Lighting Upgrade - Done Right - part II
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Tourer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 301
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Lighting Upgrade - Done Right - part II
I first posted this a couple weeks ago, now have small update. One of the amber auxilary lamps burned out after about 10 hours. I sent danielsternlighting.com a note and he sent replacement, no charge, no hesitation. Yes, it was the right thing to do but...would all vendors? Anyway, I highly recommend this. You can't believe the difference.
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Emailed www.danielsternlighting.com (DS) and took his advice. Very pleased. 07 RKC.
Auxilary lamps - Replaced halogen bulbs with amber sealed beam units (snipped off bulb connector and soldered spade connectors). DS claims new units provide 40 degrees of light instead of 11, plus I think the amber is just more noticeable. Not sure they do much to night lighting (except more noticeable) but the stock units were next to worthless. Could hardly tell if they were even on. Cosmetically, I like the amber up front. A little different. DS gets $26 a piece for these (Wagner 4415A) and I've since found them cheaper. Not sure if much price difference after shipping.
Headlamp - Per DS (and I'm a believer), much more than the bulb, the biggest limiting factor is the stock reflector/lense optics. Just adding wattage (or bluer or whiter or whatever) isn't the answer. He sold me Cibie E-code reflector/lense assembly ($75) and Osram 70/65 heavy-duty bulb ($22). The difference from stock is amazing. The E-code setup has a great distinct low-beam cutoff and the high beam absolutely lights up the night. Install is easy. Biggest problem was figuring out how the H4 bulb comes out (you push in on those little tabs, not pull out). Duh. He provides instruction on proper aiming.
Just my opinion...Forget about the the easy-fix bulb replacements (SilverStar, SuperWhite, SuperBlue, whatever) and do it right. I've got about $150 bucks in this. Cheap compared to most chrome. If it helps with one dummie - or deer - it's well worth it.
I have no affiliation with this guy. I heard of him here. (One more example of this darn forum costing me money!)
Pic below. Note the lenses are no longer just clear. I don't like the different shades of amber, probably getting smoked or clear turn signals lenses. Otherwise, looks good to me. And kind of a retro look on my Classic.
For what it's worth...
[IMG]local://upfiles/8883/CE0E190D9A624C08BA7CEBA244654309.jpg[/IMG]
----------------------------------------
Emailed www.danielsternlighting.com (DS) and took his advice. Very pleased. 07 RKC.
Auxilary lamps - Replaced halogen bulbs with amber sealed beam units (snipped off bulb connector and soldered spade connectors). DS claims new units provide 40 degrees of light instead of 11, plus I think the amber is just more noticeable. Not sure they do much to night lighting (except more noticeable) but the stock units were next to worthless. Could hardly tell if they were even on. Cosmetically, I like the amber up front. A little different. DS gets $26 a piece for these (Wagner 4415A) and I've since found them cheaper. Not sure if much price difference after shipping.
Headlamp - Per DS (and I'm a believer), much more than the bulb, the biggest limiting factor is the stock reflector/lense optics. Just adding wattage (or bluer or whiter or whatever) isn't the answer. He sold me Cibie E-code reflector/lense assembly ($75) and Osram 70/65 heavy-duty bulb ($22). The difference from stock is amazing. The E-code setup has a great distinct low-beam cutoff and the high beam absolutely lights up the night. Install is easy. Biggest problem was figuring out how the H4 bulb comes out (you push in on those little tabs, not pull out). Duh. He provides instruction on proper aiming.
Just my opinion...Forget about the the easy-fix bulb replacements (SilverStar, SuperWhite, SuperBlue, whatever) and do it right. I've got about $150 bucks in this. Cheap compared to most chrome. If it helps with one dummie - or deer - it's well worth it.
I have no affiliation with this guy. I heard of him here. (One more example of this darn forum costing me money!)
Pic below. Note the lenses are no longer just clear. I don't like the different shades of amber, probably getting smoked or clear turn signals lenses. Otherwise, looks good to me. And kind of a retro look on my Classic.
For what it's worth...
[IMG]local://upfiles/8883/CE0E190D9A624C08BA7CEBA244654309.jpg[/IMG]
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 933
Likes: 24
From: South
RE: Lighting Upgrade - Done Right - part II
Thanks for the post. I've been thinking of HID and this might be a reasonable alternative. Cibie lights are quality. I had Cibie fogs and Super oscars on a Jeep pickup long ago.
RR
RR
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