Unsafe for Night Time Driving

I tihnk you can get the brighter H4 bulbs or I dont know what others might me suggesting about using a HID ballist kit. this is the kit that turns the head lights into the XENON lights that are standard on newer Ferrari's.

if you can go with a 4300K-6000K kit.

 

can you take out the bulb you have in the car now ?

and post a phot of it ?

also If you do a relay upgrade you can find the 85/120 ones for the H4's should you not want to use the HID ballist kit.

 

There are so-called Xenon 'Bulbs' in the market and also the real McCoy Xenons or technically known as HID (High Intensity Discharge) Lamps. The HIDs need a total makeover of the lighting system instead of just changing 'bulbs'. The 'ballast' set(s) that comes with the system basically 'amplifies' the light output and the supplied bulb(s) itself contain the 'xenon' gases. Light produced will be very white with a subtle bluey cast to it and depending on the kv values, some with a purplish tint...

If you just upgrade the bulbs, relays et all, the light will be hot and the lamp will deffo be hot in general. Very hot. But in a true HID set-up, there's not much heat on the glass and basically it's the best lighting upgrade out there. HID lights tend to have crisp cutoff points and they;re just indespensable for nighttime motoring. There are negative thoughts out there that the bright HID beams will blind oncoming traffic but then again if the low beams are adjusted properly, it shouldn't be the case. If blinding oncoming traffic is indeed the case, I doubt the safety buggers at the EU thingy will pass the cars anyways...

 

My 456 has two different bulbs for low and high beams. These bulbs are HB3 and HB4 resp.
There are serious, easy to install, Xenon kits on the market from HID for roughly 150 USD.
Do not get confused by Xenon bulb offerings where the bulb is radiating blue Xenon like light, but is not producing more light.
Here is a link from a Dutch company, as an example.
http://www.automotive.artversa.com/produkten/xenonkits/Xenonkit%20HB4p.htm

 

Hello Barry, there is a company in California that sells kits similar to those described by Hans.
I had investigated the possibility of switching to their Xenon bulbs a while ago, but they were pricey and the company was slow in replying to my questions, so the project got pushed to the back burner.
However, to answer to your concern about the extra heat, at night the headlights pop up and are exposed to the equivalent of a cat. 1 hurricane force wind, so I believe that extra heat should not be much of a concern.
Just my opinion though.

 

Good info guys, .

 

Hey,
I installed Xenon s for my 456GT. Low beams Xenon High beams stock. Xenon ballasts were installed on the plastic wheel cover inside the bonnet, 1 small screw. That all. Just becareful if you have 456GT not 456GT modificato. 456gt has the heat scoops behind the pop up headlights which take water inside. The ballast installation must be made to avoid water seeping from the heat scoops.
I installed high beam xenons but forget it. I switched back to original for the high beams as the glass on the high beam is designed to work with regular bulb. Xenons reflect off the glass cover and show you pretty much nothing.
So my suggestion is .. do the Xenons with ballasts installed on the wheel cover considering and location it to avoid water getting in from the heat scoops behind the headlights. Dont mess with high beams.. factory ones are the only ones that can work with the glass lens on the car.

 

You could install non Xenon 100W HB3 bulbs.

 

True.. I dont understand the dealer saying plastic cover may over heat. Our headlight and high beams are all glass.. only little plastic in the rear portion if I am not mistaken..

 

Yup, that's why they have the 'Bi-Xenon' thingy as advertised these days... My 996TT has it and I was wondering what's so special about the 'bi' thingy... Those days Xenons are only for dipped/low beams since most high beams are 'non-projector', rather a lamp that depends on the 'glass pattern' on the lamp glass housing. Said lamps normally have 'ridges'/patterns on the lamp housing to propagate the direction of illumination. With the advent of clear glass lenses nowadays, the dipped lamps are normally projector vershs, so no problemo for Xenons but for the main beams/ high beams, the 'illuminati' engineers came out with a ridged/patterned reflector to act as the 'director' for illumination... Yep, you're right on most normal cars, even if you upgrade to HIDs for main beams..it's not going anywhere. Better to stick with a hi-po bulb.

The 'glass' of the headlamps of a 456 is indeed glass..

 

post photos of your set up how its wired up as well its good to have photos as refrence.

 

Hi Barry, as you can see from my profile, I'm not anywhere near in the States..

However, check out this thread on the 348/355 board:

The 348/355 Light Thread (OEM vs GE Nighthawk vs HIR vs HID), and since your headlamps are essentially almost if not the same as the 348/355, the informations you seek should be appicable to your 456.

Cheers,

Isk

 

The greater issue with using higher wattage bulbs is not necessarily the heat on the headlight housings, but added heat in the wiring. I would not recommend upgrading bulb wattage, but there are "hyper-bulbs" that draw the standard wattage, but output the equivalent of higher wattage bulbs. Look for brands like PIAA.

 

I had the same problem and found a GREAT solution: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=171084

 

Photos please

 

I was asking for some others to post them as well.

 

i have a UK 456M. as yourself the standard lights were dim. i have had Bosch HID fitted aftermarket..
there is no going back...
an absolute must!!!

 

Well after having the M for over a year now, I finally drove it at night for the first time.
As the title of this thread states, the headlights make for really unsafe driving.
Any current thoughts on a solution?

 

Didn't I read somewhere that a certain type of Audi lamps is a direct fit?
The standard Hella lamps are easily available (without the Cavallino Rampante) as they are used on Volvo trucks.

 

I have not seen any mention of a plug-and-play Audi lamp.
But I'd be willing to try them.
I don't care if they have a little pony on them, you can't see them during the day...

 

Maybe it’s not the bulbs.

As with ANY Italian vehicle, check the electrical grounds and connections. On my 308 I had to refresh those every year to pass inspection because some light would be out.

Consider running a fat power line off the battery straight to the lights using the current wires to operate a relay.

 

Barry,
Is your car VIN 131876? TdF Blue with a Blue Medio interior? I am compiling/keeping a VIN register for US 456Ms and if yours is a 2003 TdF with a 6-sp manual, then I have the other one.....except with a beige interior. There were only two TdF manuals that came to the US in that model year. I'd like to update your car's data in the register if you don't mind. Please send me a PM here. Thanks (and a bunch of the guys on this thread have helped keep updating the register....it is a bit of a group project).

Eric