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Recommend a headlight upgrade? '98 XJ

cnugent

NAXJA Forum User
Kinda toying with upgrading from stock to an LED headlight. I'd rather have something plug-n-play without having to mess with the harness. Anybody got a recommendation? Like to stay under $100 if possible. Best bang-for-buck scenario. Waddya got?

Thx

Chris
 
Like to stay under $100 if possible. Best bang-for-buck scenario. Waddya got?

H-4 from AutoPal and upgraded wire harness. You aren't going to touch LED for less than $300
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/7x6-H6054-B...ash=item1a07524ade:g:CYEAAOSwtlhWFfxZ&vxp=mtr

I'm looking at something like this for 60 bucks or so.

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That's HID lighting.
The only thing LED about them is the blue accents on the sides which take up space and take away from the headlamp output range.
With HID's some people love them, some people don't.
I personally do not like the ballast set up as they have to warm up, so to speak, before the headlight comes on.
Also with cheap ebay kits, you get these cheap ballasts with no customer support when they DO quit working.

The best bang for the buck IMHO is the H4 housing upgrade with higher wattage bulbs and the harness to feed appropriate juice to them.
Like TRCM and Tim MN suggested.
Quality H4 housings give a good light pattern as opposed to the cheaper Cree LED setups.
 
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He asked for headlight upgrade options on a budget, and said he was considering led. I've used these cheap ballasts and never had an issue. Ddm ballasts are great for the money too. I had them on my audi for ten years without issue, and cheap ebay mini ballasts like what come with those headlights for on the fogs for 5 years and they never broke.

And the lens isn't used for light output, just the high beam because it has a projector for the hid bulb.

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I actually assumed the projector was a misleading description.
The backdrop in the light is designed to project light, most real projector lights I've owned myself didn't have such a thing.
Or.... Perhaps I don't understand the function of a single bulb projector housing?
Looking at the design, when using low beams the HID bulb is going to block about half of the low beam's light output?
I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong, I'm just not understanding how this is the best bang for your buck.
Low beam lighting is important to me because you need it when passing oncoming traffic.
If you low beams suck, then you can't see diddly.

More simple setups are better optimized for light output than this all in one miracle unit.

Yeah sure, there is several decent setups.
I've used true name brand HID kits on OBS GM vehicles that worked well longevity wise.

It's just my opinion that the little kit has some overly modded Chinese H4 housings that are most likely going to leak.


Like I said, you either love them or you don't.

I just feel like the money could could go toward accomplishing something better.
If he opted for them, I sincerely hope they work well.

PS: my opinion is only worth what you paid for it.
 
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Cheap Chinese plastic crap is all you are going to get for cheap. Good Quality HID or genuine LED replacement headlight assemblies will cost you. DDM HID conversion kits are not good quality. Don't be the high school drop-out with blue tinted "HID's" that are pointed to the sky, and glare everybody on the road. Anything that looks car show cool, or Ricer, is going to be Chinese crap.
 
H-4 from AutoPal and upgraded wire harness. You aren't going to touch LED for less than $300

This is what I run in my XJ and my Ranger. Great light output, excellent cutoff/pattern, and has lasted several years issue free. Used the E-code Autopals, Osram bulbs, and a harness upgrade from Summt. Totally rocks.
 
I actually assumed the projector was a misleading description.
The backdrop in the light is designed to project light, most real projector lights I've owned myself didn't have such a thing.
Or.... Perhaps I don't understand the function of a single bulb projector housing?
Looking at the design, when using low beams the HID bulb is going to block about half of the low beam's light output?
I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong, I'm just not understanding how this is the best bang for your buck.
Low beam lighting is important to me because you need it when passing oncoming traffic.
If you low beams suck, then you can't see diddly.

More simple setups are better optimized for light output than this all in one miracle unit.

Yeah sure, there is several decent setups.
I've used true name brand HID kits on OBS GM vehicles that worked well longevity wise.

It's just my opinion that the little kit has some overly modded Chinese H4 housings that are most likely going to leak.


Like I said, you either love them or you don't.

I just feel like the money could could go toward accomplishing something better.
If he opted for them, I sincerely hope they work well.

PS: my opinion is only worth what you paid for it.
The hid bulb is in the projector and the projector is outputting the light. The reflective surface behind the projector is for a halogen high beam bulb that is mounted on the base of the hid bulb, so that your high beams don't have to warm up to be used because that would be pointless. I'm not saying it's a great kit, but I've had good luck with the aftermarket low budget light lenses. Chinese quality has come a long way in 10 years.

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It's illegal to put HIDs on a vehicle that didn't come with them from the factory. These Ebay housings don't meet OEM standards and usually just blind everyone around the driver. The fact that they're going on an SUV just makes this worse.

I've never seen an actual headlight upgrade that was legal, safe, durable, and cheap. I saved up the $350 for my Truck-Lites and they are worth every penny.
 
I've never heard of it being illegal but I have seen dot certifications for hid housings. The main thing is keeping the cutoff in the projector. A lot of dumb kids remove them and that's what blinds people. And also having them aimed properly, and using higher wattage ballasts instead of the 35w ones.

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Low beam and high beam option. Low beam in the picture. Plug and play like you want. 1,500 lumens low beam, 3,500 high beam. 110 bucks thought I'd try it. If they don't last long I'll end up going with something more expensive.


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Ddm makes good stuff and stand by their products. I am bot advocating anyone going cheap and putting HIDs in ebay housings but ddm ballasts are a decent bargin. I've had their stuff in my vehicles for many years. I use lexus foglight housings with ddm HIDs and they have been awesome and never had an issue across three vehicles and too many years to remember.
 
When I bought my 97 XJ about 2 years ago it came with the Sylvania Silver Star's that you can get at Advance Auto or Auto Zone. I've left them in. I think they cost about $50. They give a white light, not that blue crap you see going down the road.

When I bought my 01 XJ about 12 years ago it came with Hella E Codes with stock wattage bulbs. I'm now thinking of upgrading the harness and going with the higher wattage bulbs notamos is referring to, because the Hella's with stock wattage bulbs are not as good as the Silver Stars.

If you want fast and cheap the Silver Star's for $50 or whatever they cost are a pretty decent deal over stock headlights. I do hear their life is shorter compared to other options, but pretty much any high wattage bulb has a shorter life.
 
I have ran three different 100watt bulbs in h4 housings on my jeep. Hella optilux. Phillips. And whatever 4wheel parts sells is in there now. I'll say that the Phillips were the best of the three. Brightest low beam and best pattern for the high beam. They were the most expensive at $25 and they were hard to find. They also lasted the longest. Funny thing is they had a 50 hour life span printed on the box.


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Do the harness upgrade first. I put Sylvania Silverstars on my MJ and they were still dim-ish. I upgraded the harness and WOW, what a difference. I was going to buy the Putco harness, but I had heard about issues with the relays that come with it. So I just built my own and used good relays and all 10 ga. wires. Now I don't need new lights. Just sayin'.
 
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