I decided to buy the Hella Vision Plus headlight system for my truck. I've been reading that some of you get the PIAA super white bulbs to replace the ones in in your Hella setups. Can anybody tell me exactly what I need to order so I get it right the first time? Thanks.

 

Chris, you might want to look at my website and go to the Piaa section in my table of contents.

The Piaa bulbs we can get I think are not the same ones that Jason B and others with 3rd gens rave about.

I hate my Piaa Plasma Super Whites.
In the rain the light all about but disappears.

I have the same lens you bought, only the Euro version which are not DOT approved, and that is only because they don't have the nubbers on the lens for an aiming machine to attach to.

Get a hold of Daniel Stern.
He is the guru of automotive lighting, and can hook you up with good bulbs.
The link is on my Piaa page.

He recommends the harness upgrade to give you more juice to your bulbs, but that can be added at a later time.

I have talked with him, and he even has better H4 housings than the Hella ones.
I forget what brand they are, I think I have the email saved somewhere.

I have not replaced my bulbs yet because they refuse to blow in a few months like everyone else says they do.
This set of H4 bulbs has been in the rig for over 3 years

When they do blow, I'll get the H4 bulb that Daniel told me to get.

 

I already have the harness upgrade. I did the write-up about it in the tech section.

I'll get ahold of that guy and see what he says. Thanks.

 

Cool, I thought you had done a write-up on that.

I was just on his site and I saw the housings he sells, and down at the very bottom are the H4 bulbs.

They are a German make.
I may go with the 55/60, or the 55/100 one.
I will have to talk with him again about it.

I'm not changing my Hella housings though, I like them.
Just the bulbs in there now suck.

 

I also did the harness upgrade, thank you very much for the great write up. the change with just the harness and the stock bulbs was nice but its never really good enough is it?
so on to the non DOT hella's, and a local porsche (sp) racing shop sold me some 90-120 for $28. he had them there the next morning it was black forest racing San Diego CA.
http://www.blackforestautomotive.com/
the road is so bright I have to wear shades. Iknew that everything wasn't on the up and up so the head lights are a tad low and with the extra light I don't notice at all. about once a month I get flashed, usually by a lowered honda. so I figure they are no more anoying to other drivers than some of the really blue things.
VR
repo

 

I sent off an email to Stern Lighting to enquire about the H4 bulbs.
Here are the ones listed on his site.

60/55W Super High Efficiency Plus 50: $18/ea
60/55W High Efficiency Plus 30: $11/ea
100/55W: $15/ea
100/90W: $18/ea
130/100W: $19/ea

I have a feeling the first one is going to be the best choice.
I need something that is efficient on low beam.
High beams I am not to worried about, the Hella 500s on the ARB & roof can overcome darkness quite nicely if needed.

PS, if you want some good reading, check out the Tech & FAQ section on his site also.
Here is one on the myth of the hyperwhite type of bulbs.
http://lighting.mbz.org/tech/bulbs/bulbs.html

 

Corey -

I shot him an email too this morning asking about what he recommended for my truck. Still waiting on a reply. I guess I'm just impatient but nothing impresses me more than a company that responds quickly.

I don't have the Hella headlights yet... I was looking at getting a set. But then you said that Stern carries just the enclosure and I'd be able to pick my own bulb. I'll see if he emails me back and what he'd recommend I do. I can see from your site you don't like the PIAA's and apparently neither does he. I'll probably get the stuff from him. Maybe he'll give us a deal if we order at the same time.

 

I've been looking to do that harness on my 90 4Runner. Do you know if that same harness will fit, or do I need a different one.
Thanks

 

Yes, it will fit.

 

Their server might be down. I was at their site a few weeks ago so I don't think they're out of business.

Check out that link on Corey's PIAA page for Daniel Stern. He also makes a kit that does the same thing as the Autobulbdepot harness, minus the wires. I just ordered a new headlight setup from him today and he's a great guy to do business with. I highly recommend him to anyone.

