Upgrading the headlights

On our outing last weekend, I was forced to drive at night for the first time. I was appalled at how poorly the headlight on the QV light the road. And when a car came at me and I shifted to low beams only, I could barely make out the side of the road, and that was with my fog lamps on as well. I am seriously frightened to drive at night any more, especially on the small country lanes around here.

I have been looking on ebay and see that you can upgrade the wiring harness with a plug in that brings current direct from the battery and replace the OEM sealed beams with halogen versions. But I've also read that H4 lamps dont really give that much better vision.

Has anyone upgraded their headlights and what things should I look out for or not do to improve the night driving capability?

 

Some weeks ago I fitted Halfords Ultra Brilliance lamps to all my vehicles (dip and main beams). They were on offer (2 for 1, so 2 for £25 instead of £50) so decided to try them. So far so good. Noticeable and huge improvement over the regular lamps and give a nice crisp white light with good pattern plus a more modern look. Not sure of the OEM of the Halfords own brand but as they offer their own brand plus a similar Bosch branded item there could be a common link.

 

That is not entirely correct. We have several older cars and illuminating the road for good sight at night is always an issue when staying on stock lights. As you discovered it is not any differently with a High End car of that era

We fit all our older cars with H4 uprated lights. In most we carry "Philips xtreme vision h4". In my Mondial it was one of the first things I did, as at night the illumination was poor. Fitted with Philips xtreme vision I have illumination like any modern car and I drove a lot on the pitch dark roads in Italy. 15 euro and you will be happy as a child!

 

Here a pic during daylight
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Thanks to you both for your info. Did you have to change the sockets into which the new halogens were plugged? I read that the halogens are so much hotter you should change to a ceramic plug. Are these lights also sealed or a halogen inside a reflector.

I would also appreciate what is meant by a "more modern look" regarding the "halfords".

 

The Halfords branded lamps (also the Bosch Gigalight Plus branded lamps) were a straight swap with no modification. These lamps use a Xenon gas and run at or below original type temperatures and are also safe for use on plastic reflectors.

By "modern look" I mean the crisp white beam gives the vehicle an updated look (once you see the effect you'll know what I'm wittering on about).

 

I have had much success with Sylvania bulb upgrades, direct plug and play, no mods required.

Best
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Silverstar ultra is the Brightest option and runs about $50 a pair, I'm not sure which model to get for a Mondial, will need to look it up.
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I have always liked the Silverstars and have used them on my other, newer vehicles with good results.

Question: The Silverstar H6024 light assembly is listed the entire light/lens and housing, not just a bulb replacment like I am used to seeing on more modern cars. It is also listed as having both high and low beam elements.

Since our cars have four headlights, I assumed that two are the low beams and two are for high beams. Is this the case?

Which Silverstar(s) would replace the headlights on my 1988 3.2?
Alden

 

The main beam lamps are type H1 whilst the low beam lamps are type H4.

 

Thanks.

 

That's good to know. THanks.

 

No Mods needed. You can plug them in directly like the Sylvania ones. I guess this depends on which continent you are like the use of oil filters Continental Europe is mainly Philips, which is basically the same as Sylvania (or the other way around) For us in Europe we can only get Sylvania directly from a US shop, Ebay or Amazon.

Myself I am keen to keep all close to the original so I only changed the light source. I did see Mondis with angle eyes (BMW style) and xenon lights. Personally not my taste, but it gives you a heck of a beam, which they will notice on the other side of the galaxy!

 

For anyone who finds this thread in the future the sealed beam assembly Silverstar H6024's are too large diameter and the H1 and H4 bulbs will not fit our US cars.

US cars need the entire lamp assembly, not just the H1/H4 replacement bulbs.

I ordered H6024's and they will not fit, look like they are about 1" too large in circumference. Probably 8" and we need 7" bulbs, but I did not measure them for now, will do later and report.

I am going to return them and see what I can find that will work.

Will report back to this thread since it comes up to the top in a search for "headlight."
Alden

 

Yes, Sylvania wrongly lists the 7" size (PAR-56) 328 bulb for the Mondial 3.2 in their online application guide. Your "quad headlight" Mondial 3.2 uses the same PAR-46 headlight size (5 3/4") as a TR (and they seem to have that correct in their application guide = H5001 high beam and H5006 low beam).

 

Put relays on them, 4 relays in all, I did, it made 100% difference. There is an old thread here somewhere.

 

Thanks Alden. This is very timely information as I was just looking at upgrading my headlights. Please keep us posted on what you find.

 

Philips Crystal Vision Ultra is a perfect bulb upgrade for the Mondial T. No modifications necessary, just plug them in. The light is bright white (not blue like other bulbs) and retains the original look of the car.

 

Gérald

Euro QVs don't have sealed beams.

Euro QVs have halogen lights; 1 set of H4 combined lo/hi beams @ 55/60W and 1 set of H1 hi beams @ 55W= 2 lo-beams and 4 hi-beams all halogen.

 

Having trouble finding H5001 high beam and H5006 low beams in anything other than the base halogen types, which is what came stock on the car, so no improvement there.

I may look at the replacement housings that allow you to use modern bulbs in the lens.

Like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-3-4-Halogen-Semi-Sealed-Beam-Headlight-Conversion-Headlamp-60-55W-H4-Bulbs-/331417498488?hash=item4d2a05b378:g:4lsAAOxyjNlR1Px~&vxp=mtr

Anyone try those?

I don't really want the "diamond/crystal" type, too ricer looking for the Mondi.
Alden

 

Not available that I can find in a H5001/H5006.

Also, please understand that our US cars do not use replaceable bulbs that you install from the back, you have to replace the entire headlight.
Alden

 

My 76 Toyota Celica used the 5 3/5" headlights and I switched them to Hella z-beam units which utilized separate bulbs. I believe I also used 4 hi/lo units and added some wires so I could have all 4 on for high and low. People would flash me sometimes and regretted it when I blinked my highs!! Lol (I also had 2 Hella 1000 pencil beams as well switched with my high beams.) I plan on doing the same with the Mondial. But the Hellas go on the Tacoma.

 

Aim your lights. With good upgrades, too many people are blinding oncoming traffic. Better light output makes this adjustment more important. If adjusted correctly, the better lighting should not cause issues.

Regards,
Jerry

 

He has all four on at the same time as low beams, drivers see that and think he has his high beams on, until he hits the switch!
Alden

 

Ok Guys, I appreciate the advice and comments I have received since this thread was started last summer. I've looked at bulb options, spoken with mechanics and electrical specialists at Bosch. I think I know what I want to do. But there is one big problem

One thing my mechanic noted was that the interior of my mondi headlamps has likely never been cleaned and in fact when I look at them, they are quite yellow on the inside of the glass. (I have a euro mondi with bulbs not sealed beams). Ok, so I thought that might be a good place to start when I replace the old bulbs.

But then I run into my one big problem. I have yet to figure out how to access the bulbs and the headlamps. There are of course two screws that hold the headlamps in place when the lamps are popped up. But I cannot figure out how to shut the lamps off and leave them popped up. I have looked in the owners manual and in my shop manual. There seems to be no instructions as to how to access the bulbs. And I did not think to ask my mechanic the last time I was there.

I've tried with the car running and shutting it off with the lamps up and on and they stay on. Just as they do with the key off. The lever inside puts them up with the lights on. I've thought of removing the fuse though have not tried that as I assume there has to be a way to access the lamps to replace a burned out bulb.

I've looked at removing the lift motor and back plate with them down and the hood up, but that seems a bit extreme.

So OK, I don my stupid hat in public and await en-lightenment from a charitable forum member.