Crummy headlights - Can't see, need upgrade
My old 2007 GMC has never had the best headlights. Driving from Lethbridge to Calgary last night I was really cussing them. Old original factory headlights and I cannot see worth a darn. They are...
Forum Discussion
ktmrfs wrote:
yes, most "standard" bulbs will have long life even with full battery voltage going to them and be much brighter than factory wiring.
I did try the xtravision with upgraded wiring. Yes they were brighter, but a pretty short life. But IMHO not enough brighter to justify the short life and higher cost.
Key point is that light output is highly dependent on voltage, not a linear or square law relationship, even stronger but bulb life is even a stronger relationship to voltage. No free lunch.
Correct.
Brighter the bulb, the less life you will get and as I mentioned, my own experience with a relay harness and using standard halogen bulbs I did not see any drastic reduction in bulb life..
The OEM wiring is reducing the voltage so much that you could easily drive 100K miles (or even much more) with a lot of night driving and never have to change a bulb.
Getting the bulb voltage up may trade off SOME bulb life but it is a good trade off and most likely will not be a big issue given how crummy most auto headlights are. Typical Halogen lights are rated 2,000 hrs so even if we lose 25% of the life when operated at full battery voltage it would mean only 1,500 hrs of operation.. I am good with that, much better than 250 hrs of Xtravision..
1,500 hrs of night driving at 60 MPH is 90,000 miles of night driving..
250 hrs of night driving at 60 MPH is 15,000 miles which in my case would have meant changing Xtravision bulbs every 10 months..
I do have one concern, I believe Bob is in Canada, as such he may need some provision for DRL functions depending on his countries regulations for that yr (not sure when CA required DRL)..
Relay kits will bypass DRL function if it was done via the headlights being routed through a resistor to reduce headlamp brightness during the day..
If so, may need to improvise further with modified relay setup that includes a Single pole double throw relay that connects headlights to resistor when no headlights are turned on but engine is running..