 

Hey Chris and the rest, I have some of DS's super high efficientcy bulbs and a relay/wiring harness. The bulbs with the relays and wire up grade are the shizen! My lights, I think you saw them Chris, had a huge improvement since I added the bulb/harness combo. I think the bulbs are $22 each. But he has others that are diffferent grades and will improve you lighting.

 

I received an email today from DS Lighting.

I will do a harness upgrade later, but first I will get the bulbs he recommended to me.
"60/55W Super High Efficiency Plus 50: $18/ea"

These are better than the 55/100 w ones he also carries.

After reading up more on his page today, I can't wait to take my Piaa Super Whites and throw them away.

He's got better housings than my Euro Hella ones, but I'll stick with these for the time being.

Just getting the new bulbs then the harness should make a huge improvement.

Also reading on his page I cracked up where he mentions someone saying they have pics to prove the Super Whites are lighter & brighter.

Yeah, that was me back too when I snapped my pics a few years ago on my Piaa page.
I know for a fact the 55/100 w generic yellow bulbs I ran in Hella housing on my '90 truck were brighter on low beam and better in the rain than the Piaas I have now.

 

I had no problem (except for the fact that I didn't read carefully about completing the circuit with the ground). I liked his system because I could make it "custom" and the wires were not piled up in a wad. I have some pics but don't know how to post.

Can anyone help with that? The pics that is.

 

John -

Create an account with www.montypics.com and upload your pics there in a 640x480 size. Then post them here by using the IMG button in the vB Code box above the posting box.

I did see the lights you had, but I didn't know you had the bulbs too. Now I really can't wait to get them and plug them up. I have new Hella E-code housings and the bulbs on the way right now. I'll post some variety pics so you guys can see how much of a difference it makes.

 

I posted this somewhere else on the site but thought it was relevant to this discussion. Last week I did a headlight upgrade on my 90 pickup. New housings by Pilot and H4 1oo/55w Xenon bulbs by a company called CEC. I looked at the Hella housings but am too cheap as I keep getting rocks thrown through my lights. The Xenon bulbs are a huge improvement over the stock sealed beams, even without the harness upgrade. I will probably wire up my own upgraded harness soon. I got a chance to use the lights the other night in mixed rain and snow conditions, and they worked very well. I don't have great night driving vision and these really seem to help, especially in the worst conditions like I encountered. The 55w low beams seem to be fine for oncoming traffic, I never got flashed even though the light is quite a bit whiter than standard bulbs. The high beams make a huge difference, although they made me aware that my passenger side light is pointing a bit too skyward. I'll post a warning in the future if these turn out to be very short lived bulbs, but so far I am very happy with the performance.

 

Don't throw 'em away! Sell 'em on eBay and let one of the Jeep guys buy them.

 

This place has the same APC wiring upgrade kit as autobulbdepot.com:
stylin' somethin' 'r other

Same price too. Don't know about shipping.

 

I just received the housings and bulbs today, but didn't have time to install them. I'm very impressed by how fast they got to me because I ordered them Thursday evening and Daniel shipped them out the same day. Fast shipping is always a plus for me.

The Hella e-code housings came with a silicone cover to put over the bulb plug after you put it in to keep the dust and water out. This was a big plus for me. The bulbs also look like they're going to be very bright. I'll be sure to take some pics of everything tomorrow while I'm putting it in. Stay tuned!

 

Cool...
I will have to get the same bulbs soon.
Yes, my Hella E code housings have the same sillicone cover.
It's nice to keep out junk.

 

Hey Chris you didn't touch the glass part of the bulb did you? If so clean them off with something like rubbing alcohol. The oils from your skin will shorten the life of the bulb.......so I've been told. On high wattage stage lights if you touch them they burst and was told the same thing could/would happen with these.

Glad DS could get you fixed up.

Did you get your stuff from Gettel?