. A headlight with an E1 on the lens is Germany, E2 France, E3 Italy, etc. For right hand drive there's E11 UK, E45 Australia, etc.
When I upgraded the GMC to Hella ECE-code headlights we had to cut the metal housing a bit to fit the slightly deeper reflector. The result is fantastic. Low beam pattern is nice and sharp, never had a complaint from other cars. High beam might melt deer.
ECE codes are split by countries. A headlight with an E1 on the lens is Germany, E2 France, E3 Italy, etc. For right hand drive there's E11 UK, E45 Australia, etc.
When I upgraded the GMC to Hella ECE-code headlights we had to cut the metal housing a bit to fit the slightly deeper reflector. The result is fantastic. Low beam pattern is nice and sharp, never had a complaint from other cars. High beam might melt deer.
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Stay away from LEDs if you drive in snow! They will not melt the snow and they will ice over. You can up grade with Jeep TJ standard headlights , they have a replaceable bulb. Depending on the lights you might need a jumper harness.
Stay away from a gmc if you drive in snow!!!
All kidding aside. Sirum GMC had a kit with LED’s. It was not a bad price at the time. Not much more then buying your own amazon ones and spending your own time trying to figure out if they fit, have the right color and work.
